How it works

The idea

Back From My Trip is a community of travellers helping each other. You come back from a trip, you write how it really went — and your experience helps the next person plan theirs. When you are the one planning, someone who was already there helps you. That is the whole idea.

So no listings, no guides — one person, one trip, told with context: who they travelled with, when, for how long, on what budget.

Every report ends with the same honest question: would I go back?

And every report has a discussion thread, like a forum — so you can ask the author directly.

Why no stars

A star rating averages away the story. 3.9 stars tells you nothing about whether the place fits yourtrip. “I would go back, but not in August with kids” tells you a lot. So there are no scores anywhere — just people, their trips, and their verdicts.

Writing a report

Write your story as free text — the way you would tell it to a friend. We turn it into a structured report (destination, dates, budget, verdict) and you check every field before publishing. Nothing is added to your story; it stays your words.

Tracked your trip on Polarsteps? Import it — your days and photos become a private draft, in your own words, and you only add who went and your verdict before publishing.

Every report goes through a quick automatic check before it becomes visible to others.

Verification

A “Trip verified” badge means we found evidence that the trip really happened. There are two ways:

• A photo:if one of your photos was taken at the destination around your travel dates, the trip is verified automatically. The photo's location data is read in your browser and never stored — we keep only “it matched”.
• A travel document: any document from the trip that shows the location and a date — a booking confirmation, a boarding pass, a restaurant bill, a museum ticket. We check that they match your trip, then delete the document. If the automatic check can't decide, a human reviews it — and then it is deleted too.

The badge always says exactly what was checked — never a vague “trusted user”. And there is no penalty for not verifying: an unverified report is simply unverified, nothing more.

Questions

Planning a trip? Ask a question with your situation — who you travel with, when, your budget. Travellers who published a report for that destination are notified that someone is asking about a place they have been. Answers come from people who were there, and we also surface passages from existing reports that may already answer you — always quoted word for word, never rewritten.

Common questions

Do I need an account to read?

No. Every report, question, and answer is open to everyone. You only need an account to publish or to ask a question.

How do I sign in?

No passwords. We email you a sign-in link — click it and you are in.

Is verification required?

No. Unverified reports are just as welcome. Verification adds a badge; skipping it has no penalty.

What happens to my proof document?

It is checked, then deleted — usually within minutes. If a human needs to look at it, it is deleted right after that review, and after 30 days at the latest. We keep only the matched place and dates, never names, prices, or booking numbers.

What about my photos?

Location and device data (EXIF) is removed from photos in your browser, before upload. The original file never leaves your device.

Do I have to use my real name?

No. We do not ask for your real name and we do not care about it — just tell us what other travellers should call you. You can also pick a username, which becomes the address of your public profile page.

I have a travel blog or YouTube channel. Can I link them?

Yes. Add your website in your profile — it shows on your public profile page once you have published at least one report. And each trip report can embed one YouTube video of the trip — as long as it is your own video, filmed by you on that trip, not someone else’s.

Do you remove negative reviews?

Never for being negative. Honest "I would not go back" reports are the reason this site exists. We only remove content that breaks the rules (spam, fake reports, illegal content).

How do I delete my content?

You can delete or unpublish any of your reports from the report page. To delete your whole account, write to hello@backfrommytrip.com for now.