We planned three weeks in California with Claude. This one feature did most of the work.

Flying from Heathrow to LAX, picking up a hire car, and spending three weeks between Newport Beach and Balboa Island is not a package holiday. There is no brochure. You research it yourself, piece by piece. Flights, Airbnb, car hire, which part of the coast to stay in, what to do when you get there.

I used Claude for most of the planning. And for the first two weeks, I was doing it wrong.

Every conversation started from scratch. "We're going to Newport Beach in California for three weeks, flying from Heathrow, we want an Airbnb near Balboa Island, we're hiring a car, we like beaches and food and we want some days doing nothing and some days exploring further out." I typed some version of that paragraph every single time I had a new question.

Then I created a Project.

Five sentences inside it. Where we were going and for how long. Flying from Heathrow. Hiring a car at LAX. Airbnb near the water on Balboa Island. That we wanted a mix of slow beach days and longer drives up the coast. Done. I never typed it again.

Setting one up takes five minutes. You go to claude.ai, find Projects on the left sidebar, create one, and write a short note to Claude under Set instructions. Here is roughly what mine said.

The conversations after that were completely different.

"We want a full day out on the water, not too far from where we're staying. What would you plan?" It knew we were based in Newport Beach, that we had a car, and that we liked being active. It came back with Newport Dunes. A lagoon right there in the bay, kayak and paddleboard hire, calm water, a place to eat on site. It suggested we book the watercraft early before it got busy, and noted the lagoon was better for a relaxed day than open ocean. Exactly the kind of local knowledge that takes an hour to find on TripAdvisor. Thirty seconds.

"Is it worth driving to Big Sur for a couple of days, or is that too much from Newport?" It knew we had a car. It said four hours north, worth it for two nights, and suggested Carmel as a stop on the way back.

"We want to eat somewhere on the water on Balboa Island on our first night. Not a chain." Three actual restaurant names with a line on each.

"The Airbnb host is asking if we want a weekly clean included or a discount instead. Which makes more sense for three weeks?" It thought through both. Made a recommendation. I copied the reply.

Three weeks of planning. Zero re-explaining. Every question picked up exactly where the last one left off.

The reason this works is that Claude has no memory by default. Every conversation starts blank. That is fine for a one-off question. It is exhausting when you are planning something over weeks. Projects give Claude a permanent note that travels with every conversation in that folder. One setup, everything after is faster.

Go to claude.ai. Find Projects on the left sidebar. Create one for your next trip. Write four sentences: where you are going, how you are getting there, where you are staying, and what matters to you on holiday. Then use that Project for every question until you leave.

By the time you land, Claude will know your trip better than any travel agent you have ever spoken to.