Buying the perfect gift can be a challenge, but it’s a lot easier when the person is an avid traveler or aspires to be one. Here are fifteen holiday gift ideas for travel lovers in your life.
1. Hanging toiletry bag
Bathroom space isn’t always a given when traveling. A hanging bag to store all your toiletries makes life much easier. Hang it up or set it on a surface depending on your accommodations.
2. Folding LED mirror
Finding decent lighting for makeup is a struggle. This simplehuman folding makeup mirror is one of the best holiday gift ideas for travel and makeup lovers. It comes with a motion-activated LED light, 10X mirror that can be raised and pivoted to your liking, it’s cordless with a USB charger, and foldable with a padded carrying case.
3. Portable electric toothbrush
Traveling with an electric toothbrush can be a pain. They’re big and bulky and come with a charging stand, often with a cord. This portable Go Sonic toothbrush is cordless and comes with a snap-on cap, two speeds, and built-in timer.
4. Laptop Backpack
I’m forever in search of the best possible bag to use as my personal item when flying. A backpack with a lot of space and practical compartments is a must. Style is always a plus. This Stackers laptop backpack has all that, plus a wide strap on the back that you can slide your luggage handle through. It comes in black and taupe.
5. Shoe Deodorizers
If you’re walking a lot or doing other physical activities during your travel, your favorite pair of shoes might suffer for it. Shoe deodorizers are the perfect solution. Just place them in your shoes for two hours and they’ll remove moisture and eliminate odor.
6. A travel experience/tour
Experiences are great holiday gift ideas for travel lovers. It’s not extra stuff they need to carry and it can be personalized. If you know someone who has travel planned, see what experiences you can pre-purchase for them. Or, gift them an experience close to home.
- AmazingCo: AmazingCo offers fun app-guided experiences in cities across North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. I went on a Mystery Picnic through Washington DC. This gift works for anyone – friends, family, or your partner. *Read about my AmazingCo experience here.
- Getaway House: Give a Getaway gift card to someone who could use some rest and relaxation. Getaway has tiny cabins in natural areas across the United States. They’re clean, comfortable, and include an outdoor area with your own private grill, seats around the fire, and picnic table. The kitchenette inside is fully stocked with dishes and small food items like s’mores kits available for purchase. *Read about my Getaway experience here.
7. Refillable mini perfume atomizer
The best way to carry perfume during travel is with a refillable perfume atomizer. It’s much smaller, lighter, and leak-free. You can find these easily and they’re inexpensive.
8. Packing cubes
Many people swear by packing cubes as a space saver. And with airlines charging the highest luggage fees ever, they make a practical gift for any traveler.
- Paravel Packing Cube Quad $65
- CALPAK 5-Piece Packing Cube Set $68
- Container Store Compression Cubes, set of 2 $29.99
- Container Store S/M/L Packing Cubes, set of 3 $27.99
9. Wireless phone charger
Pretty much everyone these days needs a wireless phone charger. Even when not traveling, the panic that sets in when your phone dies is real. Your friends and family are guaranteed to use this gift.
- Courant Catch:1 Wireless Phone Charger in black and in bone $80
- Courant Catch:2 Wireless Phone Charger in black or in gold $150-$180
10. Luggage scale
It’s best to know how much your bag weighs before you get to the airport so you can avoid extra fees. A luggage scale is the easy solution.
- Tumi Luggage Scale $75 (pictured below)
- Container Store 2-Handed Luggage Scale $22.99
- Travel Smart by Conair Luggage Scale $19.99
11. Travel books
A coffee table book or guidebook can be a thoughtful way to commemorate past travel that was meaningful or inspire new travel. You can also use services that let you create your own personalized book to gift your travel partner.
- Polarsteps: This app lets you track your stops on a map and add your own photos, notes, and other details. Once your trip is over, you can design and purchase your own book commemorating your travel.
- “The Great American Road Trip”: Book publisher Gestalten has a lot of travel books with great photography and useful info. I’m partial to “The Great American Road Trip” since my photos are included in a chapter, but there are a lot of other detailed road trip options too.
- “Dame Traveler: Live the Spirit of Adventure”: This book has some amazing photography from the creator of the Dame Traveler solo female travel community.
12. Makeup/vanity case
For us makeup lovers, a little one-pouch makeup bag just isn’t enough. A makeup case with enough space and compartments to organize all the essentials – and maybe more – is the perfect gift.
- Belize stellar Blue Jenny Train Cosmetics Case $88
- Carry All MAC Cosmetics Bag $61
- Etoile Collective Clear Makeup Travel Case $70
13. Scratch-off map
A scratch-off map is a fun, visual way to show where you’ve been and where you want to go next. This Etsy map scratches off to reveal colors underneath.
14. Collapsible water bottle
When you’re outside most of the day seeing the sights, you can easily forget to drink water. Instead of buying plastic water bottles that pollute the earth, you can just bring along your own. This Vigor Silicone Collapsible Water Bottle is easy to throw in your luggage and fill up when you need it. It’s made of food-grade silicone, it’s leak-proof, and it collapses to 1.5 inches from 7 inches tall.
15. Travel gift cards
Some don’t like to give gift cards because it seems impersonal, but sometimes it can be exactly what’s needed. For travelers on a budget, gift cards are a big help. Types of gift cards to consider include:
- Airlines
- Lodging: Getaway, Airbnb, Hotels.com, Marriott International, Hilton, etc.
- Cruise ship lines: CruiseDirect.com, Princess Cruise Lines, Holland America, etc.
- Train lines: Amtrak, etc.
- Outdoor gear: REI, Columbia, Tortuga, etc.
- Luggage: Away, Briggs & Riley, Calpak, etc.
- Car services: Uber, Lyft, etc.
- E-books: Audible, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.
- Travel experiences & tours: AmazingCo, Getaway, etc.
Bonus: Waterproof portable bluetooth speaker
This JBL waterproof bluetooth speaker is perfect for relaxing at the pool or beach. You don’t have to worry about it getting ruined by the water and the clip-on feature and size make it easy to bring anywhere.
Do you have other holiday gift ideas for travel lovers? Let me know in the comments! Then follow me on Instagram for more holiday travel content.
If you liked this, check these out:
App-Guided City Tours with AmazingCo: Mystery Picnic in Washington, DC
A Complete Guide to Christmas in Washington DC
A Complete Guide to Christmas in Baltimore
Getaway House: Relax & Refresh in a Tiny Cabin
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4 Comments
Thanks for the post!
You’re very welcome!
These are some really fun and also very useful ideas. Makes me want to travel again!
That’s great!