How AI Travel Planners Can Ruin Your Trip: Common Mistakes To Look Out For

The way AI has taken over the world has been nothing short of jaw-dropping. The use of AI for trip planning has seen phenomenal growth over the past few months, especially in 2025. These days, many travelers rely on AI to generate itineraries for their dream destinations. Just enter your destination, travel dates, budget, and interests, and AI travel tools will deliver a perfectly curated itinerary. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: While AI trip planners promise a dream vacation in seconds, they can also mislead more than they help. To offer facts, I tried creating itineraries for Seoul and Busan on several global AI itinerary tools. Join me as I share my findings on how AI travel planners can ruin your trip in this blog post.

Also Read:

• Korea Travel Essential Guide: Transport, SIM, Food & Must-Know Tips
• 18 Best Apps for Korea Travel: Easy & Convenient
• K-Drama Filming Spots in Seoul: Best Cafés and Iconic Places

🤖 The Rise Of AI In Travel Planning

Travelers prefer to use AI trip planners for:

• Instant results
• No need to spend hours on deep research
• Stress-free travel
• Personalized recommendations.

And AI trip planners help achieve these to some level. Tools like Layla, GuideGeek, ChatGPT, and Vacay feature chatbots that offer detailed answers to travelers’ inquiries. On the other hand, AI trip planners like Iplan.ai, Wonderplan, Explorerg, and Plantrip curate itineraries based on your detailed preferences, budget, and restraints. For newcomers, the generated plans will appear perfect, and they likely won’t take the time to verify them with other sources. However, travel isn’t just data—even the perfectly curated itineraries will fall apart in the real world. Unpredictable and unseen circumstances are something AI can’t decipher beforehand, and that’s where it often struggles.

🗺️ Top Ways AI Itineraries Can Go Wrong

AI helps visitors plan that perfect dream vacation, but it is not without flaws. From outdated information to unrealistic schedules, here is how AI travel planners can ruin your trip:

1. Inaccurate Or Outdated Information

This is something we all can relate to. AI doesn’t always deliver facts; misinformation and distorted truth are very much prevalent in AI-created content. The same goes for AI-generated itineraries. AI models are prone to making stuff up, so it’s better to double-check their suggestions. Many AI travel planners also rely on outdated information to generate results. They don’t always have access to real-time updates, meaning:

• Attractions listed “open” may actually be closed on your visiting dates.
• Entrance fees can be more or less for attractions.
• Seasonal changes may be overlooked.

Example 1: When creating a Seoul Itinerary on Iplan.ai, it suggested visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace on Tuesday. However, the palace is always closed on that particular day.

Example 2: I found a similar mistake while creating a Busan Itinerary on iMean.ai. The planner mentioned the opening hours of Samgwangsa Temple from 8 AM to 5 PM. However, the shrine is open 24 hours a day.

Example 3: Plantrip estimated costs a traveler might have to pay while visiting Gyeonghuigung Palace and Baek In-je House. However, both attractions offer free entry, and visitors likely won’t spend any money at all.

Mistakes like these can easily ruin a person’s trip. Imagine arriving at an attraction during its closing days, wasted time and broken schedules are just minor issues—these things can even derail an entire day.

* Note: These examples are based on real itineraries generated during testing in January 2026. Outputs may vary depending on prompts, updates, or model changes.

2. Over-Packed Itineraries

After finally deciding to visit your dream travel destination, you will aim to stop by every attraction and local spot. Sadly, the reality is brutal; you can’t possibly hop from one attraction to another within a matter of minutes. Some AI travel planners are too optimistic, and they curate packed itineraries that will barely allow visitors a moment to catch their breath. These sorts of plans often:

• Pack too many activities into a single day.
• Forget rest and possible delays.
• Ignore travel time between locations
• Assume everything runs perfectly

Example 1: The 3-day Seoul Itinerary by Plantrip includes as many as 9 stops within a single day. This is way too unrealistic, even for a fast-paced traveler.

Example 2: A 3-Day Busan Itinerary created by ItiMaker ignores travel time between locations. It’s impossible to hop from one place to another right after.

You might be able to cover all attractions created by AI travel planners. But rather than feeling satisfied, you will be exhausted, rushed, and frustrated.

* Note: These examples are based on real itineraries generated during testing in January 2026. Outputs may vary depending on prompts, updates, or model changes.

3. Generic “One-Size-Fits-All” Itineraries

Many AI trip planners promise personalization, but the curated results all feel familiar. AI typically prioritizes popular attractions, highly reviewed locations, and well-documented tourist paths. The result is, you often get:

• The same crowded landmarks
• Experiences that everyone else is also doing
• Similar-looking itineraries across multiple AI trip planners.

Example 1: I created a 3-day Busan Itinerary in ItiMaker, Vacay, and GuideGeek. The curated itineraries all followed the same pattern, highlighting Busan’s touristy areas, such as Haeundae Beach, Gamcheon Culture Village, BIFF Square, Jagalchi Market, and Dongbaek Island.

Example 2: Requesting personalized recommendations is slightly helpful, but the newly created itineraries skirt around less-ventured areas around the highly popular destinations, and only recommend a few new suggestions.

Example 3: Even if you reiterate your preferences, the generated results might not be what you are looking for. I asked GuideGeek to create a Busan Itinerary that includes hidden gems and non-touristy areas; however, the generated itinerary still recommended several renowned destinations.

If you are a slow traveler, foodie, culture lover, or someone seeking off-the-beaten-path experiences, AI can easily miss the mark. You will have to ask trip planners to modify itineraries multiple times before getting satisfying results.

* Note: These examples are based on real itineraries generated during testing in January 2026. Outputs may vary depending on prompts, updates, or model changes.

4. Ignoring Local Context And Seasonal Changes

Although AI trip planners typically ask for dates of my visit, they still suggested activities that seem unlikely season-wise. Some itineraries also made no sense locally. For example: Visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace on Tuesday, when it is always closed (see no. 1 for the screenshot). The most common errors I found across multiple AI trip planners were:

• Suggested visiting religious sites on closed days
• Planned outdoor activities during extreme weather seasons
• Recommended experiences that locals avoid

Example 1: Almost all AI travel planners recommended visiting Haeundae Beach for my December trip. The beach is not ideal for swimming or sunbathing during that time, and if I can’t do those, my trip is honestly wasted.

Example 2: When I created a Busan Itinerary on iMean.ai, it suggested Gwangalli Beach as best viewed during daylight. While it stands true during the summer, during the cold months, the beach is best visited after dark for scenic evening walks.

Example 3: Vacay suggested catching the Banpo Bridge fountain show one evening for my Seoul trip in January. However, the show is usually not active in January due to cold weather conditions.

Seasonal changes are often ignored by AI travel planners, leading to the generation of misguided itineraries. Imagine visiting a beach in the extremely cold day or saving your evening for a show that won’t happen. These occurrences are not always written clearly—they are learned through lived experience.

* Note: These examples are based on real itineraries generated during testing in January 2026. Outputs may vary depending on prompts, updates, or model changes.

5. Lack Of High Quality Data

From what I discovered, the majority of AI travel planners only input basic data to generate itineraries. For instance, you only need to add the destination name, dates, the number of travelers, and budget preferences to request an itinerary. This simplification is great when you are not sure what you are looking for in a trip. However, AI only works well when users carefully curate and manage accurate real-time activity information. Otherwise, AI will only curate itineraries that look polished but feel soulless. The current approach for most AI Itinerary Generators includes:

• Trip planners ask basic questions, including destination names, the duration of your trip, and the size of your group.
• They will then curate an itinerary that typically highlights renowned landmarks, tourist attractions, and activities.
• Users will only be asked to input any additional requests or preferences after the itinerary is created.
• AI can only re-generate suggestions—but won’t necessarily offer feasible solutions to meet travelers’ preferences.

Example 1: Several AI travel planners have a fixed model that only allows users to select from the pre-existing criteria. For instance, users can only select from adventure, family friends, couple, group, leisure, and budget when generating an itinerary on Explorerg. But there are many kinds of travelers, from foodies to culture seekers and historical buffs.

Example 2: AI trip planners like Tripsora adopt a “one-size-fits-all” model for their prerequisite data. Since I was creating Seoul and Busan itineraries, the options available did not exactly match my preferences.

Example 3: Many free AI trip planners operate like Mindtrip, which feature chatbots, where users are urged to ask questions about their trip. Let’s say you request a Seoul Itinerary. Mindtrip will first customize an itinerary for you, and then only ask additional questions about transportation, accommodation, and food. It re-generates itineraries every time you ask a new question.

The problem with such features is that you have to try multiple times to get the itinerary that ticks all your preferences. This also shows one of the ways how AI travel planners can ruin your trip. AI creates the plan, but humans make it work. So, instead of stepping in after a plan is created, travelers should be engaged in the process beforehand.

* Note: These examples are based on real itineraries generated during testing in January 2026. Outputs may vary depending on prompts, updates, or model changes.

6. Limitations Of AI Trip Planners

Is it just me who is tired of downloading AI travel planners on mobile? Many free planners are only available as mobile apps, making it impossible for users to test them. Several are also not suitable for desktop users. Another issue I found was with freemium AI trip planners. Although these planners promise free itineraries, I was hung out to dry in the midst of creating my dream vacation plan.

Example 1: AI travel planners like iPlan.ai and TripBot are not for desktop users. You have to download them on your mobile to create itineraries.

Example 2: The so-called “free plan” is only free if you follow specific steps in Tripsora. Logging in with my email address wasn’t an issue, but I also had to accept the site’s terms and conditions before being able to unlock my free Seoul Itinerary.

Example 3: I could freely generate Busan and Seoul itineraries on Aicotravel. However, when I was chatting with AI for extra assistance, I could only get limited responses before it was locked.

My tip for using freemium AI travel planners is to only use them to generate basic travel plans. Don’t expect personalizations, as their advanced functions are only reserved for paid plans.

* Note: These examples are based on real itineraries generated during testing in January 2026. Outputs may vary depending on prompts, updates, or model changes.

🤔 Should I Use AI To Plan My Itinerary?

Now that I have listed multiple ways how AI Itinerary can ruin your trip, you might be getting skeptical about using any AI travel planners. The fact is that AI is not the villain—it is just not a perfect solution for everything. AI trip planners are there to help you make your dream vacation possible, and you should fully utilize them. AI works best when you use it for:

• Travel inspiration and idea generation
• Discovering destinations
• Broad trip structure
• Instant results

However, you can’t solely rely on AI to plan itineraries. Human input is equally important when planning a trip anywhere. Local awareness, cultural pretexts, real-time information, traveler constraints, and emotions are some oversights by AI. The best way to utilize AI is to be involved in the itinerary-making process from the get-go. And, that’s where we come ✨

🪭 Introducing Korea Trip Planner – Your Reliable Solution For Itineraries

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A post shared by Korea Travel Guide 🇰🇷 (@ivisitkorea)

Korea Trip Planner (KTP) is IVK’s latest addition that makes your Korea trip a breeze. Many global AI trip planners are available that generate itineraries for cities worldwide. However, there is only a handful like KTP that is solely designed to help you plan a trip to Korea. Unlike generic “one-size-fits-all” itineraries, KTP provides:

• Structured Korea travel plan
• Specifically about Seoul, Busan, and Jeju Island
• Personalized activity recommendations tailored to your travel style
• Real-Time Things To Do + Hidden Gems
• Estimates travel time, budget, and logistics
• Options to edit, save, & share your itinerary anytime

You only need to spend a few minutes to curate your Korea travel plan through KTP. First, click to start and select your destination. Then, go through a simple questionnaire (start and end dates & arrival and departure times). Next, fill out the inquiries about your travel style, who you are traveling with, your ideal travel pace, and your preferred type of stay. And voila! Your personalized Korea travel plan will be ready to edit, save, and share.

🎎 How Korea Trip Planner Stands Out From Other AI Travel Planners?

1. Focuses On High Quality Data To Generate Itineraries

If you haven’t tried KTP already, our goal is to ensure users will actively engage in creating itineraries of their preferences. Instead of travelers stepping in after a plan is created, we emphasize their participation from the moment they select their preferred destination. Korea Trip Planner offers diverse criteria, from budget to travel preferences, to ensure users get the most personalized recommendations. Because the fact is, although AI supports itinerary creation, human expertise plays a crucial role behind the scenes.

2. Wide Range Of Travel Preferences

As mentioned earlier, one of the common occurrences I found on multiple AI trip planners was that they offered limited travel preferences. They didn’t address all kinds of travelers out there. In contrast, KTP allows users to select their travel styles, from foodies to K-drama lovers, natural seekers, adventurers, first-timers, and nightlife enthusiasts. You can select many options at the same time. Korea Trip Planner aims to design trips around users’ emotions and travel intent.

3. Itineraries Fit For Real-Life Situations

I found several AI trip planners to be too optimistic—they prioritized over-scheduling, ignored rest time, and always assumed ideal conditions. This is where the Korea Trip Planner comes out as different. Unlike other planners that cram multiple attractions on the same day, KTP offers three travel paces: Chill, Balanced, and Packed. Each travel pace will feature activities with enough rest times, well-laid-out transition times, and recommended visiting hours. So, you won’t rush to cover multiple spots—but slow down, rest, and wander at your own pace.

4. Personalized Recommendations Not Generic

Korea Trip Planner aims to offer the best personalized recommendations based on users’ preferences. You won’t get the same landmarks, neighborhoods, or “Top 10” experiences here; your personalized itinerary is designed to address your travel intent. You will get different results when you change your travel preferences. Additionally, you can remove or add any activities from the list.

5. Provides Realistic Itineraries

KTP focuses on validating and maintaining high-quality data in advance. It aims to create realistic, time-aware, and useful itineraries from the start. That’s why the data you fill out in the KTP quiz is crucial. The more accurate you are, the more efficient and realistic itineraries the Korea Trip Planner will generate.

6. Addresses Travelers’ Constraints

I found many AI travel planners struggling to address nuanced needs, such as mobility and accessibility requirements, traveling with kids or seniors, and energy levels over consecutive days. Korea Trip Planner designs your itineraries around these constraints. You can select who you are traveling with (solo, couples, family, friends) beforehand. You also have the option to tick for accessibility needs before getting your personalized recommendations. KTP will then suggest activities that require minimal walking.

🌟 Extra Pointers That Make KTP Stand Out:

• Provides real-time information (no instances of attractions being closed on your visiting dates)
• Provides transportation tips to get to each destination.
• Details like address, operating hours, suggested tours, and estimated costs are clearly laid out.
• Recommends accommodations that fit your budget.
• Offers an estimated budget plan, clearly showcasing experiences, accommodations, and meals expenses.

AI can help you plan faster, but it can’t replace human judgment and real-world flexibility. Behind the best itineraries is a blend of automation and expertise—and that’s where Korea Trip Planner comes. It offers the perfect balance between AI efficiency and human judgment. Other AI trip planners mentioned on this blog post are not meant to be subjected to criticism; I was trying to showcase how AI-curated itineraties could fail, and how travelers can’t solely rely on AI.