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Hi, and welcome to Try AI for Growth, a baby podcast out of Make Space for Growth.
Here, I share short and maybe surprising stories of how I’ve used technology to tackle everyday challenges—at home, at work, and in business. I’m your host, Sara Vicente Barreto, and today I want to share how AI helped me plan AND explore during a very special trip – my son’s birthday weekend. We had a (surprise) campervan trip to Serra da Estrela—one filled with breathtaking landscapes, hidden murals, and a little extra storytelling magic for the kids.
AI stepped in—not just to help us choose where to go but to make the entire experience more immersive and creative along the way. Let me tell you how ChatGPT helped me:
✅ Decide on our destination
✅ Plan a smooth campervan route and camping sites
✅ Surfaced hidden murals and cultural gems
✅ Turned our walk in a small city into a storytelling adventure for the kids
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Choosing Where to Go
The first step we had to take was to decide where to go. Baby S had a first go at places he might want to visit, this was his birthday trip after all. With a twist, he did not know about the campervan! This was a long dated request since our week-long road trip in Cornwall and we figured it might be just the perfect opportunity.
Now, if you’ve ever planned a family trip, you know that deciding on the right destination can be half the challenge. And with the campervan, we had a few extra limitations but also extra possibilities. That’s where I enlisted ChatGPT to help me. With a shortlist in hand, I asked ChatGPT to give me itinerary ideas for our shortlist:.
We were debating between:
🏔️ Serra da Estrela – A mix of mountain views, historical villages, and unique nature spots.
🌊 Northern Coast – A more coastal route, with stops along Óbidos and a bit of fun in Portugal dos Pequeninos.
🏜️ Historic Sights – Slower-paced, heading to some cultural and historical places like Coimbra or Tomar.
I was very specific in my prompt: I gave the AI the number of days, including departure times, the type of weather I expected, and the activities we preferred, while needing flexibility for the weather changes. For the first go, I asked it to keep restaurants out and just focus on itineraries and activities.
With this, ChatGPT came back with 3 alternative routes, including activities and places to stay, being careful to come up with a combination of nature, history and fun activities. It helped me by aggregating different places and accounting for the travel time in between. I was ready to seal the deal on Serra da Estrela, but we still did not have a campervan secured. It was time to move to Step #2.
Step 2: Campervan Logistics
For the next step, I needed to know that I had a campervan first and foremost and I got my list of providers from ChatGPT. That was the most painful part as a lot of them require a minimum of 4 nights. Had I known, I would probably have included that in my query. At some point, we thought we might not make it, but eventually, and again from ChatGPT’s long list, we rented one out from a provider. We were then ready to:
✅ Plan a detailed route (including tips for weather, equipment and reservations I did not even ask for)
✅ Compare campervan parking recommendations (I had a particular set of requirements to narrow down my search)
By the way, I wish I had also asked for a recommendation list of what to pack when going on a campervan. The first time I went, I promised I would write one, but I did not. This time, I also promised I would write it, but then again, we ended up not doing so. And believe me, some things like a hand-held vacuum cleaner are really handy not to forget!
Step 3: The Murals – An Unexpected AI Discovery
We went pretty technology free for most of the day, other than for driving, and even so Waze had its losses of connections and did not pre-warn us that going up at 9am would be better than 11am. We waited in standstill traffic for over an hour and a half. Maybe I should tell that to ChatGPT so the next person can learn!
But as we got to the late afternoon and decided to visit Covilhã, I wanted to make sure we made it interesting for the kids. It is not a big city, and our expectations were low, but the AI was my saviour again. I just asked:
Can you tell me interesting places to visit in Covilha at the end of the day?
That would exclude the museums it had previously recommended to me or the cheese or bread factory. Here is what I learned and did not know before:
- Covilha is known for its pedestrian tour and urban art,
- Covilha has one of the most impressive pedestrian bridges in Portugal, at 220m long and 52 meters high
This was a game-changer. Suddenly, our trip wasn’t just about views—it was about art. And it was open non-stop, as you just had to walk the streets. With this, I went for another prompt, thinking this would be the end of it
Please give me a suggested tour, knowing I am at the Mayor’s building and I don’t want to walk much more than an hour
With this, I had my dedicated tour. I was excited to begin.
Step 4: Making It Engaging for the Kids – AI as a Storytelling Assistant
Now, as ready as I was, my kids don’t always agree with too much walking. Given that I did not know much about the pieces, I decided this was going to be a technology-enhanced tour. I took a picture of the first mural we randomly found and asked
🖌️ Background on the artists
📖 Legends and history behind the murals
🖌️ Where to go next
But this was not enough. As we encountered a church, I asked ChatGPT
Can you tell me the story of this church in a fun way for the children?
With this, I just unleashed another unknown gem in the usage of AI. It started telling me fun and exciting stories about each monument, each piece of art. All I had to do was to take a picture and ask for the information. When it got a bit too fantasy orientated, I asked it to always include factual highlights so that we could ensure we learned and had fun. With this, we found out more than ever before about the art, the concept behind it, the artist and their background and the history of the city. Typically, ChatGPT finished each story with an engaging question for the kids.
We ended up walking for well over an hour as we expanded the kids’ resilience by coming up with new facts and finding out together what ChatGPT would come up with next.
After encountering famous pieces by Bordalo II (Owl’s Eyes) and Vhils, alongside almost unknown artists all over Covilha, we did one last Mural, and I asked ChatGPT to teach us by doing a Quiz. We were done for the evening and had earned our meal!
Trip Highlights
This was yet another memorable family trip. We value togetherness but we also value exploring new places and finding new unexpected gems with the kids. It is important for us that they develop a curiosity for visiting new places, to find out about their culture and its history. With AI, our journey became even more special (and logistics was made easier):
🏔️ We planned our trip with not much hassle
🖼️ We found new places and learned interesting facts
📚 We found we like the storytelling element for the kids
As we were walking in the streets of Covilhâ, I told my kids about the DK Guide. Both myself and my husband hold a collection of these books for cities we have visited. They were well known for their visuals, for uncovering some gems and for their pedestrian walks. But the reality is, there would not be one for a small city like Covilhã. So, with the help of technology, we had our own visual tour guide in a way that could be transformational for more people to visit unknown and less documented places.
Lessons from Using AI for Travel
Every time I use AI, I walk away with new insights. Here’s what I learned from this trip:
🗺️ AI Can be your Partner in making decisions. Having AI compare locations saved me research time and added insights that eased my choice.
🚐 AI Can Enhance (Not Replace) Trip Planning – AI doesn’t take away the “fun” of planning; it just helps surface things faster.
🎨 AI Can Find Hidden Cultural Gems – I would never have known about the murals without it!
📖 AI Can Make a Trip More Immersive – Storytelling made the trip more engaging for my kids, and I am sure to add a treasure hunt next time!
What You Can Try on Your Next Trip
Next time you plan a trip, here are a few ways AI can help:
1️⃣ Compare destinations – Ask AI for a pros & cons list based on your travel style.
2️⃣ Find Cultural Stops – Ask AI for murals, sculptures, or street art along your route.
3️⃣ Turn the Trip into a Story – Get AI to create a storyline for kids based on your itinerary.
4️⃣ Ask for Local Legends – Request folklore or historical facts about the places you’re visiting.
5️⃣ Optimise Your Route – Have AI suggest alternatives when you feel like deviating from the plan and don’t know how to start
Conclusion
This trip reminded me that AI isn’t just for work—it’s also a powerful leisure companion.
From helping us choose the perfect destination to discovering hidden murals to turning a road trip into an adventure for the kids, AI helped enhance our experience in ways I didn’t expect.
If you’ve ever used AI for travel, I’d love to hear how it helped you! Share your stories and your favorite travel hacks, and let’s keep learning together.
🎧 Thanks for tuning into this episode of Try AI for Growth. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share your thoughts. Until next time, keep exploring, keep experimenting, and most of all—keep having fun! 🚐✨