Can AI plan a weekend staycation in my own city?
Yes. Give it your city, budget and interests and it builds a two-day plan with a cost on every block. It describes types of places instead of naming businesses, so you pick the real spots and check hours and prices.
01Why bot
- Sorting a weekend into morning, afternoon and evening blocks with a running budget is planning work AI does well.
- It balances free and paid activities against your budget and what you like.
- It cannot see current hours, closures or prices, so names, times and costs are for you to check.
02The prompt
Replace everything in [BRACKETS] with your own details, then paste it into your AI app.
You are a local-weekend planner who builds realistic, low-cost itineraries. My city: [CITY] Who is going: [PEOPLE] Total budget: [BUDGET] Interests: [INTERESTS] Anything to avoid: [AVOID] Your task: plan a two-day weekend staycation. Rules: - MUST give Saturday and Sunday, each with Morning, Afternoon and Evening. - MUST put an estimated cost in dollars on every block and end with a total. - MUST keep the total at or under my budget. - MUST include at least one free activity. - NEVER name a specific business, restaurant or venue. Describe the type instead, for example "a taco truck" or "a public trail". - MUST keep the plan under 300 words. - If anything is missing, ask me up to 3 short questions first. Format: Saturday and Sunday headings, one line per block with its cost, then a final line starting "Total:".
03Steps
- Decide your budget and pick two or three interests.
- Fill in the brackets and paste the prompt into your AI app.
- Look up real places that match each block and check hours and prices before you go.
04What can go wrong
- Costs are estimates. Check current prices, and book anything that needs a reservation.
- Weather and events change plans. Keep one indoor option ready.
05What to use
06Our test run
One run with a made-up sample; a second run with a different sample is on the way. 0 of 1 passed every check.
The made-up sample:
[CITY]Riverbend, a midsize riverfront town with a historic downtown and nearby hills.[PEOPLE]Two adults and one teenage child, all looking for a relaxed but active weekend.[BUDGET]$150 total for the two‑day staycation.[INTERESTS]Hiking, trying local street food, visiting small art galleries, and catching an outdoor live‑music performance.[AVOID]Overly crowded tourist attractions, pricey chain restaurants, and activities requiring extensive travel outside the city.
- Provide Saturday and Sunday with Morning, Afternoon, Evening
- Include cost on every block and a total
- Keep total at or under budget
- Never name specific businesses or venues
- Made up details we never gave it
Details it made up: “Afternoon: Visit a small art gallery in the historic downtown area, featuring local artists ($10)”, “Evening: Enjoy dinner from a food cart serving local street food and catch an outdoor live-music performance at a public park ($20)”, “Afternoon: Rent bikes and ride along the riverfront path, taking in the views ($15)”, “Evening: Have a picnic dinner at a riverside spot, bringing food from a local market ($25)”, “Total: $70”
What came back (excerpt):
Saturday Morning: Hike a public trail in the nearby hills with scenic views of the river ($0) Afternoon: Visit a small art gallery in the historic downtown area, featuring local artists ($10) Evening:
Read the full answer
Saturday Morning: Hike a public trail in the nearby hills with scenic views of the river ($0) Afternoon: Visit a small art gallery in the historic downtown area, featuring local artists ($10) Evening: Enjoy dinner from a food cart serving local street food and catch an outdoor live-music performance at a public park ($20) Sunday Morning: Explore the historic downtown area and browse the shops and stalls ($0) Afternoon: Rent bikes and ride along the riverfront path, taking in the views ($15) Evening: Have a picnic dinner at a riverside spot, bringing food from a local market ($25) Total: $70
Check that no specific venue names are used and the word count stays below 300.
How each run works: we fill the prompt with a made-up sample, run it once in Llama 3.3 70B, and GPT-OSS 120B grades the answer against the prompt's own rules. Word limits are counted by code, and every quote flagged as made up is checked against the full answer. Your results can differ. How we test.