Plan a multi-city trip by train and bus, with hotels near each station
Adrian, a retiree from Salt Lake City who spent 40 years in corporate finance, used ChatGPT to plan a 10-day trip to Ireland and Scotland with her husband. They didn't want to drive or walk too much, so she asked for a route by bus and train, then for small, basic hotels close to each station.
What they did
She told ChatGPT where they wanted to go, how many days they had, that they would get around only by bus and train because they were nervous about renting a car, that they were older and couldn't do a lot of walking, and that they wanted basic hotels. It came back with three kinds of trips: classic highlights, scenic beauty, and culture. They mixed parts of each into a route from Dublin to Belfast, a ferry to Scotland, then Glasgow, Falkirk, and Edinburgh. Next she asked for small, inexpensive hotels or B&Bs near each train station with twin beds, and it listed several in each city.
How it went
She called the trip a complete success and wrote, "AI was brilliant." She still did plenty of her own research and booking. One snag: Edinburgh was full during its summer festival season, so they stayed in a university dorm instead. She also warned about being overcharged by a taxi on arrival.
Worth knowing
AI can suggest hotels that have closed, changed, or are farther from the station than it says, and it doesn't know about festivals or sold-out dates unless you ask. Check each hotel's location on a map and book through the hotel or a well-known booking site. Confirm train, bus, and ferry times on the operators' official websites, check big events in each city before you pick dates, and agree on a taxi fare or use an official taxi stand.
Try it yourself
Copy this into ChatGPT (or any AI assistant). Replace the parts in [brackets] with your own details.
We're two [age range] travelers planning a [number]-day trip to [countries or cities] in [month]. We'll travel only by train and bus, and we'd like to keep walking to a minimum. Please: 1) Suggest two or three route options with how many nights in each place, and travel time between stops. 2) For each city, suggest the kind of area to stay in so we're close to the station, and what to look for in small, basic hotels or B&Bs with [twin beds / an elevator / other needs]. 3) Tell me about festivals or busy seasons that could make rooms hard to find. 4) List what I should double-check on official websites before booking.
Source: Adrian (Adrian's Crazy Life), Adrian's Crazy Life (blog), Nov 4, 2023. Read the original →
First-hand account by the person who did it. Summarized in our own words.
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