Create Your Personal AI Travel Planner with n8n

Planning a vacation shouldn't feel like work. Yet here we are, opening dozens of browser tabs, comparing flight prices, scrolling through hotel reviews, and bookmarking activity suggestions that we'll probably forget about anyway. What if your computer could do all this heavy lifting while you sip your coffee?

Enter the world of automated travel planning. This N8N workflow transforms your server into a smart travel agent that researches flights, finds hotels, suggests activities, and delivers a beautifully formatted itinerary straight to your inbox. No more juggling multiple websites or losing track of your research.

Prerequisites: What You'll Need to Get Started

Before we dive into building this automation masterpiece, let's gather our tools. Think of this as packing your digital suitcase:

• N8N Platform: Your workflow automation engine
• ElevenLabs: Brings your travel agent to life with natural-sounding voice
• Google Gemini API: Powers the AI brain of our travel agent
• SerpAPI Account: Fetches real-time flight and hotel data
• Tavily API: Discovers local activities and attractions
• Gmail API Access: Delivers the final travel itinerary

Each service offers free tiers or trial periods, so you can test drive this workflow without breaking the bank.

Key Components: The Building Blocks

Our travel agent workflow uses 14 interconnected nodes, each playing a specific role in the travel planning orchestra:

• Webhook Node: Captures spoken travel requests using ElevenLabs and passes them as text into the workflow
• Google Gemini Chat Models: Two AI powerhouses for data processing and email generation
• Structured Output Parsers: Keep data organized and consistent
• SerpAPI Nodes: Fetch flights and hotel information
• Tavily Search: Discovers activities and local attractions
• Gmail Integration: Sends the final travel itinerary
• Data Processing Nodes: Arrange and format information

Step 1: Setting Up Your Travel Request Gateway

Every great automation starts with a trigger. Our webhook node acts as the front door, waiting for travel requests to arrive. But instead of just forms or buttons, it works hand-in-hand with ElevenLabs conversational AI, letting travelers simply speak their details.

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When someone speaks the above information (origin, destination, travel dates, number of travelers, preferred activities, and email), ElevenLabs seamlessly transforms the voice input into text and delivers it to the webhook. At that moment, the node comes alive, ready to process the request. Whether it’s a dream of exploring Tokyo’s temples or unwinding on Miami’s beaches, the webhook records it effortlessly—making the interaction feel as natural as chatting with a personal travel agent.

Step 2: Teaching AI to Speak Airport Code

Here's where things get clever. The first Google Gemini model takes human-friendly location names like "New York" and "Los Angeles" and converts them into airport codes like "JFK" and "LAX". But it doesn't stop there.

This AI assistant also validates dates, ensuring your departure isn't scheduled for last Tuesday. It's like having a travel agent who actually pays attention to the calendar. The structured output parser then organizes this information into a clean, consistent format that the rest of the workflow can understand.

Step 3: The Great Information Gathering

Now comes the exciting part. Three different services work simultaneously to build your travel intelligence:

Flight Research: The SerpAPI Google Flights integration searches for the best flight options between your chosen destinations. It considers your travel dates, number of passengers, and delivers comprehensive flight details including airlines, durations, features, and pricing.

Hotel Discovery: Another SerpAPI call focuses on accommodations. It searches for hotels in your destination city, matching your check-in and check-out dates with the number of travelers. The results include everything from boutique hotels to luxury resorts, complete with amenities, nearby attractions, and pricing.

Activity Hunting: The Tavily API takes your activity preferences and destination to uncover local experiences. Whether you're into museum hopping, adventure sports, or culinary tours, this node finds relevant options with detailed descriptions and links.

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Step 4: Crafting the Perfect Travel Email

Raw data means nothing without proper presentation. The second Google Gemini model acts as your personal travel writer, taking all the gathered information and weaving it into an engaging, HTML-formatted email.

This AI understands the art of travel communication. It creates exciting introductions, organizes information into logical sections (Flights, Resorts, Activities), includes clickable links, embeds hotel images, and signs off professionally as the "TrueHorizon Travel Team".

The structured output parser ensures the email has both a compelling subject line and well-formatted body content, ready for delivery.

Step 5: Delivering Your Custom Itinerary

The Gmail integration handles the final mile, sending your personalized travel itinerary directly to the requested email address. No manual intervention required. The workflow then generates a confirmation response, letting you know the email was successfully delivered.

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Real-World Benefits and Use Cases

This workflow isn't just a cool tech demo. It solves real problems for real people:

Travel Agencies: Automate initial research and proposal generation, freeing agents to focus on personalization and customer service. Imagine handling dozens of travel inquiries simultaneously without breaking a sweat.

Corporate Travel: Companies can integrate this into their employee travel request systems, automatically generating options for business trips while maintaining budget controls and policy compliance.

Travel Enthusiasts: Planning multiple trips? Set up this workflow and let it handle the research heavy lifting. You'll spend less time comparing options and more time dreaming about your destinations.

Travel Startups: Use this as the foundation for a travel planning service. The workflow handles the technical complexity while you focus on user experience and business development.

The Future of Travel Planning Is Automated

This N8N workflow represents more than just clever automation. It's a glimpse into the future where technology handles routine tasks, giving us more time for the things that matter: actually taking those trips we've been planning.

The combination of AI intelligence, real-time data fetching, and automated communication creates a system that works 24/7, never gets tired, and consistently delivers comprehensive travel research. While you're sleeping, your digital travel agent is already planning your next adventure.

Ready to build your own AI travel agent? The workflow is waiting, and your next perfectly planned vacation is just a few nodes away.