Thanks for this validation, Mtn. That was my thought, too, because he also has Vienna on the itinerary in addition to Rome. I think he can easily exchange Florence for Venice. He's a hiker, too, so I'm going to recommend the Dolomites. He's flying into Rome, and returning from Dubrovnik, so there's a lot going on. If only he'd leave these decisions to me...

I'm glad to read AI travel suggestions are not fool proof. That's actually reassuring.

I’ve been to Venice four times, most recently in June 2025. It is SO beautiful; there is really nowhere else like it. I try to stay away from the most popular tourist locations (Rialto, San Marco) or try to go early in the morning or late, to avoid crowds. I love to wander and get lost on side streets, exploring more remote areas of the city, etc. In Venice, when I come across a crowd, I walk the other way! My very favorite thing to do is to ride the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal at sunset, watching the Murano chandeliers light up in the palazzos. Magical! It’s so lovely to be on the Adriatic, too.
I’ve been to Florence quite a few times, always loved it, but did not enjoy it last time because of the crowds. Re AI- so far I’ve managed not to use it. I feel like it’s the end of civilization (lol). I know what I like and idk if AI does.

Venice is one of my favorites! I have been trying to get back for years. I was there with my family probably 15 years ago. DH and I were scheduled to return, without kids, in May 2020 for our anniversary. Cancelled, of course. 😷 We finally recheduled for May 2024, and had to cancel when my dad went into the hospital 2 days before we were supposed to leave. At this point, we are afraid to try again because it feels like the universe doesn’t want us to go to Venice! Or, planning a trip might cause a pandemic or a family medical emergency.

PS have not used AI for travel planning. Yet.

I would use AI but also not rely on it 100%. If your version hasn't been recently trained, some of the info it provides can be outdated or imcomplete.

it feels like the universe doesn’t want us to go to Venice!

Trick the universe and plan a trip to Milan, then sneak over by train.

I have used it a bit for travel planning. Things like, "I want to go to X region for 10 days and want to stay in 2 places, one urban and one in nature. What would be the best bases?" But I haven't used it for itineraries. I think AI lacks imagination.

When we did our hiking trip in the Dordogne, I tried to use it to find restaurants near our hotel since we didn't have a car, especially when we were dealing with a difficult day like Sunday or Monday when much was closed. That was a disaster. They recommended places that were totally across the country, or were closed on the day in question, and even places that had been out of business for years. I was surprised by how completely unsuccessful this was.

I am far from a tech expert or even embracer but I have used AI ( the freebie chat GPT version) for several trips. It has been immensely helpful but my best advice it to keep tweaking it and review. It's great for sometimes suggesting something you might not have considered or been aware of, and can give a flavor or compare places. I too have found that you absolutely need to "trust but verify". For a road trip we were planning, there were some mileage and drivetimes that were really off. Fortunately since I wasn't relying totally on AI, I recognized it. Also it has suggested attractions for example that are no longer or the hours are inaccurate. So things like that happen but overall I find it great.

Re Venice, we were there I think in June 2024 and thought it was very special. I think for people who have been there over the years, it's not what it was at all and could be disappointing, but that' s reality so it's still definitely worth seeing. IMO

I used AI to plan a road trip through western France last year. It was good in that it suggested some places that I would not have thought of and it was helpful in planning drive times and logistics but we ultimately didn't use much of the AI suggestions in our actual trip. I'd say AI was a good starting point but my own research won out.

We're hoping to return to Venice next year. I was last there years ago and the weather was awful with high winds and downpour rains and St Mark's Square was flooded and there were wooden catwalks we were supposed to walk on and the streets were littered with abandoned broken umbrellas. I need a do-over trip to Venice!

Yikes, Sas, that's disappointing! I was only searching "things to do in XYZ city" just to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

OK, so Mom is going to intervene on behalf of Venice.

If the recent news stories about AI going rogue and the environmental damage being done isn’t enough to discourage people from normalizing its use, what would it take?

The intense Heat Wave is predicted to continue through and beyond the next 3 weeks in Italy. Austria and particularly Vienna are struggling with severe heat and drought and the Danube is an alltime low. Power companies are cutting services each day for certain hours.

Given all of this I would be concerned about travel where the citizens are in such peril. 🙏 c

Thank you for oointing that out, Trail. I wasn’t aware of that.

I have been using AI extensively for the past month or so planning next year’s trip. I use ChatGPT, the freebie, not the pro version. I keep tweaking the itinerary. Jokingly, we are up to itinerary #2455. It isn’t that many, but it sure does feel like it!

I have had to tell it several times not to include pictures. It gives me random generic travel pictures sometimes.

I’ve also noticed that when I make a change (“drop x from the itinerary. in that place add Y…”) it gives me positive feedback. ”BB, that is a very good change that you have made. It will add much enjoyment to your trip” or something like that. I really don’t need stroking from a bot!

Generally I’ve been pleased but I really only use it to organize into a logical sequence the disparate things we want to do.

I used it a couple of weeks ago to file my EU261 claim when I returned from Kenya. It gave me the steps to make my claim, then I let it write the narrative that I had to include.

And when I had to prove to my travel insurance company that Delta had canceled my flight, ChatGPT gave me an email address to send my request to. Up to that point, I had tried chatting with a human at Delta who was no help at all and who did not tell me that there is a specific Delta email for getting proof of flight cancelation for trip insurance claims. The human kept telling me that he could see that the flight had been canceled but he could not send me proof of such. I thought my head was going to explode!

bbstx, Your reimbursement/ airline hassles sound like an excellent use of AI.
I’m currently planning a month long trip to France in mid September, including several cities I’ve never been before. I enjoy doing my own research, reading about museums, restaurants, cafes and shops, etc. I enjoy reading about the history, architecture, etc. before I arrive- because once I’m there, I’m too busy:)). I guess I’m not looking for a shortcut in my travel planning, but then, I’m retired and I have plenty of time to do my own research. I recently have found AI very useful for internet clothes shopping- for example, I was looking at a particular pair of pants on Poshmark, and through AI I was able to get the measurements and some other information the seller didn’t provide. So yay for that!

Just reporting back that Venice is a no-go for DS. He has his heart set on Florence, and then straight to Innsbruck to hike the Alps. He's done his own research from his vantage point. But given how much he enjoys traveling, he'll likely visit Venice with a partner someday. And when he tells me how much he loves it, I'll be able to say "I told you so."

I helped him organize his schedule and train travel between several cities. He's flying into Rome and flying out of Dubrovnik. When looking at the Eurail pass with him, I automatically clicked on the "adult" option because, you know, here in America, my son is an adult. But taking another look, the "youth" fare, which is cheaper than the adult fare, is for people from 12-27. My DS is 24 and qualifies for the cheaper fare, which he was thrilled about, as he is traveling on a budget. Just another reminder of European priorities vs. U.S. priorities.

that will be a fabulous adventure! If he is a hiker i highly recommend Ortisei, nestled in a valley and you can take the funicular up two different sides of the mountains and hike the alpine meadows - the views are spectacular! we stayed at the Adler which was a 10/10 stay but more for older folks than a young person on a budget :)

(i spend a lot of summers in Italy teaching and think Venice is over rated, the small villages and towns are much more charming in my experience- and very economical for a young person)

My daughter and grandaughter are planning a trip to Rome and Florence in november and still have not found hotels yet. any recommendations of not too expensive but clean with good reviews maybe closer to the colliseum .

feathers has your son booked hotels yet?

We stayed at Hotel Grifo in Rome a few years ago. It's not fancy but it's nice and was clean and offered breakfast. It's a great location in the Monti area. https://www.hotelgrifo.com/en/

It's near cafes and shops and walking distance to the coliseum and many other sites.

There is no place like Venice. No city held the the sense of wonder for me as an adult as did Venice. My first time there was Christmas Eve on a cold, beautiful, festive night, but even in subsequent visits in less dramatic light, the charm didn't fade.

Lyban, he has most everything booked, and he's staying in several hostels. Many hostels have private accommodations, but I think your D and GD would benefit from researching hotels on Booking.com, which has a lot of search features that can help them narrow down a good location and reasonable price. I don't often book through the site, but it's a great tool for searching.

Kitchenwitch, thank you for that information. i am looking into that hotel. sounds pretty central for metro and all. i think walking to colloseum would not be too long.

I was in Venice last spring and thought it was magical! It was like another world!

We also went to Florence for 2 days on that trip and I wished we had stayed there longer. Most young people I know who have been to both cities prefer Florence and it is more affordable, so it sounds like your son may be on the right track.

i have used AI for some travel planning but it was frustrating and there are so many excellent online resources available that it has never felt worth it for me. We used a travel agent for hotels and trains for that trip and she was worth every penny!