Using ChatGPT to plan a holiday - what's the best way to use it?

I'm currently in the process of planning a big holiday - a several week trip to Japan which will involve travelling around the country to visit many places of interest - and for the first time I'm experimenting with using ChatGPT to help me come up with places to visit and to plan an itinerary. 

I've been having a really positive experience, so I thought I'd share some of the pros and cons, as well as a few tips for anyone thinking of using AI to plan a holiday. 

Advantages of using AI to plan a holiday

ChatGPT is constantly evolving, and is constantly being updated. ChatGPT now has an excellent memory, so even in a separate query it will remember the ages and interests of family members or information like the fact that you are a vegetarian family. So you don't need to keep repeating yourself with each prompt.  

It's perfect for finding a small piece of information quickly, for example the opening times of a particular attraction, without having to trawl through Google search results. Just remember to ask it for for a link that you can use to check the information!

It's brilliant if you are searching for information online which may be in a different language, for example a small local attraction which may not have an English website. 

I found it very helpful for putting together an itinerary based on attractions which are close together geographically without having to hunt everything down on a map. It's also great for suggesting day trips or other places to visit nearby.

The AI can pick out some less well known information, for example more niche attractions, that wouldn't come up in the first few pages of search engine results. It finds even the most obscure information incredibly quickly.

Some negatives to using ChatGPT to plan a holiday

If you've asked for an itinerary make sure that all the days are included - I had an attempt that missed out an entire day. 

The AI may draw to your attention to the fact that an attraction is closed on a certain day, yet still plan for you to visit on the day when it's closed.

Opening hours or ticket prices may be incorrect, and it may suggest visiting places such as restaurants that have now closed down.

Restaurant suggestions in particular can be a bit random and it's difficult to see why a particular venue has been suggested over others that are just as good or more suitable.

Depending on how you phrase your initial prompt, the AI may pick out something small and run with it. For example, I mentioned shopping as a possible interest among several others and was presented with a three day itinerary which included only shops, rather than any famous sights.

Photo credit Finn Mund via Unsplash

Some tips for using ChatGPT to plan your travels

In your initial prompt, enter as much detail as possible. For example - ages of travellers, interests (history, art, nature, transport...), the type of place that you want to visit (museums, shops, landmarks, places to take a good selfie, ways to experience local cuisine...), attractions that you definitely want to visit and the sights that you aren't bothered about, whether you will have a car or will be using public transport.

Make sure to add in your travel plans, for example flight or train details, and whether any of the dates in your itinerary are fixed, for example if you have booked tickets to an event. Ask the AI to suggest quieter days or times to visit large attractions, and ask whether there are any public holidays or local events to be aware of.

When the AI comes back with suggestions you can keep a thread going and all the information you've received so far will be stored in the chat. For example further prompts like 'do you have any other suggestions that are more suitable for teenagers', 'how about some places with historical significance' or 'what else could I do while I'm in this area'.

You can ask for summary reviews, like 'what do people think of this attraction' or 'is this a popular place to visit with teenagers'.

Finally, check every detail before you leave. In particular opening times, transport links, admission costs, process for purchasing tickets and so on. I've found ChatGPT to be generally accurate, but you can't rely on it entirely! You can also always ask the AI for a link to an official website where you can verify the information.

I hope that this article is helpful - next time you are planning a holiday see whether ChatGPT can help you out!