AI Travel Planning: Building Smart Itineraries with OpenAI and Mapbox

Planning multi-day trips is complex. We built an app that generates optimized daily itineraries based on user preferences, budget, and real-time weather data.

1. Constraint-Based Planning

Users input destination, dates, budget, and interests. The app sends these constraints to OpenAI with a structured output schema:

typescript
const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
  model: "gpt-4",
  messages: [{ role: "system", content: TRAVEL_PLANNER_PROMPT }],
  response_format: { type: "json_object" }
});

2. Mapbox Route Visualization

Each day's activities are plotted on a Mapbox map with optimized driving/walking routes between stops, showing estimated travel times.

3. Weather-Adaptive Plans

The app monitors weather forecasts and dynamically suggests indoor alternatives when rain is predicted for outdoor activities.

Summary

AI-powered travel planning eliminates hours of research by generating personalized, weather-aware itineraries that adapt in real-time.