Travel Itinerary Time & Cost Comparison Prompt

Setup

• No installation, terminal, account or API key is needed: only a chat that accepts pasted text.
• You paste your own itinerary data. Avoid pasting private addresses, passport numbers or payment details you would not share with the chat provider.
• The output is text only. It does not book, buy, check live prices or send anything.
• Keep the original prompt intact; edit only the itinerary data you append after it.

How to check the output

• Section 1: every leg you supplied appears exactly once.
• Section 2: one totals row per itinerary, marked complete or partial.
• Section 3: the difference lines state units and which itinerary is minus which (A minus B).
• Section 4: unknowns, unclear cost bases and unconverted currencies are listed, not dropped.
• Section 5: the specific missing numbers that could flip the time or cost result are named.
• No recommendation sentence appears anywhere.

If a total is labelled partial, the comparison is incomplete; the prompt asks for unknowns rather than guesses.

FAQ / 常见问题

Can it tell me which trip is better? No. It is deliberately limited to stated time and stated cost. Comfort, scenery, safety, fun, weather and food are out of scope by design. Use it as a number-checking draft, then decide yourself.

What if the cost basis is unclear, such as per vehicle or per person? It should not assume. The item is flagged in Section 4 and the total is marked partial until you clarify the basis.

Limitations

• source reviewed; runtime not tested. Documented material only; behavior may vary by chat tool and model.
• The output uses only the numbers you give it. It cannot know extra fees, delays, availability or current prices.
• Fictional worked examples in the prompt are illustrations, not real results.
• The prompt does not judge trips; it will not rank options on comfort, scenery, safety or fun.

Source attribution

source reviewed; runtime not tested. Reference for the general-purpose AI workspace: ChatGPT release notes. Prompt released as an original TokRepo template under CC BY 4.0; external reference material keeps its own rights.

Complete reusable prompt

You are helping me compare two travel itineraries on two dimensions only: travel time and cost. Do not recommend one itinerary on any other basis (comfort, scenery, safety, fun, weather, food). Do not add facts I did not give you.

INPUT I WILL PROVIDE

• Itinerary A and Itinerary B, each as a list of legs (or activities with a travel segment attached).
• For each leg: origin, destination, mode, stated travel duration in minutes, stated cost, and currency.
• Party size and any stated cost basis (per person, per vehicle, per room, total).
• One base currency to report in and any stated conversion rates.
• Any fixed costs already stated for each itinerary.

IF SOMETHING IS MISSING Do not guess or fill it in. Put it in the assumptions/unknowns list and mark it as unknown. If a cost basis is unclear (per person vs per vehicle), do not assume; flag it.

TASK

1. Parse both itineraries into the same leg-level structure.
2. Convert each stated cost to the base currency using only the rates I gave. If no rate is given, keep the original currency and mark it unconverted.
3. Calculate total stated travel time in minutes (and hours/min) for each itinerary.
4. Calculate total stated cost for each itinerary using the stated basis and party size. If basis is unclear, do not total it; list it as incomplete.
5. Show the difference between A and B for both time and cost, labelled clearly (A minus B, with units).
6. If one itinerary has an unknown we cannot proceed past, say the comparison is partial, not that one wins.

OUTPUT FORMAT

• Section 1: Leg table. Columns: Itinerary, Leg, Mode, Time (min), Cost (original), Cost (base), Basis note.
• Section 2: Totals. One row per itinerary: total time, total cost in base currency, and whether the total is complete or partial.
• Section 3: Difference. Time difference and cost difference, each with a plain one-line reading (e.g., 'B is X minutes longer and Y cheaper on stated numbers only').
• Section 4: Assumptions and unknowns. Bullet list of every gap, unclear basis, unconverted currency, and thing you had to leave blank.
• Section 5: What would change the answer. Short list of the specific missing numbers that would flip the time or cost result.

BOUNDARIES

• You are producing a comparison draft, not booking, buying, or checking live prices. Never claim to have looked anything up.
• Do not add legs, fees, or times I did not supply.
• Do not include any commentary about which trip is 'better'.
• If I gave conflicting numbers for the same leg, list both and flag the conflict instead of choosing.

CHECKS BEFORE YOU FINISH

• Every leg in my input appears exactly once in the table.
• No currency is mixed without a conversion note.
• Unknowns are in Section 4, not silently dropped.
• The difference lines state units and which itinerary is minus which.
• No recommendation sentence appears anywhere in the output.

WORKED EXAMPLE (fictional) Input: Itinerary A: Train city centre to airport, 35 min, 12 EUR per person, party of 2. Flight airport to island, 90 min, 180 EUR total. Itinerary B: Bus hotel to ferry, 20 min, 6 EUR per person, party of 2. Ferry to island, 150 min, 40 EUR per person. Base currency EUR, no conversion needed. Expected shape: A total time 125 min, total cost 204 EUR. B total time 170 min, total cost 92 EUR. Difference A-minus-B: time -45 min, cost +112 EUR. Section 4 notes nothing missing. Section 5 notes that if the B ferry cost were per vehicle instead of per person, the cost gap would shrink and should be rechecked.

Give me the comparison for the itineraries I paste next.

References and reuse

• ChatGPT release notes

Original TokRepo prompt · CC BY 4.0. Reference documents retain their own rights.