How to Warm Any Wanderer’s Heart: My Latest Travel Gift Picks

Christmas may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still work on our wishlists the future! Whether you’re dreaming of travel or jetsetting around the world, there’s no shortage of nifty and useful travel gifts for you. After previously sharing my Christmas gift guide for adventurers and another for those on the go, I’ve narrowed down my newest picks: here are the latest and greatest travel gifts I’m drooling over these days.

Taking my new leggings for a spin at Sydney's Coogee Beach

Taking my new Pins to Kill leggings for a spin at Sydney’s Coogee Beach

Best of ___ prints

Etsy shop LucyLovesThis sells a series of gorgeous city prints illustrating the best of places like Sydney, Dublin, London, or New York. I love how well they capture what makes these cities great!

Best of Sydney print

City skyline rings

I’m loving these adorable skyline rings from Etsy seller Shekhtwoman, available for a variety of cities. Carry around your hometown or a city you’ve fallen in love with right on your finger. Not quite in my price range, but a girl can dream. I’d love one for Madrid!

City skyline ring, San Francisco

Travel stub diary

I love collecting little memories from my travels like boarding passes, public transportation tickets, and other stubs, but I always end up leaving those in a disorganized pile when I get home and fail to do them justice! I’d love to start organizing them into a travel stub diary like this one.

Travel gifts - travel stub diary

Leggings by Pins to Kill

Whether you’re looking for action or comfort or you just want to make an impression, a great pair of leggings is an essential item in any traveler’s luggage. Pins to Kill is a label that’s launching tomorrow, and they’ll offer unique leggings that fit your style. There’s even the option to design your own custom leggings using your choice of images, artwork or designs.

 

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I received a sneak peak pair from them and love the quality and colors. Now I’m totally fantasizing about the idea of ordering travel-inspired custom leggings – how cool would leggings printed with one of those watercolor map designs look? Looking forward to their official launch!

Travel laptop

I did quite a bit of research on laptops to use during my upcoming travels and ultimately decided on this one from Toshiba. I’ll admit I’m still getting used to using a smaller laptop, but I love it! It’s incredibly light and easy to transport, and it’s great bang for your buck at $356 U.S. for a laptop with a 500 GB hard-drive and 4GB of RAM (most with those specifications cost quite a bit more, and the price means I won’t have to worry as much about anything happening to it as I see the world). If you’re looking for a small, inexpensive laptop to carry with you on your travels, I’d definitely recommend this Toshiba Radius.

Travel laptops - Toshiba Radius

Cabin Max travel backpack

Mine has just arrived in the mail today, and I’m super excited about it! Planning to utilize lots of discount airlines on my upcoming travels and knowing that checked bags on those can cost an arm and a leg, I’ve invested in a Cabin Max backpack to make the most of my carry-on space. It fits within most European discount airlines’ carry-on restrictions (and can be squished for other airlines) while being lightweight and spacious because it leaves out the extra frills. You could fit a lot in here – I think it will be perfect for my upcoming travels! Plus, it’s only $49.99 U.S., which is a great deal for a quality backpack.

Travel gift ideas - Cabin Max carry-on

Airportag’s travel products

Can I just have a room full of goodies from Airportag? The best part is these designs come in throw pillows, phone cases, tote bags, mugs, T-shirts, and more. I could go on a serious shopping spree on that site.

Travel gift ideas - airportag

Kindle Paperwhite

My favorite gift to myself this year? My Kindle Paperwhite. I’d used a Kindle Fire for years and loved it, but I’m thrilled at how small and light this is (I never go a day without bringing it in my purse anymore!), and the non-glare screen means I’ll be able to read no matter where I am around the world. The Paperwhite also has a backlight, which will be fantastic for late night hostel reading. I’m also a big fan of the case I bought for it.

Travel gift ideas - Kindle Paperwhite
What’s on your wishlist?

Disclaimer: this post includes affiliate links, and I received a free pair of leggings from Pins to Kill for review, but all opinions are entirely my own, as always.


3 Responses

  1. Barb the Bargain Beast says:

    Hello Mrs. Jeffries,

    I find your article a bit lacking in several respects. You seem to think of yourself as thrifty with travel item savings, but time and time again you seem to select the overpriced options when similar, but lower-priced options will do.

    To readers of this website who want actual savings– never fear! Barb the Bargain Beast is here:

    Travel Backpack: it might be nice to lug around all of your worldly posessions in a backpack, but it’s completely unnecessary. Here’s a tip: tie together 2 dozen plastic bags and fashion them into a nifty satchel. It works just as well. Secure the bags with a few safety-pins and you’re off on your way.

    Stub Diary: I keep meticulous notes on receipts that I receive including the name of the person selling the merchandise, the exact condition of the item person, and the phone number of the shift manager in case any problems arise. I secure these with a piece of loose twine. There’s absolutely no need to purchase a stub diary!

    Leggings: Wear sweatpants instead, silly. Use some markers to give them a style of their own!

    Travel Laptop: I guess you haven’t traveled as much as you think you have! Why lug around a heavy laptop when you can use computers for free? Practice your language skills by asking people in coffee shops to use their computers! (Barb’s hot tip! In a Spanish speaking country? Try: “Mi hija está desaparecida. ¿Puedo utilizar el ordenador?”

    Kindle Paperwhite: You must be joking! Why buy a paperwhite when they are practically GIVING AWAY old Palm Pres, Sony E-Readers, and BN Nooks? I, myself, use an Apple Newton which believe it or not still allows me to upload my travel posts to the fantastic Google Wave social network!

    You also mention in your e-reader section that you stay in hostels frequently. I’m proud of you for being so rich, but not all of us were born by falling off the money tree. I have found that it can be much more cost effective to purchase a ticket to the metro train and fall asleep on that! I also get to meet many more people by sleeping this way.

    I hope this helps all of you bargain-minded travelers!

  2. Events Panda says:

    Very nice idea for gift to a solo traveler. Thanks a lot for such a nice one again….

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