Finding the right gifts for travelers in your life can be challenging. Vagabonds tend to be a minimalist bunch that prefer to spend their money on flights and good food – not stuff. However, some things are necessary and here are 17 of the best travel gifts for you to give to your travel-obsessed friend, partner, or family member (or of course, yourself). 

Best Gifts for Travelers

BASICS Slim Wallet

This handy wallet gives easy access to up to 15 cards. There’s a spot for four of your most used cards and fits comfortably into the front pocket of pants. Additionally, the slim wallet has a built in pocket for cash and coins, making it a convenient wallet for the traveler in your life. This gift could pay dividends – as it is one of the gifts for travelers that will help protect him or her from getting pick-pocketed.

ExOfficio Boxer Briefs

ExOfficio is my preferred underwear for traveling. However, this isn’t any typical boxer. It’s quick-dry, ultralight, and breathable – a great combination for male travelers. The quick-dry allows me to travel light by bringing only two pairs and simply washing them in sink at the end of each day. On top of that, it’s extremely comfortable and odor-resistant. ExOfficio also has a variety of other clothes that make for great gifts for travelers.

Grid-It Organizer

Cords and electronics get easily tangled and hard to control in a backpack. Too much time is spent untangling power cords and looking for headphones. Traveling with a flexible and functional organizer like Grid-It is one of the gifts for travelers that saves time and gives peace of mind without taking up much space in a backpack. 

Travel Inspired Coffee Table Books

Gifts for travelers are also great when it can inspire your traveler and their friends when not on the road. The photos in this book will blow you away and it’s fun to fuel your wanderlust on a daily basis. It also serves as a beautiful decoration on any traveler’s coffee table or bookshelf. My favorites coffee table book gifts for travelers include The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World, Banksy. You are an Acceptable Level of Threat and If You Were Not You Would Know About It, Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment, and Destinations of a Lifetime: 225 of the World’s Most Amazing Places.

Scratch Map

The Scratch It! Map of the World is a great addition to any travel-lovers room. They can scratch off the countries they visit for a colorful map underneath, making it easy to keep up with (and show off) how many countries they’ve been to and where they want to visit next.

Anker PowerCore+ Portable Charger

A portable charger has become a necessity for travelers. This lipstick-sized charger allows you to easily charge your phone, camera, kindle, or other electronics. This charger can save the day when a traveler has to use his/her phone for directions and Instagram all day. Instead of scrambling around to find wall outlets, this gift for travelers helps them charge on the go and avoid having a dead cell phone.

Nekteck’s Rugged Solar Charger

This lightweight, waterproof, and durable solar charger is a perfect gift for a traveler who won’t have access to power during their trip or simply wants an extra boost from the sun while walking around town. It can charge two devices at the same time and is lightweight and extremely thin. This solar charger even comes with a little carbiner to easily latch onto your backpack, tent, or tree.

Anywhere Travel Guide

Anywhere Travel Guide features a small box with 75 cards designed to inspire exploration and discovering the unexpected no matter where you are. It gives prompts like, “Ask the next person you meet where his/her favorite street is. Go there.” The Anywhere Travel Guide is the gift for travelers that helps push people to investigate new or familiar places. This is a great gift for someone who is going on a trip or coming home from one.

Snappy Towels Travel Towel

Snappy Towels’ microfiber towel is super absorbent and dries very quickly. It’s thin and compact size make it easy to fit in luggage or travel bags. This travel towel is perfect for the beach, camping, or when staying at hostels – a practical, multi-use gift. It even has a convenient hanging loop.

GripTight GorillaPod Stand for Phones

This is a flexible tripod that can be wrapped around objects to stabilize a phone to take photos with a timer or remote. It’s great for someone traveling alone or with a group so they can take better photos when in the middle of a beautiful city or surrounded by a stunning nature site.

Nomader Collapsible Water Bottle

It is essential to stay hydrated while traveling, but doing so can be a pain. Constantly buying expensive water bottles in airports after security confiscates your liquids, or remembering to buy a bottle of water as you are exploring the town, can get annoying. These collapsible water bottles by Nomader allow you to always have you own bottle in hand while taking up nearly zero space when you are finished. This one is durable, leak proof, and stylish – making it my favorite water bottle for travel.

Otterbox Phone Case – Defender Series 

A broken phone is always bad, but it is especially when you are traveling. It is difficult to replace quickly, harder to take pictures, and puts an expensive and frustrating damper on your day. The Otterbox is the most rugged, yet not too bulky, phone case I have found. It’s so good that my wife and I both use it despite how confusing it is to know whose phone is whose.

GoToob 3-Pack Travel Bottle

These 3 oz travel bottles are easy to fill with shampoo, lotion, soap, laundry detergent, or whatever other liquid a traveler needs to bring on a trip. They’re approved for carry-on. Additionally, the bottles are different colors and allows you to write the contents of the bottle in the ID window in case you forget what is in each bottle.

EarPeace High Fidelity Hearing Protection

I have not found ear plugs I liked until I found EarPeace. Their ear plugs are high performing and come in handy when traveling, especially on planes or when staying in a noisy hostel or hotel room. It comes with three pairs and a case to store them in. Help the traveler in your life get away from all the noise. These earplugs make it easy to have a relaxing and quiet plane ride or nap, making it such a helpful gift for travelers.

Nidra Sleep Mask

This comfortable sleep mask will help a traveler catch some Z’s on a long car or plane ride or while camping. The sun won’t be keeping them away. Nidra Sleep Mask is a great lightweight gift that will come as a luxury in a time of need.

Lewis N. Clark On Air Adjustable and Inflatable Neck Pillow

It’s always nice to have a pillow while traveling but finding one that doesn’t take up a lot of space is a common issue. This neck pillow is made for travelers with its portable size. It inflates with just a couple breaths and can deflate instantly, making it such a useful gift for travelers.

eBags Packing Cubes

This three pack comes with a small, medium, and large eBag to help travelers organize their luggage. It’s a perfect give for travelers who are compulsively neat or maybe one that could work on their organizational skills. There’s even a variety of colors and designs to choose from to suite anyone’s taste.

Big thanks to Kaylene Chadwell of Cheers to Traveling for her help with this best gifts for travelers post!

I hope you enjoyed this year’s best gifts for travelers! For more travel ideas, sign up for a free weekly digest of my best ideas:

The 17 Best Gifts for Travelers as Determined by Travelers