Itinerary question experiment

Just a suggestion. You need to give the AI more info about you and your wife. For example, some of the things you like to do. You like history. Your wife enjoys relaxing on a beach. Things like that. Otherwise you will get a generic response that you won’t like.

The AI can handle a lot of info. Some of the prompts we use at work are pages long. So don’t be afraid to give it more info so it can tailor the response to you.

This is an impossible question to answer in less than 10,000 words. My AI advice -- go buy a good guidebook and watch a few travel DVDs and then return with specific question we can answer based on our travel experiences.

Any decent AI will tell you not to spend 3 nights in Ostia Lido, and to visit Tivoli as a day trip from Rome.

Won't AI find this post and use it as data to formulate its answer?

I recently got promoted and asked MS Co-Pilot if it would be appropriate if I demanded my new team to sign an oath of allegiance to me. Copilot Indicated that it would be highly unprofessional and pointed me to our HR site. Copilot evidently doesn’t have a sense of humor.

My answer to your question would be skip the cruise ship, spend more time in Rome and Barcelona and anywhere in between.

The more you tell AI, the more it learns. The more it learns the sooner you will hear "I'll be back".

And if you were to post on this forum the depth of information that AI appears to require to do a good job, I suspect that you would get much better information on the forum ... with the advantage of you having context for the opinions.

Don't just rely on AI, do you own research.

Haha, good question! I know nothing about any of those places, so my recommendation would be for you to just get a couple of guide books and leaf through them, and maybe watch some YouTube videos to get an idea of the places you will be seen. Then come back here for more detailed responses.

But I think I can tell you what AI's answer will be. It will tell you, first of all, that those are great locations and you have made wonderful choices, and it's awesome that you are taking the time to plan your trip in advance. Then it will proceed to list major sites in each of those places, and at the end, it will give you some more options for it to research (or possibly organize).

What it will not do (as opposed to most people on this forum), is tell you to go search some guide books and do some of your own research first, then come back here for more detailed information. AI wants to help you! 😊

"What do you recommend we see?" is much too broad. You need to include what your interests are. You need to start a conversation. "What should I see?" is a simple Google question. That's not worthy of an AI question, in my opinion. You need to tell the AI a little about yourself and what your interests are.

In October 2026 my wife and I (aged early 60's) will be visiting Ostia Lido for 3 days and then Tivoli for three days. After that, we'll be boarding the Norwegian Epic Cruise Ship for a 7 day cruise from Rome to Barcelona. After the cruise we'll head to Zaragoza for 3 nights and then Sitges for 3 nights before flying home on WestJet to Calgary. What do you recommend we see?

Why Ostia Lido or Tivoli?

Flying in to & out from what airports? Rome/FCO & Barcelona/BCN?

...and "booked as described but no hotels or sites have been finalized" which makes me wonder what that means WRT hotels - booked but fully refundable? Or none booked? Or booked but looking for possible better recommendations?

Also missing is past experience with the Rome and Barcelona areas. I'm assuming you have spent time in both cities, and are now looking to branch out to their neighboring areas, but I could be wrong. And if NOT flying out of BCN, Barcelona->Zaragoza->Stiges seems out of order to me.

What do you recommend we see?

Without the past experience AND "why" for places like Ostia Lido, Tivoli, Zaragoza, & Stiges, it is hard to suggest much. IOW, you picked Ostia Lido for a reason, so I would assume that's the answer to your question. Or, I would phrase it..."we chose Ostia Lido to see x, y, and z, but we have three days there and would like to add some other places to see."

My easiest answer would be - based on no history - stick to Rome and explore there and then stick to Barcelona and explore there. Both those cities would offer you a few day trip options - Ostia Lido or Stiges easily - so you could have an easier time of planning things. But if you've been to both Rome and Barcelona (or hate cities or museums or something else), I'm sure you can get very specific additional ideas for all those smaller cities (and Zaragoza which is relatively large).

As others mentioned, and you may have done, using AI for travel planning requires a lot of back-and-forth with refining the prompts and really getting it to learn what you (as early 60s folks with specific interests, specific fitness, specific dietary needs, specific past experiences, strong likes/dislikes, etc.) are looking for. An example: my nephew-in-law is a very big military history buff and can spend HOURS in EACH military and military-adjacent museum in a city/region. Many of my suggestions for him and my niece's first visit to Paris did not include ANY of those museums, but luckily, they knew they wanted to include those and they had a ton to choose from. But if I (or AI) had planned their trip, boy would it have missed some of their favorite places.

Here's the text version of what AI came up with. In my opinion it's pretty impressive for my purposely vague question, and far superior and helpful than the human responses. Remember, my original post asked you to be helpful on a general question, but most failed to do so.

For your multi-leg journey in October 2026, you will experience a diverse mix of ancient Roman history, Renaissance art, and vibrant Spanish culture. Below are recommendations for each of your stops.

1. Ostia Lido (3 Days)

Ostia Lido serves as a relaxing coastal gateway before your cruise.

Ostia Antica Archaeological Park: Located just 3 km from the coast, this is one of Italy's best-preserved Roman cities. It is less crowded than the Colosseum and offers a peaceful walk through ancient streets, theaters, and mosaics.

Pontile di Ostia (Ostia Pier): A central landmark perfect for a sunset stroll and views of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Castel Fusano Pine Forest: For a change of scenery, you can take a horseback ride through this natural park just steps from the sea.

Dining: Visit the Borghetto dei Pescatori, a small, traditional fishing village area known for its unique atmosphere and fresh seafood.

1. Tivoli (3 Days)

Tivoli is a hillside treasure with three primary UNESCO-listed sites that deserve dedicated time.

Villa d'Este: Famous for its incredible Renaissance gardens and hundreds of intricate fountains, including the musical Water Organ Fountain.

Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana): The sprawling 2nd-century retreat of Emperor Hadrian. It features grand ruins, pools, and architectural experiments inspired by his travels across the empire.

Villa Gregoriana: A romantic park set in a deep gorge featuring walking paths, caves, and a spectacular 100-meter waterfall.

Local Treat: Don't miss trying ciocco, a local sweet specialty often found in the town's trattorias.

1. Norwegian Epic Cruise (7 Days)

Your cruise departs from Civitavecchia (Rome) on October 11, 2026. The standard itinerary for this sailing includes:

Salerno (Naples): Perfect for visiting the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, or the island of Capri.

Catania (Sicily): Explore the 11th-century Catania Cathedral or take an excursion to Mount Etna.

Livorno (Florence/Pisa): A gateway to the Renaissance art of Florence or the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Villefranche-sur-Mer (Nice): A charming French Riviera port near Nice and Monaco.

Marseille (Provence): Visit the Notre-Dame de la Garde for panoramic city views or head into the lavender fields of Aix-en-Provence.

1. Zaragoza (3 Nights)

Zaragoza offers a stunning blend of Roman, Moorish, and Christian history.

Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
An iconic Baroque masterpiece and one of Spain's most important religious sites.

Aljafería Palace
An 11th-century fortified Islamic palace that later served as a residence for Christian kings.

El tubo
The city's most famous tapas district. It is ideal for an evening of "tapa hopping" among local bars.

Mercado Central de Zaragoza
A beautiful historic market where you can see local life and sample Aragonese ingredients.

1. Sitges (3 Nights) Sitges is a charming seaside town known for its beaches and artistic heritage. Old Town Stroll: Walk the narrow, whitewashed streets and visit the Church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla, which sits dramatically on the waterfront.

Cau Ferrat Museum: The former home and studio of artist Santiago Rusiñol, showcasing Catalan Modernism.

Leisure: Enjoy a relaxed final three days with beachfront dining and walks along the Passeig Marítim.

Would you like more details on transportation options between these cities or specific restaurant recommendations for your stops in Spain?

Just a suggestion. You need to give the AI more info about you and
your wife.

Actually, I didn't. For a first time prompt for a broad overview I thought it was impressive.

This is an impossible question to answer in less than 10,000 words. My
AI advice -- go buy a good guidebook and watch a few travel DVDs and
then return with specific question we can answer based on our travel
experiences.

This response is sadly typical of the Forum and shows why AI is better for a start to the research.

Any decent AI will tell you not to spend 3 nights in Ostia Lido, and
to visit Tivoli as a day trip from Rome.

But you choose not to follow the request and be helpful while AI was. Why?

Won't AI find this post and use it as data to formulate its answer?

I ran it through AI again after posting and it didn't. However I did looked back on a previous TR I did on Sorrento and asked AI a question about spending 2 weeks in Sorrento and it found two posts from this Forum including my TR.

"But you choose not to follow the request and be helpful while AI was. Why?"

On the contrary, Allan, I was providing you with some good advice. My helpfulness knows no bounds. In fact, Hjelpsom is my middle name. Magnus Hjelpsom Gundersen, that's me.

I visited Ostia Antica from Rome. Ostia Lido itself is not an attractive town, which is not what AI is telling you. I don't see many people staying there just to go horseback riding or to walk along that nondescript bridge.

I visited Villa d'Este from Rome. Tivoli is no Pienza by my lights, but each to his own.

AI can provide you with a list of things to do for a week in and around Slough, England. I wouldn't want to stay there either.

AI can provide you with a list of things to do for a week in and around Slough, England. I wouldn't want to stay there either.

I'd definitely swing by the Wernham Hogg office and see if David, Gareth, or Tim were still working there! But "stay" there??? Nope.

I think you do better with questions of fact. I asked for a list of english language theater productions in Budapest in April and it found all of them, and that's not easy.

Allan,

A side note - I know that developments prevented your trip last summer to see a game at the baseball stadium in Denver. The Colorado Rockies’ season opener is today, and the home opener is in a week. Maybe they’ll do better than the predictions of many, and lose fewer than 100 games this year. Hopefully they’ll do well, and also, that conditions will permit you to visit Coors Field before too long.

Back to your original posting:

In Marseille, something I highly recommend that Ai apparently didn’t mention: Mucem, the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations, for the exterior of the building as much as its contents. Besides a memorable outdoor lunch in town, the museum was a highlight of our visit a few years ago.

I also didn’t consider that you might not be spending any time in Barcelona, but AI seems to have figured that out. Having not been to either of the Spanish destinations, I couldn’t offer any personal suggestions.

As this was an experiment, did you begin with a hypothesis, and was it confirmed by your results?

I'm a big fan of chatbots, and I use them all the time for all sorts of things. Mainly Gemini and ChatGPT. Here is the question I posed to Gemini for my upcoming trip. I changed the dates for the purpose of privacy.

"We arrive in Valencia, Spain on April 5, and we leave on April 25. We are staying very close to the Central Market. We are seniors but we are fairly fit. We like art, architecture, and history. We do not want to ride bicycles. We like to walk but will take public transportation if necessary. Please give us a day by day itinerary that fits our interests. Include 2 easy day trips. Include a visit to the Aquarium."

I won't post the response, because it is so long, but you can try this question yourself. It gave me a day by day itinerary, it included links, and maps, and it gave me 2 day trips. It's a great starting point for planning my trip. I might go back to that thread and say, "Add a day trip to Alicante. How do I get there, what would interest me there, and how do I get to that thing from the Alicante train station? Also during my time in Valencia, include a visit to the Fallas Museum." And you refine it and refine it and you wind up with a tentative plan for your trip.

AI can make some shocking mistakes, but they're getting to be fewer and fewer.

Some people will say, "You should do your own research." This is how I start my research. And I'll have Gemini and ChatGPT in my pocket when I am in Valencia so it'll be like having an expert tour guide in my pocket.

Of course, as we all know, "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy." My AI-generated itinerary is just a start. Just a rough guide. When I finally get to Valencia, it will get all scrambled up from weather, etc. But what a great tool.

I'm interested in how Ai actually uses the information you provided. For example, if you asked the same question, but said you were in your early thirties, would it make a difference in response? That is, is there any judgement involved to understand the significance of that, or to ignore the info about the cruise and your return home plans?

It seems to me that Ai just provides a consensus compilation of whatever published source material it searches. So, basically the same a a guidebook without you having to think. I see the potential usefulness of that, but I'm not ready to give up making my own judgments. And it seems like it would be too easy to be manipulated, the same way Google searches can be "sponsored."

"I'm interested in how Ai actually uses the information you provided. For example, if you asked the same question, but said you were in your early thirties, would it make a difference in response?"

You can try it yourself very easily and see what the answer is.

@ The Other Marty - did you just tell me to do my own research? 🙂

Cyn; Thanks for the tip about the Mucem. We haven't really looked at things to do on the cruise portion yet, but the museum looks right up my alley. As for baseball, Denver will be on th radar again once circumstaces change.

As for the topic, yes, I suspected for a broad overview that AI would be more helpful. Experience on this Forum has proven in the past that there are some that will be unhelpful because they want you to share more info than is required for a simple broad overview. It's exactly what the Webmaster often comments on when some topics get out of control; be nice and try to be hepfull without criticizing the OP. AI seems to understand that more than humans. Case in point was the comment that any decent AI will tell me not to spend 3 nights in Ostia Lido and to visit Tivoli as a day trip. However no thoughts were shared by the poster of why they think that way so I may as well use AI which was more expressive.

Stan, I changed my question to say I was in my early 30's but it did not affect the answer in this case.

It seems to me that Ai just provides a consensus compilation of
whatever published source material it searches. So, basically the same
a a guidebook without you having to think.

That's exactly what it does. When you ask a question it provides a summary and also gives you links to all the references it pulled information from. From there it is up to you to determine which info is useful and which isn't-like you said; like a guidebook, but quicker.

For travel questions, this Forum is often one of the sources and just lie using the forum as a form of research you have to wade through the info to figure out what parts are useful for you. For example, one question I asked in the past couple of days referred me to forum posts from 2008 and 2011 which i felt were too old to be of much value anymore. However I could ask AI a question and request that it only provide my with information that is 5 years old or newer.

Thanks Allan. I take from that that AI cannot yet provide the humanized input that would recognize the significance of mentioning your age, that you would get from some persons. It's kind of a third dimension to the question. Perhaps they will soon develop a snark feature to make AI more realistic. 🙂

Why Ostia Lido or Tivoli?

As mentioned previously, this trip was already somewhat planned before I asked the question. The question was strictly for fun, but the answers were an eyeopener regarding the benefits of AI over humans when it comes to just asking for a broad overview.

Here's some history of our upcoming trip and why decisions were made; this trip started out as a desired 1-week cruise in Greece. My wife Carla decided that we wanted to do an ocean cruise which we haven't done since 2017. We found a cruise with Celebrity that we really liked however we were having trouble justifying the $4000pp cost for a 7 day cruise. But by this time she had cruise on the brain and the itch needed to be scratched. Instead we found the NCL cruise at half the cost of the Greek cruise and decided to pivot because it also hit some spots that we wanted to see.

We'd been to a lot of major cities on our past few trips (Mexico City, London, Amsterdam) and Carla wanted to avoid large cities if possible. Thus, we decided to bypass Rome which we have been to twice before. The initial plan was Naples for a couple of days and then Capri for 4 nights prior to the cruise, however we couldn't make it work the way we wanted. Carla had also made it very clear that ocean views were a priority, thus we decided on Ostia Lido for 2 nights because we knew next time we were going to Rome, we would make a day trip to Ostia Antica. So we've booked a hotel with a balcony overlooking the ocean. Tivoli was also a planned daytrip next time we were in Rome, so we decided instead we'd head there for 3 nights and we'd figure out later how to make it interesting for that length of time. My sense is we won't have an issue.

Up next is the cruise which ends in Barcelona. We've spent a total of two days over two trips in Barcelona and neither one of us were that impressed. One day we'll spend more time, but not now. Ocean Views were still Carla's primary goal and we decided Sitges worked for 3 nights prior to heading to the airport which is only 30 minutes away. Once again, we've booked an ocean view room with a balcony and we'll figure out later what to do. Zaragoza has been on my radar for some time after seeing a photo of the Aljaferia Palace and thinking it would make a good ay trip sometime when we're in Barcelona. But like, Tivoli, Ostia Lido and Sitges we decided we'd expand our trip by a few days instead of making it a day trip.

So there you have it, the origins of this trip. I guess I could have expanded on my orignal question for this thread to keep some of you happy, but it seems to me that would have been a lot of reading to ask a simple question.

"Don't just rely on AI, do your own research "...... concisely and eloquently put.

I don't rely on Ai at all, rather doubt it can provide me the necessary , pertinent and esoteric historical info related to Napoleon in Vienna and its immediate surroundings, ie cemeteries, memorials, markers, plaques, etc, French and German military sites on WW1 in Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Fred, that's an interesting point. Have you tried to generate such information from Gemini or ChatGPT?

There's nothing like reading a book. Reading a book about something is like a data dump into your brain, which is a very good way to acquire knowledge. Books bring you knowledge you didn't know about and therefore never asked about.

Using AI is more like having a conversation with a professor of everything. But you have to lead it to what you want to know. That requires a little bit of knowledge to begin with.

I asked Gemini the following question, copied and pasted from what you wrote.

"What can you tell me about French and German military sites on WW1 in Nord-Pas-de-Calais?"

And I got a really good response. It gave me 3 French sites, 3 German sites, and 2 shared sites, with a paragraph on each one, and additional information beyond that.

Then I picked one site, Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, and asked for more information about it other than the paragraph it had already provided. And it went into great detail about it, with links to webpages on the subject, and a Google Map showing where it is. If you want more information, you can continue to ask questions, and it will continue to go deeper and deeper into the subject. Depending on what you ask, of course. Not like reading a book, but more like talking to a person who knows everything.

I did it as well and even included Fred's words "pertinent and esoteric" and Gemini came up with a concise summary along with 16 links to follow up with. I'd consider that a good start for 15 seconds of effort.

"Don't just rely on AI, do your own research "...... concisely and
eloquently put.

Nobody is saying you should just rely on AI, just like you shouldn't rely on blogs or this Forum that you may have discover doing your traditional research. AI is just Google on steroids. If we think it's OK to tell people to "Google it", isn't it OK to tell then to "AI it"?

I tried ChatGPT with the following question:

"Please give me the necessary , pertinent and esoteric historical info related to Napoleon in Vienna and its immediate surroundings, ie cemeteries, memorials, markers, plaques, etc, French and German military sites on WW1 in Nord-Pas-de-Calais."

It gave me a 1200-word answer, with links. And then it finished with:

*If you want to go deeper I can:
Map a precise walking itinerary in Vienna (Napoleon-focused, including obscure stones and cemeteries)
Do a sector-by-sector breakdown of Nord–Pas-de-Calais (Arras, Lens, Somme overlap)
Or give you German vs French memorial design philosophy (with examples and symbolism decoding)*

Not answering your specific itinerary question, but I'm been experimenting with AI too, a bit. I've been finding that even if I ask specific travel questions that include my areas of interest, I get pretty generic (to me) responses.

However, I asked it for places to see between two specific towns in France (we're staying in one, having a nice lunch in the other), and it gave me a nice, short summary. I could have gotten that info myself by looking at the map, then researching specific towns, but the AI response did it for me, faster.

Also, separately, I asked for coffee places that serve porridge near my London hotel, and it provided info that I could not have found on my own without way too much work.

So, for me, I think I need to be asking more specific questions, and keeping in mind the kind of information that AI could access faster than I can.

@ The Other Monty.....nice name , ie , in contrast to the Field Marshall or the programs. Thanks for the interesting reply.

Your answer cover a lot of ground, geographically, from the Somme to Nord-Pas-Calais. I've been to Notre Dame de Lorette, once in 2001, pretty awful in its sheer poignancy , once is enough seeing that mass cemetery. What is more striking is the time period of most of these losses sustained y the French, ie the spring of 1915.

AI came up with 3 German WW1 sites to be found in Nord-Pas-Calais. I've been to 2 in that region.

I can most likely guess one of them, which is in and of itself unique in France, most likely to be located and listed. I wonder what is the identity of the other two.

" AI is just Google on steroids." Eloquent ! True, no sole reliance on it and don't always accept it as the gospel truth.

Put to AI history questions and the answer received is not only factually incorrect but not even conceptually accurate, ie, the difference between apples and oranges.

Fred, it's "The Other Marty" not "The Other Monty." I somehow got into a thread where there were two of us named Marty, and people were confused about whom they are addressing with their replies, so I changed my name to "The Other Marty."

You say, "Put to AI history questions and the answer received is not only factually incorrect but not even conceptually accurate, ie, the difference between apples and oranges."

I encounter minor errors every now and then, but nothing like what you are describing. When AI first came out about 4 or 5 years ago, there were a lot of errors, but as of now, I find very few.

@ The Other Marty....oops, sorry !! I have a couple of history questions as examples put to AI and the answer was nothing L asked, ie you ask for "apples," so to speak, you get apples but the answer is wrong, still all right "conceptually" since the answer was apples to apples.

What I am saying: you ask the question, AI doesn't understand the concept of your query and gives an answer not only factually wrong but the answer totally doesn't resemble conceptually the question you asked, ie you ask for apples, you're giving oranges instead.

Edit to add: I've posted AL's answer in the respon section below. Quite frankly it is far superior than what the answers below provided for purposely vague question. For the record, the bones of this trip was planned over the last few weeks without using AI but AI would have saved me some time. It wasn't perfect, but it was a better start than the Forumn

Allan, I really like your experiment, and you don't have to preach about the worth of AI to me. That said, I think your experiment itself could have been a bit more accurate, maybe, if you would have done it as a blind experiment.

In other words, don't mention that you were going to be comparing the answers you received to that of AI, but instead just ask your questions, see what information you get, and then post a response AI's response, saying, "Here is what I got from AI and here is what I got from the forum."

Fred, you say, "...you ask the question, AI doesn't understand the concept of your query and gives an answer not only factually wrong but the answer totally doesn't resemble conceptually the question you asked, ie you ask for apples, you're giving oranges instead."

Can you explain that? What do you mean when you say the AI didn't understand the concept of your query? Can you give an example? Even a hypothetical example would help me understand what you mean.

@ The Other Marty......Instead of belaboring this matter with an dry-as-dust history query here, I'll send you PM.

That said, I think your experiment itself could have been a bit more
accurate, maybe, if you would have done it as a blind experiment.

Yes, that occurred to me last night.