By: Sarah Stone
If you’re anything like me, you only think of amazing gifts in short, occasional bursts of genius. Birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries are the worst because if you have to think of the perfect present, you totally draw a blank. If you’re searching for ideas of great gifts for the travelers in your life, here are a few to get you started!
1: For the Constant Traveler
Passport cover – photo by WanderLabs on Unsplash
If you have a friend who absolutely loves to travel, and to travel a lot—it doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg to get them something meaningful. One of the coolest gifts for travelers of all styles is a passport cover. It’s inexpensive, it protects your passport from getting too…frayed…and it looks amazing.
2: For the Budget Traveler
Having peace of mind while traveling is an incredible gift – photo by Danka & Peter on Unsplash
On the other end of the spectrum, we have the budget traveler. As a shoestring traveler, I try to save on every part of a trip—but there are some basic things I’ll always need wherever I go.
The most valuable yet unexpected gift I can think of for your budget conscious friend is travel insurance. Offer to cover it for their next trip—often at less than $50 (or even less than $25) depending on where they’re going and for how long, and it’ll be an unexpected but very welcome surprise.
3: For the Volunteer Traveler
A little bit can go a long way – photo by Junior REIS on Unsplash
Most volunteer travelers who sign up with agencies or tour groups are asked to pay for certain aspects of their trip—such as housing, training, and support.
Helping your volunteer friend out with offsetting that cost can go a very long way to helping them make the most of their upcoming trip! Or if they’ve volunteered abroad before, consider a donation to the group they worked with—chances are they’ve developed strong ties to their host group and knowing their friends and family support the cause as well can be an amazing gift on its own.
4: For the Backpacker
Gifts for backpackers and outdoorsy travelers –
My absolute favorite type of travel is backpacking, and I’m big into geocaching, hiking, and wilderness exploration while on any trip I take. If you’ve got an outdoorsy traveler friend, consider giving them a topographic GPS—either a stand-alone one or an app purchase for their smartphone. While the standard GPS on one’s phone can be perfect for most trips, a topographic GPS can give a bit more detail in backcountry and hiking areas, where the earth’s natural features and formations will help with navigation.
5: For the Well-Traveled Family
Luggage tags can help suitcases stand out – image via Pexels
My family took road trips all the time when I was a kid—we’d drive up and down the East Coast to visit family, friends, and even for my mom’s archaeology work, which took her to digs and colleges and universities from Florida to Pennsylvania.
As we started flying, we noticed we had the same black suitcases as everyone else—and usually we had two or three of them on any given trip. Matching, distinctive luggage tags for your suitcases, carry-ons, purses, and tote bags can help your well-traveled family quickly and easily identify their items without too much hassle.
What other gifts for travelers would you recommend? Post your ideas in our community!
About the Author: Sarah Stone
As the managing director of Frayed Passport, my goal is to help you build your a lifestyle that lets you travel the world whenever you want, however long you want, and not worry about where your next paycheck will come from. I've been to 20+ countries and five continents, lived for years as a full-time digital nomad, and while I'm based in Miami now, I spend one-third of the year traveling to amazing destinations around the world and have worked completely remotely since 2013. If you would like to share your story with our community, or partner with Frayed Passport, get in touch with me at sarah@frayedpassport.com!