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Are you sometimes stuck with buying a gift for your traveller friend or family member? Weather it is for their birthday, to fill that Christmas stocking or any other occasion? Do not worry, I happen to be in the same boat as you from time to time! Therefore, I thought it might be a good idea to share tried and tested ideas that I already came up with and bought for my traveller friends or for myself because I knew I will need this (and giving yourself gifts is such a good idea too - check beach towel pegs and beauty advent calendar for my self gifts) but also some great gifts I received too. However, I personally like to give (and receive) practical gifts that will be used or will remind the receiver of me, so I thought of a list of ideas for every budget for a traveller in your life!
Without further delay, let's get started:
1. Photography course - every traveller always wants to bring back amazing photos from their journeys. Some of us have better eye for great photos than others, some of us love sitting for hours and learning on line, but some prefer practical class. Give a gift of knowledge towards photography course which is such an amazing present for a travel and photography enthusiast! Look up for photography courses in your city or just check online.
Cost: £170 and up
2. Camera lense - The 50mm f1.8 lens is arguably an essential for any camera owner, and its available for around £100 - depends how good you are in deal searching too. Great in low light and lightweight! Perfect for taking those Christmas portraits. Unless you know exactly what camera lens is on your friends Wish list, and if you can afford it, then go and get this one.
Cost: around £100 - Nikon sample here
3. Photography Book - Many great photos are inspired by other great photos. So why not inspire your loved ones to get out and take more photos by giving them a beautifully crafted Photography Book full of inspiration and incredible photography. Alternatively, if you know their next destination, you could buy this particular country photo albums for next great photo ideas. Here is an example of such a photo album of Cuba.
Cost: starting from £7.00 and up
4. Passport covers - this is a cute gift and helps to keep the passport in a good shape, when it's being thrown between luggage, bags etc. Also easier to find in backpacks and bags. Not only it protects the document, but also make it look good. You can personalise it, or buy a travel theme look just like World Travel Map example here.
Cost: around £9.00
5. Scratch off map - it gives every traveller such a joy to see where they have been, and where they still have to go! Every time a traveller returns from the journey they can just scratch off another great destinations. This is my personal favourite and I already have one hanging on my wall, courtesy of my two lovely nieces. This is similar to the one I have and I can recommend.
Cost: £20
6. Buy an experience - if you know of your traveller's next destination, why not suggest buying them an experience at the location. I am sure they would love something exciting to remember, and also remember that it was gifted by YOU! Alternatively, you can give money and think of original packaging suggesting it is pocket money for their next experience. For ideas on experiences worldwide I suggest checking Viator.com which is a great website for local experiences that I have used in Mexico, Thailand and Portugal and was never disappointed (well maybe I was once). Additionally, this website is only for local travel owners so you are helping local guides and businesses - which feels right. More pricey option, but more sophisticated experiences can be found on Virgin Experiences Days, if you cannot afford them yet, use this website as inspiration to plan similar experiences or get great ideas to plan yourself.
7. Sustainable travel gadgets e.g. water bottle, resuable cotton pads, bamboo toothbrush etc. I am hoping, we all want to be more sustainable and think of protecting our home Earth in a more conscious ways; therefore why not help your traveller friends to be better at sustainability by getting them some of those eco friendly gadgets. How many times do you travel for few days and need a shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, but you only have more than 100ml bottles? Rather than buying travel size bottles and then throwing them away, why not buy a set of containers that can be reused many times? I am linking beauty containers set I really like is here but of course the choice is huge and you can find even cheaper sets that this.
Other sustainable travel gadget could be bamboo or metal travel set of cutlery, especially for those who camp and hike a lot, or if travelling in countries when street food is your main food and where you are offered plastic cutlery each time you buy even a small bite - I think this could be a great gift for a traveller - see a beautiful set here. I personally have these sets for our picnics on the beach so this is not always for full time travellers but also park goes and picnickers! :-)
Cost: £12 (beauty containers)
£ 6.50 (bamboo cutlery set)
8. A good travel book is always a good idea (unless the person you are buying it for does not like to reading). Long waiting time at the airports, train journeys, or transit in various transfers always are better spent with a good book, and if it is a travel book it can instils new great travel ideas or destinations! List of my favourite travel books that hopefully can inspire next wanderlust, or just prepare a traveller for the next trip is in my article here.
(Please NOTE: this article was lost in the abyss of the Internet as of September 2020 and I am doing my best to recreate it, so if you have not read it before, please stay tuned /sign up for newsletter/ and I will let you know as soon as it's recreated and back on line)
Cost: £3 - £20
9. Kindle or other e-book device. Whenever I go on holidays I pack 1-2 books (I used to take 2-3 with me but realised I can never read 3!) hoping that I will read them during that time. Often forgetting that I have prepared extensive list of things to do and see, and I have barely time left for reading books. And those books count for extra space and kg in your carry-on luggage - so if you have a travel lover in your life who likes reading books why not buy them Kindle? It is lightweight, compact and newest edition come with backlighting which will make a perfect gift for a traveller whether they are at home or travelling. My hubby offered to buy one for me few years ago and I said categorically NO! Because I like the smell of the pages, and touching the paper book - call me weird but there's something about physical book that is appealing... However, years later and I think I should have said yes to this gadget - I may ask Santa to add to my list this year (hint, hint!)
Cost:
Paperwhite, waterproof with high res and backlight - £119.00 - here
With build-in front light - £49.99 here
10. Electronic gadgets that can be useful to have whilst travelling: tripod, selfie stick, portable charger, pen drive or external memory drive etc. Some of these can be personalised and that will definitely be an impressive gift. Now you only need to find out what is missing in your friends' gadget bag.
Alternatively, you could buy a cable organiser if you know your traveller friend to always have dangled cables in their backpack - an idea of. set if here.
Cost £8.00-£10.00
I have bought my husband a GoPro essential bag which had all gadgets to our GoPro (straps, wrist straps, etc.) you can find similar here for only
Cost: £13.00
Finally, an electronic gadget for those travellers who travel often to different countries, continents and have to always purchase new plug adaptors! My hubby found this and it's just one piece that we take everywhere with us; Asia, Carribean, Europe, Africa - works everywhere! Linking that useful and amazing gadget here.
Cost £19.00
11. Travel themed T-shirt or a cap will always sit well with a traveller, especially if the logo or caption are meaningful or have a travel reference. Adventure you say? Alpaca my bag! - see the reference here Of course, you can find other companies that make it more personalised and perhaps order something unique to that person.
Cost: £14.99
12. Microfibre towel - great for the beach, ski espacapde, or camping - the most important aspect of this product is that it folds into a tiny size - so really great for packing but it also dries quick! This could be a great gift for a gym bunny (if they don't have one yet). I wish I discovered it sooner, especially for my snowboarding holidays and gym.
Cost: from £4.00 here
13. Travel journal or travel planner (or 2 in 1) although a lot of people use electronics diaries nowadays to write down their memories of travels, or various apps to plan their next destination, I think this is stil a very romantic idea of writing your memories down on paper. Perhaps you know someone who still prefers good old pen and paper and for them this will be an ideal gift. You can find some really beautiful journals or planners or have them as 2 in 1 like here.
Cost: £13.00
14. Beach Towel pegs - I know this might not sound glamorous for a gift, but trust me it is super practical for those sun worshippers, especially if they are holidaying on windy beaches! You can buy a classic shape, but you can also go wild and go for something flamingo or holiday vibe, here is the one I bought
Cost: £7.00
15. Beauty Advent Calendar - although this is a gift which should be delivered at the beginning of December, this still, in my opinion, may be a good idea for a traveller gift. Here's the reason why: it will equip your traveller friend with lots of small samples of cosmetics, once they use up those products the empty containers can be used as a reusable containers for future travels. This is not the cheapest gift, but perhaps you you can afford it and you know your traveller friend will like it. I have bought one out of curiosity last year and this year again I have already bought another one (I know it's November but they are cheaper at this time).
Cost: from £50 and above - sample of calendar I bought this year here
16. Fit bit or smart watch - although this is a pricey gift, it will make a fantastic gift for a traveller who will be able to monitor their steps on trips where a lot of walking is required - especially in Europe when you tend to walk a lot in the cities (unless you are scooting or cycling). The advantage of Fitbit is that its battery last 5-7 days so there is no need to charge daily as other smart watches which is a bonus on a weekend away trip (less cables to carry!). I did not realise how great this gadget is until I got one myself. Now, when I do my 10k steps a day I know I can go for that dessert without guilt! ;-)
Cost: Fitbit Charge 4 (the one I have and can recommend) - £99.00
17. Spices from around the world, or coffee from around the world, or teas from around the world.
Last year I bought my mum Christmas present which she loved and it was such a great gift, I did not realised until she started using it - teas from around the world. She loved tasting new teas and judging if she liked them or not - I did not realised it brought her so much joy! So thinking of ideas from around the world; a great gift idea would be coffee from around the world if your travel-lover likes a good cup of coffee that can transport them to Jamaica's blue hill or Ethiopian coffee plantations. And if you have a friend who enjoys cooking, why not gift them spices from around the world? It is so frustrating when you start a recipe and you realise you don't have key ingredient that changes the main flavour e.g. spices in Asian dishes! The prices vary from brand to a size of selection you choose but you can get teas from as little as £10 - below I shortlisted the range I would buy myself.
Cost:
Teas - £15.99 here
Hand roasted 10 different coffees, beautifully packed - £21.99 here
Various Spices, here a combo of 10 different rubs - £37.40 here
18. Another related gift to cooking, which will not be the cheapest is cooking class. Recently I bought cooking class of choice for my friends birthday and she picked Indian Cuisine (which I would not guess btw) and was so happy that she "finally understood the spice mix and how to use them in various dishes". Again this proved quite successful. Quick google search will show you closest cooking schools to you. I used .... for London and feedback from my friend was great. I myself also did School of Wok in Covent Garden class and enjoyed that so much too!
Well, I think this is a list of my ideas (which I am sure will be updated every time I find a new gadget or come up with new idea), but I look forward to hearing your ideas, or share what you bought for Travellers in Your Life?
Happy online shopping
Best,
Izabelita x
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