If you've ever stared at a map of Norway and wondered where to even start - Bergen or Tromsø? Lofoten or Geiranger? - you're not alone. TripAdvisor has quietly rolled out a Plan with AI feature that does the heavy lifting for you. We tested it on two complete 7-day Norway road trips and the results were surprisingly useful. Here's how to use it without wasting time, plus the actual itineraries it produced for us.
What is Plan with AI?
It's a chat-style assistant tucked into TripAdvisor's site header (look for the sparkle icon labelled Plan with AI next to the search bar). You give it a prompt - "7 days in Norway, summer, focused on fjords" - and it generates a day-by-day itinerary with hotel, attraction, and restaurant picks, each linked to the TripAdvisor page so you can read reviews and book. It's free, no signup required to try, and works on both desktop and mobile.
How to access it
- Open TripAdvisor in your browser.
- Navigate to any Norway-related page - the Norway tourism hub works.
- Look for the Plan with AI button in the top header (sparkle icon, just left of "Rewards").
- Click it. A chat panel slides in from the right.
The prompt we tested
Plan a 7-day road trip in Norway in summer covering Oslo, Bergen, Geiranger, Lofoten, and Tromsø. For each stop, suggest 1 hotel, 2 top-rated things to do, and 1 restaurant. Include the TripAdvisor link for each suggestion. Format as a daily itinerary.
We ran it twice and got two completely different but equally useful itineraries. Here are both, as Plan with AI returned them - every link goes to the actual TripAdvisor page for that hotel, attraction, or restaurant.
Itinerary 1 - The classic-stays version
Day 1 - Oslo
- Hotel: Clarion Hotel Oslo
- Thing to do: The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet (roof walk + tours)
- Thing to do: Oslofjord (take a boat tour)
- Restaurant: Der Peppern Gror Rådhusplassen
Day 2 - Bergen
- Hotel: Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz Bergen
- Thing to do: Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf
- Tour: Guided tour: Viking Village, Nærøyfjord Cruise & Flåm Railway
- Restaurant: Daily Pot
Day 3 - Geiranger
- Hotel: Havila Hotel Geiranger (fjord-view balconies are the move)
- Viewpoint: Flydalsjuvet (iconic Geiranger photo-stop)
- Tour: Geiranger RIB Fjordsafari
- Restaurant: Westerås Gard
Day 4 - Geiranger (fjord day 2)
- Kayak tour: Guided kayak tour - The Seven Sister Tour on the Geiranger Fjord (4 h)
- Shore excursion: Mt. Dalsnibba and Eagle Road shore excursion
- Restaurant: Brasserie Posten
Day 5 - Lofoten
- Hotel: Reine Rorbuer - by Classic Norway Hotels (classic rorbu stay in postcard scenery)
- Cruise: Lofoten Island: Silent Trollfjord Cruise from Svolvær
- Activities operator: Lofoten Aktiv (kayak/bike depending on day & weather)
- Restaurant: Restaurant Lofotmat
Day 6 - Lofoten
- Hotel: Thon Hotel Lofoten
- Operator: Northern Explorer
- Operator: Lofoten Explorer
- Restaurant: Restaurant Gammelbua
Day 7 - Tromsø
- Hotel: Clarion Hotel The Edge (central, modern, big-buffet breakfast)
- Nature centre: Tromsø Wilderness Centre
- Tour operator: Chasing Lights
- Restaurant: Restaurant Smak
Itinerary 2 - The variety version
Run the same prompt again and it gave us a completely different (but equally solid) itinerary - proof that the AI doesn't just memorize one canonical answer.
Day 1 - Oslo
- Hotel: Sommerro
- Sculpture park: Vigelandsparken
- Fortress: Akershus Castle and Fortress
- Restaurant: Ricksha
Day 2 - Bergen
- Hotel: Home Hotel Havnekontoret
- Mountain: Mount Fløyen and the Funicular
- Mountain: Mount Ulriken and the cable car
- Restaurant: Pinocchio Mat og Vinbar
Day 3 - Geiranger
- Hotel: Hotel Union
- The fjord itself: Geiranger Fjord
- Kayak tour: Kayak Tour with Waterfall Views in Geiranger
- Restaurant: Restaurant Hyskje
Day 4 - Geiranger (fjord day 2)
- Hotel: Grande Fjord Hotel
- Sightseeing cruise: Geiranger Fjord Sightseeing Cruise - 75 min
- Waterfalls: Seven Sisters
- Restaurant: Ole Buda Restaurant
Day 5 - Lofoten
- Hotel: Svinøya Rorbuer
- Iconic hike: Reinebringen
- Cruise: Trollfjord Cruise
- Restaurant: Børsen Spiseri
Day 6 - Lofoten
- Hotel: Nyvågar Rorbuhotel - by Classic Norway Hotels
- Fishing & RIB: REEL Fishing and RIB Safaries
- Hike: Festvågtind Hike
- Restaurant: Restaurant Kjøkkenet
Day 7 - Tromsø
- Hotel: Scandic Ishavshotel
- Arctic exhibit: Polaria
- Day tours: Arctic Cruise In Norway AS - Day Tours
The big caveat
The AI sometimes returns: "Whelp, I think there's a problem on my end - my mistake. Can you ask your question again?" We saw this on our first attempt before the prompt above eventually worked. Two things help: keep your prompt under 60 words, and don't ask for more than 7 days at a time. If you want a longer trip, run it in two prompts ("first 7 days" then "next 7 days").
Other limitations we observed: it only knows what's on TripAdvisor, so smaller Norwegian destinations (Kvinnherad, Tysnes, lesser-known stave churches) may get substituted with bigger nearby cities. When it recommends restaurants or activities, it leans on TripAdvisor's default sort - to get genuinely highest-rated results, click through to the linked page and re-sort by "Traveler Rating".
When to use Plan with AI vs. regular browsing
Use Plan with AI when you're at the should-I-go-here-at-all stage and want a sketch of a trip, when you want a starting itinerary you'll then modify, or when you're traveling somewhere you've never been and want a quick "must-sees" list.
Use regular browsing when you already know your destination and want to filter by specific criteria, or when you want to read reviews in depth before booking.
Our verdict
For first-time visitors to Norway, Plan with AI is a useful first draft generator - better than staring at a blank Google Doc. Don't take its picks as gospel; cross-check the linked hotels and restaurants on their actual TripAdvisor pages.