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The best gift ideas for travelers

What gift to give to a travel enthusiast? At each Christmas, birthday, or another significant occasion, it is a puzzle to succeed in pleasing your loved ones. To give you some ideas, here is a list of gifts that will appeal to travelers… Please note that the prices that I have given for your information are likely to vary depending on the time of year and promotions. There is something for all budgets and all ages (children too). You will also find a special selection of low-budget travel gifts.

Gift a travel book

A travel book as a gift is always a safe bet… Even those who are not great readers will always appreciate having a beautiful book with beautiful photos, or a guide with practical advice. Here is a selection of books that I can recommend to you. The only risk is that the beneficiary if he is a frequent traveler, has already read it. You can complete this list with my Top 10 books to prepare for a world tour.

Three great travel book gift ideas

An ultra-practical guide to learning how to “travel better with less”, with an ecological, ethical, and encounter-based approach. From camping and hitchhiking to couch surfing and home exchanging, it’s packed with tips for smart, economical, and responsible travel.

The trip for girls who are afraid of everything (by Marie-Julie Gagnon and Ariane Arpin-Delorme): a practical guide, but above all humorous, to show girls who would doubt it that traveling as a woman is not a problem, on the contrary… Pleasant to read, with many testimonials and wise advice.

Dare to travel solo (by Michael Patton): a complete book that covers all the themes of solo travel such as safety, practical organization, budget tips, and how to meet people. A great guide to dare to take the plunge!

Destination around the world: Drop everything for the mother daughter trips in US of a lifetime, be careful, do not offer this book to a loved one if you are not ready to see it go far away… Or leave with him! Fabienne and Benoit who have traveled around the world give all the practical advice to undertake such a trip. A real mine of information.

Travel gifts for decoration

That’s kind of my favorite in terms of decoration! I love vintage travel posters! Something to make your dream and decorate your interior well. Whether it’s Sydney, New York, or Venice, the choice of destinations is very wide, and you’ll find them in all formats… Here’s a wide choice of posters on this link (from 9 euros per poster). You can also transform your travel photos into wall decoration (read: my ideas with photo web).

A globe

Every travel enthusiast dreams of having a globe on their desk or somewhere in their home. There is something for all tastes and for all budgets (on this link you have a wide choice of terrestrial globes). For my part, I’ve had the same one since I was little… The map of the world has changed a lot today because I still have the USSR, Yugoslavia and a Germany cut in two, but I’m very attached to it and it is an object from which I cannot see myself separating. One of my favorite games? Turning him around with his eyes closed and pointing my finger at random… What if it was my next trip?

A world maps

A map of the world to display on a wall is a great decoration classic. You can spend hours in front of it imagining your next trip and finding route ideas. Modern or vintage design, you will find a wide choice on Amazon. For those who think big, you also have the extra-large version (336cm x 238cm) which can cover an entire wall: a giant wall world map.

Otherwise, one of the classics that frequent travelers love is the scratch map of the world. I have one too, and after each trip, I can’t wait to scratch the new country, I discovered. Or a more original version, for those who love creative hobbies: a map of the world to embroider in cross-stitch.

Storage and decorative cases

We always need a place to store our travel memories… So why not in this pretty set of vintage suitcases decorated with a map of the world? This makes for very decorative storage accessories!

vintage travel stickers

Whether it’s to customize your suitcase, decorate your fridge, or any other piece of furniture, here’s a whole set of vintage-style travel stickers (ideal for a low-budget gift of around 10 euros).

Board games for fun and travel

This is an ideal board game to give as a gift to a traveler or young traveler. Around the World in 1000 Questions is a bestseller in the famous Lonely Planet guidebook collection. Already sold at 40,000 copies, a new edition has just been released in 2021. The box contains a card game with 1000 questions from various categories (nature and landscapes, culture and heritage, sports and adventure, world cuisine, advice practice). In which city was pizza invented? To get to the Galapagos, which country should I go to? When it’s midnight in Paris, what time is it in New York?

Lonely Planet’s Grand Tour of the World

A board game to go around the world… This is the principle of Lonely Planet’s Grand Tour du Monde, ideal to play with family or friends (about 27 euros). You must answer questions divided by continents and countries: the first one who has everything right succeeds in his world tour! Be careful, this is a game that makes you want to travel furiously! Buy the game.

A game for children: Brain Box – Travel around the world

Brain Box – Travel Around the World is a game for kids. It’s a game of observation and memorization that allows you to learn while having fun about the capitals, flags, and the geography of the world… Buy the game (approx 14 euros).

A world map puzzle

What better than a puzzle to learn the map of the world while having fun? This is the kind of game that appeals to both adults and children. It is particularly de-stressing as an activity. When you want to take a break or focus your brain on something else, this is the ideal break… There’s something for everyone, depending on the number of pieces, and the design of the puzzle. In addition, once finished, fixed, and framed, it can make a beautiful decorative object. Here is my selection among those that can be found in stores:

Vintage world map puzzle 1500 pieces (dimension of the assembled puzzle: 85×60 cm). around 15 euros.

Vintage world map puzzle 4000 pieces (dimension of the assembled puzzle: 136:96 cm). around 40 euros.

Classic planisphere world map puzzle 1500 pieces (dimension of the assembled puzzle: 85x60cm). around 20 euros.

More suitable for children: Ravensburger 500-piece world map puzzle (from 10 years, around 12 euros)

A magnetic world map puzzle for children

Halfway between a puzzle and an educational game, this is a very nice game for children, which will allow them to go around the world in 92 magnets. Each represents a country or a region of the world, with its name, its capital, and an illustration characterizing this place. A fun and educational way to discover the planet: magnetic world puzzle (from 7 years old, around 40 euros).

Travel accessories

If you prefer to offer a “useful gift”, then know that there are plenty of accessories you need for traveling. You can consult my list of essential accessories for going on mother daughter trips. Among the most useful and easy to offer, you have the storage pockets, very practical for storing your belongings in a suitcase or backpack, a universal adapter, essential for connecting your devices in many foreign countries, or even yet another security pouch to hide his papers and money under his clothes.

A nice passport covers

A nice gift to personalize your passport with a nice cover, and above all to protect it so that it remains in good condition over the years. A damaged passport can cause problems at some border crossings, so take care of it!

A travel diary

Even today, even with all the new technologies, we still need a travel diary with us. It can be to jot down practical information to write down one’s impressions, or even to stick souvenir labels or draw… I always have one on me during my travels, and over the years it makes a nice collection of souvenirs.

High-tech travel gifts

Bluetooth travel speaker

Technology now makes it possible to take small portable speakers with you on a trip so you can listen to your music almost like at home! Depending on your budget (small, medium, or large), here is my selection of the three travel speakers that seem to me to be the best on the market right now.

JBL GO 3 (around 33 euros): a low-budget mini-speaker with high-quality sound and perfectly waterproof. Autonomy of 5 hours and it exists in many different colors.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 (around 80 euros): a speaker that fits in your hand with a very powerful 360° sound. 2 is waterproof, it can even float in water. Autonomy of 10 hours.

Bose SoundLink Color II (approx 120 euros): in terms of sound, Bose offers the best results for the most demanding! Impeccable design, with several colors and 8 hours of autonomy. The sound quality level is the best choice.

An electronic travel reader

Before, when you went on a trip, you had to make a difficult choice, especially for reading enthusiasts: which book to take in your luggage, knowing that each additional book adds weight to carry on your back or in your suitcase… Now, you can take your entire library with you thanks to an electronic reader. An incomparable weight gain and you can read everything you want while traveling… A real treat! An essential accessory for all travelers who like to read. And you can also put your travel guide there.

Headphones for traveling

For a long time, I only used the headsets that came with my phone to listen to music while traveling, but that was before trying the Bose QuietComfort 35 headphones … Since then, I can’t live without them! The sound quality is just incredible, and its ambient noise reduction function is stunning! It’s a real noise-canceling headset, and in transport, it’s a comfort that is priceless. If you want more info, I wrote a test article on these headphones during my travels. It’s an investment because it’s a fairly expensive product (about 280 euros), but it makes a very nice gift! Its only downside is that it’s a bit bulky for those who prefer to travel light. In this case, there are alternative wireless earphones with noise canceling functions as well.

Cheap travel gift ideas (less than 10 euros)

For those who prefer to offer small budget gifts, here is a selection for less than ten euros. As already mentioned in this article, you have the choice between a travel diary, a passport cover, or a pocket-sized travel book. Otherwise, here are three more ideas:

A sleep mask is essential to be able to sleep in transport or hotel rooms without shutters, it is an inexpensive gift that is always a pleasure. In addition, it is an object that is easily lost, so more reason to buy one that is not too expensive and even if the recipient already has one, it will always be useful!

A soap pouch and toothbrush pack: these are the little accessories you always need to carry your toiletries when traveling.

The Best of Lonely Planet 2022: sold for less than 10 euros (9.90 euros), it’s a pretty travel book with a hard cover that gives plenty of ideas for finding your next destinations. It comes out every year and I love flipping through it for inspiration and dreaming about my next trip.

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