Fun Gifts for Travelers on Your List in 2020

While 2020 is not quite the year anyone expected, and you might not even gathering with your family for the holidays, you still might be looking for a couple gifts for people on your list. If you are buying presents for people who love to travel, they have probably had a rough year being stuck at home, so here are some fun gifts for travelers in 2020 that might brighten their spirits.

Spoiler Alert: A COVID-19 vaccine is not included on this list.

Travel Luggage

Luggage is one of the most essential travel items out there, as you need something to carry everything you are packing for you trip.

Some travelers like suitcases, while others prefer backpacks. You can’t really go wrong with either. It just depends on which you prefer and what kind of trip you are going on.

Eco-Friendly Samsonite

The eco-friendly Samsonite luggage is one of the best available suitcases out there. It’s one of the most trusted names in travel luggage and is known for its durability. Their eco-friendly line is made of 100% recycled plastic bottles making it very environmentally friendly.

Away

Away luggage is one of the most popular in the market today. They have huge marketing campaigns on social media, so you’ve probably seen them before. While they can be a little pricier, they do have premium options, such as phone chargers, built-in locks, and easy access compartments for things like passports. Away suitcases are the perfect gift for travelers who want amazing style and premium add-ons in their luggage.

Travel Backpacks

If the traveler on your gift list travels with a backpack more often than a suitcase, there are plenty of excellent options for them! These range from large backpacking backpacks to small, waterproof backpacks for day hikes.

While there are thousands of different backpacks out on the market, here are some of our favorites!

Osprey Farpoint 40

The Osprey Farpoint 40 is our absolute favorite and one of the best all-around travel backpacks! It is the largest size possible for a carry-on, so you don’t even have to check a bag, which is perfect for weekend trips. However, it’s also big enough to pack for a few month trip too!

Overall, the Osprey Farpoint 40 is the best all-around travel backpack on the market and a perfect gifts for any traveler.

Osprey Talon

Built with fantastic Osprey quality, the Osprey Talon is a top-notch backpack that’s perfect as a day pack or a hiking backpack, if the traveler you’re buying for is into outdoors stuff. This is a high-quality backpack with a ton of features that make it comfortable to wear all day long.

Arkadia Sea to Sky Pack

The smallest backpack on our list is the Arkadia Sea to Sky Pack. While it is small—and we mean very small, like roll up into the size of a baseball small—it’s super useful because it’s lightweight and completely waterproof. This is a fun gift for travelers who travel the world in all conditions and might have gear like a camera that they don’t want to get wet.

Travel Accessories

While some of the big stuff, like backpacks and luggage, may seem like the most important item for traveling, it’s often the smaller travel accessories that will make or break a trip. Without a lot of these essential travel items, your trip can really take a turn for the worse, or at least cost you some money when you inevitably have to buy them on your trip.

Packing Cubes

Trust us, we were as skeptical as a lot of others when it came to packing cubes until we got them as a gift and used them on a trip. Now that we’ve used them, they are a crucial part of every trip we take!

Packing cubes will help organize everything you pack and pack it more efficiently. This saves space when packing, but it also saves time when unpacking because you already know where everything is. While this might not be atop your traveler’s gift list, it is, without a doubt, something they will really appreciate once they’ve used them!

Travel Adapter

This one is a lot more obvious than the last, but if you are traveling outside of the United States, a travel adapter is an essential travel item and a wonderful small travel gift. It’s incredibly useful and is something you can guarantee will be used.

Noise Canceling Headphones

While any old headphones will do the trick for watching movies of flights, trains, or buses, why not splurge a little and go for the noise-canceling headphones? They are a little pricier, but they can really make watching that show or listening to music so much more enjoyable on a noisy bus or while waiting in the airport.

Headphone Splitter

If you want a cheap travel gift for a couple, get a headphone splitter. We use this every single time we travel, so we can watch shows together. It’s a hell of a lot better than each person just using one earbud. Headphone splitters are another gift for travelers that is guaranteed to be used.

Portable Charger

Let’s be honest. We’re all addicted to technology and hate the feeling when our phone is almost out of battery. This can be especially scary when traveling because you might feel like you need your phone for safety, photos, or a map. With a portable charger this won’t be a problem. Again, this is a great, fun gift for travelers in 2020 that they will 100% use.

Solar Powered Portable Charger

If you are looking for a gift for a traveler who is more into backpacking, national parks, or off-the-grid destinations, they will find a solar powered portable charger an especially useful travel gift. You simply open it up, and while the sun is beating down on it, it charges your electronics. It’s super efficient and is a perfect gift for the traveler who might not be around an outlet to charge their phone all the time.

Kindle

Most people probably already have a Kindle or e-reader, but if the person you’re buying a gift for doesn’t, consider getting them one. They might not ever replace the feeling of holding a book for most, but are the best way to bring books while traveling, especially if the traveler you’re buying for is traveling long-term or moving to another country. If they are, they won’t have to bring books that take up precious luggage space or leave books behind when they come home.

Carry-On Size Liquid Bottles

If you have ever traveled and had your liquids explode in your luggage because you bought cheap bottles to put them in, we’re sorry. But, you don’t have to worry any more! The GoToob liquid bottles are carry-on size and super durable, so you’ll never have to slowly open your luggage while wincing hoping your liquids didn’t ruin everything ever again.

Water Bottles

Speaking of liquids, a high-quality water bottle is a fun, useful gift for any traveler. Like travel backpacks, there are thousands of them out there, but some of the best are HydroFlask because they keep your liquid hot and cold, and LifeStraw because it filters your water before you drink it.

If the traveler on your gift list is in remote locations without access to quality water, go for the LifeStraw. If they are traveling to places with drinkable water or just want a water bottle for everyday use, get the HydroFlask.

Camelbak/Hydration Bladder

As has been the theme so far on this list of fun gifts for travelers, this one is an additional option for outdoor adventure enthusiasts. A Camelbak, as it’s commonly known, or hydration bladder, is a necessity when doing a day hike. It holds a lot of water and is very easy to carry right on your back. Any hiker, trail runner, biker, or outdoorsy person will love this gift!

Clothes for Traveling

Every traveler needs clothes, and high-quality clothes that won’t break down when traveling are very important. We learned this the hard way when we travel to Costa Rica in rainy season without excellent waterproof jackets…Whoops!

Waterproof Jacket

Obviously, the first fun travel gift for travelers in need of clothes is a waterproof jacket. These can get super expensive, but they don’t have to be out-of-this-world expensive. Check around at different places to find the style and price that fits your budget. However, know that the traveler you are buying for will absolutely make good use of this gift.

Hiking Shoes

Hiking shoes, or even just trail running shoes, are a vital purchase when hiking on any sort of technical terrain. They may not seem necessary at first, but after a few bad falls because fo lack of traction, they are appreciated!

Travel Photography

Everyone loves taking photos. Whether they are professional photos to sell, photos to hang up in your house, set as your phone or computer background, or just selfies, every traveler takes photos, so travel photography gear is a must and something every traveler brings and uses on every trip.

GoPro

The GoPro is the ultimate action camera. It’s waterproof, shoots in 4k video, and has a wide-angle lens for capturing all the beauty of wherever you are! You don’t have to be an action sports star to use it either. We love ours because it takes beautiful photos and videos and won’t get ruined in the elements.

DSLR

A fun gift for a traveler who really wants to up their photography game is a DSLR camera. This is generally what the pros use. Although, there are different models that vary in price. Nikon and Canon are the two most popular DSLR cameras out there, but there are others too. It’s a bigger investment, but one that can really make photos pop.

Mirrorless Camera

A newer trend in camera is mirrorless cameras. They take outstanding photos, and the lenses can still be swapped out, like a DSLR. However, they are significantly lighter and smaller than a DSLR, making them a great option if the person you are buying for like to travel light.

Portable Tripod

Tripods can make a world of a difference when taking photos or video, but most travelers don’t want to carry a huge one around. This is why a small, portable tripod that can fit a phone, camera, or GoPro is perfect! No matter what type of photography equipment they use, the traveler on your list will use this portable tripod when traveling the world.

Travel Books

Books, especially now in the times of COVID and not being able to travel, offer a great outlet for travel inspiration. There are countless travel books available, so instead of highlight each great travel book, we wanted to highlight a cookbook. Not only does this cookbook support a small business, but cookbooks can be the perfect way to travel from home through food.

Devour Tours in Spain put together a cookbook on Spanish cuisine where you can make some of the best food in Spain at home! To travel from home, buy the Spanish Feasts From The Devour Kitchen cookbook.

Buying their cookbook is also a wonderful way to support a small business that has had their business really affected by COVID.

For Your Home

Most people, including us, are not long-term travelers. They have a permanent place to live, work a full-time job, and travel when they can. Travelers generally love to decorate their homes with travel decor, so let’s take a look at some of the best travel gifts for your home.

Mapiful Maps

Mapiful Maps are absolutely classic and fit in almost any home. They are timeless and can be created of nearly any place in the world. This makes a fun gift for a traveler who has a special connection to a city or place that they have spent a lot of time or something important happened.

Scratch Off Map

Scratch off maps are not as elegant as the pervious maps, but they are a fun way to track the number of countries or states you have been to. This is a fun gift for any traveler who enjoys checking off where they’ve been.

National Geographic Pin Maps

Very similar to the scratch off maps is the National Geographic pin maps. Instead of scratching off where you have been, you get to put a pin in it! These are really great and come in timeless looks of many National Geographic maps. They make a great additional to any traveler’s home.

Universal Yums World Snack Boxes

If you’re buying a gift for a traveler with a sweet tooth who loves to try new food, go for the Universal Yums World Snack Boxes. Each month they will send a box from a different country filled with a variety of sweets. There is a huge variety of items every month, including some that will really surprise!

Overall, 2020 has been a tough year for all, and it has been a difficult one for those who love to travel, which is why all of these are fun gifts for travelers that they will actually use on their travels and appreciate.

What are some other fun gifts for travelers? What’s on your gift list this year?