For a long time I wanted to make a port guide for every cruise port. I wasn’t happy with any of the existing ones I’d find through search, and there were certain things I wanted to know at every stop. AI finally got to the point where it was good enough to make something useful, and I found that by iterating and asking it better questions for each section, I could get the information I wanted.
I started selling shore excursions through it through Viator, which is the site I always use when I book something (onboard shore excursions are generally not great and are very expensive).
I got so used to using the CruiseSheet port guides whenever I went somewhere new that when I flew somewhere that wasn’t a cruise port I was disappointed that I didn’t have my usual guide. So… I made Amazing Atlas!
It has all of the information I would normally look up, has good prompts to get the right information, uses the best AI models, and is constantly updated. Every city will be updated every 1-2 months. Here’s all the info each one has:
At the top I try to show the information you’d want if you were just landing in a city for the first time as well as the info you’d need if you wanted to learn about the city for the first time. Where is it, what’s the main airport, what’s the weather like right now, and what time is it?
I also show a quick blurb to give you a quick intro to what type of city it is and I show a map that includes every point of interest mentioned in the guide. One of the main problems I face with a new city is not knowing what area of the city is best to stay in, so this provides a visual clue.
A have some quick facts, focusing on things unique to the city. So by the time you get to the main sections you should have a rough feel for what type of city it is and what makes it different from other cities.
After that I have a section on the key highlights. These tend to be more touristy things, but should be the main things you’d want to see for a short visit.
Next I show nearby cities and attractions, including a zoomed out map on how far they are from the city. I did this because I found that, especially on cruise stops, often the best things were a short drive or train ride away, instead of inside the city center. These sorts of trips also sometimes help put a city in context
Local picks is next, showing places that you may want to visit on a longer trip, a second trip, or if you just aren’t that interested in the main tourist attractions. One of the next features I’m going to add is integrating my own recommendations into these, since I’ve been to a lot of these cities.
Weather + Climate focuses on general times of year to visit, mainly if you’re planning something well in advance. Safety considerations includes crime as well as natural disaster information. Sort of boring, but I figure people would be interested.
Getting around tries to give you an idea of the tradeoff between taxis, ubers, transit, and whether you can walk in the city. I include times and prices, which is only really possible because these guides are updated frequently.
Getting In and Out shows major rail, bus, and air transit stops. I mainly did this because I always wonder how near or far each option is from the city center and how hard it is to get to the city from each option.
Shopping is a boring section that I mainly made for other people, but I tried to focus it on things that are unique to that area vs high end fashion stuff that you can find everywhere.
Next is currency and tipping. Every time I order my first meal in a new place I have to search for how much to tip as well as the exchange rate. Again, because these are updated so frequently they will never be outdated.
When to Visit tries to combine weather, festivals, and crowds to provide guidance on the best time to visit.
Last is Useful Phrases. I always try to learn basic phrases wherever I go to show respect for the locals. In this section I have the basic phrases as well as anything that would be particularly useful in that city.
And that’s it for now! I may add more in the future (and would be very interested in feedback if you think there’s anything missing). If you’d check out Amazing Atlas before your next trip and give me some feedback on how useful it was, I’d really appreciate it. It’s also really important to get google to index the site, so if you’d be willing to link to the site (or to a city in it), it has a huge impact when something is first launched.
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Photo is an awesome teaware shop in the mountains near Fukuoka.
I also have a new game I’m developing that I might release soon! It’s really annoying to make an Apple Developer account, but my friends and I are currently playing it on Android + PC.
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