The task was clear: test how well artificial intelligence could plan a trip to Norway, a place it had never been. So I didn't do any of my usual obsessive online research and instead asked three ai planners to create a four-day itinerary. Unfortunately, none of them mentioned saunas or salmon.
However, two assistants were eager to learn more about me so they could adapt their initially generic recommendations, which they had spit out in a matter of seconds. Vacationa personalized trip planning tool, presented me with a list of questions, while ai/” title=”” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>mental journey, a new ai travel assistant, invited me to take a test. (ChatGPT, the third attendee, didn't ask anything.)
Vacay and Mindtrip's questions were similar: Are you traveling alone? What is your budget? Do you prefer hotels or Airbnbs? Do you prefer to explore the outdoors or live a cultural experience?
In the end, my chat sessions resulted in what seemed like complete itineraries, starting with a day in Oslo and continuing to the fjord region. Finally, I set a trip that would combine the attendees' information and go beyond a predictable list of sites.
This time, my virtual planners were much more sophisticated than the simple ChatGPT interface I used last year on a trip to Milan. Although it offered more detailed suggestions for Norway, I ended up abandoning ChatGPT at the trip planning stage after it failed repeatedly.
Vacay's premium service, which starts at $9.99 per month, included detailed tips and booking links, while Mindtrip, which is currently free, provided photos, Google reviews and maps. During the trip itself, each provided instant information via text message and always asked if more specific details were needed. Unfortunately, only ChatGPT offered a phone app, the information for which I found to be outdated (the $20 per month premium version is more current).
I'm not alone when it comes to turning to ai for help: About 70 percent of Americans use or plan to use ai for travel planning, according to ai-trends-report” title=”” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>to a recent survey conducted by Harris Poll commissioned by personal finance app Moneylion, while 71 percent said using ai would probably be easier than planning trips on your own.
I decided to find out for myself in Norway.
A dizzying day in Oslo
After landing at Oslo airport, the three assistants directed me to the Flytoget Airport Express Train, which got me into the city in 20 minutes. I was very happy to find my hotel next to the central train station.
Choosing accommodation had not been easy. I was looking for a mid-range boutique hotel and the ai assistants generated many options with little overlap. I went with Hotel Amerikalinjen, a recommendation from Vacay, which he described as “a vibrant and unique boutique hotel in the heart of Oslo.” Its location was the main draw, but overall the hotel exceeded my expectations, combining comfort and style with the 20th-century charm of its building, which once housed the headquarters of the shipping company Norwegian America Line.
For the one-day Oslo itinerary, attendees agreed and toured the city's main sights, including the Vigeland Sculpture Park, the Royal Palace, the Nobel Peace Center, Akershus Fortress and the Munch Museum. I shared my location and asked each attendee to restructure itineraries to start from my hotel. But when I gave in to my own investigative instincts and opened Google Maps, I saw that the order they suggested didn't make sense, so I charted my own path.
By the time I got to Frogner Park By noon I was halfway through the sights, and after passing more than 200 sculptures by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, I was happy to sit back and admire his granite monolith of intertwined human beings.
For lunch, attendees recommended high-end restaurants in the lively coastal neighborhood of Aker Brygge. But I wanted a quick bite in a more relaxed environment, so I left the ai and walked to the end of the promenade, where I ran into the salmon, a cozy establishment where I started with melt-in-your-mouth salmon sashimi and finished with a perfectly grilled filet. How had my assistants not mentioned this place?
Next on my list were the Nobel Peace Center, the Opera and the Munch Museum. Attendees had not recommended booking tickets in advance, but fortunately I did and in the process learned that the Peace Center was closed, crucial information that ai did not convey.
It was cold for mid-June, and as I walked along the harbor promenade toward the Munch Museum, I saw little floating saunas, which my attendees had not included. I went back to the ChatGPT phone app for recommendations. Although I was eager to try a floating sauna, where people warmed up and then plunged directly into the frigid waters of the Oslo Fjord, I followed ChatGPT's suggestion and booked the Salt sauna, which is where I headed after spending a few hours in the Munch. Museum, with its extensive works by the Norwegian artist and its panoramic views of the port of Oslo.
In it Salt cultural complex, a large pyramidal structure over the water, I was relieved that a swimsuit was a requirement. In Scandinavia, saunas are generally taken naked and I previously asked ChatGPT about the etiquette at Salt, but they didn't give me a definitive answer. After sweating with about 30 strangers in Salt's main sauna, I soaked in a cold barrel tub and then tried the smaller sauna options, which were hotter and quieter. It was the perfect end to a long day.
Waterfalls, lush valleys, raging waters
Each of my assistants had different ideas about how to get to the fjord region. ChatGPT suggested taking a seven-hour train ride and then immediately embarking on a two-hour fjord cruise, which seemed exhausting. Mindtrip suggested taking a short flight to Bergen, known as the “gateway to the fjords,” and taking a cruise the next day, which might be more efficient, but would also mean missing out on one of the most scenic train rides in the world. world. . Vacay also recommended a train trip.
After chatting with the attendees, I decided on a shorter train ride (six hours) that would take me to Naeroy Fjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with lush valleys and thundering waterfalls. But to sort out transportation and lodging logistics I needed updated train schedules, which I found on my own, and information on hotel availability that none of the attendees had.
At the time, I was desperate for human guidance to navigate the region's expensive and limited accommodations. This is where Mindtrip's photos and reviews came in handy, helping me understand that I would pay high prices for the spectacular surroundings of a mediocre hotel.
The train ride from Oslo to Myrdal was stunning: rolling hills, mountain villages, fjords, waterfalls. But nothing prepared me for the majestic hour-long journey. flame railway walk that followed. Vacay described it as an “engineering marvel” with an impressively steep descent as it passes picturesque villages, spectacular mountains, raging rivers and thundering waterfalls, all with a dance performance starring a mythological spirit known as a huldra.
The next morning I embarked on a Naeroyfjord cruise, recommended by Vacay, on a 400-person electric boat. I was surprised by the serenity of the fjord. I later learned from a tour guide that I had been lucky enough to visit when there were no major cruise ships. It was hard to imagine an ocean liner maneuvering through the narrow, windy fjord, but when I asked ChatGPT, it told me that between 150 and 220 cruise ships pass through the fjord each year, a detail I felt travel assistants should warn passengers about. Travellers.
The cruise ended in the village of Gudvangen, where rain made me cancel a hike to a waterfall and instead try my hand at ax throwing in the Viking village Njardarheim. Attendants had told me that there were buses leaving the city every four hours, a time frame that had worked with my original walking plan, but was now stuck. Fortunately, I took note of ai's disclaimers to verify all information and found an alternative shuttle bus.
On the way to Bergen I decided to stop in the town of Voss, famous for extreme sports such as skydiving and its spectacular nature. All the hotels suggested by the ai were booked, but a Google search led me to the lakefront. Hotel Elvawhich had delicious farm-to-table food. I suspect it didn't make the ai shortlist because it was new.
I ended my trip in Bergen, which, despite being Norway's second largest city, maintains its small-town charm with its colorful wooden houses and cobblestone streets. With just half a day to explore, I followed Mindtrip's short itinerary, starting with a hearty lunch of fish and chips at the bustling waterfront fish market and ending with a funicular ride up Mount Floyen for panoramic views of the city and the fjords. The ai dinner suggestion in the colonial It was perfect: cozy atmosphere, live jazz and locally sourced dishes.
The bottom line
None of the ai programs were perfect, but they complemented each other, allowing me to streamline my travel decisions.
Overall, Mindtrip, with its dynamic and polished interface that allowed me to check details with maps, links and reviews, was my favorite. While it gave some good recommendations, Mindtrip needed more prompting than Vacay, which offered a wider variety of suggestions in more detail. Unfortunately, Vacay does not save chat history, which I discovered halfway through my planning after closing the website tab in my browser.
The biggest drawback was the lack of phone apps for Mindtrip and Vacay, which led me to rely on ChatGPT's basic ai assistant when I needed guidance in the moment. I have since learned that Mindtrip plans to launch an app in September.
Still, there were times when I desperately craved the human touch. Before setting out on a trip, I always reach out to friends and colleagues for recommendations. This time, as part of the ai experiment, I refrained from reaching out to a Norwegian friend until after my trip, only to find out that we had both been in Oslo at the same time.
That's one element of travel that I doubt ai will ever master: serendipity.
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