25 Best Gifts for Travellers

For the next 25 birthdays or Christmas’ you won’t have to rack your brain about a great gift for your travelling friend anymore because here you find a list with the 25 best gifts for travellers.

25 Best Gifts for Travellers

#1 Scratching World Map

This is something any traveller will love to decorate his home with. I had a lot of fun scratching all the places, that I have already been to and enjoy looking at this world map ever day. It makes me dream about future places and is a work of art in progress. Buy it here on Amazon for $22.95.

 

 

 

 

#2 Ultralight travel towel (microfiber)

I love my microfiber towel as it hardly takes up any space but is big enough to fully stretch out on it on the beach. It dries very quickly which is essential when travelling and you can shake off dirt and sand very easily.

#3 Swiss Army Knife

Yes, I am Swiss but even if I wasn’t I would have one, since these knives really do come in handy. Get a Victorinox knife here.

#4 Travel Insurance

Insurance is something most people don’t want to think about, so take them off this burden. I’m glad I never needed mine so far *knock on wood* but I know that if ever something unforeseen might happen, I will be covered.

#5 Rega partnership

This is only for Swiss people but even if you don’t like to travel a lot, I recommend getting a yearly Rega membership for 30 CHF, so that they would pick you up by helicopter, if you had an accident in the mountains or surrounding countries.

#6 Silk Sleeping Bag

This is the first thing your should buy when you sleep in a hostel or any place where you’re not sure how clean it really is. I’m pretty sure that mine has already saved me from bed bugs. Plus it also helps to keep the inside of your normal sleeping bag clean and the silk liner is much easier to wash than a down sleeping bag. Get one here for $12.40.

#7 All purpose jacket

This saves me from having to pack too many jackets and it’s small to pack itself. It stops the wind, keeps out slight rain and I can wear a warm sweater below it. I wear mine from early spring to late fall 😉

#8 Headlamp

I need this one for camping, trekkings and moving around in hostel rooms at night, without having to turn the big light on. This one ($15) is small and you won’t lose it so quickly with that color.

#9 A kindle or a book

I don’t have a kindle but I read a lot on long bus rides or when I am relaxing in a beautiful place. It would be practical not to have to carry books with me anymore and be able to store them all on one device but at the moment, I’m still too much of a paper fan, where I can store my plane tickets inside and then exchange the books at a hostel book exchange. Right now there is a sale for $56!

#10 Lonely Planet Guide of the next Destination

Lonely Planet helps me pre-discover all the places I am going to. For me, they offer the best guides to really find my way around in a new place.  Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travel , $16.99

#11 Stainless Steel Thermos Mug

When I received this before going to Australia, I thought, great, how am I going to store this? But in the end, I was so glad that I had it with me, because we could use it for so many things!!! Above all it was practical to be able to cook water from public tabs, where we weren’t sure whether it was really clean and then could carry the hot water around with us and didn’t have to wait until it cooled off in the pan.

#12 Travel Adapter

Now this is something really everybody who ever leaves the country needs. I am really happy with mine and after 6 months of using it, I even figured out that it works much better, when you actually use the “lock” switch 🙂

Here you find a compact one with USB port for $15.

 

#13 Extended Battery Charger Pack for a smartphone

Many times, my power bar is a life saver, because I just don’t have time to leave my phone charging to a socket during the day. ($13 at Amazon)

 

#14 A toiletry bag with enough space for her extensive collection of lotions and potions

Every time I see other people who are able to hang up their toiletry bag and have so many different compartments that it’s really easy to find everything, I get jealous, since my version still is rather ancient. What I also find important for toiletry bags is that you can keep the medicine separate from things that could leak, like tooth paste or contact lense solution.

This one seems great and that for only $13.

#15 Neck Pillow, HoodiePillow 

We all know how uncomfortable it is to sleep on buses or planes. This Gadget will make it a lot more agreeable. I especially love that it will not move around as much as a normal neck pillow, since it is held in place by the hoodie

$19.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond

#16 Backpack

I backpacked around Europe and South East Asia and was glad to have a backpack with practical compartments. Now, I prefer travelling with a suitcase. Most of the times there are roads where I can pull them on. Nevertheless, also a good day (up to 3 days) backpack is important for trekkings and short Safaris into the bush.

#17 Go Pro Camera

Awesome movies, awesome memories, beautiful Pictures – do I need to say more? Get a GoPro Hero here ($115)

 

#18 Travel Luggage Scale

This is a good gift especially if your friend likes to pack a lot of stuff or flies with carry-on only. Good price at $7.90 on Amazon.

 

#19 A Christmas Gift: An every day calendar with beautiful places to visit 

I have one on my desk at work and every day it gives me inspiration where I could go on my next vacations.

 

#20 Travel Sized Games

Playing games probably is the most social contact you can have with other people. Play a small card or board game with strangers on the next long train ride and soon these strangers might become good travel companions.

 

#21 Airline Lounge Membership

If your friend travels by plane a lot, this is definitely a great idea. Day passes start at $30 but you can also have monthly passes starting at $100 and of course more expensive yearly passes. FlightFox has a good summary of all the Prices. Otherwise, check the webpage of your friend’s favorite airline directly. Many times during long airport lay-overs, I would have loved to have access to more comfortable seats, showers, wifi and free food but since the lounges cost almost as much as a hotel stay, I usually didn’t treat myself to it.

#22 Travel Stub Diary

Everything happens on the Computer nowadays but what happened to all the awesome train, bus, plane and concert tickets along the way? Or little notes from people we meet? A diary with transparent folder is a good place to creat memories we can still touch.

$12 at Uncommon Goods for the ancient traveler

#23 Suitcase

I’m all for travelling with suitcases with nice comfortable wheels and therefore I think suitcases with wheels that go into all directions are great. It’s also nice when the suitcase has a personal touch that makes it easy to recognize. You could draw something on it or, like I did before I went to Australia: have all your friends write a little message on it. I received lots of compliments for my suitcase and nobody would have picked it up by accident. Ytravelblog wrote a great review about pros and cons of different suitcases.

#24 Ollo Clip 4 in One Lense

I don’t have one yet but I love the pictures other people took of me or landscapes with this lense. It might even spare myself of having to bring the heavy SLR camera in the future. Get it here for $69.99.

#25 Small Electric Tooth Brush

I still use a normal toothbrush which I can fold up, so that it stays clean and hardly takes up any space (good gift if you want to put together an inexpensive travel starter kit) but I am always surprised at how many People bring their whole electric tooth brush installation. Help your friends save some weight and space.

Slim Sonic Classic, $15.95 at Violife

 

What will you buy first for a friend? Do you have more great gift ideas for travellers?