25 Useful Travel Gifts Travelers Will Adore (2024)

Quick Summary: The Most Useful Travel Gifts

Don’t have time to read this whole travel gift guide? Here’s a quick list of the most useful gifts for travellers and where you can find them.

• Scratch Map
• Hiking Lovers Pinback Buttons
• Lonely Planet Ultimate USA Travel List
• Waypoint Candles
• e.l.f. Jet Set Hydration Kit
• Anker Portable Charger
• Aeropress Coffee Maker (and Coffee Beans!)
• Passport Cover and Luggage Tag Set
• Hand Knit Scarves and Hats
• Airplane Mode Sweatshirt
• Waypoint Travel Scarf
• Grayl UltraPress Purifier
• Columbia Rain Jackets
• Shinesty Adult Onesie
• MyHeritage DNA Kit
• SleepPhones: Comfortable Headphones for Air Travel
• Priority Pass Airport Lounge Gift
• Nexar Beam GPS Dash Cam
• Tinggly Travel Gift Box
• Monos Luggage: The Best Carry On Bag
• Kindle Paperwhite
• Peak Design Photography Backpack
• Garmin Instinct Outdoor GPS Watch
• GoPro Hero11 Action Camera
• Oru Kayak Inlet Folding Kayak – 10′
• Small Group Trips: The Gift of Travel

Scratch Map

Did you even travel somewhere if you didn’t scratch it off a map? Tracking your travel is all part of the fun, of course! There are scratch maps for your wall that will help you track your travels. They are quite the statement piece for your home, too.

If the travel lover in your life doesn’t have a scratch map yet, it will be a cherished Christmas gift for sure. They can show off their personalized world map in their home, and it’s a great talking piece.

Hiking Lovers Pinback Buttons

This set of four hiking pinback buttons are perfect travel gifts for the hiking lover. Decorate your backpack, sweater, hat, and more with these cute badges. Plus, if you’re a hiker who lives in Ontario, Canada, you won’t want to miss all the shirts, sweaters, stickers and pins in the Ontario Hiking Shop.

Lonely Planet Ultimate USA Travel List

Lonely Planet has curated a list of the top 500 unmissable experiences and hidden gems across the USA in their book, Lonely Planet Ultimate USA Travel List. It’s the perfect bucket list for USA residents and travelers to the country featuring the most iconic sights and activities. This will surely be one of their new favorite travel books for planning a trip to the United States.

Useful Travel Gifts: Waypoint Candles

Scents bring back so many memories. Even for those times where we can’t travel, we can evoke those travel memories with beautiful candles. Waypoint Candles will bring the aromas of Havana, Paris, and Denver right to your home.

e.l.f. Jet Set Hydration Kit

The e.l.f. (ELF) brand has always been one of my very favourites for makeup and skincare. Their products are (and have always been) 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and not tested on animals. Furthermore, they’re high quality and inexpensive, too (always a great combination). It’s a great stocking stuffer for anyone on a tight budget who wants to give a thoughtful gift.

This e.l.f. Jet Set Hydration Kit comes with cleanser, balm, moisturizer, eye cream and night cream in a travel-sized kit, making for one of the most perfect vegan stocking stuffers for lengthy travels, overnight trips and weekend getaways. Pop them right into your toiletry bag, approved for air travel, too.

Useful Travel Gifts: Anker Portable Charger

Has your phone ever died while you’re out and about? It can make for a total disaster when you’re on the road. You’ll lose access to your maps, communication in case of an emergency, tickets and and other data that’s stored digitally.

The Anker PowerCore Slim is a traveler’s best friend. Stay connected with a source of backup power. It’s lightweight and compact, too! It is the perfect gift for any family member on the go. Their mobile devices will never run out of juice.

Aeropress Coffee Maker (and Coffee Beans!)

An Aeropress portable coffee maker is one of the best ways to make coffee at home or on the road. This portable coffee maker could fit right into a Christmas stocking. Add some coffee beans in the boot of the stocking and you’ve got an incredible gift for coffee lovers.

Pair this Aeropress with some coffee beans from around the world to create a vegan coffee lovers gift basket. You can also add a coffee travel mug and some vegan coffee creamers (Silk makes some yummy flavoured ones!). Hellooooo, coffee themed vegan stocking stuffers!

Passport Cover and Luggage Tag Set

This is a super cute passport cover and luggage tag set that comes in a variety of colors and designs. They’re vegan faux leather and super durable for your upcoming adventures. It’s the perfect passport holder for travel lovers.

If you’re looking for birthday gifts for travelers, Christmas presents for travelers, or awesome travel gifts for any occasion, you can’t go wrong with a passport and luggage tag set.

Hand Knit Scarves and Hats

Did you know that I love to knit? I actually have my own online shop featuring all of my handmade knit hats, scarves, fingerless gloves, and more! Everything is 100% vegan and handmade by yours truly. Stay warm and cozy this winter with these useful gifts for travelers.

Airplane Mode Sweatshirt

Showing off your love for all things travel on your clothing is always a massive hit! While there are lots of cute travel-themed shirts on the market, I really love this particular sweatshirt. It’s a great gift for the holiday season. You can find this Airplane Mode Sweatshirt on Etsy, so you’ll also be supporting a small business at the same time.

Waypoint Travel Scarf

A travel scarf is one of the most versatile accessories you can own, and these travel scarves by Waypoint are the best ones around. They’re perfect to wear at home and abroad, and they’re ideal gifts for women who travel.

Made out of lightweight bamboo and cotton, they’re super stylish and functional. There is a secret storage pocket where you can stash your important belongings, like your passport, keys, and cash. This is one of the best small travel gifts that will fit into even the smallest carry on bag.

Grayl UltraPress Purifier

Grayl water purifiers will filter ANY water from any source in 10 seconds! It’s one of the most useful travel gifts and the best water bottle out there. You can filter water on any trips abroad (ie. places that don’t have suitable drinking water from the taps) or outdoors trips (filter water from any lake or stream).

It fits into any pack pocket or cup holder and it requires zero setup. The Grayl UltraPress Purifier tops my list of useful gifts for travelers. It’s ideal for frequent travelers, especially those who visit places where you need to filter the water. Plus, take a look at my top hiking gifts guide for even more suggestions!

Columbia Rain Jackets

Whether I’m headed out for a day hike or traveling the world, I never leave home without my rain jacket. It’s best to be safe! One of the best useful travel gifts is a waterproof rain jacket.

My top picks are the Columbia Acadia II rain jacket for women and the Columbia Mens Watertight rain jacket. A waterproof rain jacket is one of those perfect travel gifts that everyone always needs.

Shinesty Adult Onesie

Whether you’re staying at home or visiting a cozy cabin in the woods for the holiday, it’s important to stay warm and comfy. Shinesty has the most amazing adult onesies for him and her.

Justin and I now own matching onesies just in time for the holidays, and we’re really excited to open our gifts on Christmas morning sporting them.

MyHeritage DNA Kit

Curious about your ancestry? Want to give the gift of ancestry and tracing a family tree to your loved ones? The MyHeritage DNA Kit will help you discover your family story and learn more about your own heritage.

It’s one of the most useful travel gifts for anyone who wants to know more about themselves and their place in the world. It might even inspire future travels if you decide to visit these lands.

SleepPhones: Comfortable Headphones for Air Travel

This is one of the best vegan gifts for travel lovers and one that I personally use every time I fly abroad. SleepPhones are the first headphones designed for comfort, perfect for long flights. The headphones are inside a cozy fleece headband, making them the perfect headphones for sleeping and resting. 

I wear them on a plane when I’m trying to sleep or simply relaxing. It’s ideal for the frequent flyer in your life, especially someone who goes on long-haul flights.

Priority Pass Airport Lounge Gift

This is one of the best gifts for frequent travellers, a membership for Priority Pass. Priority Pass allows VIP access to more than 1000 airport lounges all over the world. Allow your friend or family member to travel in luxury and comfort with a Priority Pass membership. This is one of the most unique travel gifts for someone who enjoys international travel.

Nexar Beam GPS Dash Cam

Nexar Beam GPS Dash Cam is a travel road trip companion that you’ll want to bring everywhere you go! It is a sleek dash cam with a compact design that records crisp and clear 1080p full HD video. This dash cam also has a super wide lens with a 135-degree field of view, and it’s extremely affordable considering all of its features.

The parking mode feature offers 24/7 security and can sense even the slightest impact to a vehicle and starts recording immediately, even when the car is parked. Footage can be downloaded to the user’s phone as soon as it connects to the dash cam so can be viewed immediately, offering true peace of mind. 

The Nexar Beam GPS comes with a free 32GB microSD memory card, but users can opt to upgrade to a bigger capacity. Nexar offers completely unlimited cloud backups without a subscription, so drivers can avoid the extra cost and have the same ability to save any video to the cloud. Bring it on your upcoming road trips!

Tinggly Travel Gift Box

Tinggly Gift Boxes offers amazing travel experiences from all over the world for that traveler in your life. It’s one of the best stocking stuffers as you’re giving the gift of travel as it works similarly to a gift card, except the recipient gets to completely choose the experience.

Why is this one of the best gifts for travel? The recipient gets to choose their own adventure, no matter where they’re going in the world! Whenever they are ready to travel, they can choose from hundreds of experiences, tours and adventures worldwide.

We’ve used Tinggly gift boxes to travel in the past and we’ve gifted them as well. We chose to take a cocktail cruise in Amsterdam and a gondola ride in Venice. This is one of the best luxury travel gifts that is surprisingly inexpensive.

Monos Luggage: The Best Carry On Bag

Monos is often referred to as the “Apple of suitcases” and their luggage has won many awards. They’re exceptionally light and practically indestructible. This is one of the very best travel bags on the market. It has a size of 22″ X 14″ X 9″ and a light weight of 7lbs.

It’s incredibly durable, made from an Aerospace-grade, water-resistant, German polycarbonate hard shell. It has ultra-microfibre vegan leather details, an adjustable telescopic handle, and silent 360 degree wheels. It’s also quite affordable for all of the features and technology.

Kindle Paperwhite

I used to be one of those people who vowed only to read physical paper books. After investing in a Kindle Paperwhite, I realize just how wrong I was. It’s an amazing device that stores thousands of books that you can bring everywhere with you. It’s also really eco-friendly by saving so much paper. A Kindle is the perfect vegan stocking stuffer, especially if you load it up with books about vegan activism and nutrition.

Best Backpack for Photographers: Peak Design

The Peak Design Everyday Totepack is perfect for your cameras and photography gear. You might even be able to get away with using this one as a personal item in addition to your carry on luggage.

I absolutely love the dividers inside this tote bag for all of your camera equipment. The side zippers allow easy access, too. There’s lots of space and extra compartments for your other belongings, too. I regularly bring this bag along for my adventures when I have my DSLR with me, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Garmin Instinct Outdoor GPS Watch

The Garmin Instinct Outdoor GPS Watch is rugged and reliable with built in thermal, shock, and water resistance. It has a built-in 3-axis compass, plus multiple GPS systems that help track in more challenging environments than GPS alone.

You can also monitor your heart rate, activity rate, and stress levels. You can also connect to the online Garmin fitness community. Explore national parks or outdoor spaces with ease. It’s one of the most practical travel gifts and tops this list of useful travel gifts.

GoPro Hero11 Action Camera

Want to capture every moment on the trails? The GoPro Hero11 Black is the latest and greatest in this series of popular action cameras. It’s an amazing waterproof camera that will record stunning footage as you go.

It shoots 5K video, crisp and clear photos, and you can even live stream from the forest. It’s super rugged and works in all conditions, even the most treacherous ones.

Oru Kayak Inlet Folding Kayak – 10′

Do you need to buy a gift for someone who loves outdoor adventures? The Oru Kayak Inlet is one of the world’s lightest and most compact foldable kayaks. It folds into a box that’s about the size of a guitar case (40x19x10”), and can be transformed from box to boat in under 3 minutes.

The Oru Kayak Inlet is sleek, reliable, and durable, made out of 5mm double-layered custom-extruded polypropylene. It is manufacturer rated for 20,000 folds and exceeds the U.S. Coast Guard recreational vessel requirements. It’s perfect for paddling on calm waters, like bays, rivers and lakes, and ideal for beginners and experts alike.

You may have seen Oru Kayaks featured on Shark Tank, Forbes, CNN, Wall Street Journal, and Oprah Magazine. It’s a small business brand and they proudly back up their products with a 12 month warranty and 30 day money back guarantee. You’ve got nothing to lose by giving this one a try.

Small Group Trips: The Gift of Travel

Why not give the gift of travel itself? The recipient of this ultimate vegan travel gift will join me on an upcoming group tour. In 2023, I have small group trips to Costa Rica and Scotland that are going to be incredible. All of the trips are eco-friendly, sustainable, and kind to people and the planet. Travel with me in 2023!