Travel-specific gifts are excellent for giving to your friends during the winter holidays. Here are eleven gift suggestions for travelers.
The winter holiday season has begun in the U.S. and Europe. For the last few months, I’ve searched for gift ideas and tested products for my 2024 gift suggestions for travelers list. Most are classics that are welcomed by all, but I have a couple of new ones in my lists.
Electronic-based gifts such as noise-cancelling headphones.
• Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones ($429 Currently on sale for $329) — Noise canceling headsets make music, videos, and audiobooks far more enjoyable when flying by blocking engine and cabin noise. They block background noise and dull conversation in trains. To me, they’re essential for travel. Over-the-ear headsets are superior to the in-the-ear ones for blocking acute and ambient noise. The Ultra is the best I’ve tested for noise cancelling capability and they have wonderful music and speech quality. The Bluetooth wireless headset can also be connected through a standard wired connection. I’ve used the headset for as long as 18 hours without recharging, with life left.
• Soundcore Sleep A20 ($149.99 Currently on sale on Cyber Monday for $119.99 at Amazon) — These are the most comfortable and effective in the ear sleep earbuds that I’ve ever found for sleep in a noisy hotel environment and in a room with a noisy sleeper. You can preload sounds such as white sound, brown sound, etc., to play in your ears to mask the unwanted noise around you. They have 14 hours of battery life per charge. If you want to quietly watch a video or listen to music while in bed prior to sleep, the Sleep A20 doubles as a Bluetooth headset connected to your smartphone or tablet. With a double tap of the left earbud you can toggle between sleep mode and Bluetooth.
Bluetooth adapters, luggage trackers, and sleep aids are always welcomed by travelers in your life.
• AirFly Pro ($54.99 Currently on sale for $43.00) — AirFly Pro is a Bluetooth adapter that lets you use wireless headphones when your plane or other entertainment system’s only connection is via a headphone jack. It works well in hotel gyms with treadmills and steppers. It gives users freedom of movement not available with wired headsets. I’ve gotten 20 hours from the AirFly Pro and it still had battery life left in it.
• Apple AirTag ($29.00 for a one-pack, currently on sale for $24 or $99.00 for a four-pack currently on sale for $72.99) — I’ve recommended Apple AirTags for luggage tracking since 2021. They’re the best overall tracker for luggage and belongings due to their robust network of more than a billion Apple iDevices. With an AirTag in your luggage, if it’s lost or delayed, an iPhone using the “Find My” app can locate the luggage as long as an iDevice has been within range of the AirTag in your bag and reported its location to the “Find My” network.
As I discussed last week in Airlines must use Apple’s AirTags to cut down missing luggage now, an update to iOS 18, coming soon, will enable users to directly share their AirTag location with participating airlines to help quickly find your bag. One hopes that all airlines across the globe will soon participate in the Apple “Share Item Location” program.
Scales and shoulder bags are great gifts for travelers who fly and use other transportation modes.
• Eteckcity Luggage Scale ($10.99) — This is a great stocking stuffer for any traveler. With checked luggage limits being strictly enforced everywhere and carry-on weight limits enforced outside the U.S., an easy-to-use luggage scale is a must. This one has a capacity of 100 pounds (50Kg).
• Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag (starting at $129. Currently on sale for $109.65) — I never leave home without this classic shoulder bag. I prefer the small size, which is still roomy. With numerous pockets, many are zippered for security. It comes in multiple colors. It has a weatherproof exterior and a TPU liner to keep your belongings dry in rainy weather. Its adjustable shoulder strap has a comfortable Airmesh pad, and the bag wears like iron. It’s great as a personal item for air travel.
For climate-conscious travelers, quality insulated water bottles and reusable shopping bags are a must and are terrific gifts.
• Hydro Flask 21 oz Water Bottle with Flex Straw Cap ($34.95 + $14.95 sold separately, currently on sale for $26.21 + $11.21) — Help your favorite travelers be part of the climate change-plastic waste solution and save cash to boot. Give them a great multi-use water/beverage bottle that they can keep refilling throughout their journeys to stop buying expensive one-use bottles of water. The Hydro Flask is my favorite. It keeps beverages cold all day with no sweating on the bottle’s exterior, and it works keeping hot beverages steamy in frigid weather.
The Flask comes with the standard mouth screw top with loop holder. I prefer the Flex Straw Cap with the pull-up sipper (only for cold beverages). The cap doesn’t leak and it’s easy to use while hiking.
• BAGGU Standard Reusable Shopping Bag ($14.00) — Another great way that travelers can be part of the climate change solution is to stop using one-use paper and plastic bags. Single-use bags are now banned in many locations around the U.S. Many stores no longer provide free bags. Bringing this bag to shop eliminates bag fees.
I never travel without several of these highly useful ripstop nylon, multi-use tote bags. The totes carry two grocery bags of stuff up to 50 pounds, When not in use, they fold into thin five-inch squares in the included bag. They have built-in handles. Mine have lasted for years.
Sleep masks, electrical adapters and U.S. Parks’ passes make great stocking stuffers during the holiday season.
• YIVIEW Sleep Mask ($8.99) — The mask is made from memory foam, it’s comfortable, it has a nose cutout and has a 3D contour for the eyes to permit blinking. It’s a must for me while flying to help me sleep.
• SKROSS Pro Light World Travel Adapter with USB, 3-Pole Travel Adaptor with Slide System and USB ($43.99) — Is your favorite traveler a globe trotter? I gave away my older model to a friend and am now using this unit. It’s the most versatile one I’ve ever tried. There are other SKROSS models available as well as imitations from other companies. But this one is the best. It includes a 3–pole adapter, so it’s suitable for laptops and other 3-pole devices. It can handle up to 1,500 watts and has a couple of USB charger outlets.
• America the Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass ($80, Free for veterans and current military) — Some of the best places to travel in the U.S. are its national parks. Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone, among others, are world-famous for good reason. Many parks have an entrance fee of as much as $35 per vehicle and $20 per person unless you have a Parks Pass. Even if you go to just a few parks with entrance fees each year, the pass is a bargain. Senior lifetime passes cost $80, but are forever.
I hope my gift list helps you find great gifts for the travelers in your life. Have a wonderful holiday season.
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
