What to Buy for Someone Who Loves to Travel


custom-made camino map

If you follow a number of travel blogs, you’ll already know it’s that time of year again!

Every November, I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time wading through an ocean of gift guides created by other travel bloggers.

I’ve never published one on Never Ending Footsteps before, primarily for this reason: I’m a contrarian at heart, so if every single travel blogger is doing something — cough, taking press trips, cough — you’ll know I’ll be over here in the corner on my own doing the exact opposite — cough, having no money, cough.

I have to confess, though, that as I make my way through the tidal wave of gift guides each year, I often come away feeling disappointed and frustrated.

The guides almost always comprise a list of products I’ve been offered for free by companies over the past year. They feature products the blogger has never owned or used. They focus on Macbook Pros and drones and SLRs, as if you’re casually just going to drop $2,000 on a present for a loved one. There’s always a bunch of stuff that have little to do with travel. And they sometimes even feature a product I’ve personally used and know is terrible.

And hey, wouldn’t it be kind of weird if somebody bought you a Diva Cup for Christmas?

So.

I wanted to do something different this year.

I want to throw a gift guide into the mix but to do it in a different way to everyone else.

I’ve paid for every single one of these items with my own money: I don’t accept free products for review from companies, so if someone contacts me and wants to send me something, I’ll either delete the email or, if I think it’s something that sounds interesting, buy it myself. That makes it far easier for me to deduce whether it’s worth the cash or not, because I work hard for my income and don’t want to waste it on useless gimmicks.

I’ve used these items on multiple trips: I’ve genuinely taken all of these items with me on at least a handful of adventures and they’ve all proven to be worth carrying. If something appears on this list, it’s because it’s improved my travel experience and I believe it will benefit yours, too.

They’re good value for money: If you’re buying someone a gift, you’re generally not looking to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars. These are all items I think are inexpensive and kickass, and if they’re on the pricier end of the scale, it’s because they offer amazing value for money.

As a result, this gift guide is short.

I’m not stuffing it with filler items and that means there’s only a dozen-or-so products I feel comfortable including in my guide. I will, however, continue to add to it in the future if I discover a new travel essential I can’t stop talking about.

This post also contains affiliate links. This means that if you decide to buy one of these items through any of these links, I’ll make a commission from the sale at no extra cost to you. Because I refuse to take press trips/have my travels sponsored/accept free products for reviews, this is my main source of income and helps fund my adventures on the road.

I originally published this post in 2017 and I’ve updated it today for 2018, adding only one new product (the HooToo) to the mix, as I simply haven’t discovered any new and great devices over the past 12 months.

Let’s get started!

Packing for Virunga National Park

LUSH Solid Shampoo and Conditioner ($10.95)

On the cheap-as-chips end of the scale, I’m forever recommending LUSH’s solid shampoo and conditioner bars to travellers.

These things are perfect for travel.

They’re exactly what they sound like: hard bars of shampoo and conditioner that are small, lightweight, and long-lasting. Even better: they’re actually decent! I was worried they’d be similar to rubbing a bar of soap over my head, but they help manage my frizz in humid climates and keeping my hair sleek and smooth. One bar usually lasts me a whopping three months on the road, so you can see why I’m always recommending them to long-term travellers!

I took two of these on my six-month trip through Asia and Australia this year and it was so much more convenient that having to find carry-on-friendly sized shampoo bottles that I used up within three days.

Buy on LUSH.

Lauren's sanctuary
A look at my old workspace in Lisbon: it’s full of travel souvenirs and guidebooks — all of which helped keep me inspired when working on blog posts.

Bradt/Lonely Planet Guidebooks ($11.75+)

One of the best things about having an apartment to return to between trips is getting to fill my house with guidebooks. I love how bookshelves look when they’re stacked full of dog-eared guidebooks and, because I like to make notes in mine, flicking through them makes for a huge dose of nostalgia and gratitude for the experiences I’ve had.

For travellers heading to lesser-visited parts of the world, Bradt is king. I found my Mozambique, Namibia, and Zanzibar guidebooks to be invaluable this year, and would have had a much worse trip had I not had them to read through both before leaving and while I was on the road.

For everywhere else, there’s Lonely Planet. Long the budget travel bible, these guidebooks are an essential for the more popular tourist destinations of the world. Know someone who’s heading to Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, and other destinations on the backpacker trail? A Lonely Planet guidebook will be ideal for their adventure. And bonus: they look gorgeous lined up on bookshelves!

CozyPhones Sleep Headphones ($14.99)

Dave got sent a pair of Cozy Phones to review, which I promptly spent the next six months mocking. They looked like the worst kind of travel gimmick.

Then, when I was mid-existential crisis one night and couldn’t sleep, he handed them to me and told me to try them out. I slipped the soft, fuzzy band over my head, plugged them into my phone, turned on a podcast, and was distracted enough that I could calmly fall asleep. I immediately bought myself some from Amazon and they’re now one of my life and travel staples. I keep the volume high enough that I’m able to hear but low enough that it’s essentially background noise, and I usually fall asleep within about 5 minutes. Without these, it can easily take me up to an hour.

CozyPhones are essentially a soft, comfortable headband with flat speakers built in, so that you can connect to your phone and listen to stuff while you sleep. I adore them.

These are especially fantastic for budget travellers in dorm rooms, as they help reduce light and/or sounds as you sleep. You can slip the band over your eyes to block light from obnoxious backpackers switching on the lights at 3 a.m., and play podcasts or music through the speakers if you need to drown out a snorer. If you’re a light sleeper, this is easily a travel essential — it works so well!

Buy on Amazon

Zanzibar packing list
This is what I packed for my trip to Zanzibar last year — you can see many of the items mentioned in this post: My Bradt guidebook to Zanzibar, my HooToo, my Sea to Summit dry bag, my Kindle Paperwhite, my LUSH solid shampoo bar, and my GRAYL water bottle!

Sea to Summit Dry Bag ($17.96+)

There have been countless times where a dry bag has saved my ass:

On a kayaking trip from Koh Yao Noi to Koh Nok, a freak wave splashed all over me and where I was keeping my camera and phone. Had I not had them in a dry bag, the water damage would have likely destroyed them.

On a ferry ride in Thailand, the boat sprung a leak and began to sink. I was able to put my laptop, camera, hard drive, passport, and money in my dry bag, seal it up, and know that they’d stay safe and dry if the worst were to happen.

I chartered a yacht in Greece and relied heavily on my dry bag while I was there. When mooring in tiny bays, I was able to fill my dry bag with my camera and sunscreen, jump in the sea, and swim to the nearest empty beach without worrying about keeping everything dry.

I also think dry bags are fantastic for solo travellers on beach days. It’s tough going to the beach when you’re travelling alone because you’ll need to choose to either bring nothing with you, risk getting robbed while you’re in the ocean, or stay on the sand at all times. If you have a dry bag, you can fill it up with your valuables and take it for a swim with you, rather than leaving them on your towel and hoping nobody will grab them.

I love all things Sea to Summit, as this gift guide will soon reveal, and after trying several of their dry bags out, my champion is the Ultra-Sil 8L — it’s durable, thin, lightweight, and has never let me down. I’ve been using it for six years and it’s still going strong! Definitely worth buying for someone who plans to spend any time in the water on an upcoming trip.

Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

Sea to Summit Travel Towel ($8.00+)

Guess what? I love travel towels so much that I use them even when I’m not travelling.

Yes — I know that’s weird.

I’ve come to love how quickly they absorb water and get me dry, and the extra large sizes ($23) almost feel luxurious when I’m backpacking around the world. On top of that, because they fold away into such a small size, you can totally justify travelling with an enormous one, too. Travel towels are ridiculous small, thin, and dry within minutes. I can’t imagine travelling with a regular towel after six years with mine.

This is an excellent gift for a traveller, as they’ll end up using them daily and will free up a ton of space in their bag by doing so.

Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

Lauren in the Azores
Exploring an abandoned hotel in the Azores with my Sea to Summit day pack

Sea to Summit Day Pack ($28.00)

I’ve struggled to find the perfect daypack for years.

All of the ones I’ve used in the past have been so big and bulky that I’ve always shoved far too much into them and ended up with back pain. Since transitioning to traveling with only carry-on luggage, my search became even trickier. Now, I would need my daypack to fit inside my main backpack, as airlines don’t let you carry two bags on to the plane.

Enter this teeny-tiny backpack that packs up to the size of a satsuma.

Despite its tiny size when squished up into a ball, it’s still surprisingly strong, holding a two-litre bottle of water, two SLR cameras, two phones, and a guidebook when I was exploring all over Japan last year. And it doesn’t look cheap and crinkly, either, as so many packable bags often do. I take this bad boy on every single one of my trips.

Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

The HooToo Wireless Travel Router ($42.99)

The HooToo does so many useful things for such a ridiculously low price, and more importantly of all: it does them well. That’s rare for a device that tries to be everything.

The HooToo is a travel router that bridges and extends Wi-Fi connections. The vast majority of Wi-Fi range extenders actually don’t work with Apple operating systems anymore — Dave could only find one on the market that does (see: travel bloggers potentially recommending products they haven’t used). The HooToo works perfectly, though! If the internet in your hostel sucks, for example, you can use this device to make the signal stronger and the speeds faster. You can also use the HooToo to connect multiple devices to the same network in order to avoid those situations where you have to pay for internet access for each connection or find the guesthouse only gives out one internet code per person.

It’s a 10,400 mAh external battery on top of all of that, which means you can charge your phone, Kindle or any other USB-charged device multiple times while you’re out and exploring a city. It charges my iPhone almost three times over!

Finally, it’s a media streamer, so if you store all of your movies and TV shows on an external hard drive, you can plug them into the HooToo and then stream them on your phone or tablet — super useful if you’re not travelling with a laptop.

Basically, it does a whole bunch of useful stuff while remaining small, lightweight, and great value for money. I pack it on most trips I take, and found it incredibly useful in Tonga earlier this year, where the internet collections were the slowest I’ve ever encountered.

Buy on Amazon.

The GRAYL Purifier Bottle ($59.00)

I adore my GRAYL and if anyone’s planning to visit a country with unsafe tap water, I can’t help myself from recommending it.

I’ve used the GRAYL to drink tap water all over the world this year, from Mozambique to Tonga, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Tanzania and never once got sick. And yes, drinking water from a tap in the Congo was what I would label terrifying. In 2019, I’ll be using my GRAYL to drink the tap water from India, Ethiopia, Ghana, and more — future travel plans spoiler alert!

So, what is the GRAYL? It’s a water bottle that looks a little like a French press. You fill it with tap water, slide the filter down to the bottom of the bottle, and then drink, drink away! The filter within the GRAYL kills 99.999% of all viruses, bacteria, and cysts in water, making it entirely safe to drink. Not only that, but it also means you don’t have to ever buy bottled water again, so can both save money and the environment. I love that you can drink the water within seconds, too, rather than having to wait for several minutes, like you need to with other types of purifiers.

It’s fairly pricey for a purifier bottle, I’ll admit, but if you think about how much you typically spend on bottled water while travelling, it saves you money in the long term, while also giving you peace of mind, preventing dehydration, and helping you reduce your plastic consumption. I take it on every single one of my trips to countries that don’t have safe tap water.

Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite ($120.00)

Travel is a time for reading as many books as possible.

Without the distractions of home life on the road, most people turn into voracious bookworms.

For a while, I tried going paperback only — travelling with a hard copy of a book and exchanging it with another in a hostel when I was done — but it became more of an irritation than a pleasure. I couldn’t read what I wanted to read, and the added weight from lugging a book around annoyed the hell out of me.

After travelling with, and subsequently breaking, an unbelievable amount of Kindle Keyboards, I went with the Kindle Paperwhite three years ago and haven’t needed a replacement since. And I love this thing. Tip: get this case and you’ll be unlikely to ever have to deal with a cracked screen. Paperwhites are light, have a ton of storage, and a built in light, so you can read in the dark without disturbing anyone else in your dorm. I couldn’t imagine travel without mine.

And if you’re looking for reading material, I’m a superfan of Love With a Chance of Drowning, Wild, In a Sunburned Country, Canoeing the Congo, Travels With Myself and Another, Marching Powder, The Alchemist, The Geography of BlissWhat I Was Doing While You Were Breeding… I know — I still need to write that list of my favourite travel books! I’ve read around 150 travel memoirs over the past decade.

Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

Lauren at Mount Nyiragongo
I made sure I had the best travel insurance money could buy when hiking to a volcano in the Congo!

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is boring, sure, but it’s also a necessity.

On top of that, it’s really annoying to have to buy for yourself.

Every time I book a trip, I always consider skipping travel insurance. Because man, it’s a lot of money and what are the chances that anything seriously could go wrong? If you’ve read this site for any amount of time, you’re probably already giggling to yourself, because everything goes wrong when it comes to me and travel.

Let me tell you about the two times I decided to skip getting travel insurance: I got caught up in a tsunami and had my ferry start to sink, both in Thailand. The fear I felt at those moments, knowing I wasn’t protected by insurance, wondering how much my parents would have to pay to repatriate my dead body, is something I never want to experience again.

The one time I’ve been overwhelmingly grateful to have travel insurance? When I unexpectedly developed an auto-immune disease while travelling in the freaking United States, likely the most expensive place on the planet to receive medical treatment! I could have ended up with a six-figure bill by the end of the ordeal!

So that’s why I think travel insurance is a great gift! Travellers hate spending money on it, but travellers also need to spend money on it, because it’s simply not worth taking the risk. So why not help them out and get them coverage as a gift? I use SafetyWing as my travel insurance provider and have nothing but fantastic things to say about them.

Sand road in Namibia

A VPN Subscription ($80.00): 

You need a VPN for a number of reasons when travelling, whether it’s using it to access your favourite TV shows from back home or bypassing social media blocks in countries like China.

One of the benefits to having a boyfriend who works in travel technology is always knowing I’ve opted for the best service when it comes to keeping my data safe.

VyperVPN is the VPN we’ve been using for the last couple of years and they’re easily the best option for travellers — they’re super-fast, so won’t slow down your internet speeds, are one of the few companies to be actively and consistently working around internet blocks by other countries. After using and discarding a dozen VPN services over the past six years, VyperVPN is the only one that’s stuck around.

Buy direct from VyperVPN.

custom-made camino map

Bonus: A Custom-Made Map! ($400.00)

For Christmas last year, I commissioned an artist, Theresa Grieben, on Etsy to create and illustrate a map of Dave’s most meaningful adventure: walking the Camino de Santiago across Spain. It blows my mind every time I catch a glance of what she created — it’s the most incredible map I’ve ever seen!

She personalised every step of his journey, including the rock he snapped a photo of mid-journey to that day when he managed to devour an incredible four breakfasts in one morning. She even marked the three places we’ve spent months living in over the past six years: Granada, Madrid, and Lisbon! Every time I sit and look at the map, I notice something new, and I’m obsessed with how incredible it came out.

Dave named it the best present he’s ever received and loves every square centimetre of this gorgeous print, so if you want to make someone’s life, I highly recommend saving up and splurging for a special occasion.

Don’t have the budget to splurge on a custom-made map? The artist I used also has some unpersonalised and gorgeous maps for New Zealand, Ireland, and Berlin that you can buy for just a few dollars.

Buy on Etsy

Happy Shopping!

Hopefully you found this to be a helpful guide when it comes to buying your loved ones something travel-themed for the holidays. If you had to add anything to this list, what would you suggest?

(Please don’t say a money belt because surely nobody actually uses and likes those, right?)

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About the author

Lauren Juliff

Lauren Juliff is a published author and travel expert who founded Never Ending Footsteps in 2011. She has spent over 12 years travelling the world, sharing in-depth advice from more than 100 countries across six continents.

Lauren's travel advice has been featured in publications like the BBC, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Cosmopolitan, and her work is read by 200,000 readers each month. Her travel memoir can be found in bookstores across the planet.

56 Comments

  1. November 17, 2017
    Reply

    Lauren. You need to write a travel book post.

    Thanks for the Sea to Summit recommendations—I’ve been looking for a dry bag and some better travel towers!

    • November 17, 2017
      Reply

      I’ll get on it then :-) Sea to Summit are great — I’ve been using them for six years and their stuff is still going strong!

  2. November 17, 2017
    Reply

    Great ideas, Lauren! I just finished the camino so I absolutely LOVE the map you got Dave. Who was the artist you commissioned?

    • November 23, 2017
      Reply

      Theresa Grieben! It’s the artist linked in the post :-) Congrats on completing the Camino!

  3. Michelle
    November 17, 2017
    Reply

    I loved this! I’ll be moving to China in February to teach English and will be spoiling myself with many of these. And please, please write a post about your favorite travel books; Your own is at the top of my list :)

  4. November 18, 2017
    Reply

    Traveling solo at the beach is a risky proposition, especially in places like Barcelona. Good tip with the dry bag.

    I also like to carry a few spare zip-lock bags, so I can put my valuables in one and bury it in the sand. In Tulum I did forget and have to hike back a mile and search for my things. Zoinks!

    • November 23, 2017
      Reply

      Oh man! That totally sounds like something I would do, haha. Hope you managed to find them at the end :-)

  5. November 18, 2017
    Reply

    These are great suggestions! I’ve been looking for conditioner bars that have ingredients that are safe to use on my curls, and I might have to give one of the Lush bars a try before my trip to Portugal in a couple months. And that map is gorgeous. I’m obsessed with maps. I’ve been wanting to create something to represent the solo Iceland Ring Road trip I took a couple months ago, and I’m so inspired that I may have to try painting one myself now.

    • November 23, 2017
      Reply

      Ooooh, definitely try Lush then — their stuff is really good for your hair. I hope you do decide to try painting a map of your trip, as I’d love to see it when it’s finished :-)

  6. November 19, 2017
    Reply

    Wait… gifting a Diva Cup isn’t normal? Ah crap, my friend must think I’m an absolutely weirdo.

    Some really good suggestions here, all very practical presents! Never thought of travel insurance as a present before. I’d also recommend the Scrubba drybag/washing machine if you haven’t tried it already. I also have their wallet which is the perfect minimalist wallet, I can carry two of those with different currencies for the same size as a normal one.

    (So I actually did gift a Diva Cup a few months after telling my friend about it, and in the note I said “Don’t open this in front of your family”… which she did anyway because they were all so curious!)

    • November 21, 2017
      Reply

      You are my spirit animal ?

      Yes, it’s a weird gift but it is one of my favorite travel accessories. In fact, due to this post, I was thinking about writing about menstrual cups for travel ? But, not as gifts! Well, maybe for a really special friend.

      • November 23, 2017
        Reply

        Hahaha, I’m a huge fan of them, too! You should totally write about them :-)

      • November 23, 2017
        Reply

        Please do write about them for travel! It’s one of those items that you (or just me) do a lot of research before investing in one, and there are always SO many questions to be had. Everyone’s different and I’m always learning something new.

    • November 23, 2017
      Reply

      I actually have a Scrubba! But I didn’t use it enough to justify carrying it long-term. I found most of the time I just paid to get my laundry done, so I only used it once every few months or so. Will check out their wallet though :-)

      • November 23, 2017
        Reply

        The wallet is bare bones basics and for me that’s the beauty of it :) You do away with all the extras.

        I think a great post idea would be things other people recommend and why you don’t like/recommend them ;) The Scrubba works for me because I have a lot of technical (hiking) clothes that I’m scared to leave in the hands of someone else (and a dryer)!

        • December 3, 2017
          Reply

          I’ve thought of that before! I never travel with duct tape, as an example, and every traveller freaks out whenever I tell them I think there’s no need to do so!

          • December 5, 2017
            Reply

            I’m still so unsure about duct tape! There’s that fear of the ONE TIME you don’t take it, that’s when something will break.

            I’m currently carrying it taped around my water bottle so it doesn’t take up extra space.

            • December 14, 2017

              Yep! I travelled with mine for four years, didn’t use it once, and threw it out. A year later, my backpack broke and had an enormous hole in the side — thank god my boyfriend was travelling with some or I would have been screwed! But I still don’t travel with it, because using it once in six and a half years of travel is still not worth it for me!

  7. Rezan
    November 19, 2017
    Reply

    Got a recommendation for a portable Bluetooth speaker for travelers?

  8. Ali
    November 20, 2017
    Reply

    Do you have a favourite travel bottle for water that isn’t a purifier? I have a separate UV zapper already! Plus I’m heading to Aus so might not need it there anyway…?
    And yes to the travel books :)

    • December 3, 2017
      Reply

      I love the Vapur water bottle, because it packs up so small in your bag, so would definitely recommend that for Australia!

  9. November 22, 2017
    Reply

    That’s a great tip on the sleep phones! Do the wires get in the way as you sleep?

    I’d also recommend turning travel photos into art and have someone paint your most memorable moments onto a canvas :) Great for hanging around your home!

    • November 23, 2017
      Reply

      The wire doesn’t for me! They do have a Bluetooth version of them, though, but I know I’d be too lazy to keep them charged.

      Love the idea of having someone paint one of your travel photos on canvas — I’d never thought of doing that before!

  10. November 23, 2017
    Reply

    I LOVE the MAP so cool!!!!!!!!! I’m inspired. I was just telling my web guy this am that my maps suck, now I know they do.
    Great idea!
    Thanks

    • December 3, 2017
      Reply

      Ah, thanks! As soon as I stumbled across Theresa’s map designs, I knew I had to get something designed by her — she creates the most kickass maps!

  11. VPN is an excellent call-out, and one people take for granted. With all the cyber nonsense going on – credit card fraud and government spying, to name a few – now is the perfect time to educate people on this stuff. As a lapsed software engineer, I have to thank you for making that point.

    As always, excellent guide. Lauren, let me commend your commitment to your personal integrity as well. I’m trying to follow your lead on that one as I try to build an audience at _misfit moves_.

    • December 3, 2017
      Reply

      Yep, with a techy boyfriend who’s all about personal security when travelling, there’s no avoiding it for me, haha!

  12. November 25, 2017
    Reply

    That’s an incredible map, what an awesome idea for a present! I really like that you mentioned the GRAYL too, I’ve been meaning to look into something like this because I feel super-guilty about all the plastic I use when I travel, yet I never get around to actually researching and buying one.

    • December 3, 2017
      Reply

      And now you don’t have to! Seriously, it’s so easy to use that I couldn’t imagine travelling without it to developing countries. I really recommend it.

  13. November 25, 2017
    Reply

    I’m with you on the gift guides. I will never buy someone a $2,000 laptop for Christmas. I make my gift guides different every year, never repeating products, and this year focused on items I personally use and are better for more sustainable travel (basics from an eco-friendly clothing company, etc). Keep it up!

    • December 3, 2017
      Reply

      Ah, I love that! I’m off to check yours out now :-)

  14. November 26, 2017
    Reply

    Finally, an honest travel gift guide! It’s so nice to see one of these with stuff I could actually afford! I always struggle with lugging around heavy hair products when I’m on the road, (I really do have a lot of hair) so these solid bars look like a life saver. I can’t wait to try them out on my next trip :) Thanks for the tips!

    • December 3, 2017
      Reply

      Yes! The Lush bars are amazing. I have a ton of hair, too, and they manage to tame it so much better than I expected. And because they last ages and take up so little space, they’re really perfect for travel. And saving money!

  15. Jackie Bolen @Reusable Menstrual Cups
    November 29, 2017
    Reply

    I seriously love the idea of a small dry-bag. I bought myself one years ago and now almost never leave the house without it. It rains so much here in Vancouver that my wallet and phone are almost always in one, inside my backpack when I go for a hike or whatever. Same with traveling-you never know when you’re in for a wild ride on a boat somewhere, or caught in a torrential downpour in the rainforest.

    • December 3, 2017
      Reply

      They’re one of those things that you think aren’t all that important, until you actually need it, and then you’re so grateful you have one! It’s saved me and my valuables on so many occasions while I’ve been travelling.

  16. That map is INCREDIBLE!! I have to admit I’ve got sick of travel blog gift guides for exactly the same reasons as you, which is why it’s taken me so long to read this post! (Sorry!) I should have had better faith in you, Lauren. ;) These are fab ideas! I’ve actually been looking for one of those squished up but not horribly creased day bags, because I made a massive faux pas recently by travelling for a month with a tiny backpack, and forgoing an extra bag to take out during the day, which was far from ideal for beach days! I also can’t believe I only got a travel towel for this trip, because it’s been fantastic!

    • January 2, 2018
      Reply

      Ha! No worries. I was certain everybody would roll their eyes at this post because it sounds so generic and overdone! But I’m glad you enjoyed my suggestions, and yes to the travel towel! I can’t believe how small they can pack up.

  17. Eliya
    November 20, 2018
    Reply

    I was about to roll my eyes at yet another gift guide too-but seeing as I love your posts decided to give it a go and it is by far the best gift guide for travelers I’ve seen! Thank you! I’m gonna bookmark this and send it to myself because I see at least 5 things I want/need on here. And I want to make sure I buy them through your links :)

    • January 8, 2019
      Reply

      Thank you so much, Eliya! That really means the world to me :-)

  18. November 21, 2018
    Reply

    The custom made map sounds like something I would like to save up for! I would love to have that in my appartement with my favourite country on it!

    • January 8, 2019
      Reply

      Isn’t it so gorgeous? I’d love to do something like that for all of the countries I love most but damn, it’s so expensive that I really can’t justify it, haha!

  19. November 21, 2018
    Reply

    As you said – it’s that time of year! I just published my own travel gift guide over at https://teaspoonofadventure.com/. Would love your thoughts on it! We have some items in common. Though I didn’t include a dry bag – which would be so helpful! I also just tried out the Lush hard shampoo and it’s awesome!

  20. November 23, 2018
    Reply

    Great list! For an even better deal than the Kindle Paperwhite – try the Kindle Fire. It is only $50 on Black Friday and is a Kindle reader as well as a tablet. I got mine last Black Friday and love it.

  21. November 26, 2018
    Reply

    What a wonderful list! I love love love those travel towels!!

    • November 30, 2018
      Reply

      They’re so great! I love how lightweight and quick-drying they are.

  22. January 14, 2019
    Reply

    I second the notion of a VPN because it’s so handy. I use it for my business to make it look like I’m back in Canada.

    Also for PayPal. If you’re outside of Canada and trying to log into PayPal, it will stupidly ask to confirm your login with a text to your Canadian number.

    trust me I’ve asked about this so many times with them…… arg….

    But a VPN helps with that.

    Also, when I’m listening to my free Spotify, I switch my VPN to Russia and I get no ads in between my songs.

    I still can’t skip more than 6 times in one hour, but I listen to music that I don’t want to skip :P

  23. Anna
    February 15, 2019
    Reply

    The map is very cool, the article is very interesting! I really liked it!

  24. Hafeez Merani
    May 24, 2019
    Reply

    I highly recommend WorldNomads as well. I had made a claim with them and becasue the trip was a bit odd from all the questions they were asking me, it still went through without any problems.
    It was amazing and I cannot recommend them enough!

    • May 31, 2019
      Reply

      That’s great to hear! Thanks for sharing :-)

  25. Hannah
    May 30, 2020
    Reply

    Some lovely ideas here! I love that they’re all practical and useful gifts that will help someone have a better trip.

  26. Kirtika
    June 8, 2020
    Reply

    Just ordered a map for my travel-loving sister for her birthday. Love supporting independent artists so I’m glad you linked out to Etsy.

  27. Edith
    June 10, 2020
    Reply

    Thanks, this helped me decide on a useful present for my grandson who is going to China next year.

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