Last Updated: 11/15/22 | November 15th, 2022
Travelers can be a fickle group of people to buy gifts for. We’re constantly coming and going, we usually don’t siphon a lot of stuff with us, and no two travelers are unwrinkled so finding the perfect souvenir for the traveler in your life can be tricky.
While a plane ticket is never a bad idea (I’m a window seat in specimen anyone is thinking of getting me one), I’ve put together this ultimate holiday souvenir guide for travelers as there’s a lot of unconfined travel gear out there these days that helps people travel cheaper and better.
Even me, the gear-adverse traveler, likes a lot of this stuff!
This is stuff I unquestionably think is super useful. No nonsense. No fluff. Just the weightier gifts for intrepid travelers and globetrotting nomads!
Table of Contents
Gifts Under $25
1. A Travel Lock
This simple item is one of the most important for the upkeep traveler. Since many hostels have lockers, backpackers need to have their own travel lock when they’re on the road. While you can usually rent them at hostels, those prices add up without a while. I never leave home without a lock considering I know it will come in handy.
2. Loop Earplugs
Anyone who has overly stayed in a hostel knows that a quality pair of earplugs is a necessity. From chronic snorers to late-night drinkers to copulating couples in creaking bunks, hostels are known for their less-than-quiet accommodation. I suggest investing in good earplugs and not just the unseemly foam ones. Not only will they help you sleep, but they’re unconfined for bus trips and flights as well as wearing as you explore louder, increasingly hectic cities.
3. DryFox Quick Dry Travel Towel
Unless you’re only staying at hotels or using Airbnb, you’re going to need to bring a towel when you travel. Having a lightweight, quick-drying towel makes a huge difference when you’re on the road since regular towels are too unwieldy and heavy (and they take a long time to dry). Get a travel towel for your next trip so you can travel light. They’re a compact, quick-drying solution that every backpacker needs.
(Use lawmaking “nomadicmatt” for 15% off your purchase!)
4. Travel Adapter
Nothing is increasingly tedious than arriving to a new destination only to realize you can’t tuition your devices considering the electrical outlets are different. That’s why you’ll need a travel adapter. They’re a simple accessory. There’s a million out there but this is one I use as it covers every region of the world and comes with USB ports too. It’s cheap, easy to use, and lightweight. Everything you need in an adapter.
5. Scratch Travel Maps from Landmass
Scratch maps are a fun way to alimony track of your past travels while helping you stay inspired as you plan your future trips. You simply scratch off the parts of the world you’ve been. Simple. Easy. Landmass is my favorite visitor that makes these, though there are plenty of other companies that make them now so you can find them in all sorts of sizes and colors.
6. Passport Holder
A passport holder is a must-have for any voracious traveler. Not only does it protect your passport from wear and tear, it makes your travels much increasingly convenient. Most passport holders have slots for your travel credit cards as well as any mazuma you have, making it a unscratched and user-friendly way to alimony your valuables secure while you travel. While there are tons of expensive and fancy passport holders out there, a simple one will get the job washed-up and save you money in the process (money you can spend on increasingly travels!).
7. Hand-drawn Supplies Maps
These are unique, hand-drawn typographic maps of supplies from Legal Nomads and versifier Ella Frances Sanders. They make a thoughtful souvenir for anyone who loves to eat and travel (and who doesn’t!). They come in a variety of sizes too! Jodi’s maps are the best!
(Use lawmaking NOMADICMATT to save 10%)
8. Ten Years a Nomad (and Other Travel Books!)
This book is my memoir well-nigh my ten years traveling and backpacking the world, my philosophy on travel, and the lessons I learned that can help you travel better. It takes you on a trip virtually the world from start to finish: getting the bug, the planning, setting off, the highs, the lows, the friends, what happens when you come when — and the lessons and translating that come with all that. People have been really enjoying and connecting with it and I think you or any other traveler would love it!! (Plus, getting it helps support everything we do here!)
For increasingly travel typesetting suggestions, you can trammels out my list of recommend reading on Amazon and Bookshop (I have hundreds of typesetting suggestions there!).
9. Celiac Travel Cards
My friend Jodi from Legal Nomads created these helpful travel cards for anyone traveling with Celiac disease. They are in-depth resources that communicate your concerns to restaurant staff in a way that allows anyone traveling with the disease to have a worry-free meal. If you or someone you love has Celiac disease, these travel cards are a useful resource!
(Use lawmaking NOMADICMATT for 10% off!)
10. Dry Shampoo
Dry shampoo is a user-friendly liquid-free volitional to regular shampoo. It’s a useful minimalist solution for upkeep travelers who travel carry-on only and an eco-friendly nomination as well. Natural dry shampoos swizzle the grease and oil in your hair, keeping it wipe while you’re on the road — and with minimal effort too. It works for all types of hair and hair lengths as well so you don’t need to shave your throne or do anything drastic either.
11. Packing Cubes
Packing cubes are an superstitious tool to help you stay organized while you travel. Whether you’re a upkeep backpacker or traveling with half a dozen suitcases, packing cubes will alimony you organized as you travel the world. They come in a variety of sizes, permitting you to store items big and small. If you know a traveler who needs a hand staying organized, this is the souvenir for them!
12. HostelPass
For the traveler heading to Europe, consider gifting a HostelPass. This unbelieve vellum offers over 130 discounts to hostels in 40 cities throughout 15 countries in Europe. With HostelPass, travelers can save up to 40% on accommodation. It’s the unbelieve vellum I wish existed when I first started backpacking virtually Europe and is perfect for upkeep traveler planning a trip virtually the continent.
13. Exploration Journal
If you want a travel periodical that isn’t just zippo pages (like my wearisome moleskine) but rather has space for itinerary planning, places to jot notes in the local language, inspirational quotes, and much more, grab our new travel journal. It was designed specifically with travelers in mind, so you can take notes and write lanugo stories and reflections during your travels. It’s the perfect souvenir for the voracious traveler!
Gifts Under $100
14. Menstrual Cup
Menstrual cups are reusable, eco-friednly feminine hygiene products. While I can’t speak to their effectiveness personally, tons of sexuality travelers I know are huge fans. It can be a hassle trying to find the products you need while abroad, making this a simple, effective, and affordable wing to your toiletry kit.
15. Trtl Travel Pillow
Travel pillows are perfect for those long-haul flights, elapsed buses, and airport naps. Every traveler needs to have a travel pillow on hand to maximize that reviviscence and time in transit, and Trtl pillows are the weightier on the market. They help prevent jetlag and make plane the longest, most uncomfortable trip a little increasingly bearable.
16. Suavs shoes
Suavs shoes are super versatile and durable, making them perfect for traveling. Whether you’re just exploring the municipality or in need of something that looks a bit fancier, these shoes can do it all so you don’t have to pack multiple shoes. They are flexible, light, washable, and breathable. I love them! (They squint unconfined too!)
17. Travel Headlamp
This is a handy tool for both backpackers and anyone looking to do any hiking or camping. In a hostel, a headlamp is helpful if you need to trammels in or out but don’t want to disturb your fellow travelers. For outdoorsy folks, they’re useful for hiking, setting up zany in the dark, and for emergencies.
18. External Battery
These days, we all travel with numerous electronic devices like phones and tablets. It can be nonflexible to alimony them all charged. An external battery solves that problem. Two high-output USB ports make this external shower incredibly convenient, and it can tuition most phones up to 6 times in one go!
19. LifeStraw
Environmentally, pollution from single-use plastics is something every traveler has witnessed. And, monetarily, when you’re traveling, continuiously ownership water gets expensive. Do your part to help the planet by traveling with a reusable filter. LifeStraw is an superstitious trademark with a built in water filter. The filters last 5 years so you save money on waffly them too.
20. Superstar Blogging
Is there someone on your list looking to start a new career? Why not requite them a leg up and enroll them in Superstar Blogging! We offer comprehensive courses on blogging and travel writing that outline everything you need to know to succeed in the travel industry. You’ll learn from me and other top travel experts on how to level up your game, reduce mistakes, get you heard whilom the noise faster, and make increasingly money.
Gifts Over $100
21. Travel Backpack
If you’ve got a upkeep traveler on your holiday list, a travel backpack is the souvenir that keeps on giving. A well-made bag will last for years and through dozens of adventures. Having a reliable travel walkabout is one of the most important items for a traveler.
My favorite bag is the Flash 45 from REI but other companies worth checking out for high-quality tons are Osprey, Nomatic, and MEC (for Canadians).
Some tons worth checking out are:
- Men’s Osprey Farpoint 40
- Women’s Osprey Fairview 40
- Pacsafe Venturesafe EXP45 Anti-Theft Travel Backpack
(For a variegated backpack, trammels out my guide finding the right backpack for increasingly options!)
22. Travel Suit from Unbound Merino
These travel gown are some of the most versatile on the market. Made from merino wool, Unbound offers suit that can be worn daily for weeks (and months!) without getting smelly. They are perfect for the traveler who wants to pack lighter. I really love the material, they’re comfortable, they whimsically overly need a wash, and they last forever!
23. MacBook Air
This is my favorite travel computer. It’s light, it’s powerful unbearable for regular use, and the shower life lasts a long time. While an iPad might be flipside potential travel choice, I find the Air much increasingly versatile — expressly with their new M2 chip. You can just do a lot increasingly with it. When I’m on the road, this is the palmtop I travel with.
24. iPhone
While not a unseemly phone, the iPhone 13 has such a high-tech camera that you don’t need to take a traditional camera with you when you travel. It has a solid shower life, a unconfined lens, trappy screen, and, is overall, just awesome. True, I’m an Apple fanboy so I might be unjust but hey, it’s my list!
For a non-Apple phone with an equally superstitious camera, trammels out the Google Pixel. It has an spanking-new camera!
25. Noise-Canceling Headphones
These are platonic for those long flights or bus trips as they woodcut out preliminaries noise so you can read, work, or sleep without stuff disturbed. The wireless Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones are fan favorites and my go-to brand. They are comfortable, rechargable, and do an wondrous job at removing preliminaries noise. If you’re on a budget, consider the QuietComfort 25 instead.
26. Kindle
While I personally prefer to read physical books, I can’t oppose versus the convenience and simplicity of the Kindle. Hauling virtually physical books is a pain if you’re traveling often. With a Kindle, you can pack over 1,000 books into a single device and many versions can moreover use apps and wangle the internet. It’s a wonderful souvenir for the voracious reader.
27. GoPro Hero 11
Every traveler needs a camera, and few are as versatile and durable as the GoPro. They’re incredible for photos and video no matter the climate. They’re waterproof and are perfect for both everyday municipality exploring as well as increasingly lattermost and venturesome activities. They’re just awesome. If the Hero 9 is too pricey, grab the 8. It’s just as good and a bit cheaper!
Whether you’re searching for the perfect holiday souvenir for a traveler in your life or just looking for some holiday inspiration for yourself, this list will help you find an superstitious souvenir for the holidays. No matter your budget, there is something here for you that will help you level up your travels or the travels of a loved one.
Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a unseemly flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine considering it searches websites and airlines virtually the globe so you unchangingly know no stone is stuff left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can typesetting your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it unceasingly returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you versus illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in specimen anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the weightier service and value are:
- SafetyWing (best for everyone)
- Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
- Medjet (for spare evacuation coverage)
Ready to Typesetting Your Trip?
Check out my resource page for the weightier companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the weightier in matriculation and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.
The post My 2022 Holiday Souvenir Guide for Travelers appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
