Planning a winter trip around Europe, a traveller uploaded his list of city pairs and travel days and asked ChatGPT whether a Eurail pass made sense. It helped him choose a 15-day pass over two months, decide which journeys to use it for, and flagged that ferries weren't covered and Italian high-speed trains need €15 seat reservations.
Here's my rough train plan: [LIST OF JOURNEYS WITH DATES]. There are [NUMBER] of us, aged [AGES]. Help me compare buying a [RAIL PASS NAME] with buying separate tickets: which pass type would fit, which journeys are worth using it on, and what extra costs (seat reservations, ferries, supplements) I should expect. Tell me what to check on the official sites, as prices change.
Replace the [PLACEHOLDERS] with your own details before you send it.
How to try it
- List every journey you’re planning, with dates and rough times.
- Ask ChatGPT to compare a pass with point-to-point tickets and to list hidden extras like reservations.
- Check current prices and rules on the official rail and pass websites before you buy.
More travel use cases
Turn your travel itinerary into a visual slide deck with Copilot in PowerPoint
A New Zealand tech fan asked Copilot in PowerPoint to visualise their travel itinerary and was impressed with the result, joking that seeing it all laid out made them think they might need extra insurance.
Create a short presentation from my travel itinerary below. Give each day or each stop its own slide with the date, place, main activities, travel times and where I'm staying, plus a simple overview slide with the whole route at the start. Keep the text brief and add suitable images. Itinerary: [PASTE ITINERARY].
Work out a foreign washing machine on holiday from a photo with Grok
On holiday, one traveller uploaded a photo of an unfamiliar washer-dryer to Grok and said what she was washing and that she didn't want to tumble dry. It recognised the brand, model and language, translated the controls and told her exactly how to set it, right down to temperature and spin speed. The year before, guessing had ruined new board shorts.
Here's a photo of the washing machine in my holiday rental. I want to wash [WHAT YOU'RE WASHING, E.G. SWIMWEAR AND T-SHIRTS] and I [DO / DON'T] want to use the dryer. Identify the machine if you can, translate the buttons and dial, and tell me exactly which programme, temperature and spin speed to choose, step by step.
Do your pre-trip background reading in half an hour with ChatGPT
A travel writer used ChatGPT instead of hours of reading before a Door County trip: which attractions people call overrated, which are worth the crowds, and which town suits her. It recommended two restaurants that had closed, but she felt confident enough to book a rental that night.
I'm going to [DESTINATION] in [MONTH]. Give me the lay of the land: which popular attractions are often called overrated and which are worth the crowds, the best times to visit them, and three varied sample itineraries. I like [PREFERENCES]. Which town or area should I stay in, and why? Then play devil's advocate on your own suggestions.
Reference: Mark Barbieri (Substack)