Plan a two-week Taiwan and Hong Kong trip with a toddler using Gemini and Ask Maps
- Posted
- by New York Times personal tech columnist (via CNA Luxury)
- Last checked
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- How we verify
Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.
Outcome
A New York Times personal tech columnist used Gemini (with personal data from Gmail) and Google Maps' Ask Maps to plan a 14-day Taiwan and Hong Kong trip with their wife and 20-month-old. The columnist says activity planning took only about 30 minutes; Gemini drafted family-friendly daily plans that accounted for jet lag, to-do and packing lists, and found a cheap data plan. But the packing list left out the columnist's own socks and underwear, and in Hong Kong it suggested restaurants near the previous hotel in Taiwan; Ask Maps handled real-time requests better.
Agent
Prompt Recreated prompt
The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.
Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about anything important that's missing below. Keep them quick. Then do the task, checking in with me at the key points. Goal: Help me plan a family trip with a young child: daily plans, packing list and pre-trip tasks. What I can give you (ask for whatever's missing): - Destinations, dates and hotels - Child's age and nap or routine needs - What we enjoy Rules: - Ask 1-3 questions about our pace first. - Plan gentle first days for jet lag and include breaks. - Make packing lists for each person, including basics for adults. - Add a pre-trip checklist (passports, data plan, bookings). - If a site asks for a login, a CAPTCHA or payment details, stop and hand control back to me. - Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything. - Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify. Output: Daily plans, packing lists and a pre-trip checklist. You'll know it worked when: we follow the plan without missing essentials or overtiring the child.
Optional stronger version
Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.
Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about anything important that's missing below. Keep them quick. Then do the task, checking in with me at the key points. Goal: Help me plan a family trip with a young child: daily plans, packing list and pre-trip tasks. What I can give you (ask for whatever's missing): - Destinations, dates and hotels - Child's age and nap or routine needs - What we enjoy Rules: - Ask 1-3 questions about our pace first. - Plan gentle first days for jet lag and include breaks. - Make packing lists for each person, including basics for adults. - Add a pre-trip checklist (passports, data plan, bookings). - If a site asks for a login, a CAPTCHA or payment details, stop and hand control back to me. - Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything. - Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify. - On the ground, double-check that recommendations are near where you are now. Output: Daily plans, packing lists and a pre-trip checklist. You'll know it worked when: we follow the plan without missing essentials or overtiring the child. Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.
Source
https://cnaluxury.channelnewsasia.com/experiences/ai-travel-plan-gemini-vacation-293626
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