Looking for the perfect gift for someone who loves to travel? Well, you’re in luck! Here at GiftsforTravelers.com, that’s what our site is all about. You can browse this site for gift ideas for every budget range, and for every type of frequent traveler, from honeymooners to business travelers to flight attendants.
High quality bags make a great gift for travelers.
Travel books: there are a number of great travelogues that came out this year: consider Eat, Drink, Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert, or Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson. You can also give books that will help them become a more savvy traveler: some suggestions there include Traveling Light, and Travel Your Way Around the World. A final category of books that make a great gift for travelers are guidebooks: be careful about giving the “usual” guidebooks like Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, or Let’s Go — for one, it’s possible that they already have one of these guides, and for two, most savvy travelers try to avoid these books simply because they are so popular: places recommended in popular guidebooks quickly become mobbed with tourists, and that’s not what we travel to see, is it? Instead, try the “Hedonists’ Guide” series, the NFT Not for Tourist series, Rick Steves guidebooks, and my personal favorite, the “Avant Guide” series. I’ve used this latter to travel in tourist-mobbed places like Prague, Paris, and San Francisco, yet still discover unique bars and restaurants that made me feel like a local: now that’s what a great guidebook should do!
High Quality Bags: Emphasis here is on the high-quality. Have you ever seen how airline baggage handlers take care of your luggage? Why set your suitcase on the conveyor belt when you can throw it? I’ve seen baggage handlers kicking bags, tossing them from trucks and on top of racks (and missing) — everything you can imagine, and worse. And that’s not even counting the damage done by luggage handling machines. This kind of treatment can make even the best luggage look like a chewed up piece of junk after only a few flights being checked. My favorite solution: bags from Briggs & Riley. Not only do Briggs & Riley make the highest quality luggage (this stuff is bomber!), but it’s also some of the best-designed, and almost unbelievably, they offer a lifetime guarantee against any and all damage– including that caused by the airlines. You can’t beat that! Other good companies are Tumi and Victorinox: I love the design and quality of their bags, but even with this great stuff it only took a few months of frequent travel before my $600 Tumi suitcase looked like a piece of junk. At that price point, I prefer to go Briggs & Riley and get the guarantee!- Travel Gadgets: Sure, you might think of gadgets as being primarily a gift for male travelers, but in fact in a recent survey electronic gadgets were ranked third on a list of the most popular gifts for women. And no wonder: these little wonders can really make the travelers life easier. You can replace dozens of huge bulky books with one sleek Kindle. Or overcome language barriers with an electronic translator. Or never get lost with an iPhone or other handheld GPS navigation device. Get custom city tours. Keep in touch with the office. Etc.
- Books about Travel: There are a number of great travel narratives out there that serve as a good reminder of why we like to travel — and how to make the most of every moment. Consider one of the humorous books from Paul Theroux or Bill Bryson, or an adventure story from Jon Krakauer.
- Other Gifts for Travelers: A few more ideas that don’t really fit into any category. Try personalized travel gifts like a stamped leather passport cover from Personalization Mall, or personalized leather luggage tags. Some travelers might enjoy vintage travel goods like old maps, city paintings, or brass telescopes and other navigation/ weather instruments. A travel gift basket can be made with a collection of essentials to make the traveling life easier: earplugs, eye mask, sleeping pills, hand sanitizer, lotion, iTunes gift card, etc…
- I wouldn’t actually want most of the things on Craziest Gadget’s list, but someone who was really into gadgets might think differently!
- The Ledger has an entertaining article with some very creative gift idea suggestions — not really “travel” oriented in the sense of people who move across borders, they seem to consider travelers people who go outside their home to do things.
- Independent Traveler, part of the omnipresent Trip Advisor network, also went the creative route with their ideas for travel-oriented gifts — some suggestions you won’t find anywhere else!
- The Perrin Post, published on Concierge.com, only provides a handful of suggestions, but they are some great ideas for the high-end business traveler (which happens to be Concierge.com’s target market– what a coincidence!
Briggs & Riley Launches 2009 Holiday Sale (prweb.com)
Please try some of the other articles on this site to discover more great ideas for gifts for Travelers!
More Sources for Gifts for Travelers:
There are a few other high quality gift ideas lists out there on the web. Here are a few of my favorites:
Finally, I should note that with your favorite search engine you can find a number of “Best Gifts for Travelers” lists published on sites like eHow, AssociatedContent, eZineArticles, and the equivalent. These lists, written by people whose idea of the perfect trip consists of a package tour to Florida, generally suggest thinks like money belts, guidebooks, plug adapters, travel pillows, and what-not. The kinds of items you find in the airport gift shop. These suggestions are excellent for someone who has never traveled before. For example, the only “travelers” who use money belts are 65-year old retirees on their first trip outside of the US, usually on an escorted bus tour that barely allows them to come into contact with locals, who are expecting the kind of dangers you might find on a trip across the Afghan border (or on a walk to get some cigarettes at a corner mini-mart in the Bronx). In short, if you’re buying a gift for a real traveler, don’t buy them any of those so-called travel gifts! The boring basics like plug adapters and travel pillows they probably already have, and most of the other stuff is just junk that real travelers don’t use anyway. OK, rant over!
Reader Suggested Gifts for Travelers:
Would you like to see your gift ideas listed here? Make a comment in the box below, and I’ll add your idea to this list (including a nice link if appropriate!).
