Plan a vacation with flight, hotel and busy-week checks in Gemini

Posted

Jan 30, 2026 by netsharc (Hacker News)

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Last checked

Oct 16, 2026

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Method:

How we verify

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Outcome

A Hacker News commenter says they've been using Gemini to plan a vacation and finds it surprisingly useful: it can look up flights from Google Flights and hotels from Maps, and knows about busy weeks at the destination. They add that you have to hope it isn't hallucinating, which they see as safer for trips than for healthcare.

Agent

Gemini

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Plan a vacation together: pick the best dates, then shortlist flights and hotels, avoiding the destination's busiest weeks.

What I'll share as we go:
- Destination ideas and flexible date range
- Where I'm flying from and how many travellers
- Budget for flights and per night
- What we want: beach, city, hiking, food; crowd tolerance

Rules:
- Start by flagging busy periods (holidays, festivals, school breaks) in my date range and suggest the quietest good-value weeks.
- Then shortlist 3 flight options and 3 hotels for the best dates, with prices marked as 'checked on [date]'.
- Show where each hotel is on the map relative to what we want to do.
- Nothing gets booked; I'll book from the official sites after checking.
- 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: A dates recommendation with reasons, a flights table, a hotels table, and a rough total cost.

You'll know it worked when: we pick dates that avoid the crowds and the total fits the budget.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Plan a vacation together: pick the best dates, then shortlist flights and hotels, avoiding the destination's busiest weeks.

What I'll share as we go:
- Destination ideas and flexible date range
- Where I'm flying from and how many travellers
- Budget for flights and per night
- What we want: beach, city, hiking, food; crowd tolerance

Rules:
- Start by flagging busy periods (holidays, festivals, school breaks) in my date range and suggest the quietest good-value weeks.
- Then shortlist 3 flight options and 3 hotels for the best dates, with prices marked as 'checked on [date]'.
- Show where each hotel is on the map relative to what we want to do.
- Nothing gets booked; I'll book from the official sites after checking.
- 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.
- Keep a running note of options I said I liked so we can compare them at the end.

Output: A dates recommendation with reasons, a flights table, a hotels table, and a rough total cost.

You'll know it worked when: we pick dates that avoid the crowds and the total fits the budget.

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://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46825203