6 Christmas Gift Ideas for Travellers (That Don’t Suck!)

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With Christmas coming up, I’ve been asked by a few people about gift ideas for travellers. And in true Amelia style, why be lowkey when you can be Mariah hitting a G7 during Star Spangled Banner (read: highkey), and tell everyone 😝

Some of these are things I own, some I’ve given as presents, and others…I’ve drooled over. But what they all have in common is being actually awesome Christmas gift ideas for travellers. No weirdly shaped neck pillows, passport covers, or mini toiletries in sight!

1: Once While Travelling: The Lonely Planet Story

I reached for the blue and white spine. It wasn’t a travel guide, not the thing I’d for so long associated with those colours. It was something else. An adventure, an origin story, a journey. The best possible reading material for my first solo trip.

The only book I took to Europe with me back in 2013 was Once While Travelling: The Lonely Planet Story by Tony & Maureen Wheeler – the founders of Lonely Planet.
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This book is one of my top gift ideas for travellers! It’s a travel story, photo journal, entrepreneur inspo, and massively world revealing. My favourite part is not only reading of places they went then which are popular now, but places they went then – only just opened to tourism – that are STILL not often visited.
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It’s a great book for two types of people in particular;

• That Person Who is ALWAYS Away: Like when you message a friend and they’re all ‘oh hey, can’t catch up rn I’m in Russia’ 😯
• A First Time Traveller: The one going on their first travel adventure, their gap year, a Euro Trip…you know the one.

My copy is kind of special, I got it from a second-hand bookstore, and when I met Tony Wheeler (awesome dude) I had him sign it!

But luckily you can still get this treasure on Amazon *

2: Gift Them an Experience

The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the uttmost…

Eleanor Roosevelt

For my birthday just before a New Zealand trip last year, my friend decided to get me a travel ‘experience’ rather than a regular gift. She checked where I was going, told me about some magical-looking glowworm caves in Waitomo that a friend of hers had visited, and promptly booked me a two-cave tour. 

To this day, it’s one of the coolest travel-related presents I’ve ever received. Focusing on experiences rather than stuff is a nice way to show someone you really care. You also might open their eyes to something they wouldn’t have discovered otherwise (I didn’t know about the glowworm caves before she mentioned it).

Experiences make a great gift idea for travellers because they actually help the recipient see and connect with the place they’re visiting. Plus, you can even gift them an experience in your own city! Travel doesn’t have to be far and wide.

Even if you’re not there with them, it’s a gift both of you will remember for years to come. And an experience can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be, so it fits into a variety of budgets.

Hot Tip: Street Food tours are often a cheaper – but still super fun – option for this type of gift.

3: Wanderlust Passport | Bobo Design Studio

A travel journal with a difference! Trust me when I say it’s a difficult task to find the Goldilocks of travel journals. You know, the one that’s just right?

You don’t want a pre-filled book of stifling questions and lists – you want to be able to draw, write and stick things inside.
But you also wouldn’t mind some prompts, travel quotes, a spot to list where you’ve been…okay, maybe I’m hard to please.

Enter the Wanderlust Passport.

Created by Angie Chua – the designer and creative GENIUS behind Bobo Design Studio – who realised while travelling Europe that not all countries stamp your passport; so she created her own!

The A5 sized journal has a durable cover to protect it on your adventures, a place to put the location/date/temp & other details, and it comes with stickers! The creative traveller in your life will have a blast doodling/sketching/hand lettering all over it, as well as sticking photos and other paper ephemera inside!

Angie is a thoughtful creator who understands there’s no right or wrong way to fill out a journal (and that’s exactly what I’m all about at The Beat of Adventure) and has made a product that fills a definitete gap.

Also, her Instagram is FIRE! A great place to get some inpso for your Wanderlust Passport.

I’ve have my eye on one of these for a while now, hopefully Santa is good to me this year!

4: Instax Mini | Fujifilm

Fujifilm’s Instax Mini is the instant camera of today, it’s popularity shows no sign on waning among travellers, and for good reason!

…it’s got the cheapest film 😋

Too often, we take a bunch of photos, post a few to the ‘gram, and never print a single one. But with more of us wanting to freeze our experiences – to stick in a travel journal (see number #3), give to our new travel buddies, or just put on a wall – instant cameras have come back with a vengeance.

The Instax Mini 9 is a classic! And it’s also the most affordable option. I went to Italy with mine just recently and wouldn’t hesitate to travel with it again, because it’s not bulky like some instant cameras.

Not only do I own this camera myself, I’ve bought it for three or four people at last count! Birthdays, Engagements, Christmas’, you name it. It’s just a really fun gift idea for travellers that they might not buy for themselves *

5: Bellroy Travel Folio | Bellroy

Type ‘travel wallet’ into google – or locate one in a store – and you’ll be greeted with one or a few of the following.

1. Something monstrously huge or bulky which holds a lot but is completely impractical for travellers.
2. Something which is a little slimmer/smaller but doesn’t hold much
3. Something ugly

That’s where Bellroy come in!

This Melbourne-based Aussie company has been dedicated to ‘slimming your wallet’ for years now. I was first introduced to them by a friend of mine, who got one that made his daily carry small whilst still having a spot for those things he needs – like a house key.

I kept an eye on their products after that, and sure enough, a couple of years later, they brought out the Bellroy Elements Travel Wallet. I’ve owned it for 3 years now and it’s literally perfect. I actually liked it so much that it became my everyday purse/wallet, not just the one I take when I travel. I love how the worn, soft leather tells a story.

The model I own has since been discontinued and replaced with the Bellroy Travel Folio, which can store;

• Two passports (or one passport and a small notebook)
• 4-8 Cards
• Cash
• RFID Protection
• Boarding Passes
• Micro Pen (perfect for filling out your arrival card on the plane!)
• Sim card and ejector pin (so you can buy a local sim and store yours)
• Zipper (there’s no place for coins, but with the zip you can put them in the cash section and not worry about loosing them)

Plus it comes is four colours (I have the tan/caramel), all of which have their own personality. Truly, this is one of the most lovely gift ideas for travellers of any age. Especially those who go away often. I use my Bellroy every day and it’s the best wallet/purse I’ve ever had, you can’t beat that!

6: GoPro Hero 7 or 8 (or Dji Osmo Action)

“But Amelia, this ‘ish is EXPENSIVE”
Yep, this costs a little more than the rest of my Christmas gift ideas for travellers. But bare with me.

If you know someone who’s about to go on a big trip/first solo trip/or some other life-changing travel-related moment, then do think about splurging, and getting a few people to chip in for an action camera.

The only regret of my first solo travel experience in 2013 was not having an action camera. Because I got a last-minute opportunity to go canyoning in Austria, and amongst other things, I got to abseil through a waterfall inside the canyon. There’s not even a single photo of that whole experience.

GoPro cameras are amazing for travel if you think the person is going to be ‘adventuring’; they’re user-friendly, tiny, light, have many mounting options, and are waterproof! Not to mention both the 7 and 8 have amazing stabilisation. I’d recommend the Hero7 Black for beginners or an ‘everyday traveller’. And – if it’s in the budget – the Hero8 Black for the budding content creator, photographer, filmmaker or general creative in your life. They’ll probably love you forever. You’re welcome! *

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So, what did you think of the list? These are by far some of the best gift ideas for travellers that they’ll actually like – and every one of these is something I own or have my eye on.

• Once While Travelling: The Lonely Planet Story
• Gift Them a Local Experience
• Wanderlust Passport | Bobo Design Studio
• Instax Mini | Fujifilm
• Bellroy Travel Folio | Bellroy
• GoPro Hero 7 or 8 | GoPro

There’s a little something for every type of traveller here. But the most important thing to remember when choosing gifts for loved ones over the Holiday Season is this;

The best gift at any time of year is love. The second is the one you put thought into. It doesn’t need to cost a cent, people just want to know you thought of them. So frame a photo, make a decoration, invite them over for dinner, have a movie night…give them your time.

What would you add to this gift guide? Hit me up and let me know!

*Please note this page contains some affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps keep the site running. Thank you!