Did AI Give Me an Itinerary That Worked in Real Life?
Haarlem, The Netherlands
In my last blog post before leaving for Amsterdam, I talked about using AI to create a travel itinerary. I was curious to see if it was practical, and I was prepared to throw it out, if necessary.
Shannon and I arrived at our B&B in Haarlem exactly 24 hours after starting our travel day in St. Louis. Our host, Henk, met us at the door and carried our suitcases up the narrow, curving stairway to the breakfast room.
He offered us something to drink and proceeded to give an overview of Haarlem and attractions in the area. When he was finished, I asked if he would take a look at the AI itinerary.
Haarlem, check. Utrecht, check. Amsterdam, check. He worked his way through the four-page itinerary, approving everything except one point. “Meridien Castle” was scheduled for the same day as Zaanse Schans, and he’d never heard of Meridien Castle. Strike One for AI. Henk made a few suggestions about what it could be instead, and I said I would look into it.
I had typed “Meridien” in my original query, so it was definitely my fault. It may have been an autocorrect that I didn’t catch; however, AI didn’t question the fact that there was no “Meridien Castle” in the area. It confidently told me to “Travel to Meridien Castle (likely requires a train + taxi/bus, confirm exact details ahead of time).” The fact that AI didn’t provide specific train information should have been a red flag. The correct destination was Muiderslot, a castle in Muiden outside Amsterdam.
With the exception of the castle, we stuck with the itinerary and it proved to be a smooth, practical schedule until we got to The Hague.
AI told us to visit the Mauritshuis Museum early to minimize crowds, and then walk to the Binnenhof and Escher in the Palace for the afternoon. When we got to Central Station at The Hague on Monday morning, it was huge and busy. AI said to walk to the Mauritshuis, but I needed a minute to get my bearings. The Starbucks at the edge of the station looked like a perfect spot.
Over a nice, American-style grande, we found out the Mauritshuis didn’t open until 1 p.m. that day. Strike Two for AI. Then we found that the Binnenhof was being renovated and wasn’t open at all. Strike Three for AI. Instead, we headed for the Madurodam miniature attraction. Shannon and I had both seen videos of it and were interested, so we headed for the tram. (More on that amazing place in another post.) After Madurodam, we hopped on a tram going the wrong direction before turning around toward the Mauritshuis. Along the way, we saw the beautiful Peace Palace and then got off the tram right by the Binnenhof.
Even though the Binnenhof was closed, a temporary tower was constructed that allowed views down into the courtyard and the Knights’ Hall. We climbed the tower and took in the views. Afterwards, we tried the classic Dutch sandwich, broodje haring (herring, raw onions, pickles), at a stand at the foot of the tower.
After a long day of trains, trams, walking, and climbing, we decided to skip the Mauritshuis and walked back to the central train station.
The final verdict on the AI itinerary: B+. AI really did provide a plan that met all of our needs and saved a lot of research time, but it had a few errors. The next time, I will be sure to doublecheck opening times and locations.
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Tips & Recommendations
Keep asking for refinements until you have all the detail you need on specific train routes or other transportation options.
Confirm hours of operation and special events that could affect your planned visit.
Don’t expect AI to catch your errors. I still can’t believe it told me to go to a place that does not exist.
Think of an AI itinerary as a general guideline, and be prepared to confirm and refine as you go.
This is a good blog post from Josh Bernoff on confirmation bias in AI. He says, AI “is going to try to get you what you asked for — even if what you asked for doesn’t exist.”