Shopping for Christmas Gifts can be overwhelming, especially for someone who isn’t going to have a home for the foreseeable future. These are the best gifts for someone traveling abroad.
We have been traveling abroad for the past few years and know exactly what is helpful to have versus what is absolutely useless (ie money belts). We can guarantee there will be something on this list that someone traveling abroad will love.
After a ton of trial and error, we have found the best products for travelers from budget to luxury items. We’ll go over the best gifts for someone traveling abroad, useful travel gifts, unique travel gifts, small travel gifts, best gifts for travelers 2021, and more!
This post is all about the best gifts for someone traveling abroad!
Gifts For Someone Traveling Abroad:
1. Fanny Pack
> Buy on Kapten & Son
The fanny pack is back and better than ever. Gone are the neon colors and wearing it exclusively over your fanny. This Kapten & Son Habo bag doubles as a fanny pack and chest bag to keep your belongings safe. It comes in handy for travel days to keep wallet, phone, and passports easy to access and safe from pick-pockets.
2. Sleeping Mask
This is crucial for someone traveling abroad. It is so nice to be able to wear it on planes, trains, and even in hotels. If someone is traveling abroad on a tight budget, this Silk Sleeping Mask will come in especially handy for hostels when someone could turn on the lights at 3 am for no reason.
3. AirPods Pro
Our favorite purchase in the last year was upgrading our headphones to the Apple AirPods Pro. They have a fantastic noise-canceling feature that works wonders on planes. They are also in such a small package you don’t have to find more room for over-the-ear headphones. And a great safety feature is with the Transparency Mode to hear cars or people while out in a city.
4. Power Adapter
This is the Holy Grail of power adapters while traveling. Our trusty companion, the BESTEK Univeral Travel Adapter, has been with us from the beginning and is perfect for all our charging needs. It has three 3-prong plugs and four USB plugs. It comes with all the adapters you could need so you can use it anywhere in the world. This adapter is also a surge protector so you don’t fry your computer during the many power outages of Southeast Asia and South America.
> Related Post: 14 Practical Business Travel Essentials For The Digital Nomad
5. Filtered Water Bottle
Having a reusable water bottle while traveling is really nice. But having a filtered reusable water bottle like the GRAYL GeoPress Water Purifier is even better. You can never expect tap water to be okay to drink in foreign countries so having a filter in your water bottle can protect you from all that extra gunk in there. And you are helping use less plastic!
6. Rain Jacket
A lightweight rain jacket is always good to have one hand. These Columbia Arcadia II Rain Jackets fold up nicely so they can easily be thrown into any backpack for any sudden rainstorm. They are light so they don’t offer much warmth but they are perfect to throw over any jacket or t-shirt depending on the temperature.
7. Camera
No travels are complete without taking a few photos. If you know they are interested in photography and don’t already have a camera to bring with them, this could be a great start! We love the Canon EOS M50 with EF-M 15-45mm Lens as a lightweight small camera. It can easily fit in a small bag or purse. It takes fantastic photos and videos and can be the perfect travel camera for anyone. The FujiFilm Instax Mini is also a great option for someone traveling abroad to have physical photos!
8. Passport Covers
Keeping your passport safe is of the utmost importance while traveling abroad. It can be a real pain in the butt if you lose or destroy a passport and need to get a new one. But with a passport cover, you can help keep it safe from spills or tears in a bag. It also makes it easier to identify your own passport quickly if multiple get grouped together!
9. VPN Subscription
A different kind of gift but an extremely useful one for travelers. A VPN is a virtual private network that will encrypt your online use through a private network. It keeps your information safe while using public wifi so you can feel comfortable logging into a bank or personal account without getting hacked. A VPN can also help you gain access to content from different countries. It can be hard using a different version of the Cambodia internet and with a VPN you can easily route to a US server and get the US internet! We love using Surf Shark VPN and they have a great price for a long period of time and unlimited devices.
10. Wanderlust Necklace
If you know she loves to wear jewelry or even just has a few staple items, a travel necklace is the perfect accessory. It doesn’t take up much space and it will always remind her of home! This Mountain Necklace is sterling silver so it will hold up through ocean swims and rainstorms.
11. Bose Speaker
This small Bose SoundLink Micro is a perfect speaker for travel. It’s small enough to throw in a bag. It is Bluetooth so you can bring it anywhere. And it’s waterproof and shockproof so they don’t have to always handle with care. It sounds great and we honestly use it every day.
12. Kindle
Reading while traveling has never been easier. With the Kindle Paperwhite, you can have thousands of books on demand instead of carrying around bulky books. You can access your library at home via the Libby App for free or can sign up for a monthly book subscription with Audible by Amazon. The new models are also waterproof and it reads like a real book with no backlighting. They do have a night light so you can even read in low light.
13. Packing Cubes
These colored packing cubes have made packing so much easier! We are able to separate our clothes out and we know what colored pack goes where. It even has made for a great pillow option when we were camping and had a few packs of clothes with us.
14. Suitcases
Suitcases can come to a dime a dozen, but you really do get what you pay for. Getting a quality suitcase that can withstand the strains of traveling abroad is a must. No matter if you are a light packer or bring the whole house with you, a good quality suitcase will help keep your things safe. We love these Thule Subterra Suitcases because they really can take a beating and hold up.
15. Steamer
This may seem like an odd gift but it does prove to be extremely handing while traveling for some. If they love fashion or just seem to always be put together, this BEAUTURAL Foldable Steamer will do them wonders while traveling. It’s a small foldable clothing steamer so they never have to go out in public with wrinkly clothes. Honestly, traveling and always living out of a suitcase can be hard on your clothes. Even rolling or laying out, you will have wrinkly clothes and this gets you wrinkle-free clothes fast!
16. Backpack
Our WANDRD backpacks always end up on our recommendation lists because we love them that much. We have the WANDRD PRVKE Travel 31L Pack with Photography Bundle to hold our camera gear. It perfectly fits our two cameras, drone, action camera, tripods, and accessories. It also holds our 16″ laptops, Kindle, journals, games, snacks, and water. It’s a workhorse with the perfect pockets to access everything quickly. It even has a hidden passport pocket so you know your most important things are always safe.
17. Airline Gift Card
Sometimes people just don’t need more things. That’s certainly true for us. We have an awesome system and don’t really need anything else. An airline gift card is a perfect gift for someone traveling abroad because they don’t have to add anything to their pack and they can use it on their own terms. Picking an airline with plenty of flight options around the world or even near the area they are traveling to are great options.
18. Travel Journal
Journaling while traveling should be on everyone’s list of things to do. It is such an intimate way to record your thoughts and feelings as you experience so many new things at once. By giving them a travel journal like this Paperage Blank Notebook you are helping them get over that initial hurdle so they can look back in 20 years and read through all these crazy memories.
Pro Tip: Add a photo of you together in the journal so they always have something to look at if they get homesick!
19. Phone Case
A solid, durable phone case will come in so handy for someone traveling abroad. There are so many times where you just have too much in your hands and your phone slips. Having a case like the Speck GemShell Case is a simple case to not draw attention to the phone but keeps it safe from those inevitable falls. I have been using Speck cases for years and they have always kept my phones safe.
20. Small Wallet
This COACH Zip Around Coin Case is a perfect addition to any traveler’s pack. She will love the ease of using a smaller wallet. It calls less attention to you and it takes up so much less space. Plus having an easy spot for all your coins (of which there are many abroad) is so much nicer than a pocket full of change.
21. Local Currency
No matter where they are traveling, having cash on hand is always so nice. Most countries are still largely cash-based so it will likely be their main form of payment. By heading to the bank and exchanging money ahead of time, you know they will be ready when they land in their first foreign country. You also can get a far better exchange rate by exchanging it at the bank ahead of time rather than using the airport.
22. Guidebook
If they already know where they are traveling, a LonelyPlanet Guidebook can be the perfect gift. These things are chock-full of information on the destinations. From appropriate attire to the best food and hotels to tips for communicating. The LonelyPlanet guidebooks also come in digital form!
23. Luggage Tags
Luggage tags are great for a few reasons. First, they help you and others identify your bags so no one accidentally grabs the wrong ones at the airport or bus. Second, if your bags happen to get lost your contact information is on the bag and accessible for someone to reach out to. Plus you can get them for any personality type as they come in a million different styles like this cute flower luggage tag!
24. Beach Towel
Turkish towels are a perfect towel for traveling. They are lightweight and fold up very small. The towels also absorb water and dry quickly. They are truly made for travel and the towels from Sand Cloud are the perfect options. They come in multiple sizes and tons of styles. I personally love the simplicity of The US Sand Cloud Towel. They are great for the beach, pool, shower, blanket, or picnic!
25. Care Package
A care package is the perfect gift for someone traveling abroad. Whether they are traveling around or moving to a different country, they are going to get homesick at some point. Whether you want to DIY a care package with tea, chocolate, photos, and a letter or buy an Unboxme Care Package, they will love the sentiment!
