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The Perfect Trip
Prompt

Find your ideal destination in minutes — personalised to you, your budget, and your passport.

Most travel recommendations aren't built for you. They're built for a mythical traveller with unlimited time, a strong passport, a generous budget, and a taste for boutique hotels. This prompt changes that. Copy it, fill in your details, and ask any AI to give you three real options — with the honest pros, cons, and costs.

Step 1

Fill In Your Travel Profile

🛂Nationality & passport

e.g. Australian, South African, Canadian

📅Month of travel

e.g. October, next March

💰Budget

Shoestring / Mid-range / Comfortable / Luxury — and if you can, add a daily spend target, e.g. "Mid-range, around USD $100/day all-in (accommodation, food, transport, entry fees) — per person". Always specify per person or total — AI will assume per person if you don't.

👤Travel style

e.g. solo, couple, family with kids, group of friends

🎂Age range

Under 25 / 25–40 / 40–60 / 60+ · Helps match you to destinations where the general travel crowd suits your vibe — not a reflection of what you can or can't do.

❤️What I love

e.g. street food, hiking, history, local markets, off-the-beaten-path, fine dining & wine, high-end shopping & design, adrenaline & adventure sports, cocktails & rooftop bars, spa & wellness

🚫What I want to avoid

e.g. tourist traps, long-haul flights, extreme heat, party crowds, backpacker haunts & party hostels, budget tourist infrastructure, crowded group tours, resort bubbles

✈️Travelling from

e.g. Sydney (flying), London (open to train/ferry), Buenos Aires (bus or flight)

🗓️Trip length

e.g. 10 days, 3 weeks

🕐Maximum travel time

How long are you willing to spend getting there? e.g. under 4 hours, up to 10 hours, no limit — this stops AI recommending destinations that require a journey you'd never enjoy

🌐Trip scope

International only / Domestic only / Both — if Both, AI will include at least one domestic destination in your three options

⚠️Dealbreakers

e.g. vegetarian / vegan, won't share bathrooms, need business-class comfort, avoid countries with travel warnings, require English-speaking guides

Step 2

Copy & Customise This Prompt

💡

For best results, use Claude.ai

Go to claude.ai — free to use, no account required to get started. In our experience it handles structured travel prompts better than other AI tools and gives you more detailed, accurate outputs. The difference is noticeable.

You are an expert travel planner with deep knowledge of destinations, visa requirements, and travel costs worldwide.

I want you to suggest three destination options for travel in [MONTH] [YEAR], tailored specifically to me. Here is my travel profile:

• Nationality & passport: [your answer]
• Budget: [tier + daily spend target — always specify per person or total, e.g. "Mid-range, around USD $100/day all-in per person including accommodation, food, transport and entry fees"]
• Travel style: [your answer]
• Age range: [Under 25 / 25–40 / 40–60 / 60+]
• What I love: [your answer]
• What I want to avoid: [your answer]
• Travelling from: [your answer]
• Trip length: [your answer]
• Maximum travel time to destination: [e.g. under 4 hours / up to 10 hours / no limit]
• Trip scope: [International only / Domestic only / Both]
• Dealbreakers: [your answer]

Please respect my trip scope preference. If I have selected Both, include at least one domestic destination in your three options.

For each of the three destinations, structure your response exactly like this:

🌍 DESTINATION — Country
Why it suits me: personalised to my profile, not generic praise
Passport & visa situation: visa-free / on arrival / application required, and any watch-outs
Realistic budget snapshot: flights from my origin, accommodation range, daily spend estimate
Best thing about going in [MONTH]: weather, events, crowd levels, value
Honest downside: what could disappoint or go wrong
Best suited for: who this destination really fits — so I can self-select

End with a one-line tiebreaker — which of the three would you nudge me toward and why?

Step 3

What You'll Get Back

🌍

Three personalised destinations

Not the most popular. Not the most Instagrammed. The ones that actually match your profile.

🛂

Passport & visa reality check

So you're not mid-excitement when you discover you need a two-month advance application.

💰

Honest budget breakdown

Flights from your city, accommodation range, and realistic daily spend — not fantasy numbers.

⚠️

The honest downside

What most travel content won't tell you. Know before you book.

🎯

A tiebreaker recommendation

AI gives you the choice — then makes a call. You decide if you agree.

See It In Action

A Real Example

Sample Profile

🛂 Australian 📅 October 💰 Mid-range 👤 Solo ❤️ Street food, local markets, culture 🚫 Resorts, party crowds ✈️ Sydney (flying) 🗓️ 12 days ⚠️ Vegetarian

🌍 Destination 1 — Penang, Malaysia

Suits you:UNESCO heritage city, famously the street food capital of Asia — and genuinely vegetarian-friendly with a strong Indian and Chinese culinary tradition.

Visa:Visa-free for Australians, 90 days. No stress.

Budget:Flights ~AUD $500–650 return. Guesthouses AUD $35–65/night. Daily spend ~AUD $50–70 all-in (meals, transport, entry fees). Total 12-day trip estimate: ~AUD $1,800–2,500.

October upside:Shoulder season — lower prices, fewer crowds. George Town Festival wraps up but the city stays buzzing.

Downside:October is wetter on the east coast. Stick to the west side of the island and it's fine. Hawker centres can feel touristy in peak spots.

💡 Tiebreaker nudge: "For a solo vegetarian traveller who wants maximum street food per dollar and zero visa admin — Penang is hard to beat in October. It punches well above its price point."

See It In Action — Example 2

A Different Kind of Traveller

Luxury Profile

🛂 British 📅 March 💰 Luxury 👤 Couple 🎂 60+ ❤️ Fine dining, culture, boutique stays 🚫 Backpacker haunts, party crowds 🚂 London (open to train/ferry) 🗓️ 14 days ⚠️ Business class only, no group tours

🌍 Destination 1 — Kyoto & the Kii Peninsula, Japan

Suits you:Refined, deeply cultural, and built for slow, considered travel. World-class kaiseki dining, private ryokan stays, and almost no backpacker infrastructure — this is Japan for grown-ups.

Visa:Visa-free for UK passport holders, 90 days. Easy entry.

Budget:Business class flights ~£4,500–6,000pp return. Boutique ryokan £300–600/night (dinner included). Daily spend £150–250pp on top.

March upside:Early cherry blossom season — one of the most beautiful times to be in Japan. Plan for March 2027 and book accommodation at least 10–12 months ahead; this period sells out fast.

Downside:Cherry blossom dates vary year to year — you may arrive slightly early or late. Kyoto city centre is genuinely crowded in peak blossom week; the Kii Peninsula gives you the escape.

💡 Tiebreaker nudge: "For a culturally curious couple who want world-class food, complete immersion, and zero chance of finding themselves at a hostel bar — Japan in March is close to perfect. The Kii Peninsula extension makes it genuinely special rather than just another Kyoto trip."

Pro Tips

Get Better Results

Be specific about budget. "Mid-range" means different things in Tokyo vs. Tbilisi. Add a daily spend target if you can — for example: "Mid-range, around AUD $100/day all-in." The more specific you are, the more useful the output.

Always verify visa info. AI can get this wrong or out of date. Use it to shortlist, then check your government's official travel site before booking.

Push back if needed. Not feeling any of the three? Say so. For example: "None of these quite work for me — can you suggest three more options, ideally less visited by tourists?" AI responds well to honest feedback.

You've got a destination — now what? This prompt gives you a great shortlist. But choosing where to go is just step one. Building what you actually do when you get there is a whole other skill. And that's exactly where AI needs watching most carefully.

What's Next

Finding Where to Go Is Just the Beginning

Once you know your destination, the real planning begins — what to do, see, and experience while you're there. And that's where most travellers hand too much trust to AI without knowing its limits.

Here's what AI won't tell you: it can confidently recommend a restaurant that closed two years ago, a museum that's under renovation, or a "hidden gem" that's now on every influencer's feed. Not because it's trying to mislead you — but because it doesn't always know what it doesn't know.

The Independent Traveller's Guide to AI Itinerary Planning teaches you how to build a complete, personalised itinerary using AI — and exactly how to verify what it tells you before you book a single thing. Six modules. Real methodology. The kind of trip that feels like it was planned by someone who actually knows you.

The Perfect TripPrompt