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There is always that one person in your family who is incredibly hard to buy for, however it shouldn’t be the traveler! Gifts for world travelers

In the lead up to Christmas, we have compiled a great list the best gifts for travelers, though these will work just as well if there is a birthday or other special occasion coming up too.

Holiday Gifts For Travelers on Your List

You can hover over these (or any image) to quickly pin it!

Travel Tech

Travelers are always interested in tech which will make their lives easier on the road. Whether you’re thinking big and going for the GoPro Karma Drone, a great camera for travel, or considering something more budget friendly like Go Pro accessories, SD cards, or a portable mobile powerstation, think about practical yet unique gifts which indicate a lot of thought.

For instance, this world map camera strap is perfect for the travel lover. Or if you know they love travel photography, and are avid users of instagram and snapchat, consider a clip-on lenses for their mobile phone. (The olloclip lenses are a perfect gift).

GoPro Karma Drone

Passport Holder

Every traveler is worried about ruining their passport – whether it becomes ripped or torn from being thrown around in the bottom of a bag, or falls victim to humidity and it’s pages become damp (happened to me in Costa Rica!).

A passport holder is a great gift idea, protects your passport, and every traveler needs one!

Price: From $19.99

Cabin Zero Backpack

Cabin Zero is the original British cabin backpack brand, now available in 30+ countries. They have a wide range of cabin sized bags for the light packer, the short adventure, or the weekend trip, and for being cabin size, their designs offer a lot of space.

Choose from a variety of different colors; each bag in their range includes a built in global tracker (powered by Okoban), YKK lockable zippers, thick padded shoulder straps, 44L capacity, are super lightweight, and made with strong durable materials. This is a fantastic bag for anyone traveling with carryon.

Price: From $64 – use the promo code CZMEGAN for a 10% discount!

Inspirational Read

Nothing beats the feel of a good book in your hands, and there are some fantastic travel reads. These provide everything from inspiration for our next trip, an escape while we’re stuck at home, or entertainment for the plane. 

So consider hooking your traveler up with a great travel read. Our friends at Nomadic Notes have put together an epic list of the top 200 travel books – that should be more than enough to keep you occupied during a long haul flight!

Tip: Some people prefer to travel with their Kindle over a physical paperback. Scope out their preference before you buy.

Top travel books

Sleepover at the Zoo

For the traveler who has dreamed of an intimate experience with African animals, check if your local zoo allows sleepovers. Many zoo’s are now setting up glamping sites / lodging which allows guests to sleepover and wake up too lions at their bedside, and tigers besides their bath.

We recently spent overnight at Jamala Wildlife Lodge which is built into Canberra’s National Zoo. Giraffes allow you to feed them from the balcony of your room, you can sit and watch cheetahs from your lounge, or look directly into a 5 metre ocean aquarium which extends across the wall of your room. Read our hotel review.

Scrubba Washbag

There’s nothing travelers hate more than having to hand-wash while abroad. So hook your traveler up with this amazing portable washing machine.

Weighing less than an apple, the Scrubba Wash Bag is a pocket-size device that allows you to wash your clothes and travel clean, light and free. Designed for travelers, trekkers and campers, the secret to its ingenuity is the hundreds of resilient nobules that act like a flexible washboard, a fusion of old and new technology, that allows you to wash your clothes in minutes. Though unlike a traditional washboard, you can easily slip it into your backpack.

The Scrubba Washbag is a must for every traveler – it allows you to do your laundry anywhere water is available. It’s lightweight, compact and self-contained (you no longer need a bucket or basin), and the clothes genuinely are machine clean. Read our full product review.

Hobo Hammock

Hook a traveler up with a Hobo Hammock this Christmas! At the same time, money from your purchase goes towards donating a meal to the homeless.

Hobo Hammocks are a new generation of hammocks which every traveler can use; super compact, lightweight and portable, made from a comfy and durable parachute nylon, making them an excellent travel accessory to have in your bag. Picture hours spent lying in a hammock you’ve strung up between two trees on a picture perfect beach. Or quickly throwing it up if you’ve been kicked out of the airport overnight and need a comfy place to hang.

Hammocks are more comfortable, more enjoyable and far more adventurous than many other forms of accommodation, and surprisingly, purchasing a good quality hammock doesn’t have to break the bank. Read full product review. Use the code “mappingmegan” at checkout to get a hammock for $50 instead of $55.

Interchangeable Sandals

A gift for the female traveler – Slinks. These are ingenious interchangeable sandals by Jane Rafter. From just one base you have a variety of sandal style options, and while in place the “uppers” appear fixed, these can be changed quickly and easily…imagine new shoes every day!

It’s 3, 4 or 5 sets of sandals in one, giving you shoes for every occasion, and fabulous feet wherever you go. And because you’re only traveling with one base, you’ll have so much more room in your bag to move! Read full product review.

National Parks Annual Pass

Is the traveler in question a National Parks addict? Consider buying them an annual pass to National Parks across the US.

This one-year pass offers access to the nation’s national parks and other federally managed recreation areas like Yellowstone, Yosemite and Arches. There is so much to discover within the US, and this is a great gift for the traveler who loves spending time discovering America’s natural wonders.

The Complete National Geographic

A popular Christmas gift for travelers is a one year subscription to the National Geographic, however at a young age I would always flip through the beautiful pictures and promise myself I would read the articles later.  The magazines have been collecting dust on the bookshelf for years.

So this year, instead of a one year subscription to the magazine, how about every issue of National Geographic since 1888 on one convenient hard drive?! Well 1888 – 2009 anyway.

One of the world’s most iconic magazine’s, this Christmas gift is sure to please any traveler.  Over 1,400 issues, 200,000 photos and 8,000 articles, there’s nothing better for staying occupied on long train rides or flights!  In fact, there’s nothing better for staying occupied…period! Read full product review.

Put Their Photos into a Book

If you have access to your travelers photos, secretly copy them to your hard drive, and create a beautiful photo album or book.

Companies like MILK Books have fantastic platforms for producing photo books. The setup is drag and drop which offers the freedom and flexibility to build a custom book any way you see fit, and designing a beautiful book is effortless; most companies have a team of designers that create editorial templates you can use to easily create a publisher-quality book.

MILK Books Photo Book

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Megan is an Australian Journalist who has been travelling and blogging since 2007, with the main aim of inspiring others to embark on their own worldwide adventure. Her husband Mike is an American travel photographer, and together they have made the world their home.

Committed to bringing you the best in adventure travel from all around the globe, there is no mountain too high, and no fete too extreme! They haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on their list.

Follow their journey on Facebook, TwitterYouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

Photo credits: US passport by jpmatth. Passport holder by countrykitty.

    39 Comments

  1. I think we’ve all been there before! I had to sit on my suitcase to be able to zip it up properly on a recent trip through Iceland! So versatile clothing really does come in handy for keeping your weight limit low!

  2. “National park – My dream!!” I would be very thankful to the store or individual if they give me any coupons for national park pass… Wild life is my dream, hehe. Awesome post!

    • I’ll put good vibes out there for you that someone gives you a National Parks pass this year! It’s such a great gift – very practical and thoughtful for someone who loves the outdoors :)

  3. Love this list of gift ideas for the traveler in your life…so many of them would come in quite handy! And what a fun giveaway!

    • Glad we could help you out :) Good luck with the giveaway!

  4. Happy readers all over your blog with the giveaway opportunities you have on offer at the moment. Keep up the god work.

    • Thanks Oscar! Trying to pass on as much Christmas cheer as possible this year :) Good luck!

  5. I would LOVE to get a sleepover at the zoo as a gift! What an awesome idea! I would also add versatile travel clothes! Right before we went backpacking in SE Asia I bought a versatile black dress from American Apparel and wore it almost every other day. It was awesome because no one could tell it was the same dress since I could wear it so many different ways! Thanks for sharing this great list!

    • The zoo sleepover is such a brilliant gift because it’s so unique! And experiences are always more exciting than things :D … great tip on the versatile travel clothing – always a brilliant gift!

  6. These recommendations are awesome and so perfect for the traveller! Forget gifts for others…for me! Love the sandals!!

    • Totally nothing wrong with a “buy myself for Christmas” list lol I have one every year too :D

  7. I’m currently backpacking SEAsia and could use so much of this! Definitely sending the list to my family for Xmas! :)
    Thanks!

    • Happy to help! Hopefully we can set you up with a Tinggly gift voucher or some attraction tix! Good luck!

  8. Great post! A sleepover at the Australia Zoo would be an amazing gift for any animal lover!

    • Thanks Mary! Our sleepover at the National Zoo and Aquarium was one of our favorite experiences from Australia. Do make the distinction though that this is the National Zoo which is in Canberra, and there’s one called Australia Zoo which is in QLD. Not sure if Australia Zoo offer the sleepover option too.

  9. Yay! I love these gifts! Awesome post :)

    • Thanks Jess! Wishing you a wonderful Christmas break :)

  10. Love the idea of giving an experience rather than physical things for a gift. We’ve started to take short breaks or try out a new adventure for birthdays and anniversaries in recent years.

    • Absolutely – experiences are far more memorable, where-as I’ve realized with physical things, they usually end up in a box somewhere in the ceiling after use!

      Great idea to start taking out short breaks or to try a new adventure for special occasions – we’ve started to prioritize that too :)

  11. I’m British and didn’t know about cabin zero- I’ve let myself down! I love lists like these as it always helps when people ask me what I want for Christmas. Also my goodreads account loves this article too as I’ve decided to read so many more books!

    • Glad you enjoyed the post Maddy! You should definitely check out Cabin Zero, especially if you’re based in Britain :) And glad we could fill out your goodreads account for a while :D

      Happy holidays!

  12. I absolutely LOVE my Scrubba! It travels the world with me!

    • Isn’t it the best!! Has totally saved us on a number of trips :)

  13. That scrubba washbag would be great to take out camping and on longer trips!

    • It’s the best! We live by ours, especially for camping and longer trips :)

  14. Meg, such an awesome giveaway! I really need to check out Tinggly. So much cool stuff on there!

    • Best of luck in the giveaway!

  15. We have to check out that drone! Tinggly is on our list to try also!

    • It’s on my wish list … hopefully father Christmas brings it this year lol :D

  16. The season of giving is here. I look forward to lots of gifts coming my way and I would give the gift of love to all.

    • Happy holidays Sandy & Vyjay :)

  17. I keep thinking I would love a drone.
    And then I remember:
    How many cameras I have broken.
    How often I drop things.
    How clumsy I am.
    And then I think maybe not. haha

    • Haha well at least once it’s in the air you can’t drop it :D Would need to sort out some form of coordination handling the controls though lol

  18. Some awesome suggestions! And god almighty do I want that hammock…

    • The hammock is the best thing I own!! Highly recommend adding it to your Christmas wish list :)

  19. Gopro karma is on my list too – yoohooo if anyone is feeling festive or if any of my friends are reading this. hehe

    • Well if you get given two this year and happen to have a spare, let us know :D

  20. nice article

    • Glad you enjoyed it :) Happy travels

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