Can AI help you plan your dream vacation?

What would your 100% personalized dream vacation look like? Would you go museum-trotting in a big city or island-hopping in the Mediterranean? Maybe you prefer a sweeping road trip across multiple countries, sleeping in a different city every night? 

Whatever it may look like for you, coordinating it yourself can be frustrating. Booking every hotel room along the way, buying museum tickets in multiple cities, or plotting a route across a continent can be a headache. If that feels like too much of a hassle, Guide to Europe offers a solution that could revolutionize travel. 

“AI is the foundation of our travel packages. We use AI, along with route, geography, destination and attraction data to craft an optimized itinerary that visits the best destinations and attractions along a carefully planned route” says Saga Úlfarsdóttir, the head of product at Guide to Europe. 

Tens of thousands of detailed travel itineraries have already been created this way, for any type of trip you could imagine, all over Europe. The traveler can simply book it with one click, automatically reserving multiple accommodations, rental cars, tickets, and whatever else is included in their dream trip assembled by AI. 

“Travelers are increasingly searching for vacations that fit their personal needs and tastes, instead of just ‘one-size-fits-all.’” says Saga, “your idea of a perfect beach vacation doesn’t necessarily align with your grandmother’s idea of one.” 

Your very own AI travel buddy 

You know that comforting feeling when you’re visiting a friend in a city you’ve never been to, and they know all the best places to go and things to do? It’s the perfect way to explore a foreign city with little to no effort, knowing you can always rely on your local friend not to lead you astray. But if you don’t have a friend in, say, Budapest, can AI step in the role of the “local expert” and tell you exactly where to go based on your interests? 

In the last couple of years, generative AI has truly broken into the mainstream. The most popular is ChatGPT by OpenAI, which has an estimated 180 million users, and it just keeps growing. Some users have experimented with using AI to create an itinerary of their own for their travels with mixed results. While ChatGPT has no problem gathering information across the web to create a travel plan based on the user’s input, it can be lacking when it comes to logistics. 

Last year, a woman’s AI-generated travel itinerary in Vietnam went viral, which suggested she visit the famous Ba Na Hills, located a whopping 500 miles from Hanoi, where she was staying! She used her impeccable human logic to forgo that part of the journey, but remarked that overall, she had a positive experience. When you don’t have intimate knowledge of the places you’re visiting, it helps to have someone leading the way, and that’s where Guide to Europe has an advantage. 

A revolution in travel 

The time-saving aspect of using AI to create an itinerary can’t be overstated. While some people enjoy the painstaking planning and research, learning everything there is to know about each individual cobblestone in the historic city center they’re visiting, others prefer to be taken along for the ride. 

Imagine that you’re going on a two-week vacation and could simply input what you’re looking for, what places you want to visit, or activities to engage in, and AI would create a travel plan from start to finish based on your wishes. “We are constantly working on improving and have exciting features in development that will give users even more power for customizing their itinerary” says Saga. 

Guide to Europe is a relatively new travel platform that’s quickly been gaining traction in the world of travel for its convenience of use and its all-in-one-place solution. What started 12 years ago as Guide to Iceland has now expanded its services from the charming volcanic island to the entire continent of Europe. 

The use of AI has already transformed highly important fields such as healthcare and manufacturing and shows no signs of slowing down, so it sure feels like the AI revolution in travel is just around the corner.