Image|STRAVA

Strava POIs – Live Now

If you check the web version of Strava or update your smartphone version (> v233.0) then you should find that POIs are up and running. Not a subscriber? No problems, it still works for you when viewing maps, although route creation is a subscriber-only tool.

Table of Contents (Click to Expand)

Where Can I find it?

The POI tool is a part of the maps toolset and you can access it on the MAPS tab of your STRAVA smartphone app or in the ROUTES section of Strava.com

How Useful is it?

I’ve not yet used this new feature much other than a quick play today. Strava says that have used the Open Street Map (OSM) database to pull together POIs that are suited for the sport you are undertaking in scenarios like these

More Planning-Centric POIs include – peaks, landmarks, photo spots, bike shops, and popular start points
More Usage-Centric POIs include – water fountain, service station, and cafes

But

From the main image below, several of the different icons, to me, seem to appear similar data at a quick glance.
I created a route from Sigma Sport to Evans cycles (Kingston) via Cycle Exchange (nice coffee there). Whilst 139 Coffee was shown the Cycle Exchange bike shop wasn’t
Next, I tried to create a route to the Giro Cafe in Esher (nice coffee AND cake there), however, Strava seemed to want to navigate me to Girona, which would be nicer than Esher but a considerably more time-consuming route.
Anyway, you get the point. The Strava POI feature is in its infancy and seems to be just a visual add-on to the map you are displaying. Which is fine as a starting point.