If someone you love is about to embark on an epic travel adventure, or you have a jet-setter friend who is always off somewhere exotic, then you might be looking for a thoughtful and sentimental gift idea for travelers.
There’s an assumption about travelers that they are minimalist and don’t often like gifts.
We’ve been traveling for over 25 years, much of that full time, but we still love receiving and giving gifts, especially when they remind us of our adventures and the people we shared them with.
One thing to remember when buying sentimental gifts for someone who travels is they are probably not looking for big, material possessions, but something practical, or to remind them of home. Which can make gift giving a bit of an overwhelming and stressful experience.
If you’re looking to buy a gift for a traveler but you don’t know where to start, don’t worry, we’re here to help.
As globetrotting travelers ourselves, we know exactly what gifts a traveler would want, so to save you some time, and hopefully some money, I’ve created this list of the best gifts for someone going traveling so you can find some inspiration.
Each of these travel items are things we personally own and use, or have earmarked ourselves to get as soon as the chance comes.
- Best Travel Gifts for Women
- Best Travel Gifts For Men
- Practical Travel Gifts
- Travel Pillow and Eye Mask set
- Compression Socks
- Microfibre Towel
- Travel Guide Books and Journals
- Kelty Hiking Carrier
- Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier
- A Travel Suitcase
- A Travel Backpack
- Carry-On Suitcase
- Tortuga Laptop Backpack
- Travel Packing Cubes
- Travel Toiletry Bag
- Travel Gear Organizer
- 3 Pack Travel Bottles
- Portable Luggage Scale
- Dry Bag
- Head Lamp
- Thoughtful or Sentimental Travel Gifts
- Best Travel Gifts for Kids
- Gadgets & Tech Travel Gifts for Travelers
- Travel Gifts for Road Trips
- Final Thoughts
- More Gift Ideas
- Pin To Save On Pinterest
Best Travel Gifts for Women
Reusable Makeup Remover Pads
I absolutely LOVE having reusable makeup remover pads. It’s my favorite travel discovery and allows me to travel a bit more eco-consciously. It will definitely be the best Christmas gift for women!
It will save you money, hassle and help the environment.
They are easy to use, soft on the skin and are machine washable. I also love that it comes in a handy bamboo travel bag so it can pack into your case with ease..
Such a clever item that can be used for travel as well as in your home.
Using reusable make up remover pads saves the planet from over 2,800 disposable wipes. Plus they are 100% recyclable and have plastic-free packaging.
Hiking Sandals
Caz loves her Keen Hiking Sandals. She says they are high quality and like wearing a comfy pair of socks with holes in them so you have heaps of room to breathe.
She’s had her hiking sandals for over 4 years AND they still look brand new and are as comfy as ever.
If these ones eventually fall apart, she’ll be buying Keen sandals again.
You can read more in our Keen hiking sandals review.
Multi Pocket Small Crossbody Bag
A small crossbody bag is an essential travel item for me. I like easy access to my most important and often used items; wallet, phone and sometimes passport.
I don’t want to keep taking my day pack off my back to find it, nor do I want to have to carry a day pack or large tote bag when I go out for the evening.
I like a travel cross body bag with a few separate compartments and a design that suit different outfits.
You may like this new crossbody bag rom Driibe. It’s very unique in that it has 4 purposes. It can also be turned into a duffel bag or backpack. I am currently testing it out and will be reviewing it soon. I love Driibes multipurpose approach to travel bags and accessories. Use the code YTRAVEL10 for a 10% discount on any Driibe products.
3 in 1 Convertible Backpack Purse
A favorite find of mine is this backpack that converts into a purse! It means women no longer need to pack multiple bags on vacation.
Now your female friends will have a daypack to hold their sweaters and water bottles + their laptop bag and electronics when moving from place to place. I’ve even taken mine on short hikes
Then, when it’s time to explore the streets of Paris or enjoy special dinner on the Amalfi coast, you can convert it to a simple purse or clutch to take out on a
Use the code YTRAVEL10 for a 10% discount on any Driibe products.
Scarf and Shawl Wrap
I don’t travel anywhere without a scarf or a shawl. They have a wide variety of uses and are small and lightweight you won’t feel them in your luggage.
As a travel fashion accessory, shawls and scarves help you create multiple travel looks with only a few clothing items.
I use my scarf to wrap around me to keep me warm, even in warm climates when you don’t want to carry a sweater but know you’ll need something for freezing air conditioned places.
These are one of the best gifts for women and I even use it to cover my mouth or nose in smelly or polluted places.
Gift Card for PrAna
Prana is our favorite clothing brand, especially for travel. It fills at least half of my wardrobe.
PrAna clothes are both comfortable and practical, and last a really long time.
They fold up small in my luggage and look stylish.
They have clothes for all kinds of occasions, from hiking, yoga, rock climbing, and even swimwear.
When you wear PrAna, you are helping the environment and communities. Their clothing is made from organic cotton and hemp, have minimal impact on the environment and are fair trade certified.
Jewelry Organizer
A travel jewellery case is a great gift for a woman so she no longer has to rummage around in her luggage and stuff all her bracelets, necklaces and earrings in various compartments and separate bags.
It’s packing essential just like her underwear organizer featured below.
Underwear Organizer for Travel
I have always had a problem when it comes to packing underwear. Even packing cubes did not help me with underwear.
I’d put them in the smallest packing cell I had, but still, it would be a jumbled up mess.
But I found a solution, my underwear organizer now travels with me and has become my favorite packing essential.
I still use packing cells, but I think this takes underwear packing to a more efficient and enjoyable level.
The Underwear Organizer rolls up and clips together like a little sleeping bag and sits in your suitcase neatly just like packing cells do.
I’ve had several readers contact me to let me know they’ve purchased this for loved ones as a gift!
Best Travel Gifts For Men
2-in-1 Expandable Backpack
Another travel bag from Driibe that we love, and is a great gift for men – or women to be honest – is their 2-in-1 expandable laptop bag.
I love how it functions as a day pack to carry around your laptop gear etc, but can also be used during the day to explore cities or even go hiking.
I’ve done that a lot and love how it saves on packing an extra bag.
Plus, it’s light, sleek and stylish, making it the perfect gift for men who like practical function paired with style when they travel.
Moleskine Pocket Journal
Besides keeping a journal so we can look back on our travel memories and for planning our upcoming trips, we use one to take important notes at destinations so that we can include the information in blog posts, our videos, and in social media updates.
I love looking back on my travel adventures from years ago. It’s amazing how much you forget.
Don’t let the travelers you love leave without this.
Travel Planning Journal
If you the travel addict you love enjoys planning and recording specific details of their trip, then a travel planning journal will elate them and be one of hte best travel gifts you can give!
I love the fun and beautiful design of this travel journal. Also great for older kids.
Comfortably Wild
Do you know someone who loves glamping? By that we mean enjoying the wilderness but with a little extra comfort and style.
Our friends, Mike and Anne from HoneyTrek spent three years roaming the USA to uncover the best glamping experiences.
They have put all their wisdom together in this beautiful book that will inspire and give you all you need to plan the perfect glamping experience.
This coffee-table-meets-guidebook offers over 70 dreamy destinations, plus inspiring stories, practical tips, and a lifetime worth of adventures.
Oh sorry, you’re buying this travel gift for someone you love right? I know you want one too!
31 Insulated Tent
Looking for unique travel gifts that he definitely hasn’t thought about buying himself? Check out an insulated tent!
Our friends from HoneyTrek took this to the Burning Man Festival and spent nine days in it in the hot (and cold) and extremely windy and dusty and inhospitable Black Rock Desert.
While this exact one isn’t available any more, you can get similar ones on Amazon.
It’s one of those unique items that any man would appreciate!
Practical Travel Gifts
Travel Pillow and Eye Mask set
One of the top items on my wish list for Christmas is this travel pillow and eye mask set, which also comes with a blanket.
It’s perfect for long haul night flights. The pillow is memory foam, which means it’s more comfortable than other pillows, and has an ergonomic design.
If you’re buying for someone who struggles to get a good night’s sleep on planes, this would be a thoughtful gift.
Compression Socks
If you find yourself sitting on planes often for long periods of time, or even on long road trips, consider these compression socks to help minimize swelling of your feet and promote circulation.
Compression socks are a great gift idea for someone traveling abroad.
Microfibre Towel
If you’re looking for a lightweight and compact towel that’s fast drying and easy to pack and carry on your travels, this Microfiber Towel could be the solution you need and a travel gift for travel lovers.
Travel Guide Books and Journals
Lonely Planet are our guide books of choice. We’ve been using them since the 1990’s.
But we use them as they are intended to be used, as a guide, and don’t just stick to everything LP says.
If there is one travel gift that makes me happy, it’s receiving a Lonely Planet guidebook because I know amazing adventures are ahead. How could we not include them in our gift guides for the holiday season?
Kelty Hiking Carrier
We got a lot of hiking miles out of our Kelty Hiking Carrier with Savannah riding on our backs.
The baby hiking carrier is perfect for nature walks or even just getting around town.
This kid’s hiking carrier fit comfortably and felt like Savannah was always secure with a 5-point harness system and was easy to get her in and out of.
The Kelty hiking carrier comes with a nice amount of storage for packing wipes, diapers, and change of clothes.
And it comes with a sun hood! One of best gifts for travelers who have toddlers.
Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier
The Baby Bjorn Carrier is easy to wear and keeps babies safely secured.
It’s designed to grow with the child, and we used it with Savannah until she was about 15 months old.
This is one of our top travel essential for babies.
A Travel Suitcase
If you are searching for new suitcases for travel, we created a shortlist of the best suitcases for travel.
We compared hard shell vs soft shell travel bags, the sizes, wheels, handles and much more.
Hopefully, our list will help you narrow down your choice to save you some valuable time choosing the best travel gift for travelers you love!
And check out this review on the Desley suitcase – our personal travel suitcase that we love!
A Travel Backpack
If you are searching for a new travel backpack, we created a shortlist of the best backpacks for travel.
We explain how to choose a travel backpack, researched the best sizes, front loading vs top loading, and share the best brands for travel backpacks.
If you’re ever unsure though, you can never go wrong with the Osprey Fairview (ladies) or Fairpoint (mens) 55L backpack. Osprey bags come with a lifetime guarantee, so if you want a bag for life, this is the one to go for.
You can also see more travel backpacks that we review here.
Carry-On Suitcase
Do you love to travel light and travel with carry-on suitcases only?
We’ve laid out what to look for in your carry on luggage, and share the best carry-on suitcases in a complete guide, but for those in a hurry, our favorite is the Desley Helium Aero.
Tortuga Laptop Backpack
Digital nomads, frequent travelers and tech savvy business travelers will LOVE the Tortuga Laptop Backpack.
I use it even for going to the local cafe to work or on road trips. You will definitely make the person you love happy with this travel gift.
You can slide the Tortuga laptop backpack under the seat of most airplanes and carry all your electronics, chargers, a change of clothes, and your in-flight essentials.
This backpack for laptops keep you organized and your tech gear protected and it’s big enough to include clothes if you just wanted to travel with carry on only for a short trip.
You can read my full review of Tortuga laptop backpacks here.
Travel Packing Cubes
We’ve never really known how to pack a suitcase efficiently. Throw everything in the bag, sit on it, and then zip it up.
It wasn’t too bad when we had backpacks because the different compartments helped us stay a little organized. But now that we have two kids we mostly travel with suitcases.
Travel packing cells are a lifesaver and the perfect practical gift idea for travelers.
In each packing cell we roll up each item and arrange clothes based on type and season.
Check out this amazing packing cell that converts into a daypack!
Travel Toiletry Bag
Another must have packing travel item for us is a travel toiletry bag, or dopp kit, and one that has a hook so you can hang it up in your hotel bathroom.
And one that is functional with separate compartments with enough space for different items.
Give a gift for travelers you love that will save their sanity!
Travel Gear Organizer
It’s amazing how many cords, plugs, adapters, USB drives, and chargers we have and they usually end up in various pockets in various bags all over the place and we can never remember where we put things.
I like the idea of this organizer to keep things secure and in order. This is great gift idea for business travelers and digital nomads.
We now have a cable and charger organizer, which is one of the best gifts for travelers who like to stay organized! No more cord headache.
I can easily and effortlessly find the charger and cord I need for my device.
3 Pack Travel Bottles
Carrying various liquids whilst traveling these days has become the norm, so finding bottles that don’t leak and are approved for carry‐on with airlines is necessary.
This is the perfect gift for travelers who love to travel carry-on only!
Portable Luggage Scale
No more worrying about exceeding the stingy weight limits and having to take all your clothes out at the airport.
Having a small, portable luggage scale means you can check the weight of your bags and save on the extra cost of excess baggage fees.
Dry Bag
If you are like us and do your fair share of snorkeling, kayaking, camping or other water-based activities and carry a lot of gadgets around like phones and cameras, then a heavy duty dry bag is incredibly useful for keeping your belongings safe.
This dry bag is the perfect gift for travelers who love adventure and the outdoors.
Head Lamp
You know what it’s like to have to rummage around in the dark whilst camping, or the disadvantages of having to hold a torch with one hand.
A head lamp with young kids always comes in handy so you are hands-free.
Don’t forget this travel gift for the travelers who love camping and wilderness activities.
Thoughtful or Sentimental Travel Gifts
World Map Scratch Map
This is actually a gift any traveler would enjoy.
There is no greater satisfaction to a traveler than counting the countries they’ve been to (even if they won’t admit it).
A scratch map is a fun way to document all the places you’ve been to and to get a visual on just how much of the world you have explored.
Travel Experiences Gift Voucher
The people you care about crave memorable experiences more than possessions. Give the gift of a dream travel experience to your wanderlust fellow traveler.
It will be remembered this for the rest of their life – material things can be easily forgotten, used up, and tossed away.
You could go all out with an all expenses paid vacation – go you! Or, you can simply give a travel experiences gift voucher for tour excursions or attraction of their choice.
We love Get Your Guide, a premier tour and attraction booking site. You can find hundreds of travel experiences for hundreds of destinations around the world, from hot air balloon rides to safaris.
Experience gifts are an easy, rewarding and joyful gift for the traveler you love and perfect for your stocking stuffers! Especially for solo travelers who might be worried about not meeting people.
Amazon Gift Cards
And if you can’t think of one wonderful gifts to buy, how about an Amazon eGift Card and let them choose something themselves?!
Airbnb Gift Cards
Another nice gift card you can get your traveling recipient is a gift card to Airbnb.
It doesn’t matter whether their a luxury traveler or a backpacker, everyone will appreciate a couple of nights in a swanky Airbnb on their travels.
And with a gift card, they can choose the time and place for themselves.
Ultimate Journeys for Two by National Geographic
Again, from our friends Mike and Anne, their first travel book Ultimate Journeys for Two is designed to inspire love all around the world!
After the worlds longest honeymoon (6+ years), they collated all their insights into the ultimate journeys couples can take around the world.
This coffee table book is shown to all guests that visit our home and they all rave about the quality of the information and the stunning design and inspiration.
Chapters are organized by type of destination (for example, beaches, mountains, and deserts) to help travelers discover new places and experiences based on their interests.
Each entry focuses on a specific region, getting to the essence of each locale and its one-of-a-kind offerings. I wish I had this when Craig and I were on our five year honeymoon!
Best Travel Gifts for Kids
Leap & Hop Travel Guides for Kids
If you want your children to be engaged with the travel experience, you can’t go past Leap and Hop travel guides as one of the best travel gifts for kids.
Kalyra has the travel guide for New York. Even though we have not been there yet, she loves the book and has already done a lot of the activities. She can’t wait to visit NYC to see and do more.
These books will get your children excited to travel to a destination but are also filled with interesting and relevant activities, quizzes, and games to help them get more out of it.
Other cities include; Hong Kong, Paris, Bali, Singapore.
Wireless Bluetooth Headphones
Our kids love watching movies, listening to music or playing games on their devices so finding comfortable headphones to travel with has been a priority.
Previously Savannah would have to hold the ear plug style headphones in which was never practical, and often they like to watch together so I like how these wireless headphones have a share port, no need for splitters!
These are not expensive noise canceling headphones, but a good start for young kids.
Kindle or Kobo Reader
Nothing beats the feel of a book in your hand, but when you’re traveling you want to minimize the load you carry. Enter a Kindle.
We bought Kalyra a Kindle Paperwhite for her birthday. She loves it and uses it all the time. Definitely a great gift for teens and tweens.
An alternative is a kobo reader, which we have used before and found great. Definitely consider a glare free one, which is ultimate for travel
It was given to us as a travel gift and we use it all the time with hundreds of books loaded up ready to read when I travel.
Kids Travel Journal
When Kalyra was a tween where she loves to write or draw illustrations about her daily travel experiences on the road. And she loved to be a part of the travel planning process.
If your kids like to preserve their travel memories, consider getting them a travel journal too.
Lonely Planet Kids Book
Even I found this Lonely Planet Kids Book educational and inspiring, and it’s perfect for exposing your kids to facts and fun info about the countries around the world (every country has its own dedicated page).
We love travel gifts that help kids learn!
Micro Scooter
One of the best gifts for our kids we purchased on our road trip around Australia was one of these micro scooters.
Yes, they are a little expensive, but we never regretted our decision.
Savannah loves how the micro scooter has three wheels and a flexible handle for maneuvering.
Instead of demanding to be carried everywhere she happily rides her scooter. It made it so easy for us to explore on our feet!
Gadgets & Tech Travel Gifts for Travelers
Canon EOS R50
A great camera body for travel photography and videos is a Canon EOS R50.
If you are looking for a good entry level DSLR, this is one comes highly recommended.
Canon 50mm f/1.4 Prime Lens
I love shooting with my 50mm prime lens.
It produces sharp images and teaches you composition as you don’t have the luxury of zooming in to frame your shot.
Besides food and portraits, this is a great all-around lens that I use for landscapes and sometimes take out for the day and leave the rest behind, as it’s small and light and has a great aperture range from f1.4 to f22.
GoPro Hero 12 Black
For all our underwater photos and videos we use a GoPro Hero12 Black. If you’re buying a GoPro, we recommend you alwasy get the latest version.
We shot our snorkeling footage from the Great Barrier Reef using our GoPro.
And if there’s one accessory we use the most it’s our 3-way that operates as an extension arm, camera grip or tripod.
A GoPro camera is great travel gift for those who love the underwater world and adventure activities!
Find it too expensive? Read on for a cheaper GoPro alternative receiving rave reviews.
This is a fantastic gift idea for older kids. A travel gift idea for younger kids could be an cheaper waterproof camera. Savannah’s Nikon camera is actually a waterproof one.
Video Microphone by Rode
We’ve started taking videos seriously and if there’s one thing that can ruin a good video it’s poor sound quality.
Our Rode microphone has been a great travel accessory to our video production, and if you are going to shoot a lot of travel videos outside in the wind, I highly recommend the wind cover to minimize wind noise.
This Rode Videomicro is exceptional. I’ve used it for two years without a problem and the audio quality is great. I love how small and compact it is and I love how I don’t need to switch it on. It records automatically, which is awesome, as with other mics I’ve forgotten to turn them on and lost good recordings.
It does mean it uses the camera battery so drains it more, but I make sure I carry spare batteries with me and then it’s sweet. I’d much rather the battery drain then losing audio.
Memory Cards
We take a ton of photos and videos on our trips for our business so it’s essential we have good memory cards with plenty of storage space before we download to our computers and external hard drives.
And a memory card holder is a nice accessory for keeping them secure and protected.
It’s one travel gift you don’t want to be without and lose what could be precious memory capture opportunities.
External Hard Drive – SSD
We take a lot of photos on our travels and have recently jumped into creating travel videos for our YouTube channel so we need a lot of storage space to keep all our files safe and organized away from our computer.
We actually carry three of these external hard drives of varying capacity when we travel. If you are traveling, you don’t want to get anything other than a Solid State Drive.
We have lost far too many photos with the other versions. Travel is too hard on them and they break so easily.
In the past five years, we’ve been using them we have not had any issues.
And if you’re going to carry around an external hard drive, a protective case is a good idea.
Portable Battery Charger by Anker
Because we run an online business and travel more than most, our life revolves around our phones and gadgets and it’s not always possible to find a wall socket to plug into.
So a portable battery charger that is compact and fast charging is a life saver and is the perfect travel gift for business travelers.
International Travel Plug Adaptor
Wouldn’t it be easier if each country operated using the same wall sockets and prongs?!!!
To rectify that we need an all-in-one plug travel adapter to be able to plug in our numerous chargers and phones and laptops when we travel.
We don’t go anywhere without one of these now and they are one of the most useful gifts for international travelers.
3-Outlet Surge Protector
Between us and our two kids, we typically travel with two phones, two laptops, a camera, and two tablets and it’s a constant fight over who gets to charge their devices.
So we require a power board with multiple sockets and USB ports and one with a surge protector to protect our valuables.
It’s one of the most handy travel gifts for families.
Portable BlueTooth Speaker
Listening to music and podcasts plays a big part in our lives and with the amount of moving around we do, it’s nice to have a portable blue tooth speaker.
And one that’s super portable with quality sound. We love our Sony portable speaker and have had it for years!
We went camping and spent our days tubing, knee boarding and watching magic sunsets.
It all looked and felt much better with Bruno Mars blasting. It’s a great gift for those wanting to create meaningful moments with loved ones.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Staying connected to the internet is a priority for most travelers.
But it comes with some risk – leaving our data open to hacking, especially when using free wifi.
A VPN is an essential travel item and a great gift idea for business travelers and digital nomads.
It will allow you to use the free Wifi but in a secure and safe format so no one can hack into your personal data and steam important things
Plus, it will also help you access sites which may be blocked in other countries and allow you access to your favorite movies via Netflix if in a different country, and why we recommend it as one of the best travel gifts.
You can read more in our review here.
Travel Gifts for Road Trips
Planning a road trip? Or does your special traveler enjoy van life? Then these are some items that they may appreciate…
High-Speed Blender
This may seem like a unique travel gift, but, if someone you know is about to embark on a road trip and has room in their car, give them a high-speed blender, especially if health is important to them.
We carried one for 18-months around Australia and it meant I could continue my obsessions with green smoothies, make healthy snacks like protein balls, and whip out the odd soup.
One of the best gifts for the long-term road tripper.
Water Purifier Bottle
Traveling somewhere you know the water isn’t safe to drink?
This Camelbak Purifier Bottle has a purification system built right into the water bottle.
We used a similar bottle for our 5 month trip in Africa, and your health is not something you want anyone to compromise.
This is one of the essential travel presents for those who love health, the environment and saving money on the road.
Stainless Steel Beverage Bottle
If you like to keep your coffee or your leftover soup concoction warm, or keep your drinks cool, then it’s hard to go past the old Thermos.
Final Thoughts
Whether you or your loved ones take a lot of long flights, road trips, or cruises, or whether you travel as a family like us, there is a travel gift on this list for everyone.
If you don’t have time to hit the stores to shop, then why not shop from the comfort of your home using our recommendations from years of travel?
All of these best travel gift ideas are items we personally love to receive as gifts, based on 25 years of travel experience.
They are designed to make your trips more enjoyable and practical and to take the stress out of your next vacation.
We hope you found something to get your traveling enthusiast from this list!
More Gift Ideas
- Travel gifts for her
- Travel gifts for children
- The best carry on suitcases
- The best suitcases for travel
- Best travel gear for kids – items to keep them happy and safe
- Travel gifts for Christmas
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