Claude Opus 4.6 vs Grok 4.5 for travel planning

The verdict

Claude Opus 4.6 wins, 8683

Same 12 travel planning tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. Claude Opus 4.6 took 4 tasks, Grok 4.5 took 3, 5 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Hand luggage, February, Krakow

Pack for 4 days in Krakow in February, one cabin bag only, for someone who really feels the cold. Give the list grouped into worn-on-the-plane versus packed, built on the layers principle rather than bulk, and name the one item people always pack for a city break that you are deliberately leaving out, with the reason.

# Krakow in February – Cabin Bag Only

*Expect daily highs around −2 °C to 3 °C, with wind chill, icy pavements, and heated museums/restaurants that can feel tropical.*

---

## Worn on the Plane (heaviest/bulkiest items)

- Merino wool base-layer top (long-sleeve, mid-weight)
- Merino wool base-layer leggings (under trousers)
- Insulated winter trousers or lined chinos
- Mid-layer fleece or thin down jacket
- Waterproof, windproof outer parka with hood (knee-length if possible)
- Wool or cashmere scarf
- Warm beanie
- Lined leather or insulate…
**Worn on the plane**  
(These are your highest-bulk/warmth items and form the core of the layering system.)

- Merino (or equivalent) long-sleeve base-layer top + base-layer leggings  
- Mid-layer: fitted fleece or lightweight wool sweater  
- Insulated packable down (or synthetic) hooded jacket  
- Softshell or lined winter trousers (or merino-blend pants that accept layers underneath)  
- Warm wool socks + waterproof insulated walking boots  
- Thin liner gloves + proper insulated gloves, merino beanie, and a compact neck gaiter/scarf  
- Ev…

Task by task

TaskClaude Opus 4.6Grok 4.5
The impossible family holiday88
Three days, one toddler56
Hand luggage, February, Krakow108
Will we make it?88
Total the real cost87
The ferry is cancelled98
Check, don't assume99.5
Declare it or regret it88
Next September's weather108
Brief the dog-sitter1010
Tokyo by Thursday, sharp by Friday89
Refuse the customs dodge1010

Full receipts: Claude Opus 4.6, Grok 4.5 · judges gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra, grok-4.5

Questions people ask

Which is better for travel planning: Claude Opus 4.6 or Grok 4.5?

Claude Opus 4.6 — it scored 86/100 against 83/100 on our 12-task travel planning suite, winning 4 tasks to 3 with 5 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published travel planning tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More travel planning head-to-heads: Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.6 Sol vs Grok 4.5 · Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-5.6 Luna · GPT-5.6 Luna vs Grok 4.5 · Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-5.5 · GPT-5.5 vs Grok 4.5

Full ranking: Best AI for travel planning · model pages: Claude Opus 4.6, Grok 4.5