Best AI for Travel Planning 2026: 11 AI Trip Planners Scored

On one 7-day Tokyo brief, iMean made the fewest "oh no" moments of ten outside AI trip planners, and Airial and Mindtrip made the most. iMean scored 5 on the Oh-No Travel Index, Gemini 8 and Wanderlog 8; Airial and Mindtrip, which both ask for an account before they plan, scored 13. MonkeyEatingMango, the product behind this blog, scored 4 on the same test and sits outside the ranking. The right pick still depends on the job, and the list says which planner fits which.

• Fewest faults: iMean, 5: the most must-dos answered, then 1 free message a day.
• Best chatbot answer: Gemini, 8, in its Flash mode; the default Thinking mode returned an error twice first.
• Fastest: ChatGPT, logged out, about 26 seconds; 9, with the airport and the leaving day left as questions.
• Clearest train directions: Plantrip, 11: a line and fare on every leg, and days that run to five sights plus meals.
• For building the days yourself: Wanderlog (8) and Stippl (11, plus 5 not scored), organizers whose AI does not fill the days.
• A package to book: Layla, 12: a hotel, transfer and tours in a cart, reached through a VPN because it blocks India.
• Most faults: Airial and Mindtrip, 13 each: a timed plan with a closed lunch, and a pinned map of named places, both with 3 of 15 must-dos answered.

The eleven planners on one Tokyo brief

The rows run in rank order, lowest score first. Plantrip ranks above Stippl at the same 11 because Stippl's 11 comes from must-dos alone (11 left, against Plantrip's 6) and its 5 day faults could not be scored, so its 11 is a floor. Airial and Mindtrip tie at 13 and are listed alphabetically. Gemini and Wanderlog tie at 8, also listed alphabetically.

How were the planners scored?

Each planner received the same brief, six on October 19, 2026, three on October 21 and two, Layla and Airial, on October 22: "Plan a 7-day trip to Tokyo, November 16-22, 2026, for a couple. Budget USD 1,500 total, excluding international flights. Comfortable pace. It's our first time in Japan and we don't know the country." The brief went in word for word wherever a tool takes text; MonkeyEatingMango, which has no free-text box, received the same trip through its 8 cards.

Every plan was scored on the Oh-No Travel Index: 15 must-dos a first trip needs answered and 5 day faults a plan should not make. Each closed-stop verdict was checked against the venue's official site, and a tip or a "maybe" never counted as a scheduled stop. These are single runs on free tiers, so a score can move from one run or version to the next.

1. iMean: the most must-dos answered, one free message a day

iMean answered 11 of the 15 must-dos, more than any other outside planner, in one long reply that took about 3.5 minutes: neighborhoods compared, ten hotels priced by the night, five named restaurants and a map of every place. The day plan is prose, with two clock times in seven days.

The free plan stops there. A second message used up the day's credits, three of the eight answer sections (Things to Know, Costs and Spending, Alternative Suggestions) are locked, and paid plans start at $6.99 a month, billed yearly. A few facts were out of date: teamLab Borderless placed in Odaiba, two years after it moved. Best if one rich answer is the goal and the facts will be checked. Read the iMean review.

2. Gemini: a sound chat plan, after a mode switch

Gemini's 3.6 Flash mode returned seven days in about 50 seconds, with a USD 1,500 table it called comfortable. One of its 21 named stops was gone: the Unicorn Gundam statue in Odaiba, scheduled for November 19, ended its display on August 31, 2026, a closure a re-check on October 22 caught and the first scoring missed. It covered the IC card, cash and an eSIM, and missed entry papers, closures, packing, scams, a day trip and the leaving day, which reads "Head to the airport via local train" with no airport or time.

Two things to know before relying on it. The default Thinking mode returned "I encountered an error doing what you asked" on the first try and a second error on the retry, each after about six minutes. And the budget counts 7 hotel nights at $90 for a 6-night stay. Best for a traveler who already uses Gemini and will check the bookends.

3. Wanderlog: a careful plan that stays in the chat

Wanderlog's AI Assistant wrote a frugal plan in about 60 seconds: none of its 27 stops was found closed, the JR Pass advice was right, and a USD 1,500 table added up exactly. Reaching it took an account and six setup screens, and the free account showed 10 AI messages.

The plan never becomes the trip. The trip's own itinerary days stayed empty and its map still said "Add some places", so every stop goes in by hand. Pro starts at $39.99 a year. Best for a group that wants a shared map and will build the days itself. Read the Wanderlog review.

4. ChatGPT: the fastest answer, with the bookends left open

ChatGPT answered in about 26 seconds with no account: seven days of at most four stops, Shinjuku Gyoen on a Friday and the Imperial Palace East Gardens on a Wednesday, both clear of their closing days. It flagged the $85-a-night room as "the biggest uncertainty" in the budget.

The start and end of the trip are where it stops. Instead of an airport route or a leaving-day plan, it asked "Which airport will you use?", and it left entry papers, a SIM, scams and a day trip unanswered. Its budget also disagrees with itself: a $1,350 target above a table that sums to $1,250. Best for a fast first draft that will be finished in a follow-up.

5. Stardrift: light days and priced hotels, light on the basics

Stardrift filled a dated itinerary beside its chat in about 90 seconds: two stops a day, start times, and three named hotels priced for the dates. It said plainly that USD 1,500 was too tight, and the trip can be shared with collaborators and fed bookings from Gmail.

It left 9 of the 15 must-dos unanswered and sent the couple to Tsukiji Outer Market on a Sunday, when most stalls close. Stardrift publishes no paid plan as of October 2026. Best for a traveler who wants an easy pace and real hotel prices. Read the Stardrift review.

6. Plantrip: the clearest train directions, the busiest days

Plantrip turned one typed brief into seven days in 92 seconds, with the line, minutes and yen for every move between areas, the most transit detail of the ten. It answered 9 of the 15 must-dos.

The pace is the catch: up to five sights a day plus meals on a "comfortable" brief, three on the arrival day, Shinjuku Gyoen on a Monday when it is closed, and a day that crosses the city and comes back. The free plan allows 3 plans a month; Plus is $3 a month or $30 a year. Best for a traveler who wants the trains spelled out and will thin the days. Read the Plantrip review.

7. Stippl: an organizer whose AI plans no days

Stippl's free AI turned the brief into a route of three neighborhood bases over eight days and scheduled no stops, so its day faults could not be scored. It answered 4 of the 15 must-dos.

What Stippl does well is the organizing around a plan: a route map, shared editing and an expense split for a group, with 20 free AI messages. Building the days by hand is slow. Pro is EUR 3.99 a month or EUR 24.99 a year. Best for a group that already knows its stops and wants to split the costs. Read the Stippl review.

8. Layla: a booking cart with a plan inside

Layla blocks visitors from India, so it ran through a German VPN on October 22, 2026, and treated Frankfurt as home: it added round-trip flights the brief excluded. It asked "Does this look good to generate your trip?" before planning, and one tap later, about 2 minutes, returned a trip page with a hotel, an airport transfer, five paid tours and tickets, and a "Cart · $1,683" total.

It answered 3 of the 15 must-dos: the airport transfer, where to stay and the sights. Its days are light and none of its stops was found closed, but they carry no clock times. The trip intro says it stays "within your budget of USD 1,500" while its own cart, flights unpriced, already passes that before a meal or a train ride. Every message after the plan offered a travel advisor to book it. Best for a traveler who wants the trip booked as a package. Read the Layla AI review.

9. Airial: a timed plan behind a Google sign-in

Airial returned seven days in about 77 seconds on October 22, 2026, with a clock time on every item and a named restaurant at every meal. Getting there took a sign-in and two taps it requires before planning: skipping a "heart some sights" card and confirming the destination. It added round-trip flights from Bengaluru that the brief excluded, and showed prices in rupees on the account used.

It answered 3 of the 15 must-dos: a hotel in Asakusa, the sights, and a leaving day timed to a Narita flight. It scheduled lunch at Namiki Yabusoba on a Wednesday, which its own venue panel lists as closed, and put a Shinjuku ramen dinner as a "10m walk" from the Asakusa hotel. The hotel alone came to about USD 1,150 of the USD 1,500, with no warning. Best for a traveler who wants every hour laid out and will check the venues.

10. Mindtrip: a pinned map, few answers

Mindtrip now asks for an account before it plans, which it did not in September 2026. Signed in, one message returned seven gently paced days in about 90 seconds, with a named hotel, dinner every day and lunch from day 2, and every place pinned on a map; none of its stops was found closed.

It answered 3 of the 15 must-dos: no entry papers, airport route, transit card, cash, SIM, weather or departure, and day 7 runs to a sushi dinner with no flight in it. It called USD 1,500 "a tight budget" and priced only the hotel, in rupees on the account used. Day 6 crosses town to Tokyo Tower and back to Shinjuku for dinner. Best for a traveler who wants named places on a map and will plan the practical side elsewhere. Read the Mindtrip review.

Where does MonkeyEatingMango fit?

MonkeyEatingMango, the product behind this blog, scored 4 on the same brief and is left out of the ranking so the list is not a publisher ranking itself. It returned seven timed days, 18 stops each with a time and a cost, in about 95 seconds with no account, and answered 13 of the 15 must-dos.

Its faults are listed the same way as everyone else's. It missed the JR Pass question and never explained the Monday closures it planned around. It put Tsukiji Outer Market at 4:30 PM, after the stalls close, and doubled back on day 7 before the airport. It asks no budget, so its cost estimate of USD 4,539 for the trip, USD 2,419 of it on the ground, went about 61% past the brief's USD 1,500 with no warning.

Open the full MonkeyEatingMango plan for this brief, or start from the 7-day Japan itinerary and the Japan travel guide for other routes.

Which AI trip planners are free?

All ten returned an answer in October 2026, on a free tier except Gemini, which ran on a Google Workspace account; Stippl's free answer was a route with no day plan. What differs is how much a free account allows. Paid prices are as listed on each vendor's page in October 2026.

Which kind of travel itinerary app do you need?

Travel itinerary apps do one of three jobs: generate the plan, give a canvas to build it, or assemble it from bookings. Most of the ten above generate; Wanderlog and Stippl are canvases with an AI beside them.

Which AI trip planners were not scored?

Several planners that answer the same searches were not scored on this brief. None of them has a score here, and the reason for each is below.

What did the September test find?

An earlier test, on September 23, 2026, sent a different brief to eight planners: 5 days in Tokyo for a couple, one of them vegetarian, USD 1,500. Four answered, and the finding that holds is about constraints: the only plan that kept the whole brief came from a chatbot. Gemini, run through its API, split the budget to the dollar and named a vegetarian option at every dinner, but planned no lunches and named three restaurants in five days.

MonkeyEatingMango has no dietary field, so the vegetarian never reached it, and its last lunch slot suggested Niku no Suzuki and Niku no Sato, both named for meat. Mindtrip named all ten meals and placed three wrong for the day or the couple: Gopinatha is in Nakano and seats single diners only, THE STORK is in Kawasaki, and Nakiryū serves pork and chicken broths. monkeytravel.app left nine of ten meals as placeholders and showed its total in sterling. All 19 restaurants checked against Tabelog, HappyCow and Vegewel exist; seven close on at least one day of the week, and no plan said so.

Which one should you pick?

• One rich answer, with hotels and restaurants to choose from: iMean, and check the facts.
• A chatbot already in use: Gemini in its Flash mode, or ChatGPT for the fastest draft; plan the airport and the leaving day yourself.
• A shared map to build by hand: Wanderlog, or Stippl for a group that splits costs.
• An easy pace with real hotel prices: Stardrift.
• Every train spelled out: Plantrip, with the days thinned.
• Named places on a map: Mindtrip, with an account and a separate practical checklist.
• A dated plan with a time and a cost on every stop, no account: MonkeyEatingMango, with its faults above in mind.

Sources

• The test runs: the brief, each planner's answer, screenshots and the 20-item scoring, October 19 and 21, 2026; the method is on the Oh-No Travel Index page.
• Opening days checked on official sites, including the Imperial Household Agency for the East Gardens.
• Paid prices: each vendor's pricing page or upgrade screen, dated in the reviews linked above.

Common questions

What is the best AI trip planner in 2026?

On a 7-day Tokyo brief scored in October 2026, iMean made the fewest faults of the ten outside planners (5 on the Oh-No Travel Index, lower is better), then Gemini and Wanderlog (8 each). iMean's free plan allows 1 message a day, so the best pick depends on the job: a full dated plan, one rich answer, or an organizer to fill by hand.

Is ChatGPT good for planning a trip?

ChatGPT, logged out, returned a 7-day Tokyo plan in about 26 seconds in October 2026, with a comfortable pace and no closed stops. It scored 9 of 20 on the Oh-No Travel Index, leaving the airport route, the leaving day, entry papers and a day trip unanswered, and asked which airport the traveler would use instead.

Is Gemini good for travel planning?

Gemini's 3.6 Flash mode returned a sound 7-day Tokyo plan in about 50 seconds in October 2026 and scored 8, tied for the second-best outside score with Wanderlog; one of its stops, the Unicorn Gundam statue in Odaiba, had ended its display on August 31, 2026. Its default Thinking mode returned an error twice on the same brief, so getting a plan took a switch of mode.

Do AI trip planners schedule places that are closed?

Five of the ten plans that scheduled stops in October 2026 put at least one at a closed venue. Stardrift sent the couple to Tsukiji Outer Market on a Sunday, Plantrip to Shinjuku Gyoen on a Monday and to Miraikan, shut for refurbishment, Gemini to the Unicorn Gundam statue after its display ended, Airial booked a Wednesday lunch at Namiki Yabusoba, which closes Wednesdays, and MonkeyEatingMango put Tsukiji at 4:30 PM after the stalls close.

Which AI trip planner works without an account?

In the October 2026 test, ChatGPT (logged out) and MonkeyEatingMango produced a full plan with no account. Airial, iMean, Mindtrip, Plantrip, Stardrift, Stippl and Wanderlog asked for one first, and Gemini runs on a Google account. Mindtrip did not require an account in September 2026.

Which AI trip planners are free?

All the outside planners in the October 2026 test answered on a free tier except Gemini, which ran on a Google Workspace account; Stippl's free answer was a route with no day plan. The limits differ: iMean allows 1 message a day, Wanderlog 10 AI messages, Stippl 20, Plantrip 3 plans a month, while Airial, ChatGPT, Mindtrip and Stardrift set no limit the test reached. MonkeyEatingMango shows every plan free and charges for downloads.

Which AI trip planner gives the best train directions?

Plantrip gave the line, minutes and fare for every leg of a 7-day Tokyo plan in October 2026, the most transit detail of the eleven planners scored. Its days ran to five sights plus meals, which cost it on the Oh-No Travel Index (11).

Can an AI trip planner keep to a budget?

Some say plainly when a budget is tight. For USD 1,500 in Tokyo, Stardrift called it too tight, Mindtrip called it tight, Wanderlog fitted it with a table that adds up, and Gemini called it comfortable while counting 7 hotel nights for a 6-night stay. MonkeyEatingMango asks no budget and estimated USD 4,539 for the trip with no warning.

Which AI trip planner is best for a vegetarian?

In a September 2026 test of a 5-day Tokyo brief with one vegetarian, Gemini, run through its API, gave a named vegetarian option at every dinner and Mindtrip at nine of ten meals. MonkeyEatingMango has no dietary field and suggested two restaurants named for meat on the last day.

How was the Oh-No Travel Index scored?

Each plan was scored on 20 items: 15 must-dos a first trip needs answered (entry papers, airport route, transit card, closures, a day trip and more) and 5 day faults (an overloaded day, a closed stop, a day that doubles back). The index is the count missed, 0 to 20, lower is better; the full definition is on the index page.

Related reading

• The Oh-No Travel Index: the 20 items and every planner's score
• How to use ChatGPT for travel planning: a working prompt, and where the output still breaks
• 43% of AI-planned days carry a fault: the measured study behind the closing-day pattern

Disclosure: MonkeyEatingMango, the product behind this blog, is one of the eleven planners scored and is listed outside the ranking. Every other planner is described from its own output on the test dates and its public pages.

Last updated October 2026.