travel-realtime-mcp

name	travel-realtime-mcp
description	Handle time-sensitive travel requests by using built-in realtime travel lookup or attaching MCP servers for railway tickets, flights, maps, local places, weather, hotels, and route planning. Prefer a quick answer path: call the built-in travel_realtime tool first for 12306/Open-Meteo; use existing mcp__* tools next; otherwise propose one safe candidate and install only after confirmation.
version	0.2.0
tags	["travel","mcp","realtime"]
metadata	{"hermes":{"created_by":"user"},"jiharn":{"category":"mcp","triggers":["实时票价","高铁余票","余票","火车票","火车","高铁","动车","车次","票价",12306,"机票","航班","酒店价格","今晚酒店","实时天气","天气","气温","温度","下雨","降雨","风速","今天限行","地图","导航","附近","当前位置","google maps","flight price","hotel price","live weather","route planning","travel mcp"],"capabilities":["mcp_lifecycle","realtime_lookup"],"related_skills":["travel-guide","mcp-discovery"]}}

travel-realtime-mcp

Overview

Use this skill when the user wants fresh travel data rather than a generic itinerary: current train tickets, flight prices, hotel availability, local weather, map routes, nearby places, or airport/route status.

This skill is the tool-driven complement to travel-guide: travel-guide is optimized for fast streaming, knowledge-based chunks; this skill is for tool/MCP-backed live lookups and should not invent realtime numbers.

When to Use

Use this skill for:

• Chinese railway / 12306 ticket availability, train times, or station-to-station options.
• Flight search, flight prices, transfer routes, flight number status, airport weather.
• Google Maps / Places / route planning / nearby food / route duration / timezone / air quality.
• Hotel price or availability lookups.
• User explicitly asks to install, find, or use a travel MCP.

Do not use this skill for a generic "三日游攻略" / "去哪玩" request with no realtime requirement. Let travel-guide answer those quickly with streaming sections.

Candidate MCP Servers

1. 12306-mcp

Best for China railway ticket search.

• Source: Joooook/12306-mcp
• Install shape:

{
  "name": "rail_12306",
  "transport": "stdio",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "12306-mcp"],
  "description": "China railway 12306 ticket search"
}

• API key: none shown in README.
• Default permission: keep tools confirm until inspected.

2. Google Maps MCP via @cablate/mcp-google-map

Best for places, nearby search, directions, distance matrix, route planning, weather, air quality, timezone, and local route reasoning.

• Source: cablate/mcp-google-map
• Install shape:

{
  "name": "google_maps_travel",
  "transport": "stdio",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@cablate/mcp-google-map", "--stdio"],
  "env": {
    "GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY": "<user-provided-key>",
    "GOOGLE_MAPS_ENABLED_TOOLS": "maps_geocode,maps_search_places,maps_place_details,maps_directions,maps_distance_matrix,maps_weather,maps_search_nearby,maps_plan_route"
  },
  "description": "Google Maps places routes weather"
}

• API key: requires GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY; Places API and Routes API should be enabled.
• Default permission: keep confirm unless the user explicitly authorizes read-only maps calls as safe.

3. Travel Planner MCP via @gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp

Best for a smaller Google Maps travel-planning surface: places, place details, routes, timezone.

• Source: GongRzhe/TRAVEL-PLANNER-MCP-Server
• Install shape:

{
  "name": "travel_planner_maps",
  "transport": "stdio",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@gongrzhe/server-travelplanner-mcp"],
  "env": {
    "GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY": "<user-provided-key>"
  },
  "description": "Travel planner maps places routes"
}

• Tools advertised by README: searchPlaces, getPlaceDetails, calculateRoute, getTimeZone.
• Prefer this over the larger Google Maps MCP when the user only needs place search and routing.

4. Variflight MCP

Best for China/international flight data, flight number lookup, transfer search, realtime aircraft location, airport weather, and flight prices.

• Source: variflight/variflight-mcp
• Install shape:

{
  "name": "variflight",
  "transport": "stdio",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@variflight-ai/variflight-mcp"],
  "env": {
    "VARIFLIGHT_API_KEY": "<user-provided-key>"
  },
  "description": "Variflight flight search status prices"
}

• API key: requires VARIFLIGHT_API_KEY.
• Default permission: keep confirm; flight/location queries can reveal travel intent.

5. Flight/hotel search pack

Use only if the user explicitly wants flight + hotel search and can provide third-party API keys.

• Source: RikGmee/searchAPI-mcp
• Capabilities seen in README: search-flights, search-hotels, today.
• Requires Booking.com/RapidAPI key and often Google Maps API key.
• Treat as a second-stage option, not the default quick path.

6. Full travel assistant MCP ecosystem

Use only when the user wants a larger travel-agent stack with flights, hotels, events, weather, geocoding, currency, and budget orchestration.

• Source: skarlekar/mcp_travelassistant
• Capabilities: search_flights, search_hotels, search_events, get_weather_forecast, geocode_location, calculate_distance, convert_currency.
• Requires multiple local server directories plus keys such as SerpAPI. This is powerful but heavier than JiHarn's quick-reply goal.

Steps

1. Classify the request:

   • Generic plan: answer with travel-guide instead.
   • Realtime data: continue here.

2. For China rail / weather, call travel_realtime first:

   • action="bundle" when the user asks a mixed request such as "上海到北京 4 天，火车票和天气".
   • action="rail_12306" for train availability / 12306 / 高铁余票.
   • action="weather_forecast" for local weather / temperature / rain / wind parameters.

3. Check for existing matching MCP tools in the visible tool list:

   • mcp__rail_12306__* for trains.
   • mcp__google_maps_travel__* or mcp__travel_planner_maps__* for maps/routes/places/weather.
   • mcp__variflight__* for flights.
   • If present, call the existing tool and answer in a short IM format.

4. If no matching tool exists, do not fabricate realtime data. Propose at most two candidates:

   • One fastest/smallest candidate.
   • One fuller candidate if clearly useful.

5. If a key is required, ask for the env var name only; never ask the user to paste a secret into a public group chat. Tell them it will be passed as the MCP subprocess environment.

6. After the user chooses and provides/authorizes credentials, call mcp_manage(action="add", ...) using the JSON shape above. The tool itself will trigger IM confirmation.

7. After install, call mcp_manage(action="inspect", name="...") and verify tools are listed. If connection failed, remove the server and explain the failure.

8. Once connected, answer the original travel question using the newly available MCP tool.

Quick Reply Formats

No MCP installed yet

这个问题需要实时数据，我不能编。
可接：
1. 12306-mcp：查高铁/火车余票，无需 API key。
2. Google Maps MCP：查路线/附近/天气，需要 GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY。
你选哪个？我会走确认安装。

Tool lookup succeeded

🚄 实时结果
- 最推荐：<车次/航班/路线> — <时间> — <价格/耗时>
- 备选：<...>

✅ 我的建议：<一句话>

Tool lookup failed

实时查询失败：<短原因>
我可以改用离线攻略先给路线骨架，或帮你换一个 MCP 数据源。

Pitfalls

• Do not mix streaming travel-guide with MCP calls. Streaming sections are optimized for speed and may not call tools.
• Do not install every candidate. Install the smallest server that answers the current request.
• Do not mark tools safe by default. External APIs can cost money and reveal travel intent.
• Do not invent hotel prices, flight prices, train availability, weather, or live route times.
• Do not pass API keys unless the user explicitly supplied and authorized them.