Have they put the Christmas lights yet again? But we were on the beach two days ago! Exactly ladies and gentlemen, time flies … and if from the summer has seemed a sigh, from here to Christmas will be a blink. Do not let go of you like we do every year! Do not know what to give this Christmas? Today we bring you a selection of the best gifts for travelers!
When December arrives, you will want to have a thousand ideas for Christmas unique travel gifts to finish them all as soon as possible. But then you leave the brainstorming for another day, while an “is still” leaves your lips timidly. And of course, then “you never have time” and when the countdown starts you get the mental block and start looking at Google …
We started a year and ended up so desperate that instead of buying gifts we bought a ticket to Rio de Janeiro … and we have not come back yet! (you have a pasta in gifts for others, but neither is plan).
If you still do not contemplate that option, do not panic: today you come out with something under the fixed arm!
Do you have a traveler or family traveler? So if you want to give him something inspiring for his bohemian and dreamy life or something practical for his backpacking trips, today’s article goes like a thumbs-up. Because the post goes on the best gifts travelers, that for something this is a travel blog!
We have selected you a lot of ideas to give away or to ask those three wise men. You have to tell them that this time it does. Since they work one day a year, they work it.
Send them this post and cross your fingers!
Contents
15 gifts for travelers and backpacking souls
We have prepared a few and varied options, for all tastes and pockets. We have been able to make groups according to price: from the cheapest gifts to the most expensive ones.
You will see that there are original gifts, cheap gifts, a few of high-level … also there are traveling gifts and other more useful that serve for something more than to do … but they are all gifts travelers!
I’m sure you’ll find yours. Let’s go!
Traveler’s gift less than 20 Dollars
Pachamama. Stories of a Round the World.
Visit the Iguazú Falls and the Perito Moreno Glacier. The end of the world arrives in Ushuaia. Tour the Torres del Paine National Park. Get to know the Atacama Desert and its spectacular Salar de Uyuni. Take a bike ride down the Death Road. Get excited about Machu Picchu. Browse the Amazon. Dive with sea lions in the Galapagos and relax on the Caribbean beaches of Tayrona. You sign up?
This is the letter of introduction of Pachamama, our first book of stories. And did you know that the printed version is better than the digital version? It seems that most readers still prefer to pay a little more and have a book in their hands as it has done all of life. Not everyone has a Kindle! In addition, an electronic book is comfortable but does not smell of paper, so its spring.
Pachamama contains useful information but it is not a travel guide. It is a book that invites you to dream and travel. Our adventures of 8 months for Latin lands, finally compiled and narrated with a direct and direct style, that will make you fly for its 265 pages and then you want to take the backpack and leave. You are warned!
Note: we have not put the first one because it is ours … it is the cheapest gift!
Briefcase for sports camera (GoPro or similar)
Yes, that GoPro is very small and such, but when you start adding all the accessories you have bought, your backpack looks like a sack full of “punches” (as my mother would say).
To have your recording equipment well-ordered and occupying the minimum possible space, here is this travel bag for your action camera. Compact, padded and lightweight.
The camera and accessories are not included, but that you already knew.
Mr. Wonderful – Travel Album “Let’s get lost somewhere”
“Positive messages and good phrases” is what you can find in the Mr. Wonderful universe, with a graphic design of the house.
One of his most popular gifts for travel is this travel album, which includes:
- A 64-page album of 21.5 X 14 cm.
- 8 sheets with 182 stickers to personalize the album.
- Sheets to write down the best of the trip and paste photos.
- Pocket to store all tickets, tickets, souvenirs …
All with its fresh style and energy-packed phrases to get your asses on after a trip. There is no time for post-vacation depression here!
With this album, you can remember how good you’ve been, hook the best photos, record the most fun moments and save the best memory of your last adventure … until a new trip knocks on your door!
Mr. Wonderful is a reference in the world of the original traveler gifts, you can see all his catalog here:
Gifts from 20 to 30 Dollars
Portable Travel Umbrella
We are not especially lovers of umbrellas. In fact, we have circled the world with a raincoat of the Decathlon, which weighs less than an umbrella but that at this point is no longer waterproof or anything (we accept gifts).
But this particular has become a best seller on Amazon. Why?:
It is very wind resistant: it has 10 rods. Already, neither have we ever told them, but they say that there are 10. That’s why it’s so strong against hurricane winds.
It is perfect for traveling, as it does not weigh and takes up very little space in your backpack or suitcase (just over 30cm).
Already, it is still an umbrella, but if your sister is going to London, buy it!
Scratch the World – Scratch the places you travel!
Brilliant: a world map that allows you to scratch the countries you have visited. This way you can create a totally personalized map. A unique image that will sum up your traveling life.
It is the perfect gift for that friend who is always remembering battles and likes to hesitate from all the places where he has been (do not be surprised to hang the map in the dining room every time he invites you to dinner).
By the way, when you scratch you see what was underneath more, so you get a crazy urge to travel the world just to have the blissful map as scrawled and colorful as possible.
- Measurements: 32.5” x 23.4”
- Being so large, all of the countries are super detailed and visible from far! Its special golden foil, once scraped-off will reveal the most vibrant and beautifully colored countries.
Coin to scratch not included.
That I do not know that you are a year without scratching …
Travel Pillow – Head, Chin and Neck Support
Those who weigh our heads, we find it difficult to sleep on airplanes, buses and other transports with excessively vertical criminal seats. We used to use inflatable cushions, but they always end up puncturing.
Now the travelers have invented this travel pillow that holds you by three points: head, chin, and neck. We have not had the luck to try it but it seems to work, judging by the more than one hundred positive opinions that this article has.
Your strengths:
- Smart design. So much so that he won the British Invention of the Year award.
- Easy to carry, because folded occupies less than other travel pillows.
- The chin support causes the head to not fall forward. It also has a lateral support that keeps the head straight.
- It includes a gossip so you can tie it to your backpack.
Sweet dreams!
Solar portable charger
Murphy says that your cell phone will run out of battery when you need it most, such as when you have to show your plane tickets at the airport desk or when you needed to book that hostel that you wanted to arrive that same night at 2 o’clock early morning.
But if you have a power bank, an external battery, a mobile charger or whatever you want to call, the gadget saves your life. That if you do not have it downloaded, of course … but that will never happen to you with the model Aedon A8 20000 mAh because it is a portable solar charger.
As you can see, you can load everything and have a powerful flashlight on top. It is not the lightest but it is that 5,000 mAh weigh.
And you do not need a plug to charge it, so for those who like to camp for several days is ideal. It is certainly the one that would use the Solar portable charger which is a bestseller product on Amazon.
But if you do not go the survival roll you can also take a look at this other battery, more powerful with 24000mah Portable Charger.
Lonely planet guides
We have to confess that we buy the Lonely Planet from all of South America. And then we had to tear the pages of each country visited to lighten ballast.
But those moments in the bus in which you are reading about your next destination at the same time you look out the window (and sighs) are very advertisement.
For something, they continue to triumph so much despite the irruption of the digital age. What we said with the case of Pachamama: the paper is not dead!
Although on the internet there is a lot of travel info (in great blogs like Living for the World, subscribe !), A travel guide before a trip is never too much (in fact, we recommend it).
Traveling gifts from 30 to 40 Dollars
Cabin Max Metz Backpack
Ryanair’s have been getting lately with the dimensions of hand luggage. They do not let one pass. If you do not want to end up putting half of the clothes that you carried in your backpack so that they let you get on the plane (this I have seen), you can always choose to buy a backpack that complies with the cabin baggage measures allowed to fly.
For most escapes is the best, since you do not need to bill or pay more for your suitcase. This model has been a bestseller since 2009, and it continues there.
Your strengths:
- It is versatile and ultralight (0.66 Kg)
- The Large capacity of 44 liters, but with the perfect dimensions for the upper cabin compartments.
- It has 3 main compartments and 2 internal compartments for ordering smaller things.
- Compression straps to reduce the size of the backpack to the maximum.
- Made of water-resistant material and padded at the back.
This backpack is worth the same as invoicing a suitcase with a low-cost airline, so use only once and you have already amortized.
Mini travel drone with HD camera
The drones are those unmanned flying contraptions that are controlled with a radio control, and until recently were a travel gift for geeks or a gift for children (depending on the model).
But we can assure you that this last year in Asia we have not stopped seeing drones everywhere … more and more! And the good thing is that it is often the travelers who use them to record videos of their vacations.
But of course, how do I get a bug in the backpack? Well, you buy yourself a tiny mini-drone!
There are very cheap models and they are already starting to include high-definition cameras (since you want to record it, better spend a little more and have a decent half camera).
The mini-drone model with HD camera that fulfills all that is the Syma X11-C. The camera is 2 Mp, which is fine but not to do a professional report … but with that size and price, you will not find anything better!
Wool garments
There are still people who flip when I explain this to them. And when I tell you that merino wool underpants are the invention of the century and that you can wear them for several days in a row, they always look at me with the same face (between a smile, surprise, and disgust).
That’s because they do not know that merino wool is antibacterial and does not smell (well, if you do not take them out in a week, yes … they say). It is also a super thin and comfortable material. Fresh in summer and warm in winter.
And I assure you that when you are traveling it is appreciated that the shirts do not smell wet or sweaty after two days.
And what about the underwear. You always end up traveling with 10 garments, one for each day … at least until the stars line up and you can do a laundry, right?
Well, you do not need to buy merino wool and you will travel with fewer clothes.
Long live merino wool underpants! Live!
See Icebreaker Underpants at Amazon.
The Icebreaker brand is specialized in merino wool, and although many garments are used more for winter sports, in its catalog you can find everything. We have only tried the underwear and outer shirts, and we have found that they are kept clean much longer. You have all the clothes here:
Travelers gifts of more than 100 dollars
E-reader Kindle Paperwhite
The paper is dead! … ah, we said no … Well, but it is clear that if you devour books like donuts you will need an extra backpack to carry them …
Or save yourself all that excess baggage by purchasing an E-reader or e-book reader. You can have thousands of books in a small device so thin, that profile is as thin as a pencil.
The most popular, with more than 9,000 positive reviews from buyers (imagine those that have been sold) is Amazon’s model: Kindle Paperwhite.
It has all these things to note:
- High resolution 15 cm screen with integrated dimmable light (for reading day and night).
- Screen without reflections even on the beach (and do not leave your eyes like on the tablet).
- It weighs less than a paperback, and you can have all you want (thousands fit).
- The battery lasts for weeks.
- It has Wifi, and from the Kindle itself, you can buy more than 3 million books.
Amazon has very good special offers for the most “readers” and lots of free books just for Kindle users, so it gets paid right away.
Travel backpack
What would a backpacker do without his backpack?
We have to recognize that 10 years ago when we bought ours, we were not demanding. And as we did not understand much, we wanted to compare “one of the Decathlon”.
For that Quechua Forclaz 70L is still with us, has gone around the world for more than two uninterrupted years and still does not complain. No lease has been broken! The model has changed after a decade, but I suppose at best they have improved it. You can find it here.
What is the best backpack for traveling?
Of course, our backpack is 70L and we always take it on our trips, so we end up going with more weight than advisable. Travelers who do these things well often say that your backpack should be between 40-60L.
Following this maxim, here we leave you two good options, one very popular and one more pro.
Highlander Discovery
Super famous and on offer at Amazon. The best backpack for budget travelers.
Your strengths:
- A cheap, lightweight and versatile travel backpack.
- Available in 3 sizes (we would catch the medium) and various colors.
- Airmesh system so you do not sweat your back.
- Moisturizing pocket.
- Integrated rain cover (very important)
Osprey Kestrel 58L
This model we have seen a lot to other travelers these last two years. In fact, the Osprey brand is the most up-to-date on the market, so if you have a budget to catch one of them, it will work out for you.
What spring of the Kestrel is that, besides being robust and comfortable, has a lot of pockets and compartments. Personally, I hate having a messy drawer in the backpack with a lot of little things to rummage through … where the fuck has I put the batteries? Backpack shit!
We recommend the medium model of 58 liters of capacity, more versatile for any type of trip.
- Die-cut hip belt and shoulder strap
- Foam rear panel for ventilation
- Integrated rain cover (of course)
- Sleeping bag pocket
Sports Camera: GoPro and its alternatives
It is true that a sports camera is “an extra mess in the backpack” because it does not replace a normal camera that you wear during your travels. That was the reason why we did not catch one to go around the world.
And now every time we see someone jumping from a rock with GoPro or recording underwater we get a brutal envy and we pull our hair.
So that it does not happen to you, take a look at the catalog of GoPro, the referent of action cameras. They have already released the latest model, the GoPro Hero5.
See GoPro Hero5 at Amazon.
And you also have the GoPro Hero 5 Session, which is even more compact and simple. A cube-shaped chamber that you can take anywhere in the world.
You know, the tiniest best to travel!
Alternatives to GoPro
It is also true that more and more economic models of quality are emerging, which are very good alternatives to GoPro.
These are the best-rated models. Some are worth less than 50 dollars!
- Excelvan – 12Mp, HD, 1080P, Waterproof 30m, with accessories
- Vtin Eypro 1 – 12 Mp, 1080p, Wifi, Waterproof 30m with accessories
Tent
A few years ago we had no fucking idea how to set up a tent. The only time I had ever seen one was a Canadian of those triangular ones that you have to be an architect to assemble in less than 2 hours.
And of course, I was so overwhelmed that I bought a “Quechua 2 seconds” of these that you throw in the air and pop ! are mounted alone. But the truth is that it occupies an egg when it is folded. It also looks like a paella and when I put it on my back they call me Donatello. For backpacking, they are not good!
Much better to buy a “manual” assembly igloo (quiet, once you get one is sucked), which occupies less folding. Of course, if you want it for a long trip, choose a light and compact store.
The two main variables you have to keep in mind when buying a tent:
- For how many people?
- For how many seasons?
What you decide for yourself. Although if you are traveling @ sun, with a double shop is linked more (among backpackers than to teach the keys the car is not carried).
Tip: If you buy 4 seasons (how hungry I have suddenly entered), you can camp at low temperatures without dying of cold. If you are going to backpacking in South America, this is the one you have to catch. Do not trust what “there is now summer” and those things … it makes a scratch that you shit! The VMFriends that you are in the southern hemisphere you already know of what we speak(I.e.
A model that fulfills all this and more is this:
How to Buy at Amazon
If we have helped you in your traveling purchases, you can support us using the links in this post. Even if you end up buying a different article if it is on Amazon and in the next 24 hours since you clicked on the link, we will take some commission centimos. Thank you!
By the way, buy at Amazon is super comfortable, reliable … and you will get the order very fast. Also, some items can be wrapped for a gift and well you have everything made for Christmas.
By the way, if you’ve never created an account on Amazon, it’s very easy !. Take a look at this mini tutorial we prepared in your day.
And you? Have you ordered your traveling gifts?
We hope you have cast a cable with this special post and that the shopping marathon is a little less harsh.
Happy Holidays and Happy Travels!
