The short answer
The best AI prompts for travel planning give the AI your travellers, dates, pace, budget level and fixed points, then ask for a destination shortlist, a day-by-day itinerary grouped by area, a budget table and a list of what to check. Perplexity is best for current research because every answer cites its sources, and ChatGPT is the best all-rounder for building the plan. Always confirm prices, opening times and entry rules on official sources.
What AI is good at in trip planning, and what you must check yourself
AI is very good at the thinking part of travel: matching destinations to what you actually enjoy, putting sights in a sensible order so you are not crossing a city three times a day, pacing a trip for children or older relatives, and turning a messy list of ideas into a day-by-day plan. These 13 prompts cover those jobs from the first "where should we go?" to the last packing list.
What AI is not good at is anything that changes. Prices, flight times, opening hours, ticket rules, closures, strikes and entry requirements change often, and a chatbot can give you last year's answer with total confidence, even when it searches the web. Before you book or travel, check every price, opening time and entry rule on official sources: the airline, rail operator or hotel's own site, the attraction's official website, and your government's travel advice and the destination country's official embassy or immigration pages for visas, passports and health rules. Every prompt below asks the AI to mark what needs checking, so you know where to look.
For the full method, see our guide on how to plan a trip with AI.
Prompts to decide where and when to go
Shortlist destinations that fit us works when you know what kind of trip you want but not where. Give it your budget level, dates, travel time limit and the things you love or hate, and ask it to explain each match. Compare two destinations honestly puts your final two side by side on the things that matter to you. When is the best time to go? covers weather, crowds and local holidays, which is exactly the kind of general pattern AI knows well, though you should still check event dates.
Prompts to build the itinerary
Build a day-by-day itinerary is the core prompt. The details that make it good are your pace ("no more than two big sights a day"), your fixed points (arrival time, a booked dinner) and asking it to group places by area. Add a plan B for each day gives you indoor or low-energy alternatives for rain, jet lag or tired children. Check my itinerary for problems reviews a plan you already made and points out unrealistic travel times and days that are too full.
Prompts for budget, booking and packing
Estimate a budget with a check column gives you a rough cost table by category, with a column showing where you must confirm the real price. Treat its numbers as a starting point only. What should I book in advance? lists the things that commonly sell out or need timed tickets, so you know what to look up on official sites first. Make a packing list for this trip is built from your actual itinerary, weather and activities.
Prompts for practicalities and local knowledge
List the entry questions I must check does not answer visa or passport questions for you. It builds a checklist of what to confirm and which official body to confirm it with, which is the safe way to use AI here. Teach me local etiquette and phrases covers tipping, greetings, dress codes for religious sites and ten phrases worth knowing. Plan around dietary or access needs helps you prepare questions for restaurants and hotels, and phrases to explain an allergy.
Prompts to use on the trip
Translate and explain this menu or sign works with a photo in ChatGPT, whose free plan includes a limited number of uploads, or in Gemini. For severe allergies, never rely on an AI translation alone: show staff a written allergy card and ask them directly. Our best AI for translation page compares the options.
How to adapt these prompts
- Describe the travellers. Ages, mobility, interests and how much walking everyone enjoys change the plan more than the destination does.
- Give fixed points. Arrival and departure times, the hotel area and anything already booked.
- State a budget level, not just a number. "Mid-range, happy to splurge on one great dinner" tells the AI where to spend.
- Ask for a "check" column. Make the AI flag every price, time or rule you must confirm on an official site.
- Keep the trip in one chat or document. Then you can say "swap day 2 and day 4" instead of starting over.
Which AI tool works best for travel planning
Perplexity is our pick for research that needs to be current, such as recent reviews, what is open this season or what changed at an attraction, because it searches the web and answers with numbered citations you can open. Perplexity's pricing page describes its free plan as good for limited daily usage, with citations in every answer, and its help centre says the free plan includes only a very limited number of Pro Searches. See our Perplexity guide and ChatGPT vs Perplexity.
ChatGPT is the best all-rounder for brainstorming and building the itinerary itself, and its free plan runs on GPT-6 Luna. Gemini works without a subscription and includes Deep Research on the free plan, which is useful for a long background read on a destination. Claude is strong at turning your plan into a tidy document; Claude Docs, on every plan including Free, exports to Word, PDF, Markdown and Google Docs, so you can share the itinerary with everyone travelling.
Whichever you use, the citations or links an AI gives you are a shortcut to the source, not a replacement for it. Open them, and confirm anything that costs money or could stop you boarding. Our guide on checking if AI is telling the truth and our best AI for research page explain how.
Prompts to copy
Shortlist destinations that fit us
Suggest five destinations for a [length] trip in [month] for [travellers, e.g. two adults in their 30s]. We are travelling from [city], want no more than [hours] of travel each way, have a [budget level] budget, love [interests] and dislike [dislikes]. For each destination explain why it fits, the main downside, and what I should check on official sources before deciding.
You get: Five reasoned options with honest downsides
Compare two destinations honestly
Compare [destination A] and [destination B] for [travellers] in [month]. Use a table covering typical weather, crowds, getting around, food, things to do for [interests], how far our budget goes, and travel time from [city]. Then tell me which you would pick for us and why. Mark anything that changes often so I can check it.
You get: A side-by-side table and a clear recommendation
When is the best time to go?
When is the best time to visit [destination] for [interests]? Give me a month-by-month view of typical weather, crowd levels and major local holidays or festivals, and say which months are a good compromise between weather and crowds. Remind me which dates I should confirm on official tourism or event sites.
You get: A month-by-month guide to pick your dates
Build a day-by-day itinerary
Plan a [number]-day itinerary for [destination] for [travellers]. We arrive [day, time] and leave [day, time], and we are staying in [area]. Our pace is [relaxed or packed], with no more than [number] major sights a day. Group places by neighbourhood to avoid backtracking, include lunch areas, and add a column marking which places need tickets or have opening times I must check on their official websites.
You get: A realistic, area-by-area plan with a check column
Add a plan B for each day
Here is my itinerary: [paste itinerary]. For each day, add one indoor or low-energy alternative for bad weather or tiredness, in the same area as the original plan, so we do not lose time travelling. Keep each alternative to two lines.
You get: A backup option for every day of the trip
Check my itinerary for problems
Review this itinerary as an experienced travel planner: [paste itinerary]. Point out days that are too full, unrealistic travel times between stops, places that are commonly closed on certain weekdays (so I can confirm), and anything that would work better in a different order. Suggest specific fixes.
You get: A list of problems and fixes before you book
Estimate a budget with a check column
Estimate a rough budget for [travellers] spending [number] nights in [destination] at a [budget level] level. Make a table with categories (accommodation, local transport, food, attractions, extras), a low and high estimate per category, and a column saying where to confirm the real price. Say clearly that these are estimates, not current prices.
You get: A starting budget that shows what to price-check
What should I book in advance?
For a trip to [destination] in [month], list the things travellers commonly need to book in advance, such as timed-entry attractions, popular restaurants, trains or tours. For each, say how far ahead people usually book and where to book it officially. Do not invent prices or availability.
You get: A booking checklist to work through on official sites
Make a packing list for this trip
Make a packing list for [travellers] for [number] days in [destination] in [month]. Activities: [list]. Luggage: [e.g. carry-on only]. Group it by category, mark the items people most often forget, and add a short list of documents and chargers to check the night before.
You get: A packing list built around your real plans
List the entry questions I must check
I hold a [nationality] passport and I am travelling to [country] for [purpose and length], via [any transit countries]. Do not tell me the rules. Instead, list every entry question I need to check (visa or travel authorisation, passport validity, transit rules, customs, health requirements) and name the official source to check each one, such as my government's travel advice or the destination's official immigration site.
You get: A checklist of entry rules and where to confirm them
Teach me local etiquette and phrases
I am visiting [destination]. Explain the local etiquette I should know: greetings, tipping, dress codes for religious sites, table manners and anything that commonly offends visitors. Then give me ten useful phrases in [language] with simple pronunciation.
You get: A quick cultural briefing and a phrase list
Plan around dietary or access needs
I am travelling to [destination] with [need, e.g. a severe nut allergy, a wheelchair user, a vegan diet]. Give me the questions to ask hotels, restaurants and attractions before booking, a short card in [local language] explaining the need clearly, and tips for finding suitable places. Remind me what I must confirm directly with each provider.
You get: Questions, a translated card and practical tips
Translate and explain this menu or sign
Translate this [menu, sign or ticket] from the photo into English. For a menu, explain each dish in one line, flag dishes that commonly contain [allergens or ingredients to avoid], and say where you are unsure of the translation.
You get: A translation with uncertain parts flagged