Struggling for gift ideas for travelling moms, adventurous friends or fancying treating yourself? Discover my top 10 travel presents below!
1. A leather passport case
For travelaholics a passport is the most important item you own, mainly because you can’t keep exploring without it! As well as protecting the all-important document, a passport case will also keep those valuable stamps from previous journeys safe. There are many different passport cases out there from classic designs to more quirky patterns dependent on your style.
I love this understated leather cover from Ettinger available in eight gorgeous colours and the leather is super soft inside. For an additional cost Ettinger also offer personalisation of up to five initials, how perfectly does the silver embossing contrasts with the duck egg blue leather?
You could also…Add a matching leather luggage tag (personalisation available) to create the perfect set and easily identify your case amongst the masses!
Purchase this Ettinger travel set including leather passport cover and luggage tag for only £110!
2. A set of packing cubes
Embarking on my first lengthy backpacking trip in 2016 I purchased packing cubes as a way to help organise my rucksack into manageable sections, and now I rarely travel without them. The perfect gift for any traveller they help keep clothes clean, organised and relatively crease free. Packing and unpacking becomes a much speedier job, meaning less time wasted doing these boring tasks and more time enjoying your holiday!
Geobags offer a set of very high quality packing cubes including four various sizes and a bonus shoe bag perfect for keeping everything neat and tidy. The different sized cubes in the set are ideal for packing dresses/playsuits (Extra Large), jeans/shorts/skirts (Large), tops/tees (Medium) and underwear (Small). If you are like me and tend to over pack then perhaps invest in two sets!
Purchase this set of Geobags packing cubes for only £16.99!
3. A luxury travel pillow
Although majority of long haul airlines provide pillows as standard they can be rather useless once your head nods forward and they fall down behind your back. To combat stiff necks on long flights, car or train journeys all travellers need a decent travel pillow. Additionally a travel pillow is great to use under any unfortunate pancake shaped hotel pillows (they seem to exist everywhere even in high end hotels!) Although the majority of avid travellers are likely to already own a travel pillow there are some new luxury alternatives that can be purchased as an upgrade.
I’ve always struggled to get any shuteye on a plane, it freaks me out that you’re travelling so fast yet can’t feel the movement, however since trying Cabeau’s Evolution travel pillow I slept for the entirety of an 8 hour flight! Cabeau’s memory foam pillow is super comfortable (no cricked necks here!) with a pocket at the side to keep a phone/iPod in and a toggle to keep the pillow snug around your neck. Ear plugs are also provided for maximum relaxation and the pillow rolls up into a small bag for ease of carrying – I couldn’t recommend it more!
Purchase this Cabeau Evolution travel pillow for only $39.99!
4. A cute travel towel
Beach towels take up loads of room in your suitcase, take ages to dry and collect sand like nobody’s business BUT these gorgeous alternatives from Dock & Bay are lightweight, compact and come in a range of bright colours, perfect for taking on your hols!
Recently featured on UK TV Show Dragon’s Den these Dock & Bay towels are flying off the shelves as more travellers discovers their unique material and Instagramable patterns. My fave has to be their round sharing towel, not only is it great to relax on soaking up rays on the beach but it also looks amazing and comes with the cutest little carry bag.
Purchase this Dock & Bay round beach towel for only £40!
Purchase this Dock & Bay XL Summer beach towel for £21!
5. A cross stitch world map
Every self-respecting wanderluster already has at least one world scratchmap to track their adventures around the world, in fact I’ve already been gifted three! For an alternative, more creative gift the Cross Stitch Travel Map by SUCK UK makes an excellent present (for you or your friend!)
Travellers can stitch past journeys they have taken, cross stitch over countries they have previously visited or stitch images of their favourite sites. Only your imagination (and perhaps sewing ability) is the limit! Included in the pack are four brightly coloured threads and a handy cross stitch guide; if you want to be super creative you could even purchase some additional colours. The map is ready to hang and easy to get down as you add on your future travels.
Purchase this SUCK UK Cross Stitch Travel Map for only £30!
6. A travel journal
I always write about my travels as I explore a new destination. Capturing my memories, activities and feelings in a diary whilst I’m away means I will never forget the funny thing that happened at dinner or the best cocktail bar we discovered! I tend to use one diary for a longer adventure (2 weeks +) and another one for a couple of weekends away, so I really can never have too many travel journals. A personalised travel notebook makes a great present for someone who loves to explore, and even if your gift is for someone less inclined to diarise their travels they may find the notebook comes in handy for planning their next adventure or budgeting during their journey. Opt for an A5 leather covered notepad as it easily fits in any bag and the leather cover will protect all those precious memories for years to come.
I adore these personalised leather covered journals from Atlas & I. They feature a vintage map of a location of your choice on the cover. Choose your favourite location or if you know where your next adventure will be you can get a diary that features that country on the cover. All their journals are hand printed and stitched and of great quality. You can even reuse the journal by purchasing refills direct from Atlas & I.
Purchase this Personalised A5 Envelope Travel Journal for £95!
7. A dry bag
For those, like us, spending lots of their holidays on or around the water, the threat to modern day gadgets is ever present. Whether you’re chilling at the beach or exploring from a dive deck, a splash of water can easily get to your camera or phone, causing an expensive headache! A dry bag is a great way to store your gadgets and ensure they’re kept out of harms way.
This OverBoard dry bag is perfect for preventing any accidents and allowing you to keep all your valuables together and dry. As well as coming in this fabulous shade of pink, it has a really simple roll and clip closure, and also is available in a range of sizes for storing as much or as little as you need. For a few small valuables whilst you’re at the beach I would recommend a 5L dry bag; for those who are off scuba diving for the day a 12L dry bag might be more appropriate.
Purchase this OverBoard 5L dry bag for £14.99!
8. A travel-themed necklace or bangle
Who doesn’t love a good accessory and what better way to accessorise than with some gorgeous travel-themed jewellery?! For beautiful handmade beach themed pieces look no further than Sand and Seagulls. How cute is this Dreaming of the sea necklace, perfect for days by the beach and days in the office when you wish your view of a computer would magically change into a tranquil seascape.
Purchase this Dreaming of the Sea necklace for £18.50!
Zara Taylor also offer some lovely travel themed pieces including an adorable mini spinning globe, which you could even use to select your next destination. My personal favourite has to be the compass pendant – it’s fully functional so although the best part of travelling is losing yourself in a destination, you can always find your way home!
Purchase this Compass pendant necklace for £27!
9. A waterproof phone case
As much as we don’t want to admit it, we all rely on our smartphones. Save yourself the worry of another drowned iPhone and purchase a sturdy underwater phone case for all those moments around the pool or in the sea; and there’s the added bonus of being able to capture your underwater activities on Instagram!
This Catalyst underwater phone case protects your phone from sand and water, and you can still use the touchscreen, even underwater. The case is also drop-proof so no more cracked screen or dented phones from those clutzy moments!
Purchase this waterproof iPhone case for $79.99!
10. A Traveller Collective keyring
Every traveller tracks their progress in conquering the globe as they visit new destinations and explore new cultures. These cute little silver discs by Traveller Collective are a great way to keep track as you add new discs for each new country you conquer. Depending on how much adventuring you’ve done your keyring will start to look impressive pretty quickly!
Start off a collection for a loved one, and you could even include one disc not already put onto the keyring for the next destination they’re visiting. Just like stamps in a passport, the Traveller Collective keyring is a great visual momento of the amazing adventures you’ve had and the memories you’ve created.
Purchase this Traveller Collective keyring for $18.50, and add each country ring for $2 +!
Explore more of my Travel Tips.
