3 Surprising Ways AI Can Transform Your Travel Experience
Too busy to plan your itinerary? Lack inspiration? Don’t know the local language? No need to worry any longer!
When was the last time you were planning a trip but felt overwhelmed by the endless possibilities and things to consider?
It might have happened during your last holiday-planning phase.
Just google “where to go in September” and you’ll get millions upon millions of results.
And since this information overload won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, it might be nice to get some help. This way you can focus on the most important part: getting to enjoy your well-deserved time off.
So how can you use AI for your next travel adventure? We’re sharing 3 methods we currently use to save time, get inspired, and make it easier to navigate our destination.
The below prompts and examples were give to ChatGPT. After testing some other chatbots, we can safely inform you that these work just as well!
To help you find your next dream destination
This first situation is the perfect job for our new AI friends. Let's work on an example together.
Mike just came back from Egypt, and he is looking for a similar experience in South America next year somewhere in the fall of 2024, let's see what it comes up with.
The prompt:
I visited Egypt in the fall of 2023, and I’m looking for a similar experience in South America. I’m planning to travel in the fall of 2024. I’d like a similar climate to Egypt, with some interesting cities close by. I’d like to take walking tours and enjoy the local culture. On the second part of my journey, I want to dive for 2-3 days. The total trip can last between 5 and 8 days. Give me the 5 best options.
Click here to view ChatGPT’s full response.
The 5 suggestions:
Atacama Desert, Chile
Cartagena, Colombia
Cusco and Machu Picchu, Peru
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
By giving ChatGPT a detailed prompt including your specific criteria, you get highly relevant, yet creative suggestions. It even includes the reasons and arguments as to why that destination is a perfect match for you. And who knows - you might find your next dream destination because of it.
Once you do, you might need some more help whilst planning out the details.
To help you plan your itinerary
Alright, so we’ve decided on a destination. Let’s take Mike’s upcoming trip to Oman as an example for this one.
Reading up on what to do in any country can be very time-consuming.
So let’s get some help, shall we?
After some initial research, it seems that Oman not only has beautiful cities and villages, but it also has a desert and mountains to explore. This information will help us ask the right questions.
The prompt:
I’m traveling to Oman with 3 friends. We are going there for 12 nights and are flying to Muscat. We will be renting a car, so we can travel through the whole county. Give me an itinerary that includes the following:
Exploring the Omani culture
Some active activities, such as hiking in the mountains
We also want to visit the desert (for quad driving)
1 day to explore sea life, such as snorkeling or scuba diving where possible
2 days in Muscat at the end of the trip to relax by the pool and recover from our adventures
Please give a day-by-day recommendation, and also recommend some places to sleep for the night.
Curious to see the whole itinerary it came up with? Have a look here!
The high-level itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival in Muscat
Day 2: Nizwa - Cultural Exploration
Day 3: Jebel Akhdar - Hiking
Day 4: Jebel Shams - Hiking
Day 5 & 6: Wahiba Sands - Desert Adventure
Day 7: Sur - Coastal Town
Day 8: Wadi Shab - Natural Beauty
Day 9: Sea Life Exploration
Day 10: Travel to Muscat
Day 11 & 12: Relaxation in Muscat
Day 13: Departure
Some of these made it into the final itinerary for the Oman 2024 trip. You’ll find out which ones soon enough 👀
This prompt is great to start the planning process and it will help you to get inspired by new towns, destinations and activities. We definitely suggest to also still look at travel blogs and resources online.
Like this one 🤩
To help you connect with locals
And finally, once you’ve made it to your destination, you might need some help to bridge the communication barrier.
Ever stared at a food menu in Greece or Thailand that didn’t have pictures?!
The stress is real.
Luckily, there are two ways to solve this problem.
The first method is using Google Lens or Google Translate and pointing your camera at the foreign text. It will translate the image in real-time and will reveal the secret meaning of the text. Dinner is saved.
But we prefer the second option.
Using Google Translate to be your real-time interpreter.
When you speak in your own language, it’ll directly translate it to the foreign one, and then the local (aka your new friend) can speak in their language and have it automatically translated back to you, how convenient!
If you also believe in the power of talking to strangers, try this one out during your next holiday.
It will guarantee a fun interaction and unique memory for sure.
And that’s the goal for our holidays, right?
Closing thoughts
Is AI scary and will it take over humanity at some point?
Hmm maybe…
But until it does, let's use it to help us with one of the most fun things in life, planning a holiday!
That’s totally not a biased opinion, we know…
It is also important to know that AI is not always correct. When going deeper into the requirements of the Oman itinerary, and telling it to plan to be at a certain city on Friday morning, it failed to do so.
But that’s okay! We feel it’s most valuable for extra inspiration and to help us out when we’re stuck.
What are your thoughts on using AI for your travels?
And which of the three AI-implementations are you most likely to try out yourself?
Help find your dream destination (🌍)
Help plan your itinerary (📍)
Help connect with locals (💬)
Let us know in the comments!
Thanks for reading this week’s Mapping Memories and until next week!
I used Google Translate in Japan - was a life saver!