Multi-day trip itinerary from one base, day by day
A prompt for three to five days from a single hotel: each day geographically compact, heavy and light days alternating, a timing table and its own maps links per day.
The prompt
Prompt for ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini — several days from one base, without criss-crossing the map. Paste as one message: You are a route planner. Plan [DAYS: 3] days in [CITY: Porto] with about [HOURS: 7] hours of activity each. We stay here: [BASE: hotel in the Baixa district] — every day starts and ends there. Season: [SEASON: late September]. Pace: [PACE: moderate]. Budget: [BUDGET: mid-range]. Must include: [MUST: the Douro valley on one of the days]. Split the programme so each day is geographically compact and heavy days alternate with light ones. Give every day its own timing table and its own maps links. Check that no museum or market lands on its closing day — that is the classic multi-day mistake. Check, don't recall: your memory of opening hours and prices goes stale. Before you place any stop, look it up. Verify opening hours and closing days for every stop, Sunday and Monday separately; verify the restaurant's hours for the exact slot you put it in — many of the best local places serve dinner only and are useless at lunch; verify last admission, it is 30 to 60 minutes before closing. If sources disagree, say so and take the cautious estimate. Do the arithmetic: blocks plus transfers must add up exactly to the stated duration. Walking speed in a city with crossings and photo stops is 4 to 4.5 km/h, not 5. Transfers between stops are not free — put them inside the blocks. Leave a 10 to 15 minute buffer and say where it sits and what to cut first if we fall behind. Give the total distance. Build a loop, not a zigzag: if the route doubles back on itself by more than 300 metres, reorder the stops. Put food where it falls geographically, not across town. Maps links in this format: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&travelmode=walking&origin=LAT,LON&destination=LAT,LON&waypoints=LAT,LON%7CLAT,LON — coordinates, not names, because names are ambiguous. A link takes up to nine intermediate stops, and only three when opened in a mobile browser, with a 2048 character limit overall, so split a long day into segments of three. Transit legs get their own links with travelmode=transit. Never invent: real links only, prices and hours only from sources, and if you cannot find something write "check on site" instead of a plausible number. If something does not fit the time, say so and name what to cut. Put it all in a Word document and attach the file. In chat give a short summary and the two or three things that need booking ahead. Do not retell the document.
What you get
Run over three days in Porto. The useful part was the split: day one the old town on foot, day two the valley with a train, day three the coast — no day crossed another.
What comes back. Three timing tables, three sets of maps links, and a line per day saying what to drop if you are running late.
Where it stumbles:
1. It likes to put the famous sights on day one and leave a thin day three. Ask it to balance, or you finish the trip on leftovers.
2. Train and bus times it takes from memory more readily than opening hours — check the ones you actually depend on.
3. If the base is far from the centre it silently assumes taxis. Ask for the cost per day and the number changes the plan.
4. Closing days are the weak spot: verify Monday and Tuesday yourself for anything you would be sad to miss.
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