Joe Maring / Android Authority If you’ve heard Google talk about Gemini during a Google I/O keynote, a Pixel product launch, or anywhere else over the last couple of years, you’ll know that there’s one use case example Google loves to tout for Gemini: vacation planning. Are you building a travel itinerary? Trying to figure out where in the world you should vacation? Wanting to know if there’s a reliable train/metro system where you’re traveling to? In all of these scenarios and more, Google’s solution is simple — let Gemini do it for you! I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard Google beat this same drum, and for a while, I dismissed it as nothing more than a ridiculous marketing tactic. Who in the world would actually want to use Gemini to plan a vacation? As it turns out, I do. Have you ever used Gemini to help plan a vacation/trip? 35 votes Yes 34 % No 66 % How I used Gemini to plan an international vacation Joe Maring / Android Authority My partner and I (somewhat spontaneously) decided earlier this summer that this would be the year we finally took a vacation to Europe. It’s something we’ve discussed doing for well over six years now, but for one reason or another, we just haven’t been able to. Having decided that 2025 would be the year of our long-awaited vacation, we then had a big follow-up question to answer: where in Europe did we want to go? My partner and I have often talked about going to Italy, though I’ve been wanting to take them to Paris and Barcelona after traveling there for work trips. On top of all that, they’ve always dreamt of visiting London. Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a favorite source in Google Discover to never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more. to never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more. You can also set us as a preferred source in Google Search by clicking the button below. Quickly coming to a stalemate, and remembering the 50+ times Google has told me Gemini is great for this sort of thing, I decided using it for a quick question or two couldn’t hurt. Even if we didn’t use Gemini for the whole planning process, it might come in handy at the beginning. And sure enough, it did. I began with a simple prompt: “Countries in Europe to visit.” More than anything, I just wanted a neat list of places to reference and inspire some brainstorming. While I was already aware of all the countries Gemini recommended, I appreciated it breaking them up into different categories, such as places to visit for nature and outdoor activities, or some options that are better suited for first-time visitors. As we scanned through the list, my partner and I realized we had another big decision to make: how much time we wanted to spend in Europe. Since I already had Gemini open, I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask a follow-up question. We were stuck between seven days, nine days, or two weeks, so I asked Gemini which of those would be best. Within a second, I had a well-organized breakdown for each suggested amount of time and the number of activities we could include for each one. We quickly determined that we had to visit Italy. But should we try to visit multiple European countries, or fully immerse ourselves in Italy and explore a few different cities within the country? Again, since Gemini was already open and had a quickly growing history of our travel planning conversation, I turned to it once more for some recommended itineraries — including options for Italy and other countries, as well as an Italy-only setup. We quickly settled into a pattern with Gemini, and it worked exceptionally well. Gemini (rightly) suggested sticking with Italy, noting the easier travel times between Italian cities compared to traversing between different countries. It also recommended which cities we should visit — many of which ended up in our final travel plans. This is how things went during all of our vacation planning sessions. My partner and I would talk amongst ourselves, asking Gemini for more information or a recommendation when we needed it, and that’s the pattern we quickly settled into — and it worked exceptionally well. Why Gemini is so well-suited for this Joe Maring / Android Authority Could I have gotten similar information using Google Search? Sure. And in many cases, I still prefer traditional search engines over half-baked AI tools. However, there are scenarios where something like Gemini works better than Google Search, and the vacation planning example – as silly as I used to think it was — is one such scenario. As for the “why” behind it, it really boils down to three key things. The first is the ability to ask more detailed and complex questions than what Google Search is capable of. I know that sounds like the most generic, pro-AI hyperbole, but it’s something I did a lot of while planning this vacation. I’ll always use a regular search engine for quickly looking up movie showtimes or finding a restaurant to eat at, but if I need to ask something specific like, “If I fly into Milan and want to visit Rome, Venice, and Florence, what would be the best route and would I have enough time if I’m staying in Italy for two weeks?,” Gemini is much better suited to give me a helpful answer. Joe Maring / Android Authority The other reason Gemini was so helpful is its memory. Since I asked all of my travel-related questions in the same thread, Gemini could use that conversation history for any future questions. Right after I asked the above question about the cities I was thinking about visiting, I followed it up with, “How many hotel nights in each place would I need? Also, change of plans, we’re going to fly back home from Rome instead of going back to Milan.” I didn’t have to repeat all of the cities we were visiting or the rough timeline for each one. Gemini already knew the necessary background info. The third and final thing is something I’ve long overlooked with Gemini, but has become indispensable during this planning process: saving (and pinning) Gemini conversations. Whenever I need to reference something about our trip or have a new question to ask, I can quickly do so in the existing thread, which contains a couple of months’ worth of travel planning info. I have that thread pinned at the very top of my Gemini history, so it’s always within reach. Furthermore, being able to search for something in that conversation has been great, too. Perhaps I treated you too harshly Joe Maring / Android Authority While I haven’t exclusively used Gemini for organizing my vacation, it’s certainly played a big part in the planning process — and I don’t think I could have replicated its usefulness had I stuck with my usual Google Search-only approach. Because of all that, I think I owe Google an apology. As annoying and heavy-handed as the travel planning example may be, I now understand why Google uses it so often as a showcase for Gemini. It really does play to all of Gemini’s strengths. If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think I can go back to planning a big vacation like this without Gemini’s help. You win this one, Google. Follow