Don’t know what to get your friend who’s always travelling? Or have a relative heading off on their honeymoon, and want to get something to make their flight a little more comfortable? Constantly reading blogs for travel inspiration? This post is for you! I have curated the ultimate guide for travel related gifts – updated frequently!

1. Grayl Water Filter  

I recently took this Grayl bottle with me to French Polynesia and it was such a lifesaver – not only is it usually unsafe to drink the tap water there but it’s also at least $5-7 for a small bottle of water, a convenience that I was reluctant to pay for. Having this water filter allowed us to drink the water from the tap without paying extortionate fees for bottled water. All you need to do is fill up the bottom canister and push the filter attachment down, and boom, fresh clean water in a few seconds! You can buy replacement filters too if you have given your current one a bit of a workout!

2. Solar Powered Power Bank

 I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve run out of battery on my phone when I have needed to make an important phone call or use Google maps. This power bank gives your electronics that extra juice when they need it most. Bonus is it is solar powered, so it’s ideal to take camping or to an off the grid vacation, when electricity is not guaranteed.

3. Packing Cubes

I have to admit, when I first heard everyone talking about packing cubes, I didn’t see the appeal and thought it would just add bulk to my already full suitcase. Oh, how I was wrong! I am a full packing cube convert now and would never travel without them. I use them to organise my clothes – say one cube for shirts, one for shorts, etc., or even for outfits – this cube for Wednesday morning and dinner out, this cube for hiking on Thursday etc. As I’m nearing the end of the trip, I use the cubes to sort my dirty clothes and laundry. I have also found them incredibly useful if you are travelling around to a few places and essentially living out of your suitcase. Trust me, packing cubes will make your life easier in these situations.

 

4. El Camino Bracelet 

These are a really neat way to showcase your travels. After you buy the wrap bracelet, you can add charms to it after each destination you visit, they also have ocean and animal charms and places that you are intending to visit!

5. Subscription to Scotts Cheap Flights 

I’m not going to lie, but because of Scotts Cheap Flights I have scored $160 flights to Belize and $390 flights to London in the past year. What people in the travel industry don’t tell you, is that occasionally there are “mistake fares” and other fare drops in flight tickets; and unless you are scouring the internet for these deals 24/7 you will not find them – but that was before Scotts Cheap Flights. They will email you when there is a “mistake fare” for an itinerary, an insane flight deal or cheap ticket for certain routes. All you need to do is put in your home airport(s) and wait for those emails to come in. There is a free version or a paid version, the latter of which will send you more frequent emails with deals. If you are flexible with dates and where you go, you need Scotts Cheap Flights.

6. Beachly Box Subscription  

This is a quarterly subscription box that sends tropical themed clothing, accessories and homeware relevant to each season. Think cute sweatshirts with palm prints, coconut cuddles and fuzzy socks in winter and cute sunglasses, sunscreen and beach towels in the summer. If you order the annual subscription, it’s like four gifts in one as the recipient will receive a seasonal box every three months. Members also get access to the members market with discounted tropical and island themed wares from their portal.

7. Digital Luggage Scale 

 I honestly don’t know what I’d do without one of these portable luggage scales. I don’t know about you but during a trip I tend to accumulate things, be it souvenirs, knickknacks, gifts for the family or obnoxious novelty hats, my suitcase is always heavier coming home. Having a scale can help you avoid those excess baggage fees (if your suitcase is overweight, put the heavy stuff in your hand luggage and consider wearing some of those heavy items (I always end up wearing my tallest boots, at least 3 hats and a winter coat so there’s no missing me at the airport!). It’s also useful for those smaller domestic airlines that may have a strict baggage allowance that you literally can’t go over (and not even pay extra for excess – I’m talking about you La Costena airways 😜)

8. Custom Luggage Tag

This company makes awesome luggage tags that you can customise with all the places you’ve visited; and each time you visit a new destination, you can just send it back for $5 and they will add on the additional places.

9. Wooden Map Of The World Wall Decor

This is another wonderful way to showcase your travels. You can add pins to all the destinations you have been, and ones that you wish to visit one day. It comes in a variety of sizes and wood stains.

10. Traveller Collective Rings

With a small ring to commemorate every destination you visit, and the choice to either mount them on a keyring /keychain or a necklace, it makes for a fantastic gift for the avid adventurer.

11. Portable Espresso Maker

This is the ultimate camping accessory for coffee lovers, it can easily and simply make espresso in just a few minutes, you just add ground coffee and boiling water, and use the button to pump a few times and you’ll have fresh coffee in no time!

 

12. The Adventure Book

This is more than your standard travel journal – this has a page for every country and territory in the world for you to customise and decorate with pictures, souvenirs, drawings, journal entries for each destination that you visit. There are two different books that cover all seven continents and there is now a separate European one as well.

13. Waterproof Phone Case

Perfect for all of those aquatic activities , and can even allow you to take pictures and videos underwater.

14. Apple Air Tags / Tile for Android Users

I’m sure you are aware of the hot mess that was travelling with checked suitcases this past summer and the risk of losing your luggage – well these are one way to give you peace of mind, just throw them in your suitcase and you can track it, and if it’s lost, you’ll have a better chance at retrieving it.

15. Bluetooth Speaker

This little mini sound box has been everywhere with me – it has a great battery life and easily connects to your phone or device via Bluetooth. It also has a micro SD slot that you can also load with music so you don’t have to fumble around with syncing to your phone.

16. Neck Wrap Travel Pillow

I have tried countless neck pillows in my life and none of them really did anything for me, until I bought this one from trtl. I was cautious at first, (and also ended up putting it on the wrong way round so it looked like I was headed to the hospital with a neck brace. ..) but once you figure it out, it’s actually very comfortable, and more than anything it can prop your head up so you don’t strain your neck when you fall asleep on the plane.

17. Compression Socks 

Absolutely necessary for long haul flights (I also wear them on short haul too!) to help keep the blood flow in your legs and to help reduce the risk of blood clots. I also tend to retain water when I fly and these socks seem to help with that too.

18. Foot Hammock for Flights

Now my legs are a little too long to get the full use out of this, but my friend (who is a little shorter than me) recently brought one on our flight and said it’s a complete game changer – allows you to essentially put your feet up a bit during the flight!

19. Away Luggage 

This is my ride or die suitcase brand that I take ON EVERY TRIP. Up until last year, I was going through suitcases like it was my last year in Earth, and quite frankly I was fed up with the feeble lifespan of most suitcases on the market. When I heard that Away suitcases have a lifetime guarantee, I was sold! I have since taken my Away suitcases on at least 10 trips now and they have been fantastic; and while they do get scuffed up, a magic eraser will take them right off (they now come with one when you order a suitcase). They are always coming up with new colours and prints so don’t worry too much about everyone having the same suitcase!

20. Travel Related Books

In addition to the standard travel guides you can find online, I do love a book that sparks the wanderlust in me. Not only do these make great coffee table books but they are wonderful references when planning a trip.

21. Travel Related Movies

There’s nothing like a movie with stunning visuals to influence you to visit a destination – a few of my favourites are Eat, Pray, Love (Bali, Italy), The Beach (Thailand), Under The Tuscan Sun (Italy), Couples Retreat (Bora Bora), Wild (Pacific Northwest), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Iceland), Midnight In Paris (France), Into The Wild (Alaska), Out of Africa (Kenya), Motorcycle Diaries (South America).

 

22. Water bottle 

These keep water cold for 24 hours and even though you cannot bring it filled through security at the airport, most airports now have free water fountains for you to fill it up at before you get on a plane. Keeps water cool for so long it’s great for hiking and other outdoor activities.

23. Universal Travel Adapter

This is all your all-in-one adapter for anywhere in the world, you won’t have to keep buying a separate one whenever you travel to a new country or rely on the possibility that a hotel will have some to spare. It also has USB adapters on it so you can charge multiple devices at once.

24. Jewellery Organiser

I have lost track of how many times my necklaces have all gotten tangled together during a trip – like headphones, I swear it’s magic how entwined they get! This neat little organiser keeps all your jewellery from getting tangled, and makes it easy to pick out items for your outfit.

 

25. Travel Steamer

Although quite bulky, this steamer has saved me so much time and effort during vacations. Not only did I used to iron items of clothing before packing them, but I’d also have to iron them again when I got them out of my luggage at the other end. I now pack this travel steamer on nearly every trip, you fill the tank with water, it heats up in thirty seconds and then you’re ready to steam garments at lightning speed. What used to take me 10 minutes to iron maybe takes two with the steamer, and it also removes the worry of a hotel not having an iron (or ironing board!) at their disposal!

 

26. Compression Bags 

These are fantastic for travelling, especially if you are only using carry on or having to pack a lot of winter wear that’s bulky. All you do with these is fill them with your clothing items, seal the bag and then roll them to remove the air – and voila! Compacted clothing! You can also get ones that you use a vacuum cleaner to remove the air, which are a lot more efficient and make clothing even more compact, but it’s not often you’ll have access to a vacuum cleaner on vacation! But they are useful if you’re making a big move abroad or simply just storing seasonal clothes in your wardrobe.

27. Aloha Collection Bags

I use these bags for EVERYTHING – electronics and chargers, wet swimsuits, toiletry bag, underwear, laundry to be washed, they are so versatile!  They are incredibly lightweight, splash proof and come in a huge variety of prints and sizes. They are also really easy to wash out if they get dirty.

28. Inflight Wireless Audio Adapter

This gadget is genius – it allows you to use your own airports/wireless earphones to watch in flight movies – you just plug it in to the headphone jack on the screen and sync your earphones and voila! 

29. Colombia Hiking Boots

These are my favourite pair of hiking boots – ever. Now, I know I shouldn’t have done this, but the very first time I wore them, it was for a five hour hike up a volcano (which looking back, could have been an absolute disaster if I’d have had problems with the boots) and they were so incredibly comfortable I forgot I was even wearing them! I had no sores and no blisters, which considering I hadn’t worn them in, is a miracle really – and I don’t recommend you follow in my footsteps on this one (literally?!) – but in all seriousness, great hiking boots – highly recommend.

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