# Garden Route Specialist (remote · garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app)

Garden Route travel MCP - routes, accommodation, and local guides

- Trust score: 65/100 (medium)
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-05

## Components

- remote · `garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app`: 65/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api/garden-route-specialist-api.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api/garden-route-specialist-api)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `none`
- Version: `1.1.2`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-11-05.

- **Endpoint Security**: 63/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - Authorisation not fully verified: no authorisation is required to call this server, and 3 tool(s) never declared a destructiveHint. The MCP spec treats an absent hint as destructive by default, so we cannot call this surface safe.
  - HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path.
  - The HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) header is present.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 67/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (good).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 510 tokens (~170/item across 3 items; 3 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 20/100
  - Stability observed for 6 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 3 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 3 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 20/100
  - Spec-recency check failed: implements MCP spec 2024-11-05; the latest is 2026-07-28.

## Install

### How do I install the Garden Route Specialist MCP server?

Garden Route Specialist is a hosted endpoint at https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api 'https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api": {
      "url": "https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api]
url = "https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api --url 'https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api:
    url: "https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api -t streamable-http -u 'https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-11-05 (score 65, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 17 to 20. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 5 days of observed history at the previous scan, 6 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-03 (score 64, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 10 to 13. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 3 days of observed history at the previous scan, 4 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-01 (score 63, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 3 to 7. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 1 days of observed history at the previous scan, 2 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-31 (score 62, −1)

- [security] Tool “generate_itinerary” rewrote its description, which is the text the model reads
- [functional regression] Schema quality: pass → fail
- [functional improvement] Stability: unverified → 0.03
- [functional] Server version: 7.5.0 → 7.6.1
- [cosmetic] “generate_itinerary” added an optional parameter “month”
- [cosmetic] “generate_itinerary” added an optional parameter “rainy_days”
- [cosmetic] “generate_itinerary” reworded the description of “budget_max”

### 2026-10-30 (score 63)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (3)

### `get_knowledge` (~88 tokens)

Local knowledge for one Garden Route town: free/paid activities, hidden gems, dorm prices with booking links, evenings, safety tips and NSRI links.

Input parameters:

- `town` (string, required): One of: mossel bay, george, wilderness, knysna, plettenberg bay, tsitsikamma. Aliases like 'plett' and 'brenton-on-sea' work.

### `generate_itinerary` (~402 tokens)

Build a day-by-day Garden Route itinerary (west to east, no repeated activities) with per-day costs, a budget check, dietary verification, safety notes and transport estimates. Activities within a day are kept walkable or a short costed hop apart. If a town has nothing left or open (e.g. rain), the day becomes a trip to the nearest hub. Picks, prices and whale season depend on the month, so ask the traveller for their travel month first (if omitted, the current month is assumed and flagged). Costs are in South African rand; times and fares are estimates.

Input parameters:

- `budget_max` (integer): Maximum spend per day in rand, all-in (dorm + food allowance + activities), excluding inter-town transport.
- `days` (integer, required): Trip length in days, 1-30.
- `debug` (boolean): Include debug info.
- `dietary` (string): vegan, vegetarian or halal. Evening meals are marked verified or NOT verified.
- `family_mode` (boolean): Prefer family-friendly activities and private/family rooms.
- `month` (string): Month of travel, e.g. 'July' or 7. Ask the traveller; do not guess. If omitted, the current month is assumed and flagged in warnings. Changes activity picks, hostel prices and whale-watching.
- `rainy_days` (array): Optional. Day numbers (1-based) the traveller wants rain-proofed with indoor/covered options or a hub trip, e.g. [2, 3].
- `seed` (integer): Optional. Repeat a shuffled result.
- `shuffle` (boolean): Vary the picks between calls.
- `towns` (array, required): Towns to visit. Valid: mossel bay, george, wilderness, knysna, plettenberg bay, tsitsikamma.
- `travel_style` (string): One of: backpacker, adventure, chill, family, foodie. Default: backpacker.

### `get_stats` (~20 tokens)

Usage statistics for this API (call counts, recent calls).

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api/garden-route-specialist-api#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 65
- 2026-11-04: 64
- 2026-11-03: 64
- 2026-11-02: 63
- 2026-11-01: 63
- 2026-10-31: 62
- 2026-10-30: 63

## Common questions

### What is the Garden Route Specialist MCP server?

Garden Route Specialist is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.tyronplaatjies74-wq/garden-route-specialist-api. Garden Route travel MCP - routes, accommodation, and local guides. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp).

### Is the Garden Route Specialist MCP server safe to use?

Garden Route Specialist scores 65 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the Garden Route Specialist MCP server expose?

Garden Route Specialist exposes 3 tools: get_knowledge, generate_itinerary, get_stats. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 510 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the Garden Route Specialist MCP server require authentication?

No. We connected to Garden Route Specialist without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.

### Is the Garden Route Specialist MCP server still maintained?

Garden Route Specialist is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 5 November 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://garden-route-specialist-api.vercel.app/mcp
- Repository: https://github.com/tyronplaatjies74-wq/garden-route-specialist-api
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api/garden-route-specialist-api.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api/garden-route-specialist-api.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/tyronplaatjies74-wq-garden-route-specialist-api/garden-route-specialist-api