Gift Guide for Travelers: What You Need to Pack Just Right
Summer’s here and you know what that means: yup, it’s prime time to check your favorite travel websites to plan your next trip to a place you love (or if you’re more the adventurous kind), a place you’ve never been but always wanted to go to. Since it’s the summer season, that means the weather is on your side to go out and visit tourist-y destinations, swim, hike, bike, camp, and so much more. Traveling opens up so many opportunities for meeting new people, checking off famous monuments on your “must see” list, and exploring who you are as a person.
But actually the days, weeks, and sometimes even months leading up to traveling is more important than the actual traveling itself. Why? Because that’s the time to get all of the equipment you need for your excursion ready to go. There are so many things a traveler needs to make their journey as smooth as possible and we’re here with a gift guide for travelers to help you find those things. Obviously you might have already thought of the fact that you need a new backpack or extra storage cubes- but we’re here to recommend the best to you so you don’t have to do that research yourself. Let’s take a look at gifts that’ll be your new favorite traveling companion:
All Things Packing 🎒
We gotta start off our gift guide with the very first steps of traveling (besides researching and booking of course): packing. Packing right and packing tight is the best way to ensure you don’t have to pay for any extra baggage fees as well as keeping things simple as you go into your new destination. Here are a few of our favorite packing items:
A backpack so good it sells out constantly! Image courtesy of: Patagonia.
There are travelers that like to bring multiple suitcases and bags with them and then there are the ones that fit everything in one backpack and call it a day. We’re talking about the latter of the two. Backpackers will quickly recognize the Black Hole® Pack 32L
from Patagonia for $169. It is quite possibly one of, if not, the best backpacks of all time. This backpack is so good it is often sold out so we are putting it on your radar now so you can head to the airport and create envy amongst other backpackers there. The design, space (32 liters), material (100% recycled body fabric, lining, and webbing), and comfortability of this pack is why it’s beloved amongst travelers. It comes in five different colors and one other size (25L), it can also be used as a duffle or briefcase as well.
Packing cubes that have been making waves for a while now. Image courtesy of: Eagle Creek.
We👏 love 👏travel 👏 cubes👏.
They are an invention we will gladly look fondly at because they keep things stacked and packed tight. You can fit so much in so little space you wouldn't think it’s possible at first glance. If you really have to fit a lot into one space then we can’t think of anything better than the Eagle Creek’s Pack-It® Reveal Cube XS/S/M Set for $59.00. A brand that’s been recommended by the best of the best, this set comes with their newly updated designs that repel water and is even more durable than their previous models. Featuring one of each of their XS, S, and M Reveal Cubes, you’ll be able to pack everything you wanted for this trip using this kit.
Go through TSA with zero issues. Image courtesy of: Amazon.
We’re talking now specifically to our travelers who frequent the skies, and you may already recognize why this is a great gift but if you don’t, let us explain:
When you fly with a lot of airlines (not all but a lot), they will say you need to have any liquids, bath, and body products to be placed in a transparent bag. This is the 18pack Travel Bottles for Toiletries which is TSA approved according to the product page on Amazon and is on sale for $9.99 (normally priced at $12.99). It comes with 1 waterproof bag, 2 silicone bottles (3oz/90ml), 2 silicone bottles (2oz/60ml), 2 spray bottles (1.05oz/30ml), 4 cream boxes (0.35oz/10ml), 1 funnel, labels, brush and 2 spatulas. Keep all of your essential self-care products safe, contained, and TSA-approved with this on-the-go kit.
Keep all those wires in one place safe and organized! Image courtesy of: InCase.
Back in the day before the ever-rising age of technology we now live in, you wouldn’t have had as many “tech” products as you do now when you travel, but because we’ve got our phones, tablets, laptops, and headphones- that means we have a ton of wires to deal with. So instead of having them all loose in our packs, we instead can use the Accessory Organizer from InCase for $49.99 which is an award-winning case that many have talked about for the many pockets and pouches it has for all of your charging cords and tech items. It’s much sought-after and as of writing this guide it is currently sold out, but it is said to be coming back soon so reserve your pack now so you can get on this hot item.
Travel Items For Your Comfort 🎧
Travel isn’t always…comfortable, especially if you are a budget-traveler. You can find yourself sitting up straight in a less-than stellar airplane seat for hours and hours or on a bus with lots of distractions that can lead to overstimulation. Luckily there are many products that are built to make these rides a lot less cramped and lot more bearable:
Block out obnoxious airplane lights in style. Image courtesy of: Blissy.
There’s now no longer the need to worry about timezones messing with your sleep in the daylight or obnoxious cell phone lights on the plane, because you will have the Blissy Silk Sleep Mask on sale for $37.45 (normally priced at $49.95). This mask will keep things nice and dark for whenever you sleep and is great for your skincare too as silk is known to keep your skin happy and healthy. The mask is really comfortable too, not too light and not too heavy, the perfect combo.
Shut off noise but don’t compromise your sleep position. Image courtesy of: Best Buy.
Speaking of getting comfortable and blocking out any unnecessary noise, we want to bring out a favorite of ours, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro True Wireless Earbud Headphones for $189.99 at Best Buy. When you have downtime or are listening to street directions through your phone’s app, then these bad boys are the ones to pick. They fit in your ears really well and offer comfort you can’t get from over the head headphones so that way if you want to sleep and lay your head against something you don’t have to worry about having big headphones in the way.
Walk on the clouds all day long. Image courtesy of: New Balance.
When you’re traveling you’re going to be doing a ton of walking, and we mean a ton. You’re going to be going on sightseeing tours, taking hikes, walking through shops, and wandering around finding your own path as you take in this whole new place. That means you’re going to need shoes you can depend on, specifically shoes you can walk miles and miles in but feel like you’ve only been walking for five minutes. The Made in USA 990v6 from New Balance sneakers for $199 are the ones to buy. New Balance may be the “dad” shoe brand, but they are also known as the “walking shoe” brand. Perfect for long distances and durable you can get these shoes in sizes M3.5/W5 to M16/W17.5.
Gifts You Can Get A Traveler While They’re Already Traveling🎁
While we more than love all of the gifts we’ve recommended for our gift guide today, we want to give a few options for those who are already on their way to their destinations. Gift cards that are perfect for the always-on-the-go traveler. You can send any one of these gifts to their phone (or email) with just a few clicks of a button. Let’s take a look at these must-have gift cards for travelers:
🏠Airbnb: We couldn’t not mention Airbnb as a gift option in a gift guide for travelers now we could we? If you are somehow unfamiliar with Airbnb, well let us introduce you:
Airbnb is an online marketplace for vacation home and condo rentals all over the world. Take a look at beachfront properties, countryside villas, city apartments with views of stunning landmarks, tiny homes or treehouses, cabins, castles, and more. Go onto the website, (or download the app), search the city, state, or country you want to visit, add your dates and any special needs you might have, and the number of people that will be staying- then get to booking.
🚗Uber: Reliable transportation in the place you’re staying is something that can be hard to come by in certain places, especially if you are somewhere where public transportation isn’t as accessible. With an Uber gift card you can use it to get rides to your next sightseeing destination or back to your hotel. And we all know how expensive Ubers can get, so this gift card would make for a great surprise while they’re on their trip.
🔊Spotify: When it comes to traveling there is going to be a lot more downtime than you might expect, especially if you are frequenting airports, bus and train stations, and highways. That means you’re going to need a suitable playlist, podcast, and/or audio book with you. With a Spotify gift card the traveler can sign up for Spotify Premium so they can get rid of those annoying ads and listen freely.
🏨Hotels.com: Trying to go somewhere new on a short notice and need to find a suitable hotel? Hotels.com is a global website for booking hotels online. They offer deals and discounts, along with giving you a checklist to go through so you can narrow down your deal makers and deal breakers for a hotel. Take a look at reviews on the website and save money using their website.
💸Visa: Instead of being limited to only one store, you can use this gift card at any store that accepts Visa- (which is pretty much any registrar).
We pride ourselves on our Visa gift card experience as you can add a photo to create a custom Visa gift card and get it to you fast. PerfectGift prints and ships our own Visa gift cards, so we can guarantee same day printing & shipping (if ordered by 4:00pm ET Monday through Saturday). Since we are all in-house, no one else can beat our turnaround time because a lot of other spaces use third-parties to get their stuff ready.
PerfectGift.com is all about finding, well, the perfect gift! With hundreds of popular eGift card brands available, you can personalize and send someone a gift in just a few minutes. Pick between multiple restaurants, famous retailers, online subscription services, and more for your first PerfectGift today.
Become the perfect gift giver.
And there we have it! That is our certified perfect gift guide for travelers. Get any of these gifts and they will surely find a use for it as they go out to explore the world.
