Finding the perfect gift can be hard, and sometimes it may seem downright impossible. However, if you have a travel lover in your life and need to have a thoughtful gift, you’re in luck as I’ve chosen 10 unique gift ideas for travel fans, or maybe even yourself! As home swapping experts, we know how great travel can be, and what travelers love! Read on and get a few suggestions for your gift list.
Photo: Uncommon Goods
Perfect for the friend who loves to travel the world, this journal is by Uncommon Goods. It contains a trip planner, checklist, journal pages and more for use. Inside the traveler will find continent maps that feature scratch-offs so travelers can mark off where they’ve been and where they’re going to go on their voyage to a new place.
Nothing sucks the fun out of a vacation like a phone or tablet out of juice at the airport or in the car. You can minimize the chance of this happening with a portable USB charger. Many of the brands on the market are equipped to handle a number of device types, including Apple and Androids. It’s perfect for anyone who forgets to bring the wall adapter for their charger when on a home exchange.
Custom Instagram Photo Products
Everyone loves taking photos on their home exchange vacations, and many people share their photos on Instagram. Don’t let those photos sit online dormant when you can make them into a great travel gift! How about a custom-printed book featuring your favorite Instagram photos? Print Studio will let you put your photos not only in a book, but also on t-shirt, calendar, and more. You can share your memories of each house swap together.
Personalized Airport Departure Board
It’s time to step it up a notch with a personalized travel gift that will make them smile all year long. Think about your favorite destinations, either places you went together, or places you’ll go on a home exchange soon. You can have them added to a board and include the year of departure. Up to 10 places and dates can fit on the board, and the text recreates the same familiar text of a real departure board. It’s a great way to celebrate all of the home swapping you’ve embarked upon over the years.
This next option will stop the worry of remembering to pack a travel-size bottle of your favorite product in your carry-on. Humangear’s GoToob Travel Bottle has a no-drip valve and are airline-approved, holding 3.o oz of product. Plus they’ve got a sleek design and will make sure you know exactly what product is which since they have a spot for you to write the contents. It’s a good to get your packing all ready for your house swap.
If you fly a lot, you may notice that bags at the airport all look alike. Why not minimize the chance a travel lover’s bag getting confused with another traveler’s bag, and offer custom luggage tags? Etsy is a great place for handmade luggage tags you’ll want to take on your next home swapping trip. We’ve linked to one set, but you can get them made of all types of material, with your choice of text, font size, and more.
Helping someone get the best packing for their time and energy is a great gift for this year. Travel Packing Cubes let you organize and pack everything efficiently, so your clothes and belongings aren’t disorderly when you arrive for your house swap. By compartmentalizing your stuff into these or similar packing cubes, you don’t have to dig in the bag through everything just to find one thing, such as a charger or toothbrush. Giving the gift of organization means you give a gift that can last year after year – each time they travel!
Giving travel inspiration is always a good choice, especially in the form of a beautifully illustrated book or travel memoir. Wild is an upcoming movie that features the tale of Cheryl Strayed, who hikes the 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, and is a bestselling book that will probably be under many trees this Christmas! If you’d rather go for a coffee table book, you can give a gift that will last all year long with an option like Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Spectacular Trips, which features pictorials of 500 scenic drives around the world. It’s by National Geographic and offers gorgeous photos they’ll want to look at again and again.
Riding on a train or plane, or any type of public transportation, sometimes you need to escape into your own thoughts. Here’s why a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones comes in. Some, like this Bose pair, even integrate with your smartphone, helping you take calls as well. The recipient of these or similar headphones will be able to listen to the music without disturbing other travelers, and slip into a world of their own sound. Plus they’re way less likely to get tangled than Apple headphones.
Travel Tea and Coffee Tumblers
It doesn’t matter where you go, a good drink should always be at hand. Whether it’s coffee or tea, a solid travel tumbler is just the thing to start off your days. Try a large 14 oz or big thermal mug that can keep drinks nice and hot until the end, or pt for something to help you get the perfect cup of loose tea, even while on vacation! A glass option lets you not worry about plastic and is easy to wash in the dishwasher. You can even get options that reflect the recipients interest, such as nature or books, with custom-designed tumblers. Maybe even decide to give a picture of the two of you together on a mug. Think it through and you’ll find a great one.
Please visit The Vacation Exchange Network’s site to join our home swap network, to learn more about how home exchanges work, or see all of our properties at great destinations all over the world. You can also follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!
