Our Favorite Gifts for Frequent Travelers
Do you have a frequent traveler on your gift list? If so, you have a great opportunity to gift her something that will make her trips easier, more comfortable, or just plain fun!
Some of the best gifts for people who travel can be found for under $200, $100 or even under $50, so you don’t have to break the bank in order to find something good.
While this list is more the practical kind, I’ve also compiled a selection of unique gifts for the female globetrotter as well. There you’ll find a mix of keepsakes and items that make a trip special. If you’re looking for cute and inexpensive gifts to give to friends, check out my favorite stocking stuffers for travelers.
There’s a huge range of travel accessories that will make good gifts but before you buy, think about whether the item is practical for travel. Remember, if it weighs a ton or is bulky, the receiver will probably never take it with her on any trip. In addition, if she travels a lot by air, she’ll have to be even more vigilant about what she packs.
Another thing to keep in mind is that frequent travelers often crave the comforts of home. Trust me, even travel enthusiasts can find living out of a suitcase for the better part of a year a bit tough. Or they don’t like long and cramped journeys. So if you choose a gift that makes life on the road easier, she’ll definitely appreciate it!
Whether the traveler is a career jetsetter, an intrepid explorer or a weekend family vacationer, there are always some great travel gift ideas for her. Choose from must have travel gadgets, gift sets, and of course, lots of travel bags and accessories for the journey or the destination.
I also have a list of my favorite must have travel accessories that are sure to make good gifts for traveling women.
Table of Contents
Here’s my list of top 10 best travel gifts for women sorted by price range.
Travel Gifts under $25
1. Silk jewelry roll travel case
Sometimes a girl just has to carry a few pieces of jewelry with her while traveling. Maybe for a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant or maybe to attend a formal event. Keeping her jewelry protected and organized is important. She also can’t just pack a jewelry box if she needs to keep her luggage weight within limits. That’s where a light and compact travel jewelry roll case comes in.
This large jewelry roll in handmade embroidered silk brocade by Red Blossom looks expensive but isn’t! The silk and rayon blended fabric with light padding keeps precious jewelry pieces free from scratches and any women would be proud to pack such a nice looking organizer. It can even function as an evening clutch.
The inside features zippered pockets and a ring roll holder. The case is secured by a tie close.
It comes in 14 different colors, each with a different design! It measures 8 x 4 inches, and 11.5 inches in length when fully open.
If you’d like to spend a little more on the gift, you could pair this roll with a pretty hanging travel toiletry bag.
2. Vera Bradley Small Cosmetic Bag
Most travelers love Vera Bradley travel bags and accessories but many find them to be a bit too expensive. Your giftee would be delighted to get something in one of the brand’s eye-catching prints and there’s one product that you can grab for under $10 if you’re lucky. It’s the Vera Bradley Small Cosmetic Bag. Not all of the prints come under budget but a few do and they’re well worth getting.
Each of these cotton bags with plastic lining measures 7″ x 4″ x 1¼” and comes with a convenient side loop that you can hand the bag by. The interior is roomy and perfect for carrying just a few cosmetics while traveling or even to work and won’t take up much room in a handbag or carry on. This bag is machine washable too!
Travel Gifts under $50
3. Travel organizer bags
Travel packing cubes are a godsend to those who travel often as they make packing and unpacking much easier. If you use several to organize each type of clothing, it’s easy to find what you need without messing up your bag. They also help with keeping your clothes relatively wrinkle free. When the trip is over they work very well in isolating soiled clothes.
The eBags Packing Cubes – 3pc set seen here is very versatile because each cube is a different size, making it easy to utilize suitcase or carry on space efficiently. They’re designed to fit all together in a standard carry on bag but because they have handles, they can also be carried on their own. This set is available in 10 different colors. eBags also sells 3 piece sets with all cubes of the same size.
We have reviewed a few other good packing cube options for you to choose from.
4. Small travel coffee maker with case
There’s nothing good about waking up in a hotel room and making coffee from the provided sachets or having to wait for room service for your first cup. Instead, why not gift a compact coffee maker to your loved one? Then she can pack her favorite fine ground coffee to use every time.
The Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker with Tote Bag is like no other. It uses the total immersion method but brews extra pure and smooth coffee that’s free from acidity or bitterness that’s common in many other traditional coffee presses. What’s different is that this maker can be used with fine grounds, so the water can percolate through each granule quickly. This results in the smooth tasting concentrate that’s absent from coarse grounds that need more time to steep. Unlike French presses, this concentrate can be used to make regular coffee, espresso or mixed with milk for lattes.
Its micro filter strains out all particles. All that’s needed is hot water and a press time of just 20 seconds to give you 1-4 cups of American style coffee or espresso shots. The whole set up takes just a minute and the chamber is self-cleaning. So convenient for hotel stay!
5. Anti-theft cross-body bag
Travelers are easy magnets for pickpockets no matter where they are. It’s a good bet that they are carrying extra cash and other valuables when they’re in a new place and many stick out like a sore thumb because they visit tourist spots or dress differently. That’s why carrying important items in a bag that’s difficult to access by pickpockets is smart.
The Travelon Luggage Anti-Theft Cross-Body Bag is great as a lightweight travel handbag. In addition to being a deterrent to thieves, it can be worn across the body, thereby completely freeing your hands while on the go and being very comfortable to carry for long durations.
Available in 5 colors, this bag is made of nylon, measures 10” x 11” and weighs just 4 oz. An adjustable cut-proof shoulder strap from a height of 15” to 28” gives you the option to also carry it slung over your shoulder.
There are several pockets and slots to keep things secure – some in the main locking compartment and some in the external pockets.
6. Travel towel set
Whether going to the beach, gym, camping or picnicking, a towel or two is a must. But most beach towels are really bulky and can take up space in your luggage when traveling. Not so with the Zero Grid Microfiber Travel Towel Set. This set includes two towels made of anti-microbial microfibre that are lightweight and tightly rolled up into a compact bundle to be stored in its own cylindrical travel pouch.
Not only are the towels super absorbent, they are also very fast drying, so you can pack them back into the pouch very soon after using them. In fact, you don’t even have to wait! Just fold them and tuck them into the mesh pouch and let them dry that way. They won’t smell because of the material used.
The larger towel is a full sized beach towel measuring 30 by 60 inches, while the hand towel measures 30 by 15 inches. The travel pouch is 4.15 by 7.85 inches and then entire set weighs just 11.3 ounces. You also get a carabiner clip to hook the pouch to your carry on bag or backpack.
7. Lightweight daypack for travel
While sightseeing, a light backpack is a good option for carrying around things like a hat, sweater, snacks and a water bottle. It can also serve as an extra travel bag for all those souvenirs to carry home.
The best lightweight daypack is this nylon Outlander packable lightweight travel daypack, as it is lightweight but durable – great for any traveler. It measures 16.92×10.63×7.08 inches in its full size, but folds up into a compact pouch when empty. So nice to pack into a suitcase!
There is a bottle holder on both sides and mesh shoulder straps makes carrying it very comfortable. There in an inner zippered pocket for valuables too. It is available in 5 cool colors.
Here are a few more highly recommended daypacks that you can choose from. Or even a full featured drawstring backpack is a good idea.
If you have a larger budget and want to gift something clever, take a look at the Eagle Creek 2-in-1 backpack/duffel. This bag is so flexible that you can slip it into your luggage folded into its own small pouch, use it as a daypack during sightseeing and then convert it into a larger duffel bag at the end of your trip to carry all your souvenirs!
8. Poke-a-Dot Cosmetics Organizer
A versatile organizer that can be used at home as well as while traveling is a great gift. A woman who lives a fast-paced life will love the Poke-a-Dot Organizer because it can be taken straight from her dresser drawer to her luggage without packing and unpacking her cosmetics.
It doesn’t matter how many and what kinds of makeup she uses because she can customize the storage layout inside this organizer case with the help of adjustable dividers. Everything stays firmly in place and her makeup won’t get shaken and stirred while traveling!
Gifts for Someone Traveling – under $100
9. UV protective clothing for women
While on holiday, you normally spend more time outdoors than in. It’s important to protect your skin from UV rays if you spend too much time in the sun. There are plenty of options for UV clothing, but it may not be cost effective to buy an entire holiday’s worth of UV protective clothes that may never be used back home.
The Coolibar UPF 50+ Women’s Sun Protective Wrap is a good option to just throw on top of any outfit while traveling. It’s also very stylish in design, with a shawl collar and pull on front closure, and goes with pretty much anything. You can buy this shrug in any one of 7 colors.
The cotton and spandex blend is treated for UV protection with a rating of UPF 50+ and is light and breathable, so the wearer won’t feel like she’s roasting in the heat. When it’s time for a wash it can go right into the machine, but the protective treatment never washes out.
10. Portable wireless bluetooth speaker
There’s no need to sacrifice quality audio while listening to your favorite music on the road if you have a good wireless Bluetooth speaker with you.
The Amazon Tap – Alexa-Enabled Portable Bluetooth Speaker is one of the best gifts for people who like to travel and provides fabulous sound quality wherever you are. It’s compact, light, portable, and can wirelessly connect to any smart phone, tablet or laptop via Bluetooth and also connect via wi-fi or a mobile hotspot to play music from Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, read the weather report or news and much more. Using the Alexa Voice Service App, just tap the device and tell it to play whatever you want or even order takeout or ask for an Uber!
You get up to 9 hrs of audio and Alexa will tell you when it’s time to recharge so you can do it using the included charging cradle. A microUSB cable and adapter are also included.
Add the optional Amazon Tap Sling in one of several colors to protect it from damage if it falls.
11. Cocoon Silk TravelSheet
Many avid travelers will often go camping, take overnight train journeys or stay in hostels on the road, so a warm and cozy bed is not always available to them. This 100% silk travel sheet can either be used as a warm weather sleeping bag by itself or as a sleeping bag liner.
Because it is made of silk it is extremely lightweight and folds up into a very small package that can be tucked into any tiny space in your luggage. The material keeps cool when it’s warm outside or keeps body heat in when it’s cold. For those who like to do their own washing while on the road to keep costs down, it washes easily in a washing machine or by hand in a sink and dries very fast when hung up.
The sleeping bag design is closed on one side and open on the other with a Velcro closure. A pillow insert means you can tuck a pillow into the head too.
Bonus! – Gifts under $200
12. Point and shoot digital camera
If the traveler wants something more versatile than her smartphone camera but doesn’t want anything too complicated to use or too heavy and bulky, a point and shoot digital camera is the best option for her. If its main use is to take pictures while on holiday then having a powerful lens with a long enough optical zoom and a wide lens is important, otherwise you cannot take decent pictures of wildlife and landscapes or large buildings and monuments.
The Fujifilm FinePix XP120 Waterproof Digital Camera is a great value for money gadget that is great for holiday photos. It is sleek and compact but includes a 16.4 MP BSI CMOS sensor with 5x wide angle optical zoom plus digital zoom range. You can take good under water photos, remote pictures and HD videos as well.
The high-definition LCD monitor, vibration reduction function, large ergonomic grip and simple intuitive operation makes it easy to use even for beginners and the entire family can enjoy taking pictures. There are many more exciting features on this camera that are professional grade, like 360° panorama shots, cinematograph mode and advanced filters. You can instantly share you pictures through wi-fi or print them out using the instax Share printer. The bottom line is that this is a good travel digital camera that can go head to head with its higher-priced competitors.
Still can’t find the right gifts for people who travel? Maybe see what Oprah recommends!