Small StepsA lot of articles and Influencers are recommending using AI technology to help plan your trips. While I think it’s a great aid and reference to get started, in my experience, there are a lot of flaws in its itineraries. AI can only use the information it finds and learns online, that means it’s looking for the most popular answers and compiling them together in a way it thinks makes sense.
But we, as humans know what is actually capable in a day, and also quite frankly, how long it takes to get between all these plans and the paths that make the most sense. So while AI might be able to give the bullet points, I don’t feel it really has the flow of travel down, let alone the spur of the moment fun. I’ll break down a few of my main reasons below and how I think you can best utilize AI for your future trips.
Breaking Down an AI Example Itinerary
Here is an example a day I pulled from Google’s new AI, Bard, for a 2 week trip recommendation to Tokyo, Japan. I’ve been to Tokyo 5 times, so I’m well versed in what to see and do (articles coming soon). I’ve shared my notes in the “My Notes” column of the table.
AI Itinerary (AM)
| AI Plan | My Notes |
| Arrive in Tokyo and check into your hotel. | |
| Visit the Sensō-ji Temple, the oldest and most famous Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Take a walk through the bustling Nakamise shopping street. | Sensoji Temple should absolutely be on your list. But your experience will differ whether you go during the day or at night. During the day it has a bustling shopping street with souvenirs and delicious foods. But at night it is calm and beautifully lit up. It’s one of my favorites to for an evening visit. What AI doesn’t understand is part of a trip and plan is the timing and personality of the traveler. For those that love shopping and bustling atmospheres you should go during the day, for those that prefer quiet and peaceful temples with beautiful lights, go at night. |
| Visit the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest structure in Japan. | I recommend going to the Tokyo Metropolitan building for a view of Tokyo – it’s free and less crowded while still offering incredible views. Often there is a pianist playing there as well. When I went there was someone playing the Mario theme song on the piano. |
AI Itinerary (PM)
| Spend a day exploring the Harajuku district, known for its unique fashion and youth culture. | Spending an entire day in Harajuku may be a bit of a stretch. The popular shopping area in Harajuku is a bit of a tourist trap and claustrophobic, but the surrounding streets and area is really unique and fun to explore. Especially its proximity to Yoyogi Park. |
| Visit the Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. | Absolutely recommend Meiji shrine, best to go early and enjoy it to its fullest. But you would usually visit before Harajuku instead of afterwards based on the subways stops and because you might be tired after walking and want to have a quick refresh at a cafe in Harajuku. |
| Take a walk through the serene Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.Experience the nightlife in Shinjuku, Tokyo’s most vibrant nightlife district. | Shinjuku Park should be on everyone’s Tokyo list, but based on the day above – spending a day in Harajuku, visiting Meiji Shrine, Skytree, and Sensoji – this is impossible! You’ll be going all around Tokyo. Also, Shinjuku Park is not open all day and you need ticketed entry. |
Overly Generalized AI Itinerary
AI pulls the most popular places from data gathered online. This means you are going to get the most generalized itinerary that should appeal to the most people. But, that also means if every single person followed the same guide you’d be missing out on 99% of what the destination truly has to offer. Especially for your unique taste.
Doesn’t Account for the Personality of the Traveler
Every single person has a unique personality and wants to experience different things on vacation. Some people want to curl up with a book on the beach and lounge all day; Others are adventurers and want to try and see everything they possibly can, etc. AI is not robust enough to take all of our unique intricacies into account.
The itinerary included would not appeal to an introvert with an aversion for crowds. Sensoji in the day time and Harajuku are both packed! At first glance, it may appeal more to someone chasing excitement and the hustle and bustle. But that same person may find Shinjuku Park or Meiji Shrine less interesting compared to the excitement of the city. It’s all so relative, and because it tries to appeal to as many people as possible, it’s extremely general. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t think it’s the most efficient way to plan a trip. Unless we want everyone in the world to do the exact same things on their vacations.
I think travel bloggers and Influencers take our inherit uniqueness into account more when planning itineraries. Many even come up with unique itineraries based on different personality types or travelers. AI is a great general starting point. But you would need to modify and research other lists to find exactly what the location has to offer for you.
I think a better way to research would be looking up: “Introverts guide to Tokyo”, “Quiet spots to relax in Tokyo” or “Best nightlife spots in Shinjuku”, etc. Finding specific guides for what you’re looking for, rather than general lists you need to research further.
Unrealistic Time-frames
One of the biggest flaws I’ve found with AI travel itineraries is the poorly organized and timed plans. As you can see from the day recommended above, the amount of locations for a 12-15 hour day is completely unrealistic. To give you some context: Let’s say your hotel is in Shibuya and you start your day at 8AM. Your first stop is 45 minutes away at Sensoji Temple. If you spend 2 hours there, it’s now ~11AM. Next, you ride the subway for 10 minutes to get to Sky Tree. Then spend about 1 hour there and ride the subway another 45 minutes. Arriving around 1PM in Harajuku and grab lunch. It’s now 2PM.
You walk around Harajuku for at least 2-3 hours. Now it’s 5PM and you are starving, but want to visit Meiji Shrine. But! You’ll have to hurry, it closes at sunset. So you rush to Meiji Shrine and then head over to Shinjuku for dinner. Completely missing Yoyogi Park. Then you’ll take the subway for about 20 minutes and arrive around 6:30PM. By this point Shinjuku Park is already closed (closes at 4PM). You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy Shinjuku night life. But you missed out on the two great parks and rushed your day at the other locations for the day.
The amount of subway trips and spread of the locations is simply not an efficient use of a travel day. Being unfamiliar with a city you are relying on accurate and efficient information. Unfortunately, AI simply isn’t ready to properly compile that yet. It’s also not giving you much room for error with such a jam-packed day!
Inaccurate Information
AI should take business hours into consideration when recommending itineraries. But let’s face it – you’ll still need to double check all of this information yourself. For instance, if you request a 10 day itinerary and the AI day 3 recommendation falls on the day a business is closed, you’ll need to adjust that day. But if you’re not familiar with your location you could easily miss this and make a mistake. For example, in Italy a lot of businesses take a break during the afternoon. AI itineraries may not take this into account or make you aware of it.
In the example above, AI doesn’t take travel time into account. This means Shinjuku park would absolutely be closed by the time you make it to that area. You’re also spending almost 3 hours of your day on the subway!
Final Thoughts on AI Itineraries
Overall, AI is a great asset, but I don’t think it’s there yet when it comes to travel itineraries. There is a reason travel agents still exist and travel blogs and vlogs are so popular – human touch. People understand how to build efficient travel plans: which places locals actually visit, how to get from A-to-B, when places may be closed, etc.
I think every one of us would rather get information from a friend who recently visited a country. Rather than an AI recommendation. I think of travel writers as a stand-in for a friend. Especially when you adjust your research and search to complement your vacation goals.
That isn’t to say AI is useless. It’s an excellent starting point and gives you a quick look at the top recommendations and how you could possibly organize your days. Will I be using it for my next trip? Sure – to get started. But after that I’ll be comparing it to what real people say and recommend based on how I want to experience my next destination. So go ahead and give AI a try. But please take it with a grain of salt. Make a vacation plan that you’ll enjoy, not one that everyone else should.
