Know the best AI prompts to plan holiday-season travel and pick personalised gifts using ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
These prompts break down travel to-dos when it comes to planning an itinerary
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Artem Kniaz
As the holiday season approaches, many are making travel plans while others are already working on the gifts for their loved ones. However, planning a holiday or picking gifts can be surprisingly stressful. Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are making this easier by helping people organise itineraries, compare destinations, track budgets, and even shortlist thoughtful presents for friends and family. Whether you use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Meta AI or Perplexity, the right prompts can unlock better recommendations and save time. Here, we have curated a list of effective prompts for travel planning and holiday gifting.
AI chatbots respond best when users provide clear, structured instructions. Instead of asking broad questions such as “Where should I travel?” or “What should I do in Singapore?”, specific prompts help large language models understand your preferences, constraints and priorities. The same approach applies to gifting. Describing the receiver's interests, your budget and the occasion leads to far more personalised suggestions.
Travel planning and gift shopping also involve steps that AI can simplify, such as browsing options, comparing prices, finding hidden combinations or creating lists you can refine later. Well-designed prompts take advantage of this by guiding the chatbot to think systematically.
A good travel prompt includes your destination (or options), number of days, budget range, travel style, and any non-negotiables. Here are examples that work well across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Meta AI, and Perplexity.
1. Itinerary Building
Prompt: “Create a detailed five-day itinerary for my trip to Tokyo in December. I prefer cultural sites, light walking, local food and experiences that are not crowded. Include approximate travel times and expected costs.”
Why it works: This prompt works because it defines preferences, timing and structure, allowing the chatbot to map out your days logically.
2. Destination Comparison
Prompt: “Compare Bali, Phuket and Langkawi for a week-long holiday in January. Evaluate costs, weather, beaches, food, accessibility, and what each place is best suited for.”
Why it works: AI models are strong at summarising differences, making comparison prompts ideal for early-stage planning.
3. Packing Checklist
Prompt: “Create a weather-specific packing list for a 7-day trip to Iceland in winter. Include clothing, essentials, electronics and medication reminders.”
Why it works: Packing prompts help avoid last-minute stress and ensure your list is tailored to local conditions.
4. Budget Estimation
Prompt: “Estimate a per-day budget for two people travelling to Singapore for four days. Break it down into food, transport, attractions, shopping and optional upgrades.”
Why it works: Budget prompts are useful because chatbots analyse multiple sources to generate a simple range. Use reasoning tools such as Deep Research or Thinking mode for the best results.
5. Visa and Document Preparation
Prompt: “List the documents and visa requirements for an Indian traveller visiting Vietnam for tourism. Include processing timelines and fees.”
Why it works: While users must always verify details independently, AI helps create a base checklist to work from.
Gift recommendations depend heavily on your ability to describe the recipient. The more you share, the better the AI's suggestions become.
1. Personalised Gift Ideas
Prompt: “Suggest 12 gift ideas for a friend who loves books, tech accessories and home fitness. Budget between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 3,000. Mix practical and fun options.”
Why it works: This is ideal for quick inspiration when you don't know where to begin.
2. Age-and-Interest Based Ideas
Prompt: “Generate gift options for a 10-year-old who likes building toys, puzzles and space science. Include items available in India.”
Why it works: AI chatbots excel at filtering gifts by age, safety and accessibility. Localising it by region ensures you are not suggested an item that is not available or requires you to spend extra to import it.
3. Last-Minute Gifts
Prompt: “Suggest thoughtful last-minute gift ideas I can buy online with same-day or next-day delivery.”
Why it works: This prompt is useful during busy periods, including the holiday season.
4. Group Gifting
Prompt: “Give me group gift ideas for a colleague who is leaving the company. Budget is between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 6,000, split among five people.”
Why it works: Highlighting that it is a group gift idea prompts the AI to look for safe choices that can be accepted. The budget restriction also ensures that the suggested recommendations do not cross the limit.
5. Handmade or DIY Gifts
Prompt: “I want meaningful low-budget gifts. Suggest DIY ideas that take less than two hours to make.”
Why it works: AI models can brainstorm handmade alternatives when personal effort matters more than the price tag. They can also analyse blogs and articles to find the most efficient way to make them.
ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Meta AI and Perplexity are all capable of travel planning and gift curation because the underlying AI models used in these chatbots understand patterns in preferences, budgets, locations and interests. The responses will definitely differ, but with enough trial and testing, you will find the right chatbot whose responses match your wavelength.
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