Trip planner

Trip Planner

Overview

This skill turns a loose travel idea ("5 days in Tokyo, mid budget, love food and temples") into a concrete, day-by-day itinerary that is actually executable on the ground. It optimizes four competing dimensions at once:

• Logistics — geographic clustering, transit time, opening hours, reservations, jet lag.
• Budget — flights, lodging, food, activities, local transport, and a buffer.
• Pacing — anchors per day, rest, and travel-day recovery so the trip is enjoyable, not exhausting.
• Highlights — the destination's signature experiences matched to the traveler's stated interests.

Keywords: trip, travel, itinerary, vacation, holiday, road trip, day plan, sightseeing, budget travel, packing, honeymoon, family travel, city break, backpacking.

When to use vs. not

Use this for planning the shape of a trip: which days, which areas, what order, rough costs. This skill does not book anything or guarantee live prices/hours — always tell the user to verify hours, prices, and reservations against official sources near the travel date.

Inputs to gather first

Before planning, collect (ask only for what's missing — infer sensible defaults for the rest):

1. Destination(s) and whether it's single-base or multi-city/road trip.
2. Dates or duration (and travel season — drives weather, crowds, prices).
3. Number of travelers and group type (solo, couple, family with kids' ages, friends, accessibility needs).
4. Total budget and currency, plus what it includes (flights? lodging? just on-the-ground?).
5. Interests (food, history, nature, nightlife, art, beaches, shopping, adventure).
6. Pace preference (packed / balanced / relaxed) and any energy constraints.
7. Home origin (for flight time/cost and jet lag) and dietary/mobility constraints.

If the user gives a one-liner, restate your assumptions in one short block and proceed — don't block on a full interview.

Workflow

Follow these steps in order. Each produces a visible artifact for the user.

1. Confirm the frame. Echo destination, dates/duration, party, budget, interests, and pace in 4–6 lines. State assumptions explicitly.
2. Set the budget envelope. Use the category split heuristics in references/budgeting.md to break the total into Transport / Lodging / Food / Activities / Local transit / Buffer. Flag if the budget is tight, comfortable, or generous for the destination and season.
3. Choose the base(s). For single-city, pick a neighborhood to stay in (central, well-connected, matches vibe). For multi-city/road trips, decide the route and how many nights per stop using the "minimum-nights" rule in references/pacing.md (avoid 1-night stops unless en route).
4. Build the highlight pool. List 8–15 candidate experiences ranked by fit to the stated interests. Tag each with area, approx. duration, cost tier ($/$$/$$$), and best time of day. Note anything that needs advance booking.
5. Cluster by geography. Group highlights into 2–4 geographic zones so each day stays in one area and minimizes backtracking. This is the single biggest lever for a good itinerary.
6. Sequence the days. Assign zones to days. Apply pacing rules: arrival/departure days are light, one major anchor + one or two minor stops per day, build in a flex/rest block. Put weather-dependent things on flexible days and reservation-locked things on fixed days.
7. Write each day in detail. Use templates/itinerary-day.md. Include rough times, transit between stops (mode + minutes), a meal plan that fits the zone, and a per-day cost estimate. Add a "rainy day swap" alternative.
8. Add the connective tissue. Airport/station transfers, a SIM/eSIM + payment note, opening-hour and reservation callouts, and one or two contingency buffers.
9. Tally and reconcile. Sum estimated costs against the envelope from step 2. If over, propose specific trade-downs (lodging tier, fewer paid attractions, free alternatives). Run scripts/budget_calc.py to do the math and produce a clean table.
10. Deliver + caveat. Present the full itinerary, the budget table, a short packing pointer (references/packing.md), and remind the user to verify live hours/prices/bookings.

Decision frameworks

Pace dial (anchors per day):

• Relaxed: 1 anchor + 1 optional, long meals, downtime.
• Balanced: 1 anchor + 2 minor stops.
• Packed: 2 anchors + 2 minor — only sustainable for short trips or high-energy travelers.

The "is this day realistic?" check: Sum activity durations + transit + meals. If it exceeds ~10 waking hours or has 3+ cross-city transits, cut something.

Budget triage when over: lodging tier → paid attractions → dining tier → trip length. Adjust in that order; protect the signature experiences the trip is for.

Multi-city minimum nights: 1 night = "touch and go" (only if directly en route); 2 nights = a taste; 3+ = actually experience it. See references/pacing.md.

See references/budgeting.md for cost splits and regional day-rate ranges, references/pacing.md for sequencing and jet-lag rules, and references/packing.md for a season/activity-driven packing checklist.

Worked example

See examples/tokyo-5day.md for a complete five-day Tokyo itinerary built from a one-line prompt, including the budget reconciliation.

Best Practices

• One zone per day. Cluster geographically before you sequence by time.
• Light bookends. Arrival and departure days carry travel fatigue — plan them at half capacity.
• Lock the unmovable first. Timed-entry tickets, restaurant reservations, and day tours anchor the calendar; build everything else around them.
• Always leave a buffer — both money (10–15%) and time (a free afternoon or flex block).
• Match meals to location. Don't send the traveler across town for lunch; eat where they already are.
• Name specific places, not categories. "Sensō-ji at 8am before crowds" beats "visit a temple."
• Give alternatives. A rainy-day swap and a budget swap per day make the plan resilient.

Common Pitfalls

• Overpacking days — the #1 mistake; tourists routinely plan 30% more than they can do.
• Ignoring transit time between attractions, especially in large or spread-out cities.
• Forgetting opening days/hours — many museums close Mondays; markets are morning-only.
• Treating travel days as full days — they rarely are.
• Burying the signature experience on the last day where weather/delays can kill it.
• Quoting prices/hours as fact — they drift; always tag estimates and tell the user to verify.
• No budget buffer — unexpected costs (taxis, tips, a splurge meal) always appear.