Best gift ideas for travelers

Looking for gift ideas for your friend or even yourself? Whether it’s Christmas, a birthday, some special occasion, or just because, I guarantee any traveler will want anything from this list (if they don’t already have it), including me! These are my top picks for 2018!

1. BauBax Travel Jacket

This product is absolutely genius! I had initially bought this for a friend last Christmas. When he opened it, I realized how great the material was and how awesome the features were.  I was so stoked about this that I ended up ordering the BauBax which added additional features.  What I love about this product is how they make a stressful and uncomfortable activity like catching a flight more organized and comfortable.  The BauBaxhas 25 features. I wont go through them all but let me just list a few of my favorites.  

• The zipper is actually a pen because you KNOW you always forget one and have to fill out the customs form on the plane.
• There’s a built-in neck pillow that blows up in 2-3 breaths, eye mask, earplugs, and a footrest that blows up too (I love this especially).
•   There’s easily accessible breast pocket that holds your passport so you’re not stuck looking for it in line.  There’s a can holder for your sodas, pocket for your glasses, and one for your tablet.
• There’s a BLANKET in the jacket, yup! A blanket. A foldable travel bottle and much more.

Geez… think Iisted almost all of them anyways.  I love this jacket and plan to take it on all my trips now.  Highly recommend this one.

2. DJI Drone

This is my favorite new toy.  DJI has come out with some impressive drones and gadgets for videographers and travelers.  My favorite is the Mavic Air which is the one I personally own.  

This one is very travel-friendly as the arms fold up and can fit in a small purse. I bring this with me on all of my trips as you may see on my Instagram.  As a beginner myself, this one is great for newbies because it has a few easy-to-use features such as a one-tap ariel shot and auto-tracking.  Here’s an asteroid shot I took which took no skill at all. 

DJI has several other awesome drones and they are always coming up with new stuff. Check out their cheaper drones such as the Spark and Tello.  The more expensive ones are the Mavic 2, Mavic Pro, and the Phantom 4.  They now have come out with Goggles to pair with these drones for a realistic flight simulation!

3. SPIVO

Spivo has come out with such a nifty selfie stick that is built for the adventurist. I’ve taken this on multiple trips and found it to create some awesome videos.  No other selfie stick is like this.

Capturing your adventure has never been easier.  Just by pressing a button on the handle, the camera will turn 180 degrees and will switch between seeing you and seeing what’s ahead of you. Here is a video of me that you may have seen on buzzfeed or SPIVO’s Instagram.  I usually use my gopro, but this can hold your phone as well. For a 15% discount, use my promocode: EPITOMEOFLIVING at checkout.

4. SMOVE Mobile

For all of those videographers out there, SMOVE has come up with a great way to capture smoother videos on your adventure with enhanced stabilization by utilizing a 3-axis stabilizer.  This can be used as a tripod and to create videos on the move.  It has a tracking feature so it can follow you as you move around and this one in particular is expandable.  The only gimbal/stabilizer stick that has this feature.

This one can be used with both a cellphone and a Gopro.  There are quite a few of these out there but after looking over them and watching tons of reviews, this one is my personal favorite and is on my Christmas list!

5. GoPro 7

This is an obvious one I think. Each GoPro gets better and better.  The new GoPro 7 has enhanced stabilization including when recording 4k!  This is an upgrade from the GoPro 6 Black which had some limitation when using the stabilization feature.  It is still Waterproof and has 12MP live photos.  

6. Scratch-off world map

I have one of these myself. I love this thing.  It’s a great way to keep track of how many countries you have been to.  This one comes with a precision scratcher and stickers as well as a map specific for the United States. 

7. Travel Lenses for smart phones

Carrying all of the camera equipment can be heavy.  Or sometimes you may just not have it with you.  Various companies make travel lenses for your smartphone so that you can enhance your photography on the go.  Moment is popular brand that sells various lenses such as wide-lens, macro lens, fisheye, and telephoto.  After researching, I have found Olloclip to be more affordable and convenient.  This is actually what I plan to use.

8. Skyroam

This is a portable WiFi hotspot device that uses pay as you go or subscription service.  For those who cannot live without WiFi or would like a connection while they’re on the go or at a beach, this is pretty nifty and can keep you connected in many countries.  It doesn’t work everywhere but it work in over 130 countries. There are global SIM cards that are similar to this which makes for less equipment to be carrying around.  The Skyroam also serves as a portable power charger as well though.

9. Wireless Headphones

Bose makes great wireless headphones.  These are what I use. Up to 5 hours of playtime and the case comes with an extra 10 hours.  I don’t know how long it takes to charge though.  These are great for anyone really. Many other brands make them as well. Some are noise canceling and water resistant.

10. Osprey Travel Bag

Osprey has a great travel bag. This is the one that I use. The backpack on the front is detachable and can be used as a daypack.  The main bag opens up all the way which is helpful to look for things unlike bags that only open up at the top and what you’re looking for is at the very bottom.  It has hip straps which are absolutely necessary for backpackers.  Both the hip straps and shoulder straps can stowaway.  It makes a nice fit for putting in the overhead bin on the plane. 

11. Portable charger

These are great and super useful.  Anker sells one on Amazon for a reasonable price and is small enough to put in a pocket or clutch purse.  These are a must when on the go.  It has about 1.5 charges in it which is enough to get you through the day.  Other ones with multiple charges are bigger and heavier. Anker’s PowerCors 26800 can charge a phone like 6 times. Maybe useful if you’re camping or forget to charge your smaller one.

Other ideas…

There are tons of other travel gifts like globe pendants, pillows with maps on them, and so on.  If you have other ideas to add to the list, leave a comment below!

*Disclaimer: there are affiliate links in this article that I get some commission for at no extra cost to you.  You would just be supporting me so thank you for that!  And I only included products that I personally use or believe in.*