10 Best Travel Gifts 2015

Collect memories, not things!

It’s the ultimate traveler Moto. And while it is true, it doesn’t mean that any traveler wouldn’t love you forever for getting them the hottest piece of travel gear on the market.

But what is the must have and best travel gifts 2015?

It can be tricky buying gifts for backpackers. We can’t carry much, it has to be able to make it through customs, and it has to be useful – otherwise it’ll probably get left behind in a dorm room for some lucky cleaner to find.

Never Fear! We are going to take some of the guess work out of buying gifts this year and let you know what 10 Best Gifts for travelers to buy that will make the traveler in your life wet their pants (just a little) with excitement. You’ll be a legend for life – trust us!

10 Best Travel Gifts 2015

10. Carry On Backpack

2015 is the year of traveling carry on only. Lightweight backpacking is huge, not only because it save you carrying around too much excess crap, but because it saves you time and money at the airport. More and more airlines are charging for checked luggage – traveling carry on will save at least $15 bucks minimum, which can be used towards booze, uh I mean educational attractions (*wink wink)
Carry on backpacks we recommend:

• Cabinzero  (bag pictured above – what we use)
• Tortuga Backpacks
• Osprey Farpoint 55
• Ebags TSL Mother Lode

9. Waterproof / Shockproof Camera

Backpacking can be pretty rough going, and sometimes it’s good to have some gear that we know can take a bashing. Especially when it comes to something like a camera. Having a camera that can be left in the sand and not be destroyed, can be taken on underwater adventures, can be dropped numerous times and still work, is a must have for any backpacker.

But remember when it comes to waterproof cameras – you get what you pay for. So here’s a few that a pretty awesome:

• Gopro Hero4 Silver
• Sony DSC/TX30
• Canon PowerShot D30

8. Portable Speakers

These might seem like a useless thing to take backpacking, but it’s amazing how often some kickin tunes can improve an otherwise painfully boring trip. The actual ‘travel’ part of backpacking is often long, dull and uncomfortable. So quit playing eyespy and have a little dance party instead!

Some of the best portable speakers out there for backpackers are:

• BOSE SoundLink mini bluetooth speaker
• Kinivo ZX100 mini portable speaker with rechargeable battery & enhanced bass resonator
• XBOOM mini portable capsule speaker with rechargeable battery & enhanced bass resonator

7. Portable battery charger

Sometimes it can be hard to find a place up plug in and charge up – especially while traveling. That’s why having a bit of extra juice with you in your backpack can help you avoid those “I’m in the middle of nowhere and my phone just died” situations. This is one of the best gifts someone ever gave me, and I haven’t been caught out with a flat battery since!

Some of our favs include:

• Anker Astro E1 5200mAh Ultra Compact Portable Charger External Battery

• RAVPower external battery portable charger

• Anker 2nd Generation Astro mini 3350mAh Lipstick-Sized Portable Charger

6. Travel Insurance

Most first time backpackers feel like they’re young and invincible, plus they’re usually way to excited about the places they will visit to even think about travel insurance. It also can be seen as an expensive “what if”. What if I pay all this money and nothing happens? I could have spent that money on a nicer hostel, more souvenirs, booze!

Don’t let your loved ones travel uncovered, one of the best gifts for travelers you can get is to buy them a travel insurance policy that will give both you and them peace of mind while they are overseas.

We personally use World Nomads as they offer cover for over 200 different adventure activities – including air guitar. Yep Air Guitar!

5. Sholdit Scarf with secret pocket to keep valuables in.

Image from www.sholdit.com

This one might be more for the ladies, but this scarf will mean you can travel and keep your most valuable possessions close by. Protect you passport, credit cards, spare cash, by keeping them secured away in this Sholdit Scarf. Probably not ideal for heavier items like your cell phone, but still a fantastic way to keep would be thives empty handed.

4. Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ with Built-in Light & Wi-Fi. Then load it up with Lonely Planet e-books (some are even FREE)

Books are too heavy to travel with! Especially if you are traveling carry on only. That is why having a device like a kindle is fantastic! You can download all the travel guides and information needed for the big trip, and also have space for some personal reading choices.

3. Packing Cubes

Whether it’s to keep dirties separate from cleans. Or because that little voice in your head says that everything MUST be neat and organised. Packing cubes are one of the best gifts for travelers. There is nothing more annoying then needing one item from your backpack – and having no idea where it is! So you have to pull apart your entire backpack (which you then need to repack) to find it. This will never happen with packing cubes. All your shirts in one cube, underwear in another – everything has its place.

2. Wreck This Journal

It’s pretty hard keeping anything in mint condition while backpacking, so why not buy someone a journal that actively encourages the owner to destroy it? Destruction in the most creative of ways! Not only is Wreck This Journal a great stress outlet – but it’s something entertaining to do while travelling long distances.

1. A Decent Camera

I’ve asked a lot of experienced travelers “if you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing about travel, what would it be?” And so often it’s the same answer – “I wish I had bought a good camera from the very beginning.” Honestly, visiting Angkor Wat or the Eiffel Tower is a once in a lifetime experience, you want more than some crappy iPhone pictures to remember your experiences by.

We understand that not everyone knows their way around a DSLR camera with interchangeable lenses. So, depending on each person’s photographic skills, here’s a breakdown of some of the best cameras out there for travelers.

Compact Cameras – Point & Shoot

• Samsung WB350F 16.3MP

• Canon PowerShot S120 12.1 MP 

• Sony WX350 18 MP

Bridge Compact Cameras

• Canon PowerShot SX60 HS

• Nikon COOLPIX L840 

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 12.1 MP

DSLR – digital single-lens reflex

• Nikon D7200 digital SLR (We use the D7100, the D7200 is the newest model)
• Canon EOS 5D Mark III
• Canon EOS Rebel T5i 

Mirrorless

• Samsung NX3000 Wireless Smart 20.3MP 
• Sony NEX-5TL 

And for a bit of fun…

Polaroid

• Polaroid One Step Close-Up 600 Instant Camera

BONUS GIFT!

A Drone!!! What traveler wouldn’t love this???

Want your gifts to arrive in next to no time? Why not try out Amazon Prime this Christmas? Fast shipping and more. Prime members also enjoy exclusive access to movies and TV shows, ad-free music, unlimited photo storage, and Kindle books. Sign up for your FREE Trial HERE

What do you think are the best gifts for travelers? Let us know in the comments!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, i’ll receive a small commission payout. Probably enough for a beer or two at the pub. All opinions remain our own.

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