June 4, 2025 • 33 mins
Dreaming of the perfect getaway but overwhelmed by endless planning details? You're not alone. The latest wave of travel innovation is here, and it's transforming how we discover, plan, and experience destinations around the world.
As I reveal in this episode, nearly 20% of millennials turned to artificial intelligence for trip planning in 2024 - and I'm among the growing number of travelers leveraging these powerful tools despite being decidedly outside the millennial demographic! Through extensive personal testing of platforms like ChatGPT, Grok, Google Bard, TripGenie and RoamAround, I've uncovered remarkable strategies that can save you hours of research while uncovering authentic experiences that most tourists miss completely.
Ready to transform your next adventure? Try these AI strategies for yourself, and share your experiences with me at thetravelingfool@yahoo.com – I'd love to hear how technology enhances your travels while keeping the human spirit of discovery alive!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bob (00:00):
Hi and welcome to the Traveling Fool, the show where
we explore the most intriguingaspects of travel, culture and
history.
I'm your host, Bob Bales, andtoday we are talking about using
artificial intelligence to plana trip.
I'm going to give you some tipson how to do it effectively, so
stay tuned and we'll be rightback.
(00:45):
Picture this You're dreaming ofa beach getaway, but planning
feels well overwhelming.
You're thinking about flights,hotels, sites that you want to
visit, nearby restaurants andmore.
Then, in minutes, an AI toolspits out a five-day itinerary,
complete with a hidden beach anda budget breakdown.
(01:07):
Welcome to travel in 2025.
Nearly 20% of millennials usedAI for trip planning in 2024,
and that's as per the travelindustry reports and it's
reshaping how we explore.
Now I can tell you I'm not amillennial and I have used it.
(01:27):
In fact, I use it a lot whenI'm looking to go somewhere, and
in this episode, I'm going totalk about how to craft a
personalized trip.
I'm going to cover somepractical tips and how to use AI
to our advantage, while keepingtravel human.
I've been testing AI tools formy own trips, like I said, and
(01:49):
today I'm sharing what works andwhat doesn't.
Ai tools like Chat GPT, grok,google Bard and travel apps like
TripGenie and RoamAround.
They're booming because theyprocess massive amounts of data,
flights, reviews, local events,and they do it all in seconds.
(02:15):
Searches for AI travel planninghave jumped 30% year over year,
as per Google Trends, and thatjust reflects the demand for
speed and personalization.
So how does AI work?
Well, it pulls from sourceslike Google Flights, yelp,
travel blogs, podcasts.
(02:35):
It pulls from everything outthere that it can get its hands
on, predicting preferences.
In other words, if you likestreet food, it will build an
itinerary like a three-day Hanoitrip to food stalls that you
might want to visit and pagodasif you're interested in history.
It saves hours, it uncovers allkinds of offbeat and
(02:57):
out-of-the-way places andprovides real-time updates for
weather alerts, airfare, jobs,even things like security in the
country.
But it also has a few drawbacks, and that's what you've got to
be careful of.
You risk getting genericsuggestions or missing the local
nuances, such as AI overlookinga festival or telling you about
(03:21):
one that doesn't even existanymore due to outdated data.
So while AI is a great tool fortravel planning, you've always
got to double-check stuff.
So here are some examples on howto use AI to effectively plan
your next trip.
First, you can use it forgenerating a list of like
offbeat destinations.
I love visiting places wheretourists don't go, I mean, or
(03:43):
just don't know about.
I like to discover those thingsand for years I've done it by
just wandering around andfinding them on my own.
Well, you can use AI todiscover lesser known
destinations that match yourinterests, whether it's history,
like I like, or libraries, orjust solitude, nature or parks
(04:04):
or whatever.
You can use it to find thoseplaces instead of the touristy
spots and the tools that youwant to use.
Now here's the thing AI's got alot.
There's a lot of different AItools out there, so some of them
are better than others,depending on what you're looking
for.
Now, if you're looking for likeoffbeat destinations or specific
(04:26):
type things, the tools you wantto use are ChatGPT or Google's
BARD.
They just seem to be better atit, and what you want to do is,
when it comes up to the littlesquare box that you put in the
information that you're lookingfor, just like a Google search,
it gives you a search block andyou want to prompt it.
You can put list 10 secluded UStowns with historic sites and
(04:50):
low tourist traffic.
That's ideal for a solotraveler.
Now that sounds good, right?
You're like, oh yeah, not a lotof tourists traveling solo
historic sites that's what I'mlooking for, but you really need
to be more specific.
We're going to get into this alittle bit later, but instead of
just saying low tourist sitesput in, I'm looking for a list
(05:12):
of 10 secluded US towns withhistoric sites under 5,000
visitors annually that are idealfor a solo traveler.
Cross-check your results withvarious sources out there just
to make sure everything is right, and you're going to get a list
of places that you may neverhave even heard of.
(05:32):
Now, like I said, you can use AIfor a lot of different things
when it comes to travel planning.
One of the things you can useit for is comparing flights
across multiple platforms.
Use AI and leverage it toaggregate and compare real-time
flight deals from variousbooking sites.
It saves you time and money.
Some of the AI tools you canuse which I've used are Kayak
(05:56):
Kayak has an AI price check orGoogle Flights.
All you have to do is put inputflights from New York to
Edinburgh, scotland, in June of2025.
Under $600.
And put that into GoogleFlights.
Ai scans Skyscanner, expediaand Airlines for deals.
(06:21):
You can also set price alertsin Google Flights for AI-driven
notifications on fare drops.
And here's a tip Just book yourflight sometime during the
middle of the week and you'llusually save a little bit of
money.
But instead of sitting theresearching every single website
on your own, let AI do it foryou and it'll kick back the
(06:41):
results.
Then you can go to the exactwebsite you're looking for
whether it's an airline websiteor whether it's one of the
aggregators and buy your ticket.
Saves you a lot of time andmoney.
Now I don't know about you, butwhen I travel, I like to visit a
lot of locally ownedrestaurants.
I don't want to go to the bigchain restaurant.
Trust me, I love a great steak.
(07:03):
Fancy steakhouses are great.
I could go there a lot, but Ilike to visit those places that
have been in town for 20, 30years that the locals love, and
I want to find out what'sspecial about it.
I've been to some great burgerjoints around the country, been
in business for 30, 40 years,still in the same family, and
(07:24):
they're busy, and when you getthere and you try the food, you
understand why.
Well, I want to go to visitthose places so you can use AI
to find locally ownedrestaurants.
The tools you want to use areGrok Now if you can't tell by my
accent, that's G-R-O-K grok orperplexity.
(07:47):
That's another AI tool that youcan use.
They're really good at this.
So what you do is you put inthere your prompt.
Now I'm getting ready to headout on a trip to Abilene, kansas
, and Hays, kansas, and someother places.
I'm going to be gone for awhile, so I wanted to find
locally owned restaurants thatmaybe I could check out when
(08:08):
I've got some time.
So I put in a prompt findlocally owned restaurants in
Abilene, kansas, that haveauthentic Kansas barbecue,
avoiding the tourist traps.
Well, it spits out immediatelythe Hickok, and then it goes on
to tell you it's a outimmediately the Hickok.
And then it goes on to tell youit's a newer addition to the
Abilene dining scene.
It opened in 2024.
(08:29):
It specializes in Kansas-stylebarbecue.
Now it also gives me menu ideasas well as prices.
It tells me to get the brisketplate with apple slaw and
jalapeno beans for $15, or gofor the Branding Iron Burger,
which is a quarter or a halfpound patty.
I don't know if I want this one, but it comes with peanut
butter, bacon, jalapeno jelly$12 to $15.
(08:52):
They say, don't forget to getthe million dollar bacon.
I do love bacon, Thick cut andsweet spicy appetizer for $6.
Tells you the estimated costfor eating.
There is between $15 to $25 perperson, and it goes on.
Just a whole lot of other stuff.
Now, if you don't want that,I'll put back in there.
(09:12):
Well, find me locally ownedrestaurants in Abilene, kansas,
that have been in business forat least 20 years, avoiding the
tourist traps.
And immediately it gives me JoeSnuffy's old-fashioned grill.
We're talking about kind ofplace.
Now, again, it gives me JoeSnuffy's Old Fashioned Grill.
We're talking about kind ofplace.
Now, again, it gives me menuideas with prices, tips on the
best time to visit, why it'spopular, and just a whole bunch
(09:36):
of other stuff.
Another one that kicks out isAmanda's Bakery and Bistro.
Okay has the same type ofinformation.
So immediately I mean I'mtalking within 30 seconds you
put the criteria you want inthere and it will spit out some
suggestions for you to check out.
Now here's a tip that you canuse when you're putting your
(09:57):
little search in there Ask forrestaurants that have high local
reviews on Yelp or TripAdvisoror Google.
Another example how to create abudget breakdown you can use AI
to estimate your trip costs,flights, lodging, activities
(10:18):
based on your budget and thedestination you're going to.
The tools you might want to usefor this one are ChatGPT or
Copilot.
They're great at doing this.
For the prompt that you want tosearch for, just tell it.
Estimate a seven-day solo tripor family trip or trip with two
kids, whatever it is.
Estimate a seven-day solo tripbudget to Edinburgh, scotland,
(10:43):
including flights from Chicago,budget, lodging and historic
site visits for under $1,500.
And you're going to get thewhole shebang.
It's going to kick out allkinds of stuff.
This is what you need to spendfor flights.
This is how you're going tosome ideas for hotels and this
(11:04):
is what they're going to cost.
This is what entry fees aregoing to run.
This is what publictransportation is going to cost
you when you get there.
Here's some tips on where tobuy cards to get you the best
deals for the publictransportation.
It's going to kick out just aton of information and you can
request a breakdown by category.
(11:24):
I want it broken down bytransportation how much food is
going to cost?
And you can request a breakdownby category.
I want it broken down bytransportation how much food is
going to cost?
And you can compare that withother sites just to see if
you're in the ballpark.
Compare it with places likeExpedia.
They have a cost estimator foraccuracy.
Now you got to remember this isnot perfect.
Ai is not your travel agent yetwho knows what's going to
(11:47):
happen in a few years?
But it's going to get you a tonof information that is very
close to being extremely,extremely accurate and perfect.
So you still have to checkthings.
You have to double-checkbudgets with things like
Expedia's cost estimator, or youhave to check, okay, is this
(12:08):
festival still going wrong?
But it's going to get youeverything that you need, which
brings us to another example.
You can discover the hiddencultural events that go on,
things like local festivals orevents that are not listed in
mainstream guides.
You know, I love going toplaces where they have some kind
of local thing going on,because you just get to meet
everybody, especially when I gooverseas.
(12:30):
I mean, I love traveling to USA, don't get me wrong.
There's places in this countrythat are absolutely fantastic
and the people are great and Ihad a blast, but I don't know,
man, it's just something aboutgoing to a foreign country and
getting immersed into theirculture.
Well, if you're looking forhidden cultural events, the
tools that you want to use areGoogle's BARD or Perplexity, and
(12:55):
I got to tell you, though, whenI'm giving you these
suggestions for these AI tools,I would almost always put Grok
in there as one of the standbys,because it searches a lot of
the AI tools when you're doingthis thing, but you want to put
a prop in there when you'relooking for cultural events, and
what you want to put in therefor the search block is we'll
(13:15):
stay with the Scotland theme.
I don't know why.
I've never been to Scotland,but I've wanted to visit for a
while.
Find small cultural festivalsin Scotland for June of 2025,
small cultural festivals inScotland for June of 2025, like
music or folklore events thathave low tourist attendance.
I don't want to go to afestival that's being put on by
(13:36):
a bunch of tourists.
I want to go to local festivalsand you can even add that some
more in there that are insmaller towns, and then you just
cross-check that event detailswith the local tourism site.
You can go to visitscotlandcomor you can go to the local town
tourism site and justdouble-check Okay, is this event
(13:59):
still going on?
Oh, no, it was wrong.
They moved it a week.
Okay, well, I know they'll bethere the following week.
So you just take theinformation it gives you and
double check it with the localwebsites.
So here's another example.
You can optimize publictransportation routes.
I don't use publictransportation in Texas.
It's just not practical.
(14:20):
I mean driving in a vehicle.
It takes you, oh Lord, an hourand a half, two hours to get
across town.
Sometimes, where I live inHouston, some cities in the
United States have great publictransportation.
Houston doesn't.
It's just flat, not practical.
But overseas, in foreigncountries, public transportation
is great and I've used it tonsof times.
(14:42):
Well, ai can plan an efficientbus or train route for car-free
travels.
It'll save you time and money.
The things you want to use forthe public transportation routes
are Google Maps with AI routing.
Or there's this website calledRome, the number two, rio, rome
to Rio.
It tells you how to get fromone place to another.
(15:04):
So you can enter Edinburgh toSt Andrews by train or bus June
of 2025.
Put that in the Rome to Riosite or Google Maps and it'll
tell you all kinds of info, butit'll suggest how to do it the
best.
It'll tell you to go to ScottTrains or Scott Rail Trains.
It's a one-hour trip, it costs$15, and it gives you the
(15:27):
schedules.
Or you can use Google Maps anduse the Explorer function on the
Google Maps.
It's a feature and it'll giveyou real-time transit updates.
Buy your tickets early viatrain line and you get even more
money off.
And it tells you all this.
When you're doing thesesearches on AI, it'll give you
very detailed explanations ofwhere to get the best prices,
(15:51):
best times to travel and justall kinds of stuff.
So, just be detailed when youenter the information in there
and, trust me, you're going tosave time and money.
All right, when you're traveling, you want to take a lot of
photos, right?
Well, I do.
And then you've got theInstagram warriors out there who
want to get the perfect shot.
You know, standing by thewaterfall or whatever, I don't
(16:11):
know.
Everybody's a photographer withphones these days, because the
cameras in the phones are greatand you want to show off those
photos.
Well, ai can give you somegreat shot suggestions.
It'll suggest the bestlocations and the time of day
for your photos, whether it'searly morning, interest, or it
(16:33):
tailors it to all thesedestinations and for this, use
chat, gpt or Grok.
Here's what you want to put inthe search block Give me a list
of five early morningphotography spots in Edinburgh
for sunrise shots, including theviewpoints and the landmarks,
(16:53):
and it will just spit out verydetailed instructions on where
to get that perfect photo from.
And you don't have to.
I mean, you got your ownpersonal photography assistant
right at your fingertips.
You can put in there.
Give me a list of five shotsthat I can take in the evening
(17:13):
to get that perfect scenic viewof the city, and it's going to
spit it out.
Verify spots that it gives youby going to places like
Instagram or Flickr, which is abig site that people use to
store their photos, and you cango through there and look at
everybody's photos.
Or you just do a Google imagesearch and look for shots like
(17:37):
that and you can see what othershave done.
You go oh yeah, I want to getsomething like this.
So use AI to give you thosesuggestions of the locations,
the times of where to get thesegreat photography shots.
Another example you can identifyunique lodging options If you
don't want to stay at the bigchain hotels or you want to stay
(17:59):
somewhere that you can tellsomebody about.
I mean, I've been to a lot ofplaces and rarely do I come home
and go.
I just stayed at the mostfantastic Ramada Hotel.
You never tell that story.
You tell about the placesyou've been.
However, you might tellsomebody if you stayed at a
haunted hotel or a really coolbed and breakfast or some kind
(18:20):
of place that's just not youraverage place.
Well, you can use AI to findthese quirky or historic
accommodations, like I don'tknow, the Driscoll Hotel in
Austin or Gold Hill Hotel, whichI stayed at in Nevada the
oldest hotel in Nevada.
It was just cool.
Those are the hotels that youremember.
So you can use it to findhaunted inns or whatever you're
(18:44):
looking for to give you amemorable stay.
The tools you want to use forthis are Perplexity or Copilot.
Now, when I'm giving you thesesuggestions on which tool to use
, you can use any of them, butthose two or the ones I give you
for each scenario, those seemto work better and give you
different options, and they justwork better for various
(19:07):
scenarios.
So Perplexity or Copilot arethe best to use when you're
looking for unique lodging andyou can put it there find unique
, historic lodging in Abilene,kansas, like Haunted Bread
Breakfast or a Victorian Inn,with rates under $150 a night.
I did that and put it intoperplexity.
(19:29):
Automatically it pops outAbilene's Victorian Inn Bread
and Breakfast historic lodgingexperience.
It gives me a map.
It tells me where to get to it.
It tells you a little bit aboutits home of somebody named
Swede Haslett, who was PresidentEisenhower's lifelong friend.
(19:49):
It gives you all kinds ofinformation about it.
Also tells me about a placecalled Ingle House Bed and
Breakfast which is on theNational Register of Historic
Places.
It's a home, Spanish Colonialhouse that was built in 1926 by
(20:11):
the founder of United Telephone.
It tells you about the property, where it's located and why
it's perfect for travelers whowant a self-catered experience
in a unique setting in a uniquesetting.
So AI can spit out these placesthat you might not find if
you're going to booking dot comto look for a place to stay.
(20:31):
But all you have to do is, whenit gives you the information,
like I said with all of theexamples I'm giving you, you
just want to cross-check it withother resources.
So with lodging, you just wantto cross-check it with Airbnb.
Look up the specific thing it'stelling you, or go to booking
dot com or expedia dot com andjust check to see what the
(20:53):
availability is, read the guestreviews and check out the guest
reviews on TripAdvisor or Googleor Yelp or whatever to see how
the property stacks up.
Ai can even give you some things.
Especially if you're travelinginternationally, you might want
to learn a few phrases such aswhere's bathroom or where's the
(21:17):
police station.
No, I mean, you want to learn afew local phrases to help you
get by.
So AI translation tools canhelp you learn key phrases that
will help you connect withlocals and enhance your
experience while you're there.
For these, you use GoogleTranslate or there's another
site called Deep L, the letter L, d-e-e-p-l, and you just input
(21:45):
Scottish Gaelic phrases forgreeting locals and it will kick
out what it is, along with thepronunciation and how to do it.
Practice phrases via Google'sTranslate Audio feature and just
ask the locals why you're there.
Hey, did I say that?
Right?
And they're like no, you wereasking for a purple umbrella,
(22:06):
whatever it is, but I havelearned it was.
When you travel overseas, ifyou know one or two words in the
local language, they seem tojust really appreciate it more.
Hey, this guy is.
You know he said it like anidiot, but he's tried, for
whatever reason it seems to openup a lot more avenues of things
, simple things like goodmorning, hello, thank you,
(22:30):
various little terms andterminology that you can use, no
matter where you're travelingto.
Whether it's Scotland, germany,hong Kong, tokyo, doesn't
matter.
Just learn a few phrases.
Ai can teach you how to do it.
It'll make your trip a wholelot better.
Now here's another one, a greatexample, but this one you
definitely definitely need todouble check on.
(22:53):
You can research visa and entryrequirements.
It'll just quickly spit outvisa rules, health requirements,
travel advisories for yourdestination.
Use Grok or Google's BARD, andit can be simple searches like
what are the visa andvaccination requirements for a
US citizen traveling to Thailandin June of 2025?
(23:15):
It's going to kick out theinformation real quick.
It's going to say you need avisa.
You can get it upon arrival.
It's good for so many days.
If you need any kind ofvaccinations which, if I
remember correctly when I went,I didn't need any It'll just
kick it all out.
Here's the thing.
(23:35):
You need to go to other sitesand double check it, especially
with these visa requirements.
Things change and you verifythe response you're getting with
the official sites such astravelstategov, the US's travel
site, or go to the country'sembassy and check it for
accuracy.
Us has embassies fromeverywhere and just look up thai
(24:01):
embassy or consulate and justdouble check it.
But for just initial searchingand quick referencing.
It's great you say you knowI've always wanted to go to bali
.
I keep seeing the beautifulphotos of it.
I'd like to go there before thetourists ruin it totally.
Well, just type in their visaand travel requirements for us
citizens traveling to bali indecember of 2025 and it's going
(24:26):
to kick it out and you go.
Huh, my passport needs to bevalid for at least six months
after I arrive.
I don't know if it is Okay.
Maybe I ought to get a newpassport before I do anything
else.
So it's going to give you thequick information and then you
can just double-check it withthe official country's websites.
(24:47):
Here's another one Find secludedbeaches or natural sites.
It can pinpoint remote,low-traffic beaches for parks or
whatever for solitude.
Use chat, gpt or perplexity.
Again, just simple searches.
List five secluded sandybeaches in Florida that get
minimal visitors, accessible bypublic transportation, and you
(25:09):
can get specific.
You know that various accessdetails that I have to hike to
get to or that I can park closeby, or and just check crowd
levels from other sources.
We're going to start goingthrough the rest of these a
little quick.
Another example generate packingtips for specific trips.
(25:29):
It can create a tailoredpacking list based on the
destination, the weather, theactivities, ensuring that you
are prepared for where you'regoing.
Certain parts of Asia if you goduring certain times of the
year, you're in monsoon season.
Certain parts of Europe getvery cold in the wintertime.
So it can create a greatpacking list for your trip using
(25:54):
Copilot or ChatGPT, simpleprompt again Create a packing
list for a seven-day solo tripto Scotland in June of 2025,
including photography gear andrain protection, and it's going
to kick out a list.
You can even ask for specificweather items like what is the
weather normally like in June?
(26:16):
What are the temperatures like?
It's going to give you theselists so you might want to pack
a light coat if you're going tobe there in September or October
.
Oh, I didn't know, it got downthat cold that early.
So just use it for general orvery general type packing lists.
(26:36):
Here's another example you cananalyze traveler reviews for
insights about the places you'regoing to.
It can summarize reviews forhotels, restaurants or
attractions to identifyauthentic, locally favored spots
.
Those you want to use arePerplexity or Grok, and you can
just simply summarize, put inthere.
(26:56):
Summarize TripAdvisor reviewsfor locally owned restaurants in
Edinburgh highlightingnon-touristy options, or
summarize TripAdvisor, yelp andGoogle reviews.
Put all three of them in thereand just cross-reference it for
yourself.
Go to a couple of these sitesand check them out.
You can use AI to planaccessible travel for specific
(27:19):
needs.
I'm an old retired army guy.
My knees are shot.
I don't like going up steephills or having to climb a lot
of stuff.
Going up and down hills orsteep inclines tears my knees up
to the point I can barely walk.
So you can put it.
Or you've got relatives orfamily members that might be on
(27:40):
crutches because they hurt afoot or might be in a wheelchair
or whatever.
Well, ai can find specificaccessible attractions, lodging
or transportation that willinclude travel for specific
needs.
Use AI tools like Google's BARDor ChatGPT and it can be a
(28:02):
simple list ofwheelchair-accessible historic
sites and hotels in Edinburghfor Solo Traveler in June of
2025.
And it's going to kick out thehotels that have accessible
features and historic sites thatare easy to get to.
It's not going to tell youabout the castle that you've got
to climb up a hill to get toand there's nothing but all
(28:24):
these steps and stuff.
Instead, it's going to give youvery detailed things and you
can even put a little moresearch information in there.
Very detailed things and youcan even put a little more
search information in there.
Request detailed accessibilityinfo, like places that have
ramps, elevators, and then justconfirm it with the venue before
you go.
Just double-check it.
If you go into a historic site,they've all got emails.
(28:46):
Just shoot them an email.
So, that's a lot of informationthat AI can give you for
planning your trip.
So what's it look like in thefuture?
Lord knows, but they areanticipating that by 2030, ai
(29:17):
could integrate with augmentedreality, letting you walk a
destination virtually before youever get there.
And I don't know, man.
Is it a good thing?
Is it a bad thing?
Will AI make travel too robotic?
You know there's something tobe said about stumbling upon a
street party in a place you'revisiting and the intimacy of
just finding things on your ownand exploring.
So I guess the thing you wantto do is use AI as a guide and
(29:40):
not the end-all tools foreverything.
And here's the key when doing anAI search for trip planning,
instead of typing in, give me afive-day itinerary for visiting
London, type in a very detailedquestion based on your interests
, and I'm going to give you anexample.
When I do a search and I'mlooking for an itinerary or
(30:02):
specific things in this thing,in this example, I'm going to
give you an itinerary.
I get very detailed and you caneven get more detailed than
what I go into here.
But here's something that Iwould typically search for.
I am visiting London for thefirst time and will be traveling
solo.
I will be arriving by plane atHeathrow Airport on a Tuesday in
(30:23):
the morning and departing thefollowing Monday in the early
evening.
I want to visit historiclocations out of the way,
interesting things that don'tsee a lot of tourists.
I want to try restaurants andpubs where the locals go and not
the tourists.
I want to stay in a modest,priced hotel in a convenient
part of the city where I cantake advantage of public
(30:45):
transportation, gift me adetailed itinerary along with
hotel suggestions on how toeffectively use public
transportation without me havingto be rushed but taking time to
enjoy the city.
Now I put that exact search intoa couple of sites.
It took all of 30 secondsbefore it started spitting out
(31:05):
tons of information it wasgiving me.
It gave me three specifichotels, told me what the price
ranges were, told me why thosehotels fit my criteria, where
they were located in the city,how close they were to public
transportation hubs.
It gave me suggestions on whereto eat, why it was popular with
(31:26):
the locals, why tourists don'tgo there.
They just don't know about it.
All kinds of little,out-of-the-way historic
locations.
It didn't spit out the big ones, because when I went in there
and did a search I said I wantinteresting places that tourists
don't visit.
So it didn't give me BuckinghamPalace and the Horse Guards and
(31:47):
Westminster Abbey.
None of them.
Westminster Abbey, none of them.
It spit out a ton of otherplaces, like the Freud Museum
and from Sigmund Freud and justall kinds of little, obscure and
unknown little places that Ihad never heard of.
That those are the places youwant to visit.
Well, I do anyway.
Yeah, I want to visit the hotspots, but I want to visit those
(32:10):
little out-of-the-way placesthat people just don't know
about.
So get very detailed whenyou're doing these searches and
you'll get a lot of information.
So here's the deal.
Ai saves you time.
You can personalize your trip.
It'll find all kinds of littlehidden gems, but it'll pair it
with human curiosity, for, youknow, authentic adventures.
(32:31):
Next time you're getting readyto go somewhere, try an AI tool
for your next trip and justshoot me an email at
thetravelingfool at yahoocom, oreditor at thetravelingfoolcom.
Let me know how it goes for you.
Tell me what you found out,what you liked about it, didn't
like about it.
Maybe I'll talk about it on afuture episode, but that's it
for this week's episode.
I really appreciate youlistening.
(32:52):
If you like the podcast, hitthe like button, do me a favor,
email it to somebody and shareit with them.
Maybe they'll like it too.
And until next time, well, safetravels, thank you.
Hi and welcome to the Traveling Fool, the show where
we explore the most intriguingaspects of travel, culture and
history.
I'm your host, Bob Bales, andtoday we are talking about using
artificial intelligence to plana trip.
I'm going to give you some tipson how to do it effectively, so
stay tuned and we'll be rightback.
(00:45):
Picture this You're dreaming ofa beach getaway, but planning
feels well overwhelming.
You're thinking about flights,hotels, sites that you want to
visit, nearby restaurants andmore.
Then, in minutes, an AI toolspits out a five-day itinerary,
complete with a hidden beach anda budget breakdown.
(01:07):
Welcome to travel in 2025.
Nearly 20% of millennials usedAI for trip planning in 2024,
and that's as per the travelindustry reports and it's
reshaping how we explore.
Now I can tell you I'm not amillennial and I have used it.
(01:27):
In fact, I use it a lot whenI'm looking to go somewhere, and
in this episode, I'm going totalk about how to craft a
personalized trip.
I'm going to cover somepractical tips and how to use AI
to our advantage, while keepingtravel human.
I've been testing AI tools formy own trips, like I said, and
(01:49):
today I'm sharing what works andwhat doesn't.
Ai tools like Chat GPT, grok,google Bard and travel apps like
TripGenie and RoamAround.
They're booming because theyprocess massive amounts of data,
flights, reviews, local events,and they do it all in seconds.
(02:15):
Searches for AI travel planninghave jumped 30% year over year,
as per Google Trends, and thatjust reflects the demand for
speed and personalization.
So how does AI work?
Well, it pulls from sourceslike Google Flights, yelp,
travel blogs, podcasts.
(02:35):
It pulls from everything outthere that it can get its hands
on, predicting preferences.
In other words, if you likestreet food, it will build an
itinerary like a three-day Hanoitrip to food stalls that you
might want to visit and pagodasif you're interested in history.
It saves hours, it uncovers allkinds of offbeat and
(02:57):
out-of-the-way places andprovides real-time updates for
weather alerts, airfare, jobs,even things like security in the
country.
But it also has a few drawbacks, and that's what you've got to
be careful of.
You risk getting genericsuggestions or missing the local
nuances, such as AI overlookinga festival or telling you about
(03:21):
one that doesn't even existanymore due to outdated data.
So while AI is a great tool fortravel planning, you've always
got to double-check stuff.
So here are some examples on howto use AI to effectively plan
your next trip.
First, you can use it forgenerating a list of like
offbeat destinations.
I love visiting places wheretourists don't go, I mean, or
(03:43):
just don't know about.
I like to discover those thingsand for years I've done it by
just wandering around andfinding them on my own.
Well, you can use AI todiscover lesser known
destinations that match yourinterests, whether it's history,
like I like, or libraries, orjust solitude, nature or parks
(04:04):
or whatever.
You can use it to find thoseplaces instead of the touristy
spots and the tools that youwant to use.
Now here's the thing AI's got alot.
There's a lot of different AItools out there, so some of them
are better than others,depending on what you're looking
for.
Now, if you're looking for likeoffbeat destinations or specific
(04:26):
type things, the tools you wantto use are ChatGPT or Google's
BARD.
They just seem to be better atit, and what you want to do is,
when it comes up to the littlesquare box that you put in the
information that you're lookingfor, just like a Google search,
it gives you a search block andyou want to prompt it.
You can put list 10 secluded UStowns with historic sites and
(04:50):
low tourist traffic.
That's ideal for a solotraveler.
Now that sounds good, right?
You're like, oh yeah, not a lotof tourists traveling solo
historic sites that's what I'mlooking for, but you really need
to be more specific.
We're going to get into this alittle bit later, but instead of
just saying low tourist sitesput in, I'm looking for a list
(05:12):
of 10 secluded US towns withhistoric sites under 5,000
visitors annually that are idealfor a solo traveler.
Cross-check your results withvarious sources out there just
to make sure everything is right, and you're going to get a list
of places that you may neverhave even heard of.
(05:32):
Now, like I said, you can use AIfor a lot of different things
when it comes to travel planning.
One of the things you can useit for is comparing flights
across multiple platforms.
Use AI and leverage it toaggregate and compare real-time
flight deals from variousbooking sites.
It saves you time and money.
Some of the AI tools you canuse which I've used are Kayak
(05:56):
Kayak has an AI price check orGoogle Flights.
All you have to do is put inputflights from New York to
Edinburgh, scotland, in June of2025.
Under $600.
And put that into GoogleFlights.
Ai scans Skyscanner, expediaand Airlines for deals.
(06:21):
You can also set price alertsin Google Flights for AI-driven
notifications on fare drops.
And here's a tip Just book yourflight sometime during the
middle of the week and you'llusually save a little bit of
money.
But instead of sitting theresearching every single website
on your own, let AI do it foryou and it'll kick back the
(06:41):
results.
Then you can go to the exactwebsite you're looking for
whether it's an airline websiteor whether it's one of the
aggregators and buy your ticket.
Saves you a lot of time andmoney.
Now I don't know about you, butwhen I travel, I like to visit a
lot of locally ownedrestaurants.
I don't want to go to the bigchain restaurant.
Trust me, I love a great steak.
(07:03):
Fancy steakhouses are great.
I could go there a lot, but Ilike to visit those places that
have been in town for 20, 30years that the locals love, and
I want to find out what'sspecial about it.
I've been to some great burgerjoints around the country, been
in business for 30, 40 years,still in the same family, and
(07:24):
they're busy, and when you getthere and you try the food, you
understand why.
Well, I want to go to visitthose places so you can use AI
to find locally ownedrestaurants.
The tools you want to use areGrok Now if you can't tell by my
accent, that's G-R-O-K grok orperplexity.
(07:47):
That's another AI tool that youcan use.
They're really good at this.
So what you do is you put inthere your prompt.
Now I'm getting ready to headout on a trip to Abilene, kansas
, and Hays, kansas, and someother places.
I'm going to be gone for awhile, so I wanted to find
locally owned restaurants thatmaybe I could check out when
(08:08):
I've got some time.
So I put in a prompt findlocally owned restaurants in
Abilene, kansas, that haveauthentic Kansas barbecue,
avoiding the tourist traps.
Well, it spits out immediatelythe Hickok, and then it goes on
to tell you it's a outimmediately the Hickok.
And then it goes on to tell youit's a newer addition to the
Abilene dining scene.
It opened in 2024.
(08:29):
It specializes in Kansas-stylebarbecue.
Now it also gives me menu ideasas well as prices.
It tells me to get the brisketplate with apple slaw and
jalapeno beans for $15, or gofor the Branding Iron Burger,
which is a quarter or a halfpound patty.
I don't know if I want this one, but it comes with peanut
butter, bacon, jalapeno jelly$12 to $15.
(08:52):
They say, don't forget to getthe million dollar bacon.
I do love bacon, Thick cut andsweet spicy appetizer for $6.
Tells you the estimated costfor eating.
There is between $15 to $25 perperson, and it goes on.
Just a whole lot of other stuff.
Now, if you don't want that,I'll put back in there.
(09:12):
Well, find me locally ownedrestaurants in Abilene, kansas,
that have been in business forat least 20 years, avoiding the
tourist traps.
And immediately it gives me JoeSnuffy's old-fashioned grill.
We're talking about kind ofplace.
Now, again, it gives me JoeSnuffy's Old Fashioned Grill.
We're talking about kind ofplace.
Now, again, it gives me menuideas with prices, tips on the
best time to visit, why it'spopular, and just a whole bunch
(09:36):
of other stuff.
Another one that kicks out isAmanda's Bakery and Bistro.
Okay has the same type ofinformation.
So immediately I mean I'mtalking within 30 seconds you
put the criteria you want inthere and it will spit out some
suggestions for you to check out.
Now here's a tip that you canuse when you're putting your
(09:57):
little search in there Ask forrestaurants that have high local
reviews on Yelp or TripAdvisoror Google.
Another example how to create abudget breakdown you can use AI
to estimate your trip costs,flights, lodging, activities
(10:18):
based on your budget and thedestination you're going to.
The tools you might want to usefor this one are ChatGPT or
Copilot.
They're great at doing this.
For the prompt that you want tosearch for, just tell it.
Estimate a seven-day solo tripor family trip or trip with two
kids, whatever it is.
Estimate a seven-day solo tripbudget to Edinburgh, scotland,
(10:43):
including flights from Chicago,budget, lodging and historic
site visits for under $1,500.
And you're going to get thewhole shebang.
It's going to kick out allkinds of stuff.
This is what you need to spendfor flights.
This is how you're going tosome ideas for hotels and this
(11:04):
is what they're going to cost.
This is what entry fees aregoing to run.
This is what publictransportation is going to cost
you when you get there.
Here's some tips on where tobuy cards to get you the best
deals for the publictransportation.
It's going to kick out just aton of information and you can
request a breakdown by category.
(11:24):
I want it broken down bytransportation how much food is
going to cost?
And you can request a breakdownby category.
I want it broken down bytransportation how much food is
going to cost?
And you can compare that withother sites just to see if
you're in the ballpark.
Compare it with places likeExpedia.
They have a cost estimator foraccuracy.
Now you got to remember this isnot perfect.
Ai is not your travel agent yetwho knows what's going to
(11:47):
happen in a few years?
But it's going to get you a tonof information that is very
close to being extremely,extremely accurate and perfect.
So you still have to checkthings.
You have to double-checkbudgets with things like
Expedia's cost estimator, or youhave to check, okay, is this
(12:08):
festival still going wrong?
But it's going to get youeverything that you need, which
brings us to another example.
You can discover the hiddencultural events that go on,
things like local festivals orevents that are not listed in
mainstream guides.
You know, I love going toplaces where they have some kind
of local thing going on,because you just get to meet
everybody, especially when I gooverseas.
(12:30):
I mean, I love traveling to USA, don't get me wrong.
There's places in this countrythat are absolutely fantastic
and the people are great and Ihad a blast, but I don't know,
man, it's just something aboutgoing to a foreign country and
getting immersed into theirculture.
Well, if you're looking forhidden cultural events, the
tools that you want to use areGoogle's BARD or Perplexity, and
(12:55):
I got to tell you, though, whenI'm giving you these
suggestions for these AI tools,I would almost always put Grok
in there as one of the standbys,because it searches a lot of
the AI tools when you're doingthis thing, but you want to put
a prop in there when you'relooking for cultural events, and
what you want to put in therefor the search block is we'll
(13:15):
stay with the Scotland theme.
I don't know why.
I've never been to Scotland,but I've wanted to visit for a
while.
Find small cultural festivalsin Scotland for June of 2025,
small cultural festivals inScotland for June of 2025, like
music or folklore events thathave low tourist attendance.
I don't want to go to afestival that's being put on by
(13:36):
a bunch of tourists.
I want to go to local festivalsand you can even add that some
more in there that are insmaller towns, and then you just
cross-check that event detailswith the local tourism site.
You can go to visitscotlandcomor you can go to the local town
tourism site and justdouble-check Okay, is this event
(13:59):
still going on?
Oh, no, it was wrong.
They moved it a week.
Okay, well, I know they'll bethere the following week.
So you just take theinformation it gives you and
double check it with the localwebsites.
So here's another example.
You can optimize publictransportation routes.
I don't use publictransportation in Texas.
It's just not practical.
(14:20):
I mean driving in a vehicle.
It takes you, oh Lord, an hourand a half, two hours to get
across town.
Sometimes, where I live inHouston, some cities in the
United States have great publictransportation.
Houston doesn't.
It's just flat, not practical.
But overseas, in foreigncountries, public transportation
is great and I've used it tonsof times.
(14:42):
Well, ai can plan an efficientbus or train route for car-free
travels.
It'll save you time and money.
The things you want to use forthe public transportation routes
are Google Maps with AI routing.
Or there's this website calledRome, the number two, rio, rome
to Rio.
It tells you how to get fromone place to another.
(15:04):
So you can enter Edinburgh toSt Andrews by train or bus June
of 2025.
Put that in the Rome to Riosite or Google Maps and it'll
tell you all kinds of info, butit'll suggest how to do it the
best.
It'll tell you to go to ScottTrains or Scott Rail Trains.
It's a one-hour trip, it costs$15, and it gives you the
(15:27):
schedules.
Or you can use Google Maps anduse the Explorer function on the
Google Maps.
It's a feature and it'll giveyou real-time transit updates.
Buy your tickets early viatrain line and you get even more
money off.
And it tells you all this.
When you're doing thesesearches on AI, it'll give you
very detailed explanations ofwhere to get the best prices,
(15:51):
best times to travel and justall kinds of stuff.
So, just be detailed when youenter the information in there
and, trust me, you're going tosave time and money.
All right, when you're traveling, you want to take a lot of
photos, right?
Well, I do.
And then you've got theInstagram warriors out there who
want to get the perfect shot.
You know, standing by thewaterfall or whatever, I don't
(16:11):
know.
Everybody's a photographer withphones these days, because the
cameras in the phones are greatand you want to show off those
photos.
Well, ai can give you somegreat shot suggestions.
It'll suggest the bestlocations and the time of day
for your photos, whether it'searly morning, interest, or it
(16:33):
tailors it to all thesedestinations and for this, use
chat, gpt or Grok.
Here's what you want to put inthe search block Give me a list
of five early morningphotography spots in Edinburgh
for sunrise shots, including theviewpoints and the landmarks,
(16:53):
and it will just spit out verydetailed instructions on where
to get that perfect photo from.
And you don't have to.
I mean, you got your ownpersonal photography assistant
right at your fingertips.
You can put in there.
Give me a list of five shotsthat I can take in the evening
(17:13):
to get that perfect scenic viewof the city, and it's going to
spit it out.
Verify spots that it gives youby going to places like
Instagram or Flickr, which is abig site that people use to
store their photos, and you cango through there and look at
everybody's photos.
Or you just do a Google imagesearch and look for shots like
(17:37):
that and you can see what othershave done.
You go oh yeah, I want to getsomething like this.
So use AI to give you thosesuggestions of the locations,
the times of where to get thesegreat photography shots.
Another example you can identifyunique lodging options If you
don't want to stay at the bigchain hotels or you want to stay
(17:59):
somewhere that you can tellsomebody about.
I mean, I've been to a lot ofplaces and rarely do I come home
and go.
I just stayed at the mostfantastic Ramada Hotel.
You never tell that story.
You tell about the placesyou've been.
However, you might tellsomebody if you stayed at a
haunted hotel or a really coolbed and breakfast or some kind
(18:20):
of place that's just not youraverage place.
Well, you can use AI to findthese quirky or historic
accommodations, like I don'tknow, the Driscoll Hotel in
Austin or Gold Hill Hotel, whichI stayed at in Nevada the
oldest hotel in Nevada.
It was just cool.
Those are the hotels that youremember.
So you can use it to findhaunted inns or whatever you're
(18:44):
looking for to give you amemorable stay.
The tools you want to use forthis are Perplexity or Copilot.
Now, when I'm giving you thesesuggestions on which tool to use
, you can use any of them, butthose two or the ones I give you
for each scenario, those seemto work better and give you
different options, and they justwork better for various
(19:07):
scenarios.
So Perplexity or Copilot arethe best to use when you're
looking for unique lodging andyou can put it there find unique
, historic lodging in Abilene,kansas, like Haunted Bread
Breakfast or a Victorian Inn,with rates under $150 a night.
I did that and put it intoperplexity.
(19:29):
Automatically it pops outAbilene's Victorian Inn Bread
and Breakfast historic lodgingexperience.
It gives me a map.
It tells me where to get to it.
It tells you a little bit aboutits home of somebody named
Swede Haslett, who was PresidentEisenhower's lifelong friend.
(19:49):
It gives you all kinds ofinformation about it.
Also tells me about a placecalled Ingle House Bed and
Breakfast which is on theNational Register of Historic
Places.
It's a home, Spanish Colonialhouse that was built in 1926 by
(20:11):
the founder of United Telephone.
It tells you about the property, where it's located and why
it's perfect for travelers whowant a self-catered experience
in a unique setting in a uniquesetting.
So AI can spit out these placesthat you might not find if
you're going to booking dot comto look for a place to stay.
(20:31):
But all you have to do is, whenit gives you the information,
like I said with all of theexamples I'm giving you, you
just want to cross-check it withother resources.
So with lodging, you just wantto cross-check it with Airbnb.
Look up the specific thing it'stelling you, or go to booking
dot com or expedia dot com andjust check to see what the
(20:53):
availability is, read the guestreviews and check out the guest
reviews on TripAdvisor or Googleor Yelp or whatever to see how
the property stacks up.
Ai can even give you some things.
Especially if you're travelinginternationally, you might want
to learn a few phrases such aswhere's bathroom or where's the
(21:17):
police station.
No, I mean, you want to learn afew local phrases to help you
get by.
So AI translation tools canhelp you learn key phrases that
will help you connect withlocals and enhance your
experience while you're there.
For these, you use GoogleTranslate or there's another
site called Deep L, the letter L, d-e-e-p-l, and you just input
(21:45):
Scottish Gaelic phrases forgreeting locals and it will kick
out what it is, along with thepronunciation and how to do it.
Practice phrases via Google'sTranslate Audio feature and just
ask the locals why you're there.
Hey, did I say that?
Right?
And they're like no, you wereasking for a purple umbrella,
(22:06):
whatever it is, but I havelearned it was.
When you travel overseas, ifyou know one or two words in the
local language, they seem tojust really appreciate it more.
Hey, this guy is.
You know he said it like anidiot, but he's tried, for
whatever reason it seems to openup a lot more avenues of things
, simple things like goodmorning, hello, thank you,
(22:30):
various little terms andterminology that you can use, no
matter where you're travelingto.
Whether it's Scotland, germany,hong Kong, tokyo, doesn't
matter.
Just learn a few phrases.
Ai can teach you how to do it.
It'll make your trip a wholelot better.
Now here's another one, a greatexample, but this one you
definitely definitely need todouble check on.
(22:53):
You can research visa and entryrequirements.
It'll just quickly spit outvisa rules, health requirements,
travel advisories for yourdestination.
Use Grok or Google's BARD, andit can be simple searches like
what are the visa andvaccination requirements for a
US citizen traveling to Thailandin June of 2025?
(23:15):
It's going to kick out theinformation real quick.
It's going to say you need avisa.
You can get it upon arrival.
It's good for so many days.
If you need any kind ofvaccinations which, if I
remember correctly when I went,I didn't need any It'll just
kick it all out.
Here's the thing.
(23:35):
You need to go to other sitesand double check it, especially
with these visa requirements.
Things change and you verifythe response you're getting with
the official sites such astravelstategov, the US's travel
site, or go to the country'sembassy and check it for
accuracy.
Us has embassies fromeverywhere and just look up thai
(24:01):
embassy or consulate and justdouble check it.
But for just initial searchingand quick referencing.
It's great you say you knowI've always wanted to go to bali
.
I keep seeing the beautifulphotos of it.
I'd like to go there before thetourists ruin it totally.
Well, just type in their visaand travel requirements for us
citizens traveling to bali indecember of 2025 and it's going
(24:26):
to kick it out and you go.
Huh, my passport needs to bevalid for at least six months
after I arrive.
I don't know if it is Okay.
Maybe I ought to get a newpassport before I do anything
else.
So it's going to give you thequick information and then you
can just double-check it withthe official country's websites.
(24:47):
Here's another one Find secludedbeaches or natural sites.
It can pinpoint remote,low-traffic beaches for parks or
whatever for solitude.
Use chat, gpt or perplexity.
Again, just simple searches.
List five secluded sandybeaches in Florida that get
minimal visitors, accessible bypublic transportation, and you
(25:09):
can get specific.
You know that various accessdetails that I have to hike to
get to or that I can park closeby, or and just check crowd
levels from other sources.
We're going to start goingthrough the rest of these a
little quick.
Another example generate packingtips for specific trips.
(25:29):
It can create a tailoredpacking list based on the
destination, the weather, theactivities, ensuring that you
are prepared for where you'regoing.
Certain parts of Asia if you goduring certain times of the
year, you're in monsoon season.
Certain parts of Europe getvery cold in the wintertime.
So it can create a greatpacking list for your trip using
(25:54):
Copilot or ChatGPT, simpleprompt again Create a packing
list for a seven-day solo tripto Scotland in June of 2025,
including photography gear andrain protection, and it's going
to kick out a list.
You can even ask for specificweather items like what is the
weather normally like in June?
(26:16):
What are the temperatures like?
It's going to give you theselists so you might want to pack
a light coat if you're going tobe there in September or October
.
Oh, I didn't know, it got downthat cold that early.
So just use it for general orvery general type packing lists.
(26:36):
Here's another example you cananalyze traveler reviews for
insights about the places you'regoing to.
It can summarize reviews forhotels, restaurants or
attractions to identifyauthentic, locally favored spots
.
Those you want to use arePerplexity or Grok, and you can
just simply summarize, put inthere.
(26:56):
Summarize TripAdvisor reviewsfor locally owned restaurants in
Edinburgh highlightingnon-touristy options, or
summarize TripAdvisor, yelp andGoogle reviews.
Put all three of them in thereand just cross-reference it for
yourself.
Go to a couple of these sitesand check them out.
You can use AI to planaccessible travel for specific
(27:19):
needs.
I'm an old retired army guy.
My knees are shot.
I don't like going up steephills or having to climb a lot
of stuff.
Going up and down hills orsteep inclines tears my knees up
to the point I can barely walk.
So you can put it.
Or you've got relatives orfamily members that might be on
(27:40):
crutches because they hurt afoot or might be in a wheelchair
or whatever.
Well, ai can find specificaccessible attractions, lodging
or transportation that willinclude travel for specific
needs.
Use AI tools like Google's BARDor ChatGPT and it can be a
(28:02):
simple list ofwheelchair-accessible historic
sites and hotels in Edinburghfor Solo Traveler in June of
2025.
And it's going to kick out thehotels that have accessible
features and historic sites thatare easy to get to.
It's not going to tell youabout the castle that you've got
to climb up a hill to get toand there's nothing but all
(28:24):
these steps and stuff.
Instead, it's going to give youvery detailed things and you
can even put a little moresearch information in there.
Very detailed things and youcan even put a little more
search information in there.
Request detailed accessibilityinfo, like places that have
ramps, elevators, and then justconfirm it with the venue before
you go.
Just double-check it.
If you go into a historic site,they've all got emails.
(28:46):
Just shoot them an email.
So, that's a lot of informationthat AI can give you for
planning your trip.
So what's it look like in thefuture?
Lord knows, but they areanticipating that by 2030, ai
(29:17):
could integrate with augmentedreality, letting you walk a
destination virtually before youever get there.
And I don't know, man.
Is it a good thing?
Is it a bad thing?
Will AI make travel too robotic?
You know there's something tobe said about stumbling upon a
street party in a place you'revisiting and the intimacy of
just finding things on your ownand exploring.
So I guess the thing you wantto do is use AI as a guide and
(29:40):
not the end-all tools foreverything.
And here's the key when doing anAI search for trip planning,
instead of typing in, give me afive-day itinerary for visiting
London, type in a very detailedquestion based on your interests
, and I'm going to give you anexample.
When I do a search and I'mlooking for an itinerary or
(30:02):
specific things in this thing,in this example, I'm going to
give you an itinerary.
I get very detailed and you caneven get more detailed than
what I go into here.
But here's something that Iwould typically search for.
I am visiting London for thefirst time and will be traveling
solo.
I will be arriving by plane atHeathrow Airport on a Tuesday in
(30:23):
the morning and departing thefollowing Monday in the early
evening.
I want to visit historiclocations out of the way,
interesting things that don'tsee a lot of tourists.
I want to try restaurants andpubs where the locals go and not
the tourists.
I want to stay in a modest,priced hotel in a convenient
part of the city where I cantake advantage of public
(30:45):
transportation, gift me adetailed itinerary along with
hotel suggestions on how toeffectively use public
transportation without me havingto be rushed but taking time to
enjoy the city.
Now I put that exact search intoa couple of sites.
It took all of 30 secondsbefore it started spitting out
(31:05):
tons of information it wasgiving me.
It gave me three specifichotels, told me what the price
ranges were, told me why thosehotels fit my criteria, where
they were located in the city,how close they were to public
transportation hubs.
It gave me suggestions on whereto eat, why it was popular with
(31:26):
the locals, why tourists don'tgo there.
They just don't know about it.
All kinds of little,out-of-the-way historic
locations.
It didn't spit out the big ones, because when I went in there
and did a search I said I wantinteresting places that tourists
don't visit.
So it didn't give me BuckinghamPalace and the Horse Guards and
(31:47):
Westminster Abbey.
None of them.
Westminster Abbey, none of them.
It spit out a ton of otherplaces, like the Freud Museum
and from Sigmund Freud and justall kinds of little, obscure and
unknown little places that Ihad never heard of.
That those are the places youwant to visit.
Well, I do anyway.
Yeah, I want to visit the hotspots, but I want to visit those
(32:10):
little out-of-the-way placesthat people just don't know
about.
So get very detailed whenyou're doing these searches and
you'll get a lot of information.
So here's the deal.
Ai saves you time.
You can personalize your trip.
It'll find all kinds of littlehidden gems, but it'll pair it
with human curiosity, for, youknow, authentic adventures.
(32:31):
Next time you're getting readyto go somewhere, try an AI tool
for your next trip and justshoot me an email at
thetravelingfool at yahoocom, oreditor at thetravelingfoolcom.
Let me know how it goes for you.
Tell me what you found out,what you liked about it, didn't
like about it.
Maybe I'll talk about it on afuture episode, but that's it
for this week's episode.
I really appreciate youlistening.
(32:52):
If you like the podcast, hitthe like button, do me a favor,
email it to somebody and shareit with them.
Maybe they'll like it too.
And until next time, well, safetravels, thank you.
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