Travel Tip 86
How to use AI to plan your trip
AI might have a lot of info for Paris, but it struggles with places like Ayacucho. If you’re an off the beaten path traveler, AI won’t be much help.
If you laughed at this title and thought “there is no way to use AI to plan a trip,” I’m with you 99% of the way. However, while AI still comes back with a lot of ridiculous answers, some programs are getting better at travel planning.
Take AI travel planning with a bucket of salt
You still have to feed it a lot of information and you still have to check for errors. There will be mistakes, some more obvious and some funnier than others. It’s best for popular destinations, like Cusco, but less helpful for travelers who want to stay off the beaten path.
After checking out many travel planning AI bots, I found three that are somewhat worthwhile. I asked all three the same question: What are the best places to learn about Inca history?
Mindtrip
I like how Mindtrip’s response comes with a map, so you can see where each recommended place is. It still has some errors that are commonly found on the internet, such as that Sacsayhuamán was a military fortress. (Read my Sacsayhuamán blog to see why that’s wrong).
It definitely interpreted “best” as most popular. I think that’s unavoidable with AI at this point. Unless you’re good at explaining to a bot what best means to you, it’s just going to regurgitate what it finds most often on the web.
I appreciate that the list ended with “Remember, to fully appreciate these sites, it's a good idea to hire a local guide or take a tour that specializes in Inca history. They can provide valuable insights and information that you might not get otherwise.” That’s the best advice I’ve seen from AI.
Vacay
With the same question, Vacay came back with a list of Machu Picchu, Cusco, Lima, and the Sacred Valley. I certainly wouldn’t put Lima higher than the Sacred Valley, unless you prefer learning in museums to learning from living people.
I appreciate that each of the four destinations recommended came with sublists, offering more details. However, the replies I got from Vacay were the shallowest of the three bots I’m reviewing in this newsletter.
GeekGuide
This is a chatbot from Matador, which has published several of my articles about Peru. The main disadvantage is that you have to chat from either Whatsapp, Facebook, or Instagram. I chose Whatsapp and, though it was convenient, I would have preferred an interface with images and maps.
All the information was correct, though responses were very short. It looked like most of it was gleaned from articles that I wrote for Matador. This was the easiest, but the least satisfying of these three options.
Huacachina was one of my favorite places that I went with Destinos Ica.
Article
Luxury Latin America published my review of Destinos Ica. Click on the link above to see the pros and cons of booking with Destinos Ica.
Peru’s Best has all of Peru’s hidden gems, like Waqra Pukará, that AI won’t be able to help you with.
Travel Guide
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