If you’ve been on the hunt for the perfect travel gifts, your search ends here! It’s time to retire the airline gift cards and packing cubes. Instead give your friend or loved one a gift that they will use for years and that will accompany them wherever they travel. Or give them a gift that encapsulates their travel spirit and makes them think of you every day. Let’s be real: gift giving isn’t entirely altruistic! Seeing someone light up at something you picked out for them is just as good as getting a present yourself! So no more luggage tags. It’s time to level up. With the help of this guide, you’re sure to become everyone’s favorite gift-giver. So without further ado, these are the 75 most unique gifts for travel lovers who have everything.
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DIY Travel Gift Ideas
Gifts don’t have to break the bank. In fact, often the most memorable ones are those that are handmade and come from the heart. Plus, these custom travel gifts will not only show the recipient how well you know them, they’ll also feel incredibly personal.
“Open When” Travel Letters – For anyone planning a semester abroad or an extended trip, these letters are about as thoughtful a gift as you can give. Travel is full of highs, but it also comes with inevitable moments of homesickness, frustration, and sadness. These letters give the recipient a piece of home or a bit of guidance at various stages of their journey. To make them, write prompts on envelopes like, “Open when you’re homesick,” “Open when you arrive at your first destination,” or “Open when you conquer a fear.” Inside, include a letter with words of support, advice, or encouragement tailored to that moment. You can also add small surprises like candy, jewelry, or other tiny keepsakes that match the theme of the letter. It’s a gift that keeps giving throughout their travels, allowing them to open each letter at the perfect time.
Personalized Audio Tour – Gift someone a curated walking tour. For instance, you can record yourself sharing your favorite places and facts about a city. This is a fun way to share your love of a city with someone and give them a one-of-a-kind tour.
Travel Playlist – Music and sound are such a huge part of travel. If you can connect a certain song to a specific city, you’ll remember where you were and what you were doing every time you hear that song for the rest of your life. Customizing a playlist for someone abroad is a thoughtful way to give them this gift of sense memory. My future brother-in-law made a playlist for my fiancé for the weekend of our proposal. Now my fiancé always associates certain songs with the sense of excitement leading up to the proposal. How sweet!
Travel Gift Kit – You can put together your own diy travel gift kit by compiling a few items from different categories on this list. The ultimate gift would be filling a brand-new suitcase with these items.
Symbolic Travel Gifts
While these gifts don’t necessarily always come in a physical form, they might still become someone’s favorite present.
Adopt an Animal – For the animal lover in your life, symbolically adopt their favorite animal in their name. The proceeds support conservation efforts, and you often get a stuffed animal or other keepsake in exchange. Someone once adopted a turtle in my name, and I received a bracelet and tracking information so that I can see where the turtle is in the ocean at any time. Check out Fahlo for a similar animal tracking option. Organizations like Fahlo and the World Wildlife Fund make it easy to give such a meaningful gift.
Lord or Lady Title – Scott Disick is called Lord Disick for a reason… For a small price, you can deem someone the Lord or Lady of a land. Just be prepared. It might go straight to their head, and you may be required to call them Lord or Lady until the end of time.
Travel Gift Cards and Vouchers
Okay, so we know we started out this post telling you to stop being boring and buying travel gift cards… but we were talking about the basic airline and hotel ones! These travel gift cards on the other hand offer exceptional experiences your loved one didn’t know they needed.
Journee Mystery Trip – We’ve talked a lot about Journee before (you can read our full article on their mystery trips here), so you know how much we love them. Journee makes travel easy by taking your answers to a short questionnaire about your ideal vacation and designing a mystery trip with all of the details sorted out for you. All you have to do is show up at the airport! They offer gift cards, making it the perfect present for someone in need of a hassle-free adventure.
Mystery Flight – Much like Journee, some airlines themselves will put out mystery flights where the passengers hop on board a flight to an unknown destination. This one may be harder to plan for since airlines don’t always offer this. But it’s an incredible surprise gift if you can snag a ticket!
FlightGift – If you’d like to gift someone an airline gift card, but aren’t sure of their preferred airline, FlightGift is the perfect solution. You send someone a gift card, and they can redeem it with over 400 airlines.
Unbound Merino – Merino Wool is the best material travelers can wear. It doesn’t wrinkle, it doesn’t smell, and it’s temperature-balancing. Unbound Merino has fantastic staple pieces that would be great in a travel capsule wardrobe.
Aire Thermal Baths – Who doesn’t want to visit a thermal bath in candlelit caves? We visited Aire in Copenhagen and left feeling more refreshed than we ever had at any other spa. We got to experience the cold plunges, thermal baths, saunas, and massages, and it was the perfect reset. Give this amazing spa experience to someone in your life who needs to be pampered on their next trip. Aire has locations in Copenhagen, Barcelona, and New York City, just to name a few.
National Park Annual Pass – Perfect for travelers who love nature and road trips, gift them a national park pass they can use for an entire year.
Travel-Themed Subscription Box – Companies like Universal Yums offer monthly deliveries of snacks and products from a new country each time. Bokksu is another company that does this specifically for Japanese snacks.
Local Cooking Class – Give the gift of a hands-on culinary experience. For example, you could gift a pasta class in Italy, sushi-making in Japan, or a tapas course in Spain. These classes make for an immersive experience your loved one won’t forget. We recommend checking out Viator to find the best classes in every locale.
Airbnb Gift Card – Did you know Airbnb offers more than just rentals? They also offer a variety of experiences to amplify your travels. With an Airbnb gift card, the recipient can use it to choose between wild activities like llama trekking, samurai sword lessons, or pasta-making with a nonna (grandma) in Rome!
Lounge Access – Traveling can be exhausting, and a little downtime in an airport lounge is the perfect reprieve. But lounge visits can add up if you don’t have a pass! Gifting someone access through programs like Priority Pass, American Airlines, or others is a thoughtful way to help them relax while on the go. Before buying, check whether they already have a travel credit card that includes lounge access.
“Rent a Local Friend” – There are companies that connect you with locals you can hire to show you the hidden gems of a city. This is a more personal and private way of getting to know a new location.
Unique Hotel Stay – If you’re on our site, you know we’re all about unique hotel stays. It’s what we live for!! You can gift a unique hotel stay with some of the epic accommodations we’ve featured here on our Explore & Book page.
Tinggly Experience Box – If you don’t know exactly what someone would like, let them choose their own gift! With Tinggly, you buy the experience box, and they can choose from one of thousands of activities included.
Photoshoot – For that friend who hasn’t updated their profile picture in ten years, gift them a photoshoot while they’re abroad. They’ll look back on those photos for the rest of their life. We recommend Flytographer and Localgrapher for their ease of service and availability in hundreds of cities.
Travel Tracking Gifts
We love coming home from a trip and adding a magnet to our fridge. We get to step back and admire all of the places we’ve been to so far. Tracking travel in a physical way is an amazing daily reminder of how lucky we are to explore the world. And there are so many ways people can see the physical proof of their travels.
Wanderclub – We love Wanderclub! They have tokens for every country, city, capital, and even sports stadium that you can collect. You can add these tokens to a keychain or turn them into jewelry as a daily reminder of where you’ve been.
Personalized Travel Scratch Map – You can have a map made with the travelers’ names that they can scratch off as they go. Warning: it becomes a little addictive, and soon they’ll want to travel everywhere just to scratch more places off the map. For an even more unique twist, you can also do this with a culinary scratch map. Instead of places to visit, it lets them scratch off dishes from around the world as they try them. Now each meal is an adventure! These are great gifts for couples who travel.
Gifts to Inspire Future Travels
Whether someone needs inspiration for future travels or needs help planning an upcoming trip, these gifts will get them excited about the destinations to come.
Destination-Inspired Board Games – You can get board games that are either popular in someone’s dream destination, like Tokaido in Japan, or get them a game that gets them thinking about where they’d like to go next, like Trekking the World.
Where to Go When Book – One of our favorite books is Where to Go When by Lonely Planet. It tells you exactly the best time of year to go somewhere based on weather, festivals, and tourism.
Assouline Coffee Table Books – These beautiful coffee table books double as part travel inspiration and part decoration.
Louis Vuitton City Guides – These city guides from Louis Vuitton are the best luxury travel gifts. They’re so chic and give loads of luxe inspo!
World Landmark Lego Kits – Perfect for the builder in your life, these kits let them recreate iconic world landmarks in miniature sizes. It’s a hands-on way to explore the globe from the comfort of home.
Adventure Challenge: Travel Edition Book – For an interactive gift, get your loved one a scratch-off adventure book with mystery challenges to do in different destinations.
Travel Fund Jar – Have a glass jar personalized and embellished for the travel lover in your life to inspire them to save for their next adventure.
Destination-Themed Escape Room Envelope – You no longer have to leave your house to enjoy an escape room! Now you can get everything you need for an escape room inside an envelope so you can play on the go. We love this National Park-themed escape room!
Personalized Travel Gifts / Travel Mementos
Some of our favorite gifts are those that commemorate our trips and remind us of all of the amazing places we’ve been so privileged to visit.
Hardcover Travel Photo Book – You can elevate a loved one’s travel photos by turning them into a hardcover coffee table book. These from Mixbook are stunning and look both aesthetically pleasing and professional.
Photo Blanket – When you’re at home, you’re dreaming of traveling. And when you’re traveling, you’re dreaming of being at home, wrapped up in your favorite blanket. The solution? A blanket with all of your best travel photos printed on it. We have this Sherpa one from Shutterfly, and it’s beyond cozy!
The Night Sky – This incredible company creates images or jewelry that show what the night sky looked like in any given location on any specific date. This is such a special and unique way to remind someone of a night from their travels that meant so much to them.
Travel Memorabilia Box – You can gift a shadowbox for ticket stubs, boarding passes, or other paper products from their travels that can hang on their wall and double as artwork.
Sand Jars – For the beach lovers, get them personalized sand jars that they can fill up at their favorite places.
Personalized Soundwave Art – Turn someone’s favorite city’s street noise into wall art.
Digital Photo Frame – Preload their favorite travel photos onto a digital picture frame so they can relive their adventures each day at home.
Homesick City Candles – A scent recreated from their favorite destination. Get them one that smells like their favorite U.S. city. They also have this EuroTrip Mini Candle Trio that smells like Paris, Italy, and Santorini.
Personalized Travel Playlist on Vinyl – Remember that DIY travel playlist we mentioned you could make? Take it to the next level by turning it into a vinyl record. Now they can relive their favorite trips at home, track by track.
Travel Gadget Gifts
These aren’t your grandma’s travel gadgets. These are some futuristic finds that make travel seamless for the jetsetter in your life.
Reusable Hand Warmers – This is one of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received. These hand warmers will be a game-changer for anyone who goes on winter trips.
Portable Espresso Maker – For travelers who can’t bear to be without coffee, even at 30,000 feet or in the middle of a desert. And this particular one is highly rated for the espresso quality.
Translation Earbuds – International travelers need never worry again about language barriers. This tiny translator device packs a big punch, allowing you to communicate with anyone, anywhere.
Sleep Mask with Bluetooth Speakers – Trying to fall asleep with headphones in your ears is never comfortable. That’s why this sleep mask is perfect. It lies flat against your ears, giving you clear audio but with zero headache.
Portable Photo Printer – This device connects to your phone so you can instantly print memories on the road. This is great for someone wanting to add photos to their travel journal.
Photo Sticker Printer – Much like the portable photo printer, this tiny device can turn any photo into a sticker to be added to your journal, luggage, or any other items.
Global Hot Spot – No service? No problem. This portable device keeps you connected no matter where your travels take you.
Virtual Reality Headset – Virtual reality isn’t just for gaming! It’s a fantastic travel tool. Now you can “walk around” a city before you visit.
Self-Cleaning Water Bottle – If you know us, you know we’re obsessed with Larq water bottles. We have gifted them to everyone in our lives. The UV light kills bacteria and keeps water fresh without you needing to clean it. So it’s perfect for travelers on the go.
Smart Reusable Notebook – Never run out of paper on the go again! This notebook allows you to wipe the pages clean and upload notes to a digital cloud. So now you can use the notebook again and again without losing your notes.
Inflatable Movie Screen – This item packs small but inflates to a 120-inch screen for movie nights under the stars or in a hotel.
Portable Projector – We recommend this projector to go with your inflatable movie screen.
Compact Drone – This drone doesn’t take up too much space, and takes high-quality photos and videos.
Action Camera Neck Mount – When paired with an action camera such as a GoPro, this device offers hands-free filming for travelers who want to be in the moment and capture their travels at the same time.
Unique Travel Gifts for Her
We are OBSESSED with these travel gifts for women. These items are designed to make life easier, safer, and more stylish for women while traveling.
Atolea Waterproof Jewelry – This waterproof jewelry brand is perfect for travel. You’ll never have to worry about misplacing your jewelry since you’ll never have to take it off. You can keep it on in the shower, pool, and ocean.
City Skyline Necklace – Get a loved one’s favorite city’s skyline turned into a necklace. In fact, we have quite a few pieces from Caitlin Minimalist, who designs beautiful and customizable jewelry that lasts, making them some of our favorite travel gifts for women.
Hidden Pocket Scarf – Safety is a real concern when it comes to travel. Putting your personal items somewhere pickpockets wouldn’t expect can keep you and your valuables safe. This scarf has a hidden zipper compartment so you can store your phone or wallet safely on the go.
Hidden Pocket Scrunchies – The weather doesn’t always call for a scarf, but you can always carry around a scrunchie! Store your valuables in these hidden pocket hair ties for added safety. The scarf and these scrunchies are great gifts for solo travelers who need a little extra security.
Lay-Flat Makeup Bag – We simply can’t be bothered to pack all of our makeup nicely and neatly while on the go. This Lay-n-Go drawstring bag conveniently lays flat when you’re doing your makeup, making it easy to see all of your products at once. And when you’re done, you just pull the strings and voila! Everything disappears in seconds.
Useful Travel Gifts / Travel Essentials
These useful travel gifts are ones we know every traveler would use and fall in love with.
Shampoo Bar – No more pouring shampoo into small containers to get through TSA! These shampoo bars are TSA-approved and are actually the equivalent of 3 full-size bottles of shampoo.
Collapsible Wine Bottle – Bring home local wines or beer without the bulkiness and fragility of the bottles. These collapsible holders roll up when empty and hold and protect the drinks when full.
Pluto Pod Neck Pillow – This travel pillow is NEXT LEVEL. It was designed with lots of input from travel professionals and sleep researchers. You might look like an astronaut while wearing it, but you’ll arrive at your destination refreshed and ready to hit the ground running. You can use our link for $10 off your purchase.
Portable Travel Desk – For the workaholic who just needs to send one more email while on vacation. This lap-sized desk allows them to work from anywhere, making it one of the best gifts for business travelers.
Film Camera Protective Bag – It seems like everyone is traveling with old-school disposable film cameras again! But when they go through the scanner at TSA, the photos are often ruined by the X-ray. Not anymore with the invention of this protective sleeve. Simply pop the film cameras inside and let them pass through the scanner worry-free.
Carry-On Closet – This is next-level travel gear. This carry-on suitcase stands up to become a built-in closet with shelves. It’s the easiest way to keep yourself organized while traveling without having to unpack!
Pocket Blanket – This blanket is small enough to fold up and fit in your pocket, making it great for picnics and beach days.
Creative Gifts for World Travelers
These gift ideas are too out of the box to be categorized! From collapsible musical instruments to a portable bidet, these are the most creative and unique gifts for travel lovers. And while they might not be necessities, they will certainly be enjoyed by the travel lover in your life.
Collapsible Paddleboard – Though a bit on the heavy side, this paddleboard can be folded into a backpack and taken on the road for water activities.
Foldable Guitar – For music lovers who don’t want to give up their passion on the road. Now they can shred around the world but without the bulkiness of a traditional guitar.
Travel Challenges Card Deck – Give the gift of adventure with these cards that provide the traveler with a challenge they must complete on their trip.
Travel Hammock – This compact hammock weighs just over a pound and can be set up in minutes. So it’s perfect for the camper in your life.
Campfire in a Can – Fire you can pack? This makes beach nights, camping, and picnics fuss-free. And it’s Shark Tank approved!
Airline Trolley Bar – Incorporate a piece of travel into your home decor! These real, refurbished airplane drink trolleys can be filled with drinks or travel memorabilia.
Portable Bidet – This is a stocking stuffer with actual utility. It’s quirky, eco-friendly, and kind of practical… Or at least an excellent gag gift.
Recycled Airplane Skin Tag – Get a one-of-a-kind keychain or luggage tag made from the skin of a retired aircraft.
Collapsible Helmet – If you’re planning to ride a bike, scooter, or motorcycle, it might be worth investing in this collapsible travel helmet. It unfolds into a secure helmet.
Watercolor Paint Set – This tiny watercolor set allows you to keep those creative juices flowing whenever inspiration strikes.
We hope you enjoyed our travel gift guide. From heartfelt DIY projects to inspiring keepsakes, these are the most unique gifts for travel lovers everywhere. So which gifts are you giving? Let us know in the comments!
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