Roava

Inspiration

Travel planning is exciting, but also overwhelming. We’ve all been there—endless tabs, random blogs, Google Maps rabbit holes, and still not knowing how to make the most of a trip. We wanted to create something that feels like a smart friend who already knows the city and can sketch out a safe, fun, and personalized plan in seconds.

What it does

Roava takes a city, your travel dates, and your interests, then automatically builds a day-by-day itinerary. It pulls real places from open travel data, and then uses AI to polish them into a trip plan that’s easy to follow, efficient, and tailored for solo travelers.

How we built it

We combined: • React for the front end (where users search and see their itineraries). • Express/Node.js for the backend API that fetches points of interest. • OpenTripMap API for real-time places and data. • Gemini AI to transform raw POIs into a smooth, human-readable itinerary.

We hosted everything on DigitalOcean, so the backend and frontend talk seamlessly.

Challenges we ran into

Challenges we ran into • Deploying both backend + frontend on the server without breaking routes. • Parsing AI text into clean, structured “Day 1 / Day 2” cards. • Keeping requests light (POI data can be heavy). • Debugging API keys at 2AM 😅.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

•    Got a working end-to-end app in just a few days.
•    AI itineraries that actually feel like real travel plans.
•    A clean, interactive UI with stars/planes for personality ✈️.
•    Learned how to deploy on a real server (and not just localhost).

What we learned

•    The importance of splitting frontend and backend responsibilities.
•    How to integrate multiple APIs and make them work together.
•    Tricks for parsing Markdown/AI output into structured UI.
•    How to collaborate and debug under time pressure.

What's next for Roava

•    Add maps with POIs pinned for easy navigation.
•    Let users save & share their itineraries.
•    Add budget filters (student-friendly vs. luxury).
•    Make the AI smarter: adapt itineraries for families, couples, or adventure seekers.
•    Mobile-first design so travelers can use it on the go.