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Last Updated on March 8, 2021 by Noni May

We all have the adventurous traveler in the family or as a friend, and in my case, it’s often me. Sure, you can buy awesome travel-related gifts to them, but most of the time, they want to travel light. So what should you buy? Everyone with a serious case of wanderlust can’t think about anything else, so do get them a travel related gift!

If they just moved, you can get something cute with a map design for their house. Or if they have a luxurious holiday coming up, get that towel harness (this one is awesome!) because they probably have space for it in their suitcase. But if you’re looking for a gift for a long-term traveler, give them something they can use on the road and that doesn’t take up space in their backpack. For every traveler there is something, and I have made a selection of my favorite items just for you.

Travel Tech Gift Ideas

A few ideas digital nomads and travelers can always use:

Fun camera toys like lenses for the iPhone or Digital Polaroids to play with. {Shop the iPhone camera lenses online here and the Digital Polaroid Printer here}
WakaWaka solar charger and light are an absolute must have for every traveler. Read my review here! {Shop the WakaWaka online here}
Headphones are always welcome because they break so fast usually! I love the stylish pastel ones from Anthropologie, shop them here.
Chargers and adaptors in every form are always welcome unless they already have a few good ones. Get them travel adaptors that are small and usable worldwide, get them portable chargers to charge their phone or camera on the road. Shop the best travel adaptor online here, and shop this cute Ban.do portable charger Back Me Up here.
Camera gear like tripods, monopods or new lenses.
Storage like external hard drives, Cloud storage etc. travelers always need to store photos, make back ups etc. I recommend OneDrive, gifts from $1,99 a month.
Tablet accessories or a tablet if you’re generous are great gifts! I’ve listed a few of my favorite tablet accessories here.
Mountie is an awesome invention that helps you with a second screen on the road. Easily clip your phone or iPad to your laptop, and voila! Best invention ever! Shop your Mountie, side-mount clip for MacBooks, tablets, and phones here.

Travel Gift Card Gift Ideas

Every traveler can use money or gift cards so they can exchange it for things they actually need or want. A few ideas?

Kindle gift cards. A must for every Kindle user!
Get them a gift card to use on entertainment or flights to spend with their favorite airline.
Give them a tour, pick a bigger tour operator so they can use the gift card in a country of choice. {For example, G Adventures operates worldwide}
How are they in the travel community? Do they like to meet locals? Give them a Couch Surfing Verified Membership or Workaway two-year membership so they can volunteer around the world and sleep for free.
Give them a hotel gift card or a hostel membership like YHA’s.
Are they visiting a specific country next? Think about getting a supermarket voucher. I know, it sounds super dorky, but it’s something they can use every day and when they save money on food, they can go out more often!

Travel Bags & Luggage Gift Ideas

There are so many bags you have to get as a traveler, a backpack, camera bag, carry-on bags, travel toilet bags, a hiking/day backpack but also travel cubes and wash bags. And don’t forget accessories like a backpack rain cover, Pacsafe bag security or dry bags (read here what a dry bag is). So many options here!

Fun things every traveler just wants – Gift Ideas

And now there are the fun things every traveler wants! These are probably the gifts that are most fun for you to get for them. The poster, passport covers, travel editions of their favorite body/bath items, carry on cocktail sets, the pen with the map design, luggage tags and the scratch map. Stuff like that is always a good gift, here are a few ideas:

Help educate the newbie traveler

Education is something all parents want for their kids, but these days, it’s a lot of fun thanks to online courses. Udemy has a great selection of travel-related courses, like travel photography, how to make use of airline credit cards and language classes. Check the Udemy Gift guide selection for travelers out here (gift cards available!).