Great Travel Gift Ideas You’ll Actually Use for Short or Long-Term Travel

Are you searching for travel gift ideas for the traveler in your life or for your own love of travel? Whether it’s online or on the ground shopping, there’s a lot of cool stuff out there. From gadgets to experiences, to clothes and gear, you can feel like a kid in a candy store. But let’s be honest – are you really going to use a scratch map of where you’ve traveled to?

In our years of traveling and living abroad, we’ve learned that it can be quick to weigh yourself down with more ‘stuff’, and a big aspect of traveling is about having experiences and learning to live light. So we’re excited to share with you our travel gift list that focuses on ideas that can compliment, and even enhance, short or long-term travels.

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Elements of a Travel Gift

Most of the travel gifts on this list are easily ordered online, small and compact, or experiences, like tours. Because the other things (like scratch maps and such) are all fine and dandy, but not quite the match for those of us who want to “lighten the load” and focus on a traveling lifestyle, or simply more enjoyable trips and easier traveling. We need travel gifts that lend mobility and further valuable experiences to our trips.

As a plus, we can speak from experience about most of the travel gifts on this list. Many of them are things that we own and use on our travels, or that we have purchased as a travel gift for a fellow traveler. Now, let’s go travel gift shopping.

#1 – The GPSmyCity Self-Guided Walking Tour App

Talk about a lightweight gift. All you need is your smart phone. What’s great about the GPSmyCity App, is that it includes offline map capabilities, is self-guided, and based on content-rich travel articles and city walk guides by local guides and travel bloggers all around the world. We happen to be among those travel bloggers, and you can access several of our articles turned into self-guided walking tours.

You can go at your own pace and, best of all, there’s a free version. But trust us, once you start using it, you’ll want to upgrade and it’s super affordable. There’s three different upgrade options, available for full access on an individual article basis, or two different levels of annual subscription.

#2 – Personalized Online Language Lessons

What can be better while traveling than learning the local language. Gymglish takes it to the next level with online lessons that are personalized for your level and style. It’s also super creative, utilizing storytelling with illustrations, audio, and videos.

In addition to getting a free test, you can get 1 month FREE when clicking the button below.

#3 – Amazing Tours and Activities Worldwide

When you get to your destination you don’t want to miss out on the activities and tours available. That’s where Viator comes in. It’s a TripAdvisor company so it’s no surprise that it’s also the world’s largest platform for booking experiences. 

Using Viator is free and you get tons of benefits. 

• Lowest price guarantee
• Millions of reviews from satisfied customers
• 24/7 customer support
• Free cancellation and various payment options
• The “reserve now and pay later” feature allows you to secure activities you won’t want to miss

#4 – Projector

This is a travel gift that is great for someone moving abroad or venturing out to travel indefinitely. We bought the then current version of this model at the time we moved from Denver to Spain, in summer of 2015. The projector has been one of the best items we’ve ever bought. It’s amazing quality and is still going strong.

In all the places we’ve lived, we’ve never needed a television because we had this projector. Although today we’re more settled in Denia and have a television with our apartment, we still use it for movie nights with friends. It can also be great for any business presentations if you’re working while traveling or on the road a lot for work.

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#5 – Deluxe Vitamin Shaker Cup

What a great way to stay healthy on the road. If you use a powdered supplement, you’ll want this shaker cup that is perfect for traveling. It has an internal separate compartment for storing your supplement mix, for easy carrying. Then you can add whatever liquid you like to make your vitamin drink at any time.

The only thing not included is a vitamin supplement mix. So, we’re getting to that next.

#6 – Daily BioBasics Health Supplement by LifePlus

Now that you have that handy vitamin shaker cup, you need some great supplements. For years, we had been taking various different supplements, and that can add up to a lot of tablets to carry and travel around with. So we were thrilled when we discovered the powder nutritional drink of Daily BioBasics. It’s so much more convenient to travel with and has helped us maintain great health while on the road.

While there is also the capsule version, either provide a great natural supplement of not only essential vitamins, but also important minerals, herbal extracts and fiber. It’s natural and includes only the best high-quality ingredients.

#7 – Travel Slippers

Tired of using your flip-flops as slippers when on the road? After all the ground you cover on your trip, treat your feel well with these compactible slippers. Perfect for resting in your accommodations and small enough that they take up very little room in your suitcase.

You can find them online or in person at Natura, which is a great Spain-based store that focuses on sustainability and supporting programs for communities in need.

#8 – Ghosts of Spain E-Book

This is one of our all-time favorite books about Spain. It addresses the still historically recent Spanish Civil War and the author’s own journey in better understanding the Spanish people as a foreigner living in Spain. Well-written with humor and great journalistic research, highlighting the endearing traits of the Spanish people and baffling at their oddities.

By addressing the Spanish Civil War, the book reveals deep insight into why Spain is the country that it is today, and where it could possibly be going. For anyone interested in Spain, it’s a great read and a must for any travel books list.

#9 – A Kindle

Speaking of books, the Kindle is still a classic travel gift for the traveler who loves to read. While a lot of different makes of the tablet have come out, Kindle is still one of the top sellers.

Light and portable, they even make them waterproof now! It makes for a great gift that won’t weigh a traveler down and can handle some rough roads wherever you find yourself reading.

#10 – Amazon Prime and Amazon Gift Cards

Not sure what to get for the traveler in your life? Getting an Amazon Prime gift or Amazon gift card is a great way to let them choose from a great selection of products.

And it’s great for last minute travel gift ideas. It doesn’t have to be shipped and can be emailed with activation instructions for that lucky recipient.

#11 – Audiobooks by Audible

Are you a fan of audiobooks? Chances are, even if you aren’t, you know someone who is. We recently did a poll on our Facebook Page asking if people preferred an e-book, physical book, or audiobook when traveling. And the majority of people indicated they prefer audiobooks. They’re really all the rage now!

Audible is a great service of Amazon that gives you access to tons of great audiobooks on a monthly basis. It includes your first 30 days for free as a trial period for the Plus or Premium Plus membership. 

#12 – Cover Yourself for Any Flight Disruption with AirHelp Plus

The AirHelp Plus membership is ideal for that frequent flyer in your life, or maybe that’s you. It’s amazing how many travelers are not aware of their rights for compensation when their flight is disrupted. A flight delay or other type of disruption can wreck an entire trip and cost a lot. Think of how much you can save by understanding your rights and having the help needed to claim compensation. 

Since 2013, AirHelp has helped more than 10 million passengers understand their rights and receive up to €600 in compensation for delayed or canceled flights. All you need to do is to submit your flight details. If you are eligible, AirHelp will handle the claim process on your behalf for a 35% fee (50% if legal procedures are necessary).

With Airhelp Plus you get full access to Airhelp’s expertise, should a flight disruption occur. There are two types of AirHelp Plus coverage to offer: Essential and Complete. Choose which one is best for you. 

#13 – Custom Trip Planning Services

Do you have a trip in mind that you want to take with someone special? Or that you want to gift to someone? But you don’t want to plan it yourself?

Leave the planning to me so you can sit back and relax to truly enjoy your trip. As a certified Travel Consultant, I have three different trip planning packages that you can choose from, depending on how many destinations you want to visit. This is the perfect experiential gift for any traveler who wants to travel without having to worry about the planning.

Keeping Your Own Travel Gift Ideas List

Have you noticed that a lot of online shops today will let you maintain your own gift ideas list. Sometimes, they’re referred to as your wish list, or you can name them and make multiple lists of products you like. 

Amazon lets you do this with as many lists as you like, allowing you to customize the name. Even better, you can choose to make your list public and share it with others, or keep it private to yourself. It’s great for teaming up with family on getting gifts for each other.

What is the best travel gift you’ve ever been given before? Which travel gift ideas on our list do you like the most? We’d love to hear from you and welcome any recommendations for more travel gift ideas to add to our list. Join the conversation below in the comments!

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