Travel inspiration has never been more abundant — or more overwhelming.
At any moment you can scroll through endless images of pristine beaches on Instagram, ask AI to design a two-week itinerary in seconds, or buy a beautifully curated guidebook promising the “ultimate” experience of a destination. And yet, many travellers arrive somewhere only to feel a quiet sense of disappointment.
So where should travel inspiration really come from? And do traditional travel guides still have a place in a world shaped by algorithms, influencers and AI-generated itineraries?
The answer, unsurprisingly, is yes — but not in the way they used to.
Instagram: the spark, not the plan
Instagram has arguably become the most powerful travel inspiration tool of the last decade. Its strength lies in how quickly it sparks desire. A single image can make you want to book a flight, discover destinations you’d never thought to search for, or notice design hotels, cafés, viewpoints and hikes you might otherwise miss.
Instagram excels at the initial moment of inspiration — the instant you think, “I want to go there.”
The problem is what happens next. Because everyone is looking at the same images, everyone ends up in the same places. “Hidden gems” become overcrowded, expectations become distorted, and locations increasingly feel optimised for photos rather than experiences. A place that appears empty, serene and undiscovered on your screen may, in reality, have a queue of tripods just outside the frame.
Used well, Instagram should function as a mood board, not a map — a way to discover the kind of trip you want, rather than an exact itinerary to follow.
AI travel planning: efficient, but emotionally flat
AI has added a powerful new layer to travel planning. Today’s tools can build itineraries in seconds, optimise routes, suggest attractions based on your interests, adjust plans to budgets and constraints, and remove many of the logistical mistakes that used to derail trips.
For first-pass planning, comparison and structure, AI is genuinely transformative.
But AI also has a blind spot. It struggles with atmosphere, serendipity and the intangible “feel” of a place. It tends to recommend the correct answer rather than the interesting one. Left unchecked, it produces trips that are efficient and sensible — and often forgettable.
AI works best as a planning assistant, not a travel muse.
Travel guides: from rulebook to reference
Despite years of predictions about their demise, travel guides still matter — just differently than they once did.
What good guidebooks offer is context, storytelling and editorial judgement. They help you understand why a place matters, not just where to go. They provide historical and cultural depth that algorithms struggle to replicate and give a sense of place that goes beyond highlights.
Their limitations are real. They can’t always keep up with fast-changing food scenes or nightlife, and they rarely reflect niche or highly personal interests. As a result, many modern travellers use them selectively: for neighbourhood context, background reading on flights or trains, or as a way to frame a destination before arrival.
Guidebooks haven’t disappeared; they’ve evolved into reference works rather than instruction manuals.
The underrated value of the old internet
Some of the most valuable inspiration still comes from corners of the internet that feel slightly out of time. Personal travel blogs, Reddit threads, FlyerTalk or TripAdvisor forums, and niche Substacks often feel more honest precisely because they lack polish.
They surface trade-offs, mistakes and lessons learned. They don’t sell perfection — and that’s exactly why they’re useful.
Why the best moments can’t be planned
Most seasoned travellers eventually learn a quiet truth: some of the best moments can’t be planned.
Not every great café is geotagged. Not every beautiful street has a queue. Not every memorable experience is famous. Over-planning can quietly rob travel of its most human pleasure — discovery.
The wrong turn, the unlisted bar, the village you stop in because the train happens to change there.
In a world of hyper-optimised travel, leaving space for chance has become a luxury.
A more balanced way to find travel inspiration
The most satisfying trips rarely rely on a single source of inspiration. They tend to combine emotional spark from Instagram, structure and logistics from AI, depth and context from guidebooks, realism from blogs and forums — and, crucially, time left deliberately unplanned.
The goal isn’t to see everything. It’s to experience something in a way that feels like your own.
Final thought
Travel inspiration has shifted from scarcity to overload. The challenge now isn’t finding ideas; it’s filtering them.
The modern traveller doesn’t need a perfect itinerary. They need just enough planning, just enough inspiration, and just enough uncertainty.
Because sometimes the highlight of a trip is the place you didn’t know existed — until you were already there.
Holiday Nerd 