AI & Travel Tech Editor
Riccardo P.
AI travel-tech specialist. Tests AI itinerary tools against each other, writes the comparison reviews, and covers the tools-and-tech side of trip planning.
About Riccardo
Riccardo covers the AI side of travel — which tools work, which ones hallucinate, what the difference is between asking ChatGPT to plan a trip and using software actually built for it. He has a software-engineering background (six years at travel-adjacent startups in Berlin and Amsterdam) and approaches AI itinerary tools the way you'd approach any other software: test it, break it, write down what failed.
His comparison reviews are based on identical test prompts run against multiple tools, with the same fact-check pass on every output. He's not anti-ChatGPT — he uses it daily — but he's clear-eyed about where it breaks down for trip planning. He travels mostly to test things: a tool that promises good Tokyo recommendations gets tested in Tokyo, not in his living room.
Areas of expertise
Posts by Riccardo
Best AI for Travel Planning 2026: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude
Which AI is best for travel planning? ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude compared on live prices, maps, booking, citations, sharing, cost and country availability, from their own documentation in September 2026.
Best AI Travel Agents 2026: Which Ones Actually Book Your Trip
Priceline's Penny, Mindtrip, Otto, Layla, Kayak, Booking.com, ChatGPT and Claude compared: which AI travel agents book inside the chat, which hand you off, what they cost and where they work in 2026.
Best Travel Itinerary Templates 2026: Sheets vs Notion vs Canva vs Wanderlog
Free itinerary templates compared: Google Sheets, Notion, Canva, Wanderlog, Excel and paid downloads. Sharing, offline, print and cost, plus when to let an AI fill the template for you.
Italian Beach Season 2026: Low, Mid and High Season Dates
When low season ends and high season starts on the Italian coast in 2026, why the dates fall on Saturdays, and how to use the boundary week.
Bari in 5 Days: Day Trips, Real Train Times and Distances
What to see in Bari and around it in 5 days using Bari as a single base, with real train times and the difference between Terra di Bari and Salento.
Salento in 5 Days: Two Coasts, One Base, and the Wind
What to see in Salento in 5 days based in Lecce — Gallipoli, Otranto, Leuca, and how to pick the calm coast using the wind.
Layla vs Mindtrip 2026: Which AI Trip Planner Is Worth It?
Layla's free/paid line has moved and it is now Expedia-owned. Mindtrip is free and hands bookings to partners. Which one actually fits how you travel.
Layla vs Wonderplan vs Lonely Planet (2026)
Free AI, paid AI, or human experts. What each actually gives you and which one fits how you travel.
How to Plan a Multi-City Trip (2026): Route Order + Flight Strategy
Multi-city trips fail on the joins, not the cities. Learn how to order stops, use open-jaw flights, and budget the transit days most people forget.
Mindtrip Alternatives 2026: 6 Tools Compared (Free + No Signup)
Looking for a Mindtrip alternative? We compare Wanderlog, Layla, Wonderplan, ChatGPT, iPlan.ai and MonkeyTravel on price, signup, and what they produce.
Wanderlog vs Mindtrip (2026): Pricing, Features, Honest Verdict
Wanderlog Pro is $39.99/yr and optimises routes. Mindtrip is free but gates itineraries behind a login. Which trip planner fits how you actually travel?
AI Trip Planner Accuracy: Real 2026 Edit-Rate Data
We measured how often travelers correct AI-planned trips: 67% of itineraries get zero edit requests, the rest need a median of 2. What people fix most, and how AI trip planning is improving in 2026.