Travel Planner MCP Server

Travel Planner MCP Server

What is Travel Planner MCP Server about?

Enables LLMs to interact with Google Maps for searching places, retrieving detailed place information, calculating routes, and obtaining time‑zone data, supporting travel‑related queries.

How to use Travel Planner MCP Server?

1. Install via npx:
   npx @gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp
   Or set the GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY env variable and run the same command.
2. Configure in Claude Desktop by adding to claude_desktop_config.json under mcpServers with command npx and the package name.
3. Call the provided tools (searchPlaces, getPlaceDetails, calculateRoute, getTimeZone) from your LLM prompt.

Key features

• searchPlaces – query Google Places with optional location bias and radius.
• getPlaceDetails – fetch full details for a place by its Google Place ID.
• calculateRoute – compute routes between origin and destination with selectable travel mode.
• getTimeZone – retrieve timezone information for coordinates at a given timestamp.
• Simple npm‑based deployment, works with Claude Desktop and other MCP‑compatible clients.

Use cases

• Building travel itinerary assistants.
• Providing location‑based recommendations in chatbots.
• Automating trip planning workflows (e.g., estimating travel time, suggesting nearby attractions).
• Integrating timezone conversion for event scheduling.

FAQ

Q: Which Google APIs must be enabled?
A: Places, Directions, Geocoding, and Time Zone APIs.

Q: Is an API key required?
A: Yes, set GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY in the environment.

Q: Can I run the server locally?
A: Yes, after installing the package you can start it with the npx command.

Q: What license is it under?
A: MIT License.

Travel Planner MCP Server (@gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp)

A Travel Planner Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for interacting with Google Maps and travel planning services. This server enables LLMs to perform travel-related tasks such as location search, place details lookup, and travel time calculations.

Installation & Usage

Installing via Smithery

To install Travel Planner for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @GongRzhe/TRAVEL-PLANNER-MCP-Server --client claude

Installing Manually

# Using npx (recommended)
npx @gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp

# With environment variable for Google Maps API
GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=your_api_key npx @gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp

Or install globally:

# Install globally
npm install -g @gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp

# Run after global installation
GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=your_api_key @gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp

Components

Tools

• searchPlaces

  • Search for places using Google Places API
  • Input:
    • query (string): Search query for places
    • location (optional): Latitude and longitude to bias results
    • radius (optional): Search radius in meters

• getPlaceDetails

  • Get detailed information about a specific place
  • Input:
    • placeId (string): Google Place ID to retrieve details for

• calculateRoute

  • Calculate route between two locations
  • Input:
    • origin (string): Starting location
    • destination (string): Ending location
    • mode (optional): Travel mode (driving, walking, bicycling, transit)

• getTimeZone

  • Get timezone information for a location
  • Input:
    • location: Latitude and longitude coordinates
    • timestamp (optional): Timestamp for time zone calculation

Configuration

Usage with Claude Desktop

To use this server with the Claude Desktop app, add the following configuration to the "mcpServers" section of your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "travel-planner": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY": "your_google_maps_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, you can use the node command directly if you have the package installed:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "travel-planner": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["path/to/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY": "your_google_maps_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Development

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Build the project:

   npm run build
   

Environment Variables

• GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY (required): Your Google Maps API key with the following APIs enabled:
  • Places API
  • Directions API
  • Geocoding API
  • Time Zone API

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. For more details, please see the LICENSE file in the project repository.