26 Wonderful Yet Practical Small Travel Gifts Ideas | Bel Around The World (2024)

If you’re looking to get a gift for a travel lover and are looking for small travel gift ideas that won’t occupy their whole travel suitcase, you’re in the right place!

A gift doesn’t need to be something big or fancy for it to be significant or special, sometimes unique travel gifts come in small sizes!

Here’s a list of 26 small travel gifts, but to make it easier to choose a gift for a travel lover, I’ve separated them into 2 lists – cheap travel gifts and another on the pricier end.

Remember, cheap doesn’t mean bad and expensive doesn’t always mean good. What matters is how much value your recipient will get from receiving your travel gift! Again, it’s the thought that matters.

Small and Cheap Travel Gifts (Under $50)

1. Fujifilm Instax Mini Link

This instant souvenir maker is a very nice gift for travellers since it can print any picture from their phone to this tiny portable printer instantly, making it almost effortless to print the nice memories you’ve made on the spot and share them with people wherever you very go. After all, isn’t that what all people who love to travel aim to collect – memories?

The Fujifilm Instax Mini Link has a quick printing speed so it won’t even take one minute. You can even connect up to 5 smartphones to the LINK printer and print a photo collage. Tres bien!

2. Fast Dry Microfiber Towel

Normal towels take up too much space to travel with them and it becomes pretty cumbersome for lots of situations. It’s the most impractical item especially if you’re a backpacker and travelling with just a backpack.

A Fast Dry Microfiber Towel though is another story. This type of towel is made for travelling and includes a waterproof bag to store it, along with many features like soft texture, skin-friendly, ultra-compact and light, absorbing 5 times its weight.

This is one travel item that I came across that I now can’t live without, so I recommend it to anyone who loves to travel. Besides, there are many sizes to choose from so you can get the most convenient one for the travel lover you’re gifting.

3. Multitool Pliers

Speaking of useful travel items, this one may even be necessary! Trust me when I say that it’s a good idea to travel with multitool pliers; they’ve saved my life so many times I can’t count.

This Multitool Pliers is made of stainless steel and combines 12 kits including a plier, knife, saw, screwdriver, wire cutter and a bottle/ can opener into one multitool. For easy transportation, it comes with a durable nylon pouch to store it.

The only thing is, make sure you’re checking this in your luggage and not on your carry on, or you may risk it getting confiscated.

4. Phone lens

Another useful item that doest take any space. If you are a traveller who loves to take pictures of everything with the phone, this is a perfect small gift for travel lovers. Let’s face it, travellers hate to carry around too many stuff if they can help it.

The contents of this Xenvo Pro Lens Kit include: TruView 0.45x Wide Angle Lens, Clarus 15x Macro Lens, TruGrip Lens Clip, GlowClip Mini Rechargeable LED Light + Charging Cable, Quick-Release Lanyard, DuraCase, EasyClip, and a Cleaning Cloth.

5. Resistance Exercise Band

Well, if you wanted to carry exercise items, they would most probably take a lot of space, but these resistance bands are so small you won’t even remember they’re in your luggage.

These latex Resistance Bands are perfect for stretching, strength training, yoga, dance, Crossfit and Pilates. Working on both positive and negative forces on your muscles and joints are ideal for conditioning & rehabilitating muscles. It would be a perfect gift for a traveller who’s recovering from injuries or looking to keep active and their muscles conditioned while travelling.

6. Travel Adapter

See Also

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When travelling between countries or continents, from Europe to Asia, it’s most likely that each power plug type differs. Buying a new one when you get there can catch you off guard and may be difficult or its quality could be compromised depending on where you buy it from.

If you’re looking for the best gifts for people who travel a lot, Why not get a universal travel adapter? I’m sure this gift can become very handy for any traveller.

This adapter also comes with easy-to-change SWadAPt Attachments and you’re able to charge 4 devices at once, making it a nifty, handy electrical travel device to have wherever you go!

7. Travel Hammock

Travelling can be very tiring, and honestly, being able to put a comfy hammock almost anywhere you are and lay down to rest a little is going to be a godsend travel gift.

This travel hammock made out of nylon is very durable, light and comfortable. It comes in 2 sizes to fit every body size. Also, it folds up in a little bag, which makes for easy transportation when you’re on the road.

8. Passport Cover

Speaking of small travel gifts, we can’t leave passport covers out. Help your fellow traveller protect his/ her passport with this cute gift. It comes in many beautiful designs for you to choose from.

Inside the Passport Cover you can also add cards, money and other important travelling documents into the cover to make sure you don’t lose anything during your travelling commute.

9. Portable Coffee Maker

Someone that loves coffee understands how hard it is to start the day without a nice cup of coffee. When travelling, the chances of not being able to drink coffee are very high, that’s why this is the perfect gift for people who love to travel and drink coffee!

With just a little coffee powder and water in this small, compact and light coffee drip, these ingredients will surely turn your whole day around, making your mornings better and more productive no matter where the hell you are!

10. LifeStraw Water Filter

Carrying a lifesaver item is never an “extra” or a waste of space. Believe me, running out of water in the wrong places is not a situation any traveller wants to get into. That’s why this is an ideal gift for any travel lover especially if you know he/ she is travelling in countries where sanitation is compromised or if he/ she hikes outdoors a lot.

The LifeStraw Water Filter filters out 99.99% of waterborne parasites, making most of the water potable. Filtering over 3,000 litres this is an essential item for long hikes, camping or driving into places where it’s hard to access freshwater.

11. TSA-Approved Travel Luggage Locks

Practical and a protection against thefts, a luggage lock is necessary for every traveller.

When travelling, if you put a normal lock on your luggage and the inspector at the airport needs to open it, they will just destroy your lock. That’s why a TSA-approved lock is a perfect safe travel gift idea. A TSA inspector can use a master key to unlock and check your luggage so no lock is damaged.

It’s also super durable; you can use it to lock many valuables when travelling. With the 4 digit security code, you don’t have to constantly worry about misplacing any key.

12. Sleep Mask

Some people struggle a lot trying to sleep on planes, buses or anywhere else apart from the comfort of their beds. It could be because of the light that you’re not used to receiving when normally sleeping in your room, or just the pure comfort of sheets that smell familiar.

This unisex mask comes with a little bag and even earplugs. Made out of memory foam, it’s super soft and smooth. With an adjustable strap, it works effectively in blocking lights while still allowing your eyes to blink freely.

Not only is it ideal for taking siestas or a good night’s sleep while travelling, you can also use it for meditation or yoga!

13. Travelling Deodorant

Are you tired of your travelling companion smelling nasty all day? Or do you worry that you don’t have a small deodorant under 100 ml to take everywhere?

Meet Native Deodorant. Naturally derived with the smell of eucalyptus and mint, it’s vegan, gluten-free, cruelty-free, free from aluminum and also paraben.

14. Portable Iron

Well, an iron may not be a safe travel gift idea, but presentation and style can be essential for some travellers, especially for those who travel because of work.

Squeezing all the clothes in your bag can get them full of wrinkles, but with this in hand, you no longer have to worry about looking unpresentable.

With the power of a full-sized iron in a compact and lightweight design, the Oliso M2 Pro iron heats to its highest setting in only 45 seconds.You can easily switch between 120v or 240v.

Its size fits right in your travel bag, making it ideal for travel.

15. First Aid Kit

Another essential safe travel gift idea is a first aid kit.

Safety always comes first, and since this is a must for any adventurous traveller, why not let that special person know how much you care about him/ her by giving him a First Aid Kit for a travel gift? Something that can save your life is never useless!

16. Insulated Bottle

Staying hydrated when travelling is VERY important. For me, there’s nothing more bothersome than having to buy a bottle of water every time I go out, only for it to get warm 30 minutes later in a warm climate. Plus, it hits your wallet and is environmentally unfriendly.

With many sizes, each of these stainless steel bottles come with two lids. Its insulating properties allow for maintaining cold liquids for up to 24 hours and hot for up to 8 hours, making it a perfect travel companion for outdoor days and indoors too!

17. A Year of Coffee from Around the World

You can choose to surprise this coffee lover with this new favourite gift – a yearlong subscription of a new coffee bag of the world’s best single-origin coffee from around the world.

The subscription services come with more than just coffee bags; you can personalize your preferences. On each shipment, they can also deliver postcards from a new country, tasting notes and brewing tips for each batch, and a coffee journal!

18. Cord Organizer

Hey, I’m sure I’m not the only one who struggles with untangling cords or missing parts when looking for a specific cord to take out while travelling… Well, this Multiple Layers Design will help you to keep all of your electronics accessories and various cables neatly together, so packing and unpacking becomes easy!

This travel cord organizer bag is very strong and durable, with waterproof fabric and shockproof material, in addition to a 3-metre hook-and-loop fastening tape roll!

A cheap travel gift to consider for people who like to travel!

19. Travel Yoga Mat

Just because you travel doesn’t mean you have to stop doing the exercises that you like or think “… but travelling with a yoga mat is a waste of my already limited luggage space.”

With this travel present, there will be no excuses in the way.

This travel yoga mat is made to be folded like a book that’s small enough to fit any of your travel bags. It comes with a convenient carrying bag. Made of eco-friendly plant-based vegan material and non-slip so no sweat will get in the way of your hot yoga sessions, it’ll quickly become any traveller’s favourite travel gift.

Small Travel Gifts That Are $50 And Above

1. Kindle

If you’re looking for a gift for someone who loves reading, this is most likely going to be a travel gift of his/her liking.

We all know how much waiting is required when you’re on the road. Whether it’s waiting for a plane at the airport or arriving too early for check in, there’s always time to kill.

Being able to read books with a Kindle while on planes, trains, buses, hostels and basically everywhere since some are waterproof, it’s a very useful travel gift considering you can read all kinds of books and information about the places you’re travelling to to get hyped up on this one small device!

2. Sony Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Everyone loves music, so why not surprise that special someone who loves to travel with this great wireless Sony headphones? With high Dual Noise Sensor Technology, it cancels out most of the environment sounds with up to 35 hours of battery.

I know everyone knows headphones, but these particular noise-cancelling headphones is another level. I tried this pair and their noise-cancelling feature is just absurd! It’s almost like listening in a vacuum when you put it on and the sound quality is unparalleled.

This will make a life-changing, great travel gift for someone who can’t live without music.

3. JBL Portable Speaker

Travelling with a good speaker is like taking the party everywhere you go. JBL is a leader in the portable speaker space. May it be sand, water or dust, this speaker will survive the harshest of conditions and continue playing music for 10 hours straight to keep the energy going, making it a great travel gift.

After being on the road non-stop for 6 months, I’ve slowly come to realise how much I wish I could get a portable speaker for a travelling present. I’m telling you, this is one universally-loved gift idea for people who travel!

4. GoPro HERO9

I’m sure you’re not foreign to a GoPro, so you must know how handy they are, especially if you’re into action sports. You can take them basically everywhere, so every experience can be recorded to last a lifetime.

This is the GoPro HERO9, one of the latest in the market. It’s worth the travel investment considering all the years and experiences that a GoPro usually covers. Besides, the latest GoPro includes top-notch quality in imagery – 5K Ultra HD Video, 20MP Photos and 1080p Live Streaming.

5. Gimbal

Speaking of capturing memories, if you’re gifting a travel lover who’s serious about photography or videography, you’ll want to get him/ her a gimbal.

This is a professional video stabilizer for the phone. There are different types of gimbals for different devices. This one is for the smartphone and depending if the person you’re giving this to has a camera or a GoPro, you might want to get a Camera Video Stabilizer or the GoPro Video Stabilizer instead.

These are very useful for people that do some type of active or sport travel, or even content creators like bloggers, to help them make the most out of videos.

6. Quality Travelling Watch

People think that since they have phones, they don’t need a watch, but in my experience, this is wrong.

Every traveller needs to constantly know the time, whether it’s for checking flights, buses or being on time for all the fun activities you’ve booked.Hence, you might not think a traveller will need this, but a watch is an essential travel item!

Also, you can keep track of time without the need to take out your phone in dangerous places like on the streets at night, where it can be dangerous.

7. Power Bank 26800mAh Portable Charger

As obvious as it is, a portable charger is useful and can save you in emergencies.

For me, I always travel with one fully charged portable charger at the bottom of my backpack so that no matter where I am, I can charge most of my devices when their batteries deplete from a whole day of exploring.

If you’re looking for a powerful power bank, this 26800mAh power bank is capable of charging any devices – laptop included – even while you are heavily using your system.

It’s equipped with 1 USB-C PD3.0 PPS power output for the latest edition of Macbook Air and Macbook Pro, and 2 USB-A QC3.0 (Max 18W) for your other mobile devices.

If you’ve stumbled upon this traveler gift guide looking for gift ideas for someone going travelling or whether you’re looking for inspiration for getting travelling gifts for friends, I hope you’ve managed to get an idea of the kind of travel gifts travellers like!

They can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, in different prices and perform different functions. Ultimately, think about the travel lover in your life – what are his/ her tastes and preferences? From there, you can narrow down the type of small travel gifts for him/ her.