10 Best Gifts Ideas for Travelers Who Are CURRENTLY TRAVELING

Finding good gifts for travelers who are currently on the road can be a tough task.

First off, how do you know where to ship it? (or if it will show up in time…or at all?)

Second, even if you do have a reliable address, shipping worldwide is STUPIDLY EXPENSIVE. Chances are you’ll pay more for shipping than the gift itself (I was once quoted $35 to ship a piece of paper from Colombia to the US).

Lastly, will they even use it? Because if they’re living out of a backpack or suitcase, space is limited. If it’s not essential, it probably won’t make the cut.

Buying a good gift for a traveler on the move is ain’t easy. (Trust me. I haven’t received a “real” gift in 5 years…)

But it’s not anything a bit of creativity can’t fix!

Here are some winning travel gift ideas to get you started.

Want even MORE gift ideas for the travel lover in your life? This list of overall best travel gifts will help.

Pin these ideas for later ⬇

#1.) Travel Insurance

WARNING: Don’t let your loved one travel without travel insurance. I repeat. They need travel insurance.

When exploring the world, you never know what’s going to happen.

If you can’t convince them to buy it themselves, there’s no better gift for travelers than the gift of health and safety. Signing them up is super easy and takes about 3 minutes. Just enter their details in the box above, get an instant price, and checkout.

UPDATE: I recently switched from World Nomads to Safetywing travel insurance, which is much cheaper. I’m super impressed with their service covering my $15,000+ motorcycle accident in Thailand (see my full Safetywing review). For a full comparison on all the top travel insurance companies, check out my guide on travel insurance for digital nomads and long-term travelers.

#2.) Neveo Monthly Family Journal

This is a cool gift for travelers that solves an important problem many travelers have (myself included)—keeping grandparents updated with their beloved grandchildren’s adventures.

My grandparents are computer illiterate. And no matter how many times I ask the rest of my family to share my travel pictures with grandma, nobody ever keeps her in the loop.

With Neveo, all your traveler has to do is mark their favorite trip photos with a few clicks. Then each month, Neveo takes those photos, formats them, prints them in a beautiful journal, and mails them directly to grandma. So cool!

#3.) Audible Audiobook Subscription

When we think of travel, we tend to imagine constant nonstop adventure. But in reality, it involves A LOT of boring downtime moving from place to place.

Depending on your travel style and destinations, this could mean 5, 10…even 20 hour bus rides every few days.

That’s why it’s important for travelers to have multiple forms of entertainment.

An Audible Audiobook subscription allows them to download new audio books each month that’ll help them survive those long travel days. 

Best of all, it’s all digital. So unlike a physical gift—which would be a nightmare to ship abroad—this subscription is a gift they can receive anywhere in the world.

#4.) Netflix / Spotify Premium Subscription

Help your traveler take their entertainment on the road with either a Netflix or Spotify Premium subscription (or both!).

Traveling can be exhausting. And sometimes, there’s nothing better to recoup from a string of busy days than a nice Netflix chill night.

These subscriptions will also keep them content on long plane or bus rides.

#5.) Headspace / Calm Meditation App Subscription

I can honestly say that these two meditation apps have changed my life. 

This is a good gift for travelers who want to learn how to slow down, live in the moment, deepen experiences with people and places, and simply enjoy life more (who doesn’t want that?).

I can’t recommend Headspace and Calm enough. (You may have to sign them up for a free trial, and then upgrade it)

#6.) Online Yoga Class Subscription

Yoga is a health-conscious traveler’s best friend. It keeps their body flexible, their mind fresh, and best of all, doesn’t require any equipment. 

The problem is, most people don’t know enough about yoga to create their own routines. It’s much easier to follow a class. 

By gifting a subscription to an online yoga program like Yoga International, they’ll get instant access to hundreds of yoga and meditation classes taught by professionals. 

Classes can even be downloaded onto their phone or laptop for offline use. 

#7.) Trusted Housesitters Membership

This is the perfect gift for long-term travelers on a budget. 

Trusted Housesitters is a paid membership platform where homeowners who need someone to “watch over” their empty house (and pets) connect with travelers who want a free place to stay. 

By buying your traveler a membership, they’ll have access to tons of housesitting opportunities worldwide.

The button below will get you an extra discount 😉

#8.) italki Online Language Lessons

Is your traveler interested in learning the local language of the country they’re in? Why not buy them some online language lessons. 

There are many online programs out there. One of the most popular is italki, which has a database of 10,000 private online language teachers your traveler can choose from. 

#9.) Going subscription

If your traveler likes to buzz in, out, and around the US, buying them a Going subscription could save them up to 90% on flights.

Going scours the web every day for crazy cheap flights, then emails the relevant deals straight to your loved ones inbox (deals leaving from the specific airports they choose).

I’ve used Going to find some amazing deals, and you can check out my full Going flights review to see how it works in action. 

Use code MITCH20 for discount

#10.) Send a gift locally

If you know your traveler will be staying at a certain address for several days, you can buy them a gift from a local online store and ship it directly to them. 

In the US, Amazon is the big online retailer. But many countries have their own “version of Amazon”.

You might have to do some digging on Google or in travel forums to find out what that country’s popular online shopping portal is called…but it’s a great way to ship a physical gift directly to them (without breaking the bank).

Here’s another idea that might require some investigative work. If you know where they’re staying, you can find a way to have flowers, pizza, cake, ice cream, etc. delivered to them.

These gifts might be boring under normal circumstances. But when you’re in a completely different country and a cake randomly arrives at your doorstep on your birthday…now that is a memorable surprise!

Gifts for Travelers On The Road Recap

As you can see, most of the best gifts for travelers who are currently traveling are digital gifts.

But just remember – no matter what you choose, it’s the thought that counts!

Most of us world travelers don’t expect much when it comes to birthday and Christmas gifts. We know we’re not making it easy on you!

That’s why, to us, ANY gift is a good gift. We recognize you put in extra effort to make it happen, and it means a lot! ❤️

Need even more gift ideas? We’ve got ya covered. Choose the type of traveler you’re shopping for below:

Or check out this video where we share our top 10 travel gifts (things we never leave home without):