Travel Diary for Android is packed with features that make it the ultimate travel companion app. Below you find all 60 features grouped by category, so you can quickly find what matters most to you.
Map and navigation
The map is the heart of Travel Diary. It shows all your manually added locations as coloured pins, while GPS route points stay hidden by default to keep the view clean. Switch between several map tile layers including standard OpenStreetMap, satellite and topographic. Tap the locate button to jump to your current position, or long-press any spot on the map to add a location there. Nearby pins cluster automatically into a badge when you zoom out — zoom in to see individual locations. The current elevation appears in the bottom left corner and updates as you move.
| Map | Shows all manually added locations — GPS route points hidden by default |
| Map layers | Switch between OSM, satellite, topographic and more |
| Locate | Jump to your current location on the map |
| Long press | Long-press the map to add a location at that exact spot |
| Clustering | Nearby pins cluster into a badge when zoomed out |
| Elevation | Current elevation shown on the map, updates as you move |
| Navigate | Navigate to any location via Google Maps with one tap |
| Street View | Open Google Maps Street View at the exact location with one tap |
| Route planner | Calculate a driving route between locations with distance and time |
| Google Maps navigation | Open any route in Google Maps for turn-by-turn navigation |
Search
Finding places in Travel Diary is fast and flexible. The search bar uses autocomplete via Geoapify — suggestions appear as you type. It recognises over 70 POI categories in both Dutch and English, including restaurants, camping sites, charging stations and museums. Results always sort by distance to the current map centre. Furthermore, a voice search option lets you speak your query instead of typing.
| Search addresses | Search by name, address or category — results sorted by distance |
| Autocomplete | Suggestions appear as you type (500 ms debounce, min 3 characters) |
| Search POI | Recognises 70+ POI categories in Dutch and English |
| Voice search | Tap the mic in the search bar and speak your query — results appear automatically |
| Filter | Filter map and list by category or rating |
GPS recording
Travel Diary records your GPS route using an Android Foreground Service, which means the recording continues reliably even when the screen is off or other apps are open. A status bar notification confirms the recording is active. When you stop, the saved route becomes a GPS collection with start and end pins, the full track, distance, duration and average speed. Additionally, if the app closes unexpectedly, a crash recovery prompt appears on the next launch so no data is ever lost.
| GPS recording | Track your route via Android Foreground Service — continues with screen off |
| Notification | Status bar notification confirms the recording is active |
| Picture-in-Picture | Floating mini-window shows live time, distance and speed while using other apps |
| Crash recovery | Recovery prompt appears on next launch if the app closes unexpectedly |
| Distance announcements | Spoken every kilometre during walks — total distance announced on stop |
| Surveillance mode | Push notification after moving more than a set distance, even when the app is closed |
Import and export
Travel Diary supports several import and export formats. Import GPX files from Komoot, Garmin or Google Earth — the track saves as a GPS collection with start and end pins. Import saved places from Google Maps via a KML export from Google Takeout. For export, choose between a GPX file for use in navigation apps, or a beautifully formatted PDF travel book created by a step-by-step wizard. Moreover, a full backup of all your data exports as a single ZIP file that you can share or save to Google Drive.
| GPX import | Import GPX from Komoot, Garmin or Google Earth — saved as GPS collection |
| KML import | Import saved places from Google Maps via Google Takeout KML export |
| GPX export | Export collection as GPX — GPS collections use the recorded track |
| PDF travel book | Export as PDF with wizard — select locations, photos, table of contents and more |
| Share via WhatsApp | Share a location via WhatsApp with address and Google Maps link |
| Share card | Share a location as a PDF card with photo, rating and coordinates |
| Backup & restore | Backup all data including media as a single ZIP file |
| Cache cleaner | Remove temporary PDF, GPX and ZIP export files |
Voice and speech
Travel Diary is designed for hands-free use. Tap the microphone on the map to save a location by speaking its name — the address fills in automatically via GPS and the app confirms out loud. In the notes field, tap the mic to convert your spoken words directly to text. Both Dutch and English are recognised automatically, making the app ideal for international travellers.
| Speech to text | Tap mic in notes field, speak — text appears automatically in Dutch or English |
| Voice-first | Save a location by speaking its name — address filled in via GPS automatically |
| Voice search | Speak your search query in the search bar — results appear automatically |
Photos, video and audio
Every location supports an unlimited number of photos, videos and audio recordings. Take a new photo or video directly from within the app, pick files from your gallery, or record audio on the spot. Photos open full screen with pinch-to-zoom. In the collection gallery, all media is browsable in one viewer — swipe left or right to navigate, swipe down to close. Optionally, photos and videos also save to a dedicated Travel Diary album in your Android gallery.
| Photos & video | Unlimited photos and videos per location — full screen with pinch to zoom |
| Audio | Audio recordings per location — record on the spot or attach existing files |
| Collection gallery | All media in one gallery — swipe to navigate, swipe down to close |
Locations and collections
Each saved location stores a name, address, city, country, notes, date of visit, star rating and categories. Collections let you group locations into trips or themes such as a city trip, a holiday or a list of favourite restaurants. Collections are organised in groups and each shows statistics including countries visited, total distance and media counts. Furthermore, you can add a cover photo and emoji to each collection to make it easy to recognise at a glance.
| Quick add | Tap + to instantly save your current GPS position as a location |
| Star rating | Rate each location from 1 to 5 stars |
| Categories | Custom categories with icon and colour — filter map and list by category |
| Weather | Weather recorded at time of saving, plus a 16-day forecast |
| Timeline | Timeline view — locations grouped by month and year |
| Sort | Sort by date, name, rating or category |
| Filter | Filter by category or minimum star rating |
| Collection badge | Badge on location icon shows in how many collections it appears |
| Planned locations | Future locations highlighted with a light blue background in the list |
| Bulk actions | Select multiple locations to export, add to collection, hide or delete at once |
| Swipe actions | Swipe a location in a collection to remove or delete it |
| Reorder | Reorder locations within a collection — order used in exports |
| Collections & groups | Collections grouped in groups — each with cover photo, emoji and statistics |
| Collection statistics | Per-collection stats: locations, countries, cities, ratings, GPS info and timeline |
Explore area and nearby services
The Explore area feature lets you discover what is around any saved location, even if you are not physically there. Choose from 21 categories — restaurants, museums, nature, sport, accommodation, camping, beach, national parks and more — and set a search radius of 5, 15 or 50 km. Results show name, distance and city. Similarly, the Nearby button shows practical services within 1.5 km such as supermarkets, ATMs, toilets and pharmacies. Both features use a free Geoapify API key that you add once in Settings.
| Explore area | Discover nearby attractions, restaurants and nature — powered by Geoapify |
| Nearby services | Practical services within 1.5 km — supermarkets, ATMs, toilets and more |
| Explore categories | Choose from 21 categories — preferences saved between sessions |
| Geoapify API key | Add your free Geoapify API key once in Settings to enable Explore and Nearby |
Trip preparation
The built-in trip preparation module helps you plan everything before departure. Create a checklist per trip with a name, emoji and departure date. Within each checklist, define custom categories tailored to your trip type — for example Caravan, Shopping and Admin for a road trip. Each task has a name, priority, deadline and status that cycles from To do to In progress to Done with a single tap. Set a reminder per task so you never miss a deadline. A progress bar at the top shows how many tasks are completed.
| Trip Prep | Trip checklists with tasks, deadlines and priorities — accessible via Collections tab |
| Trip Prep tasks | Each task has a name, note, priority, category, deadline and status |
| Trip Prep categories | Custom categories per checklist with emoji and name |
| Trip Prep reminders | Reminder per task — set days before deadline and time of notification |
| Trip Prep progress | Progress bar shows completed tasks — vibration confirms when all are done |
| Trip Prep collection link | Link a checklist to a collection — Prep button appears in the collection detail screen |
Website sync and other features
Travel Diary can synchronise selected collections to a website. Using your own API key, you control which collections are visible online, so you can share your travels — including all media, the map and descriptions — with others. No special hosting requirements are needed, just basic web hosting. You can also edit collection and location details from within the website and sync them back to the app.
| Sync to website | Sync selected collections to your own website — share media, map and descriptions |
| Quick Add shortcut | Long-press the app icon to open a compact add screen — GPS detected automatically |
| Statistics | Overview of countries, categories, ratings, media counts, timeline and storage |
| Hidden pins | Start/end pins from GPS recordings hidden by default — toggle in filter panel |