finding special gifts for travel lovers can be a daunting task. Not only do you need to find a gift that they’ll like, but something they’ll actually use.
As travellers ourselves who have been on the road for a lot more than 10 years now, we’ve got the inside scoop on beneficial and fun items for travel that would make terrific presents.
Whether it’s a birthday, Christmas or a going away gift you’re after, you’ll find some gift ideas for travel lovers in this article.
In this post, I’ll list 12 unique, fun and functional travel gifts for your special someone.
On another note, we recommend also checking out the small services in your community and seeing if there are any products or gift certificates you can purchase, or other ways that you can support them this year ?
This post has been updated December 2021 to list gifts that your travel-loving family and pals will enjoy, but aren’t necessarily presents that could only be used while on the road. Make sure to also check out our list of gifts for people who work at home.
This post consists of some affiliate links to Amazon and other companies. If you purchase a product using our link, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. thank you for your support!
Table of Contents
1. Airbnb Experiences (online or in-person)
2. JBL portable Speakers
3. portable Espresso Machine
4. natural Body Care
5. travel Hammock
6. Bluffworks Clothing
7. Airpods/Earbuds
8. Tinggly
9. Travel-Sized Instrument
10. Prana Clothes
11. Water Purification Products
12. games (fun gifts for travel lovers!)
13. Bonus! tiny Projector
Other gifts For travel Lovers
Happy gift Giving
1. Airbnb Experiences (online or in-person)
This is my top choice for gifts this year.
Sure, lots of people aren’t actually travelling at the moment, but what better way to keep the travel dream alive than joining an online Airbnb Experience?
These online experiences make for very special travel gifts.
While you may not actually be in Italy, England, Mexico, or India, you can join an online class with people from there! here are a couple of the top-rated options you can choose from:
Making Pasta With an Italian grandma (a travel gift for foodies!)
If you love Italian food, you’ll want to join this cooking class. travel essentially to an Italian grandma’s home and learn how to make pasta from scratch — from the experts.
Gnocchi, lasagna, ravioli, fettuccine and more. You’ll be sent a list of ingredients and the tools you’ll need to participate. Click here to learn a lot more about this highly-rated, yummy class.
Fun fact: at the beginning of 2020, Nick and I actually did this Airbnb experience in person in a village outside of Rome. It was a terrific cooking class, the grandmas were so fun, and we were SO full by the end of it! highly recommended. find out a lot more here.
Gin cocktail class With a Mixologist
If you’re into gin, you’ll want to check out this cocktail class with an expert from the UK. expect to learn some special gin cocktails, play some drinking games, take pleasure in some jokes and laughter, and a fun night with new friends.
This is a fun experience for singles, friends, couples, families and groups. You’ll be sent a list of ingredients and tools you’ll need in buy to participate. Click here for details about this highly-rated class.
Taste Of India – Tea and Food
Learn a lot more about Indian culture and cuisine with this online cooking class. each day uses a different menu, so just choose the one that you think your travelling pal will enjoy.
Whether it’s butter chicken, matter paneer, vegetable biriyani, paneer butter masala or samosas, there’s something for every Indian food lover! Of course, masala chai tea is also on the menu.
JD is from Delhi and his family have owned a restaurant for three generations now — your special someone will be in good hands with this experience. learn a lot more here.
Other travel gift ideas Online
Those are just 3 of the lots of outstanding online experiences found on Airbnb. If you’re trying to find a gift that isn’t food and drink related, there are lots of others — music, dancing, magic, storytelling and more.
SEE a lot more online EXPERIENCES
2. JBL portable Speakers
We’ve tried many Bluetooth portable speakers over the years, and as far as cost effective electronic travel gifts go, these speakers are the best.
Everyone has a smartphone these days and connecting to these JBL speakers is easy. Plus, it weighs in at just over 1lb, making it functional for travellers.
Many people like to listen to music while they’re at the beach, chilling out by the pool, or having a kicking back night playing cards with new friends. Bluetooth speakers are a must. These days, we also use them for enjoying Netflix on our laptops.
We’ve owned the JBL flip 4 and flip 5. Both are great, but the flip 5 is waterproof and sounds excellent. This is an cost effective gift for travel lovers.
VIEW ON AMAZON
3. portable Espresso Machine
Not only is this travel gift terrific for those who love to wander, but it’s an exceptional idea for coffee addicts.
If you’ve gone on a long-term trip before, or if you travel on a budget, you’ll know that the coffee available at hostels and guesthouses is normally sub-par filter coffee.
Or, if you’re camping, hiking or living out of a small vehicle, this is a terrific gift to get that coffee fix!
Portable, handpump espresso machines can be taken on the go. They’re small, compact and all you need is some hot water and some espresso grounds.
You simply add the grounds to a little pod, add some hot water, pump up the maker to build up some pressure, press the release button and voila, a shot of espresso appears.
You can then add a lot more hot water to your cup to make it less strong, or, add milk.
We’ve used the Handpresso machine, our pals like the AeroPress, while the Wacao Minipress is popular on Amazon. Click here to learn a lot more about handheld espresso machines.
VIEW ON AMAZON
4. natural Body Care
With products for all sexes, and unisex items, you can find natural body care items from companies like lush or Ethique.
Products are vegan (or vegetarian), hand-crafted and nothing is checked on animals.
Not only that, but the ingredients are all-natural, and for the responsible traveller in your life, they’ll be delighted to know that lots of of the items don’t have any packaging — plastic or otherwise.
When you’re thinking about gifts for travel lovers, consider the shampoo, conditioner and soap bars, body lotions and face wash — lots of of which come in great packaging, best for a present.
These items are terrific for travellers for lots of reasons:
There’s no plastic waste.
No liquids so they can easily be brought on board a flight — terrific for those who fly carry-on.
Takes up less space in luggage than a shampoo or conditioner bottle.
VIEW ON AMAZON
5. travel Hammock
Travel hammocks are terrific for those are seeking to sleep under the stars, or on remote beaches. It’s also terrific for campers or for those who like to do some multi-day trekking (provided there are trees around to hang the hammock from!).
A travel hammock is also an exceptional travel gift for those who just plan to backpack around.
Setting up a hammock on the balcony of your beachfront hut, setting it up for a break mid-hike, or bringing it to the beach for a day of chilling out between two palm trees is the utmost in relaxation.
There are many travel hammocks to choose from, just make sure you get one that is lightweight and rolls up into a small package. Travellers like small items!
With a lot more than 20,000 positive reviews, the wise Owl Outfitter hammock is a terrific choice. Click here to compare prices and reviews on many travel hammocks.
6. Bluffworks Clothing
Bluffworks brand of clothing is a good option whether you’re on the road or at home. The clothing items are quick-dry, elegant and the best part…they don’t wrinkle!
For service travellers, or those who jet-set, having a great set of clothing in your luggage is essential. even if the person you’re getting a gift for plans on budget backpacking around the world, it’s always a good idea to have 1 great dress tee shirt and 1 great pair of pants.
You never know what can happen on the road. We’ve been randomly invited to weddings, found ourselves in the area when a new bar was opening up and were invited to take pleasure in a 7-course fine dining meal.
Shorts and a t-shirt simply wouldn’t meet the dress code.
Nick has owned the “Original” pants in charcoal for about 6 years now, and he wears them whenever there’s a “fancy” event happening — and they never wrinkle. Click here to learn a lot more about Bluffworks clothes.
Bluffworks pants in action at a wedding!
7. Airpods/Earbuds
Having a set of Bluetooth speakers is great, but having your own set of headphones these days is a must.
Listening to music and podcasts while bumping along on a bus, hiking or working out. chatting to a pal on video calling, or forthose flight days when you want to enjoy a movie, headphones are a must-have and make terrific gifts.
Look for earbuds that offer noise cancellation and a mic, and also make sure that the earbuds you’re purchasing are compatible with your travel friend’s smartphone or tablet.
We now both have Bluetooth Apple AirPods and although we can’t use them when connecting to the TV screens on airplanes, we enjoy our shows on our smartphones or tablet using them.
Plus, when walking, chatting on the phone, and working out, it’s great to not have cords in the way. Click here to compare the different styles of AirPods.
8. Tinggly
When it pertains to travel gifts, this special idea from Tinggly is a good bet. check out their web site and choose a category that’s relevant to the recipient of the gift — “Key to Europe”, “Perfect For Him”, “Perfect For Her”, “Merry Christmas”, “Ultimate Collection”, “Bucketlist”, etc.
In each category are many excursions and experiences for your travel-loving pal to choose from (in some cases, there are over 700 options).
Once they’ve chosen the event that interests them, they have 5 years to redeem it.
Experiences and excursions are available worldwide, so just make sure that the gift you choose is used in the country the recipient is going to.
When it pertains to travel gifts, you really can’t go wrong with a white wine tasting in Tuscany, a helicopter flight over Las Vegas, a day at the day spa in Bali or volcano exploration in Hawaii! As travellers ourselves, we can say we absolutely like memorable moments over possessions.
You can opt to send a physical box to the gift recipient, or send a voucher by email. Click here to learn a lot more about this fun gift idea.
9. Travel-Sized Instrument
One of the best gifts for travel lovers, and musicians is a travel-sized instrument. What better way to connect with people than by singing, dancing and playing music?!
Whether enjoying songs around the campfire, jamming on the beach at sunset, or travelling abroad, in lots of cases having a small instrument is a lot more functional than a full-sized one.
A travelling ukulele or guitar are terrific options.
Musician Authority has some terrific articles on some easy songs for beginners and beginner’s guides to playing the ukulele.
For guitar players, you can’t go wrong with Martin, and luckily, this company has a travel version guitar. Weighing in at around 2.5 pounds, and fitting in the overhead compartment of planes, the Martin Steel String travel Guitar is perfect.
Another option is a ukulele which is already small enough to be a travel item. This 21-inch ukulele is lightweight, small, and includes a carrying case and tuner. A terrific present for travellers!
VIEW INSTRUMENTS ON AMAZON
10. Prana Clothes
Another clothing company that is an exceptional travel gift. The travel, adventure and yoga clothes that prAna makes are practical, elegant and ethical. This brand cares about fair trade and sustainability.
I personally wear the Halle pant on about 95% of our flight days and I’ve always worn them when trekking — they’re stretchy and comfy.
I also own a sporty tank top, a cotton t-shirt and a hooded sweater, while Nick has a polo shirt, a dress polo and some loose cotton yoga pants. The clothes have lasted us for 7 years so far and are still going strong!
Stopping for a water break while trekking Torres del Paine in Chile – wearing Halle Pant
I wholeheartedly recommend this brand as a gift for the traveller in your life. Click here to see all Prana products on their website. They offer complimentary shipping and 10% off new orders receive
*Update December, 2020: I fell off my bike and got a hole in my Halle P