Updated November 2026 · Prices checked November 7, 2026
The best AI for travel planning in 2026
The best AI for travel planning depends on what you want at the end. For research and a quick draft, a chat assistant: Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini (which pulls in Google Flights and Hotels). To plan and book in one place, Mindtrip or Layla. For a day-by-day plan to send a group, Highlights, our own app. All nine are free to start.
Who made this page. Winding AI, Inc., the company that makes Highlights, one of the nine tools here. We say plainly where the others are better. Every price comes from the company's own pricing page or US App Store listing, read on November 7, 2026. Nobody paid to be listed and there are no affiliate links. More about this page.
Pick by the job
- Research a destination or weigh optionsClaude or ChatGPT. Claude's free plan includes web search, and both reshape a plan as you reply.
- Flights and hotels in the same chatGemini, which pulls live results from Google Flights and Google Hotels.
- One assistant that plans, books and watches pricesMindtrip.
- Hand the booking to a personLayla, where a travel advisor checks the trip and books it.
- A day-by-day plan to send to friendsHighlights. Friends open one link and RSVP with no app or account.
- A free first draft with a budget, as a PDFWonderplan.
- Questions while you book on Trip.comTripGenie.
- You already pay for Microsoft 365Copilot, whose limits go up with your subscription.
Two kinds of AI can plan a trip
General assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot) are chatbots for everything. They're good at the open-ended part: where to go in March, how to split ten days between Tokyo and Kyoto. You get the plan as a conversation and change it by replying. But a chat isn't a plan you can follow on the day: you copy it somewhere and check that each place is open when it says.
Trip planners (Highlights, Mindtrip, Layla, Wonderplan, TripGenie) are built around the trip. They add what a chat lacks: places on a map with photos and hours, a link to share, booking, or a person who books for you. Many people use one of each: an assistant to decide, a planner to lay out the days.
The nine tools compared
Grouped by kind, not ranked. Prices are in US dollars as listed on November 7, 2026.
| Tool | Kind | Best for | Free | Paid | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mindtrip | Trip planner | Planning, booking and price-drop alerts in one assistant | The app, "totally free" per its App Store listing | You pay for what you book | Web, iOS |
| Layla | Trip planner with travel advisors | A trip that a person checks and books | Planning, with no subscription or planning fee on its site | The trip you book; the iPhone app also lists $9.99/mo and $49.99/yr | Web, iOS, Android |
| Highlights ours | Trip planner | A day-by-day plan on a map that friends open and RSVP to | Planning with Sally, share link and RSVPs, PDF and email, the apps | Pro $4.99/mo, or $29.99/yr in the iPhone app; ready-made plans up to $5 each | Web, iOS, Android |
| Wonderplan | Trip planner | A quick draft built around a budget | Everything, "at least for now" | None listed | Web |
| TripGenie | Booking-site assistant | Travel questions and suggestions inside Trip.com | Free | Whatever you book on Trip.com | Web, Trip.com app |
| ChatGPT | General assistant | A fast first draft you reshape in conversation | Free plan | Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100 a month | Web, iOS, Android |
| Claude | General assistant | Research with web search, and a plan saved as a document | Free plan, web search included | Pro $20/mo ($17/mo yearly), Max $100, Ultra $200 | Web, desktop, iOS, Android |
| Gemini | General assistant | Drafts that use Google Maps, Flights and Hotels data | Free with a Google account | AI Plus $4.99, AI Pro $19.99, AI Ultra from $99.99 a month | Web, Android, iOS |
| Copilot | General assistant | People who already work in Microsoft 365 | Free | Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/mo, Premium $19.99/mo, Pro $99.99/mo | Web, Windows, Mac, mobile |
The trip planners
Mindtrip: an assistant that learns your style and books
Mindtrip is a personal travel assistant. Tell it how you like to travel ("street food over fine dining") and it remembers for the next trip. It weighs flights, stays and restaurants against what you asked for, and you can book directly on Mindtrip. After you book, it watches for price drops, flight changes and restaurant availability. You can invite others to join a trip.
Pick it if you want one app to plan, book and watch the trip. Skip it if you're on Android: we found an iPhone app and the website, but no Android app. mindtrip.ai
Layla: AI plans it, a travel advisor books it
Layla builds a trip around your dates, budget and style, then a human travel advisor checks it and books hotels, flights, transfers and activities, or you book it yourself. Planning is free with no subscription or planning fee, and Layla says nothing is added on top when its advisors book. There are ready-to-book trips and 24/7 support while you travel. Its iPhone app lists subscriptions ($9.99 a month, $49.99 a year) as in-app purchases; the website doesn't mention them.
Pick it if you'd rather hand the booking to a person. Skip it if you're traveling on a tight budget: Layla recommends at least €100 per person per night for its tailor-made trips. layla.ai
Highlights: a plan your group can open and RSVP to our app
Write where you're going, when, who's coming and what you like, in one sentence, or paste a TikTok, Instagram or YouTube video, a Google Maps list or an article. Sally, the balloon guide inside Highlights, asks at most two questions, then builds the plan in about a minute: real places with Google ratings, opening hours and photos, each day ordered so you don't cross town twice, on a map. Ask her to change anything after.
Then send one link. Friends open the plan in their browser and tap Going, Maybe or Can't go, with no app and no sign-up. You also get the plan by email and as a PDF. In the iOS and Android apps your trips are saved for offline use, and on iPhone the day runs on the Lock Screen.
Highlights Pro ($4.99 a month, or $29.99 a year in the iPhone app, where the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial) gives each new trip Sally's best planner, which reads up on the web first, uses a stronger model and has the plan checked a second time (up to 10 new trips a day). It also opens every ready-made city and event plan, otherwise $5 each (a few cost less). A custom plan checked by a person arrives within 24 hours for $5.
Falls short: it doesn't book anything, friends can't edit your plan (they view it and RSVP), and it doesn't split costs. If you want planning and booking in one app, Mindtrip and Layla do that.
Plan a trip with Sally, freeWonderplan: a quick free draft with a budget
Wonderplan builds an itinerary from your destination, dates, interests and budget, suggests places to stay, and lets you reorder, add or remove stops. You can download the plan as a PDF to use offline. Its site says it's free "at least for now".
Pick it if you want a free first draft in a few clicks. Skip it if you want to book in the same place or share an interactive plan with a group. wonderplan.ai
Trip.com TripGenie: an assistant inside a booking site
TripGenie is Trip.com's AI assistant. It answers travel questions (a delayed bag, using a credit card abroad), suggests itineraries such as "a 3-day family trip in America", and finds hotels and flights from Trip.com's listings. Trip.com says it covers over a million attractions in more than 180 countries and regions.
Pick it if you'll book on Trip.com anyway. Skip it if you want options from every site: it works from Trip.com's own inventory. trip.com/tripgenie
The general AI assistants
ChatGPT: a fast first draft
Ask for "4 days in Lisbon with a 7-year-old, no early starts" and you get a day-by-day draft in seconds, which you reshape by replying. The free plan includes unlimited text chats (subject to abuse guardrails) and limited deep research. Go adds more messages and may show ads; Plus adds reasoning models and more deep research.
Pick it if you want to brainstorm and iterate quickly. Watch out: the plan lives in the chat, and a place it names may have closed or changed its hours. chatgpt.com
Claude: research, then a plan as a document
Claude's free plan can search the web, create files, remember earlier conversations and connect to your apps, and it can lay a plan out as a document or table (Artifacts) that you keep editing. That suits the research-heavy part: comparing regions, working out a rail route, reading official visa pages.
Pick it if you want to think the trip through and keep a tidy written plan. Watch out: like any chat, it doesn't put your days on a live map or book. claude.ai
Gemini: a draft from Google's own travel data
Gemini pulls real-time information (locations, reviews, prices) from Google Maps, Google Flights and Google Hotels, and links you out to book. With Google's Personal Intelligence turned on, it can also use flight and hotel confirmations in your Gmail, and Google says its Gemini Spark agent can build a Google Doc itinerary as booking emails arrive.
Pick it if you want real fares and hotel prices inside the conversation. Watch out: the best parts depend on using Google's apps. gemini.google.com
Microsoft Copilot: if you live in Microsoft apps
Copilot is Microsoft's assistant, free on the web, desktop and phone, and it drafts itineraries like the others. Microsoft 365 plans (Personal, Premium, and a new Pro at $99.99 a month) raise its usage limits and bring it into Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Pick it if you already pay for Microsoft 365. Watch out: it has the same limits as any chat plan: check every place yourself. copilot.microsoft.com
How to get a better plan from any AI
Every tool does better with specifics. Put dates, people, pace and what you won't do in the first message:
Plan 4 days in Lisbon, May 12 to 15, for two adults and a 7-year-old. We like food markets, viewpoints and one museum a day. No early starts, walking and trams only, mid-range budget, staying in Baixa.
Then check the draft before you rely on it:
- Check every place exists and is open on the day and hour you'll be there. Hours change by season.
- Put each day on a map. If the stops zigzag across town, reorder them.
- Count the hours. A museum, lunch and one neighborhood on foot is a full day in most cities.
- Book anything with timed entry (towers, popular museums, tours) as soon as the dates are fixed.
- Keep a copy that works offline.
Trip planners do part of this for you: Highlights takes each place's hours and rating from Google Places and orders every day on a map. Chat assistants leave the checking to you.
Questions people ask
What is the best AI for travel planning?
It depends on the job. For research and a first draft, a chat assistant such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini. To plan and book in one app, Mindtrip, or Layla if you want a person to book it. For a day-by-day plan on a map that a group can open and RSVP to, Highlights, which is made by the publisher of this page.
Can ChatGPT plan a trip?
Yes. Its free plan writes a day-by-day draft in seconds and you change it by replying. The plan stays in the chat, so to follow it on the trip you copy it into a map, notes or a planner, and you check that each place is still open.
Is there a free AI for travel planning?
Yes. Highlights, Mindtrip, Wonderplan and TripGenie are free to plan with, and Layla charges no planning fee on its website. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot all have free plans that can draft an itinerary.
Can AI book my trip?
Some can. Mindtrip lets you book flights, stays and restaurants in the app. Layla's travel advisors check the plan and book it for you. Gemini links out to Google Flights and Google Hotels to book, and TripGenie works inside Trip.com. Highlights plans the trip and you book where you like.
Is it safe to give an AI trip planner my details?
You don't need personal details to get a plan: a destination, dates and what you like are enough, and Highlights needs no account to start. Give passport and payment details only to a service that is booking for you, and read its privacy policy first.
How do I share an AI travel plan with a group?
In Highlights you send one link, and friends see every day in their browser and tap Going, Maybe or Can't go without installing anything. Mindtrip lets you invite others to join your trip. From a chat assistant you copy the plan into a message or a shared doc.
About this page
Published by Winding AI, Inc., the company that makes Highlights. Highlights is one of the nine tools compared, so read our picks with that in mind. Each tool is described by what it does, and we say where it beats ours.
How we chose. We started from the tools named in Google's top results and AI Overviews for "best ai for travel planning" and close searches ("best ai trip planner", "best ai travel planner") on November 7, 2026, kept the ones you can use today in English, added TripGenie as the assistant of a large booking site, and added Highlights.
How we checked. Prices and features come from each company's own site, pricing page, help pages or US App Store listing, read on November 7, 2026. We didn't buy paid plans to test them, and we give no scores or star ratings. Prices change; tell us at support@winding.ai if one is out of date and we'll fix it.
How we make money. From Highlights Pro and paid plans, and from commissions when someone books a hotel or flight through a link inside Highlights. Links to Highlights from this page carry a tag saying you came from here; links to the other tools carry no affiliate code.
Highlights elsewhere: highlights.ai · App Store · Google Play · Instagram · TikTok · X. Highlights also keeps a longer guide to ten AI trip planners.
Sources, read November 7, 2026
Highlights Pro page and App Store · Mindtrip site and App Store · Layla site and App Store · Wonderplan · TripGenie · ChatGPT pricing · Claude pricing · Gemini plans, trip planning and Google's post · Copilot plans.