Ah, it’s that time of the year! The holiday season is upon us, and you’re tasked with figuring out what to get those special people in your life. If you have a globe trotter on your gift list, then these gift ideas for travelers is a great place to start. I will try to include shoppable links to make it easier for you to shop, and if you have any questions or ideas you can also reach out to me at ane@thehungrychronicles.com.
Passport Covers/Luggage Tags
These items are really simple, but they always come in handy and it’s a great way for your loved one to be reminded of you when they travel! I’m personally a fan of a nice leather passport cover and matching luggage tag, and if it’s personalized then you get bonus points. Here are a few of my faves:
Tech-friendly Accessories
We live in a tech-world, and since we’re always connected it’s nice to have items on hand that will make life more convenient and organized. I hate running out of battery while I’m on the go, and I’m constantly on my phone while I travel, snapping pics or looking at my maps. For flights, I find it incredibly convenient to be able to pull out a few necessities from my carryon bag or travel tote without having to dig through my bag. I love the Truffle clarity cases below because they’re clear so you can find what you need to pull out very quickly; the cosmetics case also doubles as a case for phone and computer cords too. Of course, the tech cases are super convenient, and everyone needs a good set of noise canceling headphones:
Sleep Mask/Neck Pillow/Silk Pillow Case
These are no-brainers, but sometimes it’s hard to find the right eye mask or a comfortable travel pillow. I personally love silk eye masks because they also help combat wrinkles, however you can go wrong with ultra soft cashmere. As far as neck pillows go, the Trtl has been a huge hit, my sister in law gave me one last year for Christmas and I love taking it on long-haul flights. If you’re looking for something less bulky, then I recommend an inflatable neck pillow that you can deflate and carry inside your carryon bag. Last but not least, silk pillow cases are just luxe, but for women (who seem to be a little more vain) they’re great to combat frizzy hair, and wrinkles (yet again). There’s nothing wrong with taking your own pillow case when you travel, at least you’ll have something that reminds you of home when staying at a hotel.
Travel Journals
I love the idea of having a travel journal to write down thoughts, feelings, memories or sketches one comes up with while traveling. A travel journal may not be for everyone, but it’s a great gift nonetheless. Here are a few good ones, my favorite being the Smart Diary by Moleskine which syncs to a smart device so your notes easily transfer from journal to app:
Camera Companions
When I travel, I’ve really learned how to minimize my packing and that includes leaving my mirrorless camera at home. It’s one less thing to worry about, and at the end of the day I don’t want to be carrying around one more item while I’m out exploring a city. There are so many wonderful smart phone accessories available that will help enhance the look and feel of a photo taken right from your phone. Here are a few of my favorite ones:
Moment Wide Lens: You know it’s legit if it’s backed by National Geographic! It allows users to capture up to 2x more of a scene, and it’s one of the best smartphone attachments out on the market.
The Olloclip lens typically comes with 3 different lenses that one can add to their phone (macro, wide lens, fisheye), The Fujifilm Instax is great to print pictures (like a polaroid) directly from one’s phone, and the Axis Go is an amazing contraption that allows you to take underwater pictures and videos.
Connectivity
People ideally want to be connected while they’re on the go, however international phone plans can be quite expensive, wifi can be spotty in certain locations or not necessarily safe, and sometimes you just want to be able to play some music on the go. The hero here is the Skyroam Solis, a portable WiFi and power charging device for international travel to more than 130 countries. Users can get day passes for $9 and it allows travelers unlimited data for up to 5 devices while on the go.
The FLIGHT 001 5-In-1 Adapter is suuper convenient for the international traveler. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a converter in one country that only works in another country, and often times hotels haven’t been updated for newer devices and sometimes reception doesn’t have a converter to lend. What I love about this nifty device is the color coded adapters make it easy to find what adapter can adapt to what country, it breaks apart into 4 pieces (4 different adapters and a cube w/ 2 USB ports), it fits into outlets in over 150 different countries, and finding the correct plug is as simple as matching colors!
The Bose SoundLink Micro Bluetooth speaker is super convenient, compact and has great sound, and the Tile Pro is incredibly convenient to track one’s luggage while traveling.
Luggage
I feel that luggage has made quite the comeback recently thanks to newer luggage companies coming into the market with design-focused pieces, and thankfully now there is a variety of options to choose from. Luggage always makes for a great gift, especially for those who travel often since their luggage likely takes quite a beating. Of course, in order to maximize space in a suitcase, one must use packing cubes. There are some great ones out there, and here are some of the better ones I’ve found:
Travel Related Services
I personally love the gift of travel, and have told my husband Andrew that I’d rather be gifted a trip rather than anything physical, no matter what it is (really!). Here are some travel-related services that make great gifts:
Travel planning: Whether it’s a gift for someone’s wedding, an anniversary gift, graduation gift, etc, you can gift someone travel by paying for the professional services of a travel consultant like myself. By paying the planning fee, you’ll be able to help someone plan the ultimate getaway, often getting VIP perks, insider intel, personalized recommendations, and so much more–not to mention you’ll be able to save them time (and probably stress) when planning their next getaway. If you want to learn more about my professional travel planning services, you can take a peek at my services here, and get a better idea of the planning process here. Contact me at ane@strongtravel.com to discuss travel planning as a gift.
Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check: This is a fantastic gift for someone who travel constantly, as it will help them zip through security, and through customs (if they have Global Entry) when coming back into the US from abroad. I think TSA Pre-check is a great gift for the perpetual domestic traveler, and Global Entry is a great gift for the international traveler (as a bonus they’ll get TSA Pre Check as well). Also, some premium credit cards like the American Express Platinum card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve may give you a statement credit as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card ;).
Priority Pass Membership: There’s nothing worse than spending a layover at an airport sitting in the uncomfortable chairs and eating terrible, expensive airport food (unless you’re at the Austin airport, then the food is actually good!). I love my Priority Pass Membership, which gives me access to premium airport lounges all over the world.
Luggage Forwarding Services: I’m not a huge fan of lugging around luggage, and when I see people at the airport with specialty items like golf clubs, surf boards, skis, snow boards, etc. I cringe. A great and thoughtful gift would be to pay for a luggage forwarding service for a friend or loved one, and give them the gift of convenience. There are some great companies like Luggage Forward and Luggage Free that are worth checking out.
Luggage Insurance: One of the worst things that can happen to someone while traveling (amongst many things) is not having their suitcase arrive to the airport when they do :/ One solution for this that can give someone piece of mind is a luggage tracking service like Blue Ribbon Bags that will track and expedite the return of airline delayed baggage at a minimal cost. Blue Ribbon Bags will track and expedite the return of airline delayed baggage for the first 96 hours from when the destination flight lands, customers receive automatic email/SMS updates every time there is any change to the status of their mishandled bag, one service agreement ($5 USD) is per person per roundtrip, regardless of the number of connections, they include all bags checked at the airport, including last minute gate checks, they cover EVERY flight, on EVERY airline, everywhere in the world, and if Blue Ribbon Bags fails to locate the misplaced luggage within 96 hour (4 days), they will pay the client $1,000 USD. Also, no proof of baggage contents is required and payments are guaranteed even if the bags arrive after the 96-hour service period!
There you have it, a roundup of gift ideas for travelers in your life. If you have any other gift ideas that are great for travelers please don’t hesitate to let me know! Make sure to sign up below for my newsletter to receive updates on fantastic travel deals and promotions, and email me at ane@strongtravel.com to start planning your next getaway.
