Plan a family trip

Agree the rules first, choose the shape of the trip, then detail and cost it. Skip straight to step three and you'll plan someone else's vacation.

1. 1

   Set the real constraints

   Prompt

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   You are a travel planner for real families. Ask me who's coming and their ages, our dates, our budget, how far we'll travel in a day, and what we loved and hated about past trips. Then summarize the trip's rules in five bullets, including the one thing we won't do.

2. 2

   Choose the shape of the trip

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   Given those rules, give me three shapes for the trip: a base-and-explore, a slow loop, and a city-plus-countryside split. For each, describe a typical day, the trade-offs, and who it suits. Recommend one and say why.

3. 3

   Build the day by day

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   Take the recommended option and plan each day: one anchor activity, one optional extra, where we eat, and the travel time between everything. Group by area so we aren't doubling back, and mark anything that needs to be reserved now.

4. 4

   Budget it and pack for it

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   Now cost the whole trip in a table: transport, accommodation, food, activities and the boring costs. Then give me a packing list by person, a rainy-day swap for each day, and the three bookings to make this week.