Trip Planner

Trip Planner

Plan and book a trip end-to-end: research event schedule, find transport + accommodation, book everything, update calendar, resolve conflicts.

Trigger

• User mentions an upcoming trip, festival, conference, or travel
• User says /trip-planner
• User says "plan my trip to X", "book travel for X"

Inputs

• Event name or destination
• Travel dates (or derive from event schedule)
• Home city (default: Munich)

Process

1. Gather event details

• Search Gmail for event-related emails (confirmations, info emails, schedules)
• Read full email body with gog gmail thread get <id> --full
• Extract: dates, venues, schedule, ticket info, important notes (cash only, dress code, etc.)
• Download PDF attachments if schedule is attached

2. Check calendar constraints

• gog cal list primary --from <start> --to <end> — find conflicts
• Check recurring events (work, classes, socials) that overlap with trip dates
• Ask user about conflicts: skip, reschedule, or work remotely?
• Check work schedule (OMMAX) — can they work remotely from destination?

3. Decide travel plan

Present the key decisions:

• When to arrive (before first event)
• When to return (after last event vs. earlier for conflicts)
• What to skip if conflicts exist
• Remote work option if it extends the trip

4. Research transport

Spawn a subagent to research ALL options in parallel:

• Train (ÖBB/DB/Westbahn) — door-to-door time, price range, booking links
• Bus (FlixBus) — time, price
• Flight — door-to-door time including airport transfers
• Car — distance, fuel, tolls, parking at destination
• Rideshare (BlaBlaCar) — availability, price

Output: Comparison table with door-to-door time, round trip price, flexibility, comfort rating.

5. Research accommodation

Spawn a subagent to research options:

• Event partner hotel (check event email for recommendations)
• Hotels near main venue (walking distance)
• Airbnb near venue (good for remote work — kitchen + desk)
• Budget options (hostels with private rooms)

Prioritize: proximity to venue > price > wifi quality (if remote work needed) > breakfast included.

Output: Top 3 recommendations with total cost, distance to venue, and why.

6. Book

Open booking pages in browser for user to complete payment:

• Transport: navigate to checkout page with pre-filled route/dates
• Hotel: navigate to booking page with pre-filled dates

User must enter payment details themselves (prohibited action).

After booking, immediately verify actual booked times:

1. Check Gmail for confirmation emails: gog gmail search "after:YYYY/MM/DD (ÖBB OR FlixBus OR Booking.com OR hotel name)" --max 5
2. If email doesn't contain departure/arrival times (common with ÖBB Standard-Tickets), check Chrome browser history: sqlite3 /tmp/chrome_hist.db "SELECT url, title FROM urls WHERE url LIKE '%oebbtickets%' OR url LIKE '%booking%' ORDER BY last_visit_time DESC LIMIT 20" — basket URLs contain timestamps (e.g., /ticket/person/2026-03-26T09:28:00.000Z)
3. Extract: booking references, confirmation numbers, exact departure/arrival times, check-in/check-out times, cancellation policy, total costs

Critical: Never leave placeholder times in the calendar. The calendar event MUST be updated with actual booked times before the booking step is considered complete.

7. Update calendar

Use gog cal commands (always use primary as calendarId):

# Create events
gog cal create primary --summary "..." --from "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS+TZ" --to "..." --location="..." --description="..." --force

# Update existing events
gog cal update primary <eventId> --summary "..." --force

# Cancel single occurrence of recurring event (use full ID with _YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ suffix)
gog cal delete primary "<recurringEventId_YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ>" --force

Calendar must include:

• Travel events (outbound + return) with ticket numbers in description
• Accommodation (all-day event with check-in/check-out times, confirmation number)
• Event schedule (workshops, parties, concerts — from event email)
• Meals for each day (use /meal-suggestion for home days, note venue food options for travel days)
• Remote work blocks if working from destination
• Cancel/skip conflicting recurring events for trip dates

8. Save trip summary

Save to sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-trip-<destination>.md with:

• Booking confirmations (references, ticket numbers)
• Full schedule
• Venue addresses and transport info
• Important notes (cash, dress code, weather)
• Total trip cost breakdown

Anti-patterns

• Never assume train times — check ÖBB/DB for actual schedule
• Never fabricate event details — always read from email or event website
• Never enter payment details — navigate to checkout, user completes
• Never delete recurring events entirely — only cancel the specific occurrence
• Never skip checking calendar conflicts — MontunoClub, work, etc.
• Don't assume "work on Monday" means office — check what's actually on the calendar
• Always use primary as first arg for gog cal commands
• Always use --force flag to skip confirmations

Lessons

• gog cal create primary — primary is required as first arg (not optional)
• gog cal update primary <eventId> — same pattern
• Recurring event occurrences have IDs like <baseId>_YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ
• Email body often truncated — use gog gmail thread get <id> --full for complete text
• gog gmail search "<query>" --max N for finding emails (no --from/--to date flags)
• PDF attachments in emails often contain the detailed schedule — download if needed
• DST changes affect event times (e.g., Meneate Saturday party ends 3am = 4am with DST)
• Festival emails contain gold: venue addresses, transport tips, food options, cash requirements
• When travel dates span DST change, double-check all times after the switch
• ÖBB Standard-Ticket confirmation emails don't include departure times — only "valid: date range". Check Chrome history basket URLs which encode the departure timestamp in the URL path (e.g., /ticket/person/2026-03-26T09:28:00.000Z). Never assume the pre-booking placeholder time is still correct.
• After user completes payment, the booking step is NOT done until calendar events are verified against actual booked times. A placeholder calendar event with estimated times is a bug.