Gift Guide : 15 Perfect Gifts for Your Favorite Traveler

While it may not feel like it where we are in Vietnam, it is in fact Christmastime! I think that travelers are notoriously hard to buy presents for. We tend to be minimalists and would rather spend our money on future travels than things. For a few years, Trent and I have almost stopped buying each other presents in lieu of putting the money towards experiences, especially this year of travel. My mom and I have made an annual trip to the Santa Ynez wine country for 5 years as our Christmas present to each other.

Aside from gifting them a trip or experience, what else would your favorite traveler enjoy receiving? After a couple of conversations that I’ve had with other traveling families about what they would like to receive, I thought it would share the list here. Enjoy!

(above image by my talented sister, Julie)

TO ENJOY WHILE THEY TRAVEL

1 : Let’s Roam - An app dedicated to scavenger hunts around the world, this would be a great for a traveling history buff! You can gift them the tickets needed to purchase a hunt.

2 : Surprise Drinks! - How special would it be to sit down at your dinner reservation and be surprised by a bottle of wine or a round of your favorite drink? It sounds complex to plan, but is much easier than you think! Call ahead to the restaurant to coordinate the surprise and I’m sure your favorite traveler will never forget that moment.

TO ENJOY WHEN THEY RETURN HOME

3 : Waypoint Wanders Scratch Map - The most beautiful scratch maps that I’ve ever seen. Even better, a purchase supports small business owners and travelers!

4 : Photo Magnets - For 3 years, a handful of photo magnets from Social Print Studio filled each of my family member’s stockings. The magnets lived on the side of our refrigerator and I loved glancing over to them while brewing coffee in the morning or waiting for pasta water to boil. Such an easy way to relive our past trips and remind us to take a vacation soon. The best part is that you can choose photos from your friend’s Instagram photos so you can easily surprise them with their own photos.

5 : Custom Puzzle - I LOVE a jigsaw puzzle. So my favorite gift that Trent ever gave me was a puzzle with a picture that he took from our recent trip to Rome. Which I put together while sipping on a Negroni, of course.

6 : Shutterfly Gift Card - I’ve already made an album for our first 3 months of travel and sent it to my mom’s house. After a year of travel, I know that we will want to have our favorite photos printed. A tangible reminder that we did in fact travel for a year when it starts to feel like a distant memory. So this one is at the top of my personal wishlist.

7 : Framebridge - Travelers take a lot of photos. So here’s one last way to put their awesome vacation photos to use. You could have their favorite photo framed. Once again, photos can be pulled from their Instagram. It would take a bit of coordination, but Framebrige can also frame textiles, flags, shirts, etc. It would be so special to have your favorite souvenir framed instead of tucked away in a box somewhere.

TRAVEL SPLURGES

8 : Airbnb Gift Card - Or really any travel gift card. Expedia, Disney, Groupon. We received a Hotels.com gift card and it was such a relief to use it and see our balance drop significantly!

9 : Personalized Passport Holder - I have a travel document organizer that was gifted to me. Every time I’m planning for a trip or at an airport getting out my passport, I remember my friend who gave it to me. A personalized passport holder is probably not something that a traveler would purchase for themselves. Another tip: Get it in a bright color. While I’m usually a fan of light colors, a bright color will help your traveler find their passport faster. Which is always necessary!

10 : Crate & Barrel Toiletry Bag - This toiletry bag, or really could be an “anything” bag, is simple and beautiful. It’s not expensive, but probably nicer than something that I would by myself.

TRAVELING KIDS

11 : Travel Books - We have a long list of travel books that we love. I wrote a post on our favorite children’s travel books here. Our children love to page through the big picture books. It’s so fun to see what random image will catch their interest.

12 : Little Passports Box Subscription - What kid doesn’t love mail or a package just for them? Little Passports is a box subscription focused around travel. Kids learn about places through reading and crafts. How fun?!

PRACTICAL

13: Bestek International Power Adapter - I couldn’t imagine traveling without this! We can charge all of our electronics at one time and it comes with adapters for every country.

14 : iPhone Lenses & - Phone Tripod with Remote - iPhone cameras are pretty incredible these days. We use only our phones for photos. These lenses give your phone the ability to take macro and wide angle images. Using them makes taking photos even more fun. We also love using this tripod to get a family photo when there’s no one around the ask to take one for us. You can attach it to a tree, gate, etc. or prop it up and then use the remote to take a photo.

15 : National Parks Playing Cards - These playing cards get a lot of use on our trip and they always remind us that when we get back home to the US there will be plenty more adventures for us there.

Happy shopping!

Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.