I used AI to plan my Costa Rica trip — why I’ll never use it again

In a world filled with AI skeptics, I’m cautiously optimistic about the proliferation of artificial intelligence. Yes, it has its dark sides, like deepfakes (I mean, did you see what happened to Taylor Swift?), job displacement, and AI-induced intellectual lethargy. 

But I’d argue that all new breakthrough technologies are disruptive (e.g., the internet, ride-sharing apps, and social media), causing ruin to some aspects of society while bringing benefits in other areas.

Pro-AI advocates claim that AI will make our lives easier, so I decided to put that to the test. A five-day vacation is fun, but building a nearly week-long itinerary is not. So, for the first time ever, I partially relied on ChatGPT to plan my Costa Rica trip with my significant other — and I’m not sure I’d do it again.

What I wanted out of my Costa Rica trip

There are five activities I wanted to do in Costa Rica: zip lining, off-roading with ATVs, the La Paz waterfalls hike, a food-sampling tour, and exploring San José. It’s the latter, however, that I needed help with the most, so I sought the help of AI.

While I carved out five days for Costa Rica, realistically, we only had three days to play with. Why? I flew into San José, Costa Rica, on Monday at 10 p.m., making it too late to do anything of significance upon our arrival. And my flight back to New York was shortly after midnight on Friday, so that day was out, too.

I managed to book the food-sampling tour (“Bites and Sites”) on Tuesday, and I squeezed in zip lining and ATVs on Wednesday. We did the La Paz waterfalls hike on Thursday. So, Tuesday — before our 3 p.m. food-sampling tour — was the only day we could fit in some San José exploration.

What I used to plan my Costa Rica trip

I used the free version of ChatGPT — ChatGPT 3.5, to be exact — to plan my tour of San José.

My prompt:

“I am staying at URBN Escalante at San José, Costa Rica, and I want to check out the must-see points of interest, including the best places for pictures and buying cheap souvenirs. We want to end at Los Presentes by 3 p.m. I am starting at 9 a.m. Don’t include lunch. List an itinerary.” (Note: Los Presentes is where we were told to meet for the 3 p.m. food-sampling tour.)

ChatGPT’s response:

9 a.m. Start at URBN Escalante. Take a walk around the neighborhood and grab breakfast at one of the local cafes.

10 a.m. Head to the Central Market (Mercado Central). Explore the vibrant market, sample local fruits, and capture colorful scenes for your photos.

11:30 a.m. Make your way to Barrio Amón. Wander through the streets admiring the historic architecture and street art. Don’t forget to snap some pictures along the way.

1:00 p.m. Visit Mercado Nacional de Artesanías. Browse through the stalls for cheap souvenirs such as handicrafts, ceramics, and local artwork.

2 p.m. Finish your shopping and head to Lost Presentes. Spend some time browsing the selection of unique gifts and souvenirs before they close at 3 p.m.

3 p.m. Arrive at Los Presentes to wrap up your day of exploration and shopping.

Why I’ll never rely on ChatGPT again

“Take a walk around the neighborhood” was frustratingly vague. If I wanted to wander around aimlessly, I wouldn’t have asked ChatGPT to create an itinerary for me in the first place.

We spotted a few eye-catching, Instagram-friendly murals in Barrio Escalante (where we were staying), so we were surprised ChatGPT didn’t mention them in its itinerary.

Also, I should have added “Don’t include breakfast” in my prompt, since we already had some coffee and a muffin before stepping out. But if we did want breakfast, it would be nice if ChatGPT was “intelligent” enough to recommend a specific cafe that is beloved among locals and tourists alike.

Still, we listened to ChatGPT and went to Mercado Central. At first glance, we weren’t impressed. It looked like a typical, bustling Central American fresh-food market. And I was immediately put off by the stench of fish wafting in the air.

Braving the odor, we passed by stalls of vendors selling everything you can think of, from colorful black magic paraphernalia and chirping pet birds to delectable Costa Rican grub like gallo pinto (a popular breakfast dish of rice and beans) and maduros (sweet plantains).

We stumbled upon a souvenir shop, too, where I purchased a beautiful wooden mug with a striking Costa Rican parrot design splashed on it. (As such, we ended up skipping the Mercado Nacional de Artesanías suggestion.)

However, as I found out later in my trip, I totally underestimated Mercado Central.

Human beats AI — this time

I felt slightly disappointed by Mercado Central, so when our Costa Rican “Bites and Sites” tour guide led us back to it, I thought, “Not again!”

However, the tour guide reinvigorated our interest in the fresh-food market by providing some jaw-dropping historical context. For example, we stopped by an ice cream stall — one we’d previously overlooked — that seemed like a run-of-the-mill soft-serve shop. As it turns out, the family-run, government-protected ice cream stall has been around since 1910, and they’ve been serving the same flavor of ice cream for 114 years.

Its ingredients consist of nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, and vanilla, yielding an interesting yellowish color. I tasted it, and it was absolutely divine.

You didn’t tell us that, ChatGPT.

Our tour guide also advised us to try a caldosa, ceviche mixed with barbecue flavored-corn chips. When we asked, “How did this dish come to be?,” the tour guide said, “School kids! They’d throw chips into ceviche during their lunch break. And somehow, the funky idea spread across the country.”

Another gem ChatGPT didn’t tell us.

And that just scratches the surface. There were countless nuggets of information the tour guide shared that we wouldn’t have gotten from ChatGPT. We would have given Mercado Central a rushed walk-through, shrugged, and thought it was yet another ho-hum market. But as it turns out, with the help of a human tour guide, we got a cornucopia of information that I would have missed if I completely relied on ChatGPT.

Even after prompting ChatGPT to provide more details about what, exactly, we should be exploring inside Mercado Central, we didn’t get anything substantial that would have benefitted our DIY tour.

How ChatGPT can become a useful AI travel guide

As I mentioned at the outset, before using ChatGPT, I was actually somewhat optimistic about its capabilities. But after using it to plan one day of my Costa Rica trip, I’m feeling disillusioned.

Keep in mind, I was using the free tier of ChatGPT. And it’s worth noting that even OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT, admitted that the AI chatbot has become “lazy.” Its sloppy itinerary was equivalent to someone vaguely gesturing in random directions after you ask them for navigation help.

As opposed to “walk around town” and “check out a local cafe” (something anyone can do on a trip if they want to be aimless vagabonds), I’d prefer ChatGPT list specific hot spots and buzzworthy locales. Which blocks, exactly, should I be exploring? Is there a particular five-star cafe I should be visiting?

ChatGPT’s recommendation of Barrio Amón for Instagrammable pictures was cool and all, but we were surprised that the AI bot didn’t suggest the other beautiful San José locations we spotted, including the ultra-popular “SJO ¡Vive!” sculptures across the city.

Of course, a human touch will always be better than what AI can provide, but at this point in time, ChatGPT doesn’t even come close to what a real tour guide can offer. Hell, it’s not even in the same ballpark.

For now, when it comes to building a travel itinerary, the scoreboard is Humans: 1 and AI: 0.