By No Vacation Required, on December 11, 2015

Great gifts for the frequent traveler

What do you get someone who travels all of the time? If you have a bunch of money in your pocket and you want to treat the frequent traveler in your life to some super-sweet tech, then head over to our post on the best travel laptops (and then make us the travelers in your life, please). For everyone else, we’ve put together a list of (mostly) practical and affordable gifts that any traveler will be thrilled to receive.

1. Travel journal. Social media, HD video, and high-resolution photography suck up a lot of the air when it comes to capturing travel memories. With so much focus on sharing, curating, and creating perfect content, it can actually start to feel like you are traveling for everyone but yourself. Enter the humble journal. The more digital communication gets, the more we appreciate a place to capture memories that are meant only for us. 

Journals need not be fancy, but for gift giving, we like this Voyageur Traveller’s Notebook by Moleskine®. It’s inexpensive, durable enough for the road, and has some fun travel-related features.

2. Day bag / carry-on. There are few things more essential for the frequent traveler than a day bag or carry-on. It can be used as a stand-alone piece of luggage for quick trips that call for just one outfit and some essentials, or it can be the carry-on component when you are checking bags for longer trips.

A day bag / carry-on is a great gift for any traveler

From our perspective, the perfect day bag needs to be versatile, stylish, and roomy without being cumbersome. For something durable that won’t break the bank, we really like Timbuk2’s Navigator Duffel. On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve been traveling with a simple but super-stylish Coach duffel for years. While the price tag is certainly heftier, a high-quality bag will last a long time.

3. Room fragrance. From pungent curries in Mumbai to thick clouds of incense in Bangkok, one of the most rewarding aspects of travel is the array of different aromas that you are treated to in each new location. Having said that, those same aromas aren’t always welcome when you are back in your room for a little rest and respite. That’s why we think that a travel room fragrance is more than a “nice to have”; it can be an absolute lifesaver.

We don’t leave home without our favorite travel room fragrance, Archipelago’s Excursion Travel Diffuser, which is powerful enough to drown out other aromas without overwhelming the senses on its own. 

Viewfinder Tip: Traveling a lot can be exciting but it can also really make you miss home. Consider thoughtful gifts that provide a little sense of home on the road.

4. Packable clothing. Luggage fees suck. If you want to help a frequent traveler save a bundle of cash, then give a gift that helps facilitate lighter and more compact packing. There are a lot of options for packable travel clothes, from underwear to down jackets, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find something that is just perfect for the traveler you have in mind.

We are big fans of super compact, versatile travel clothing like Marmot’s DriClime Windshirt, which has been a staple of ours for many years. 

5. In-flight beverages. Long flights call for some distractions. While we certainly don’t advocate overdoing it on a flight, a drink or two can make an otherwise arduous journey feel a bit more tolerable.

Since the majority of travelers don’t have access to a selection of top shelf liquor, the Carry On Cocktail Kit’s little cocktail in a tin is a perfect—if slightly impractical—gift.

What is on your travel gift wish list?