Travel Gear Holiday Gift Guide

The holiday season is upon us. To some that means nothing but joyous nights spent making gingerbread cookies, tying ribbon around your gorgeously wrapped presents, watching classics like A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Charlie Brown Christmas, and sitting around the fire with a cup of spiked eggnog.

But for some of us the holidays are a bit more stressful. The holidays mean racing around town and battling the crowds in search of that perfect gift for the hard-to-shop for person on your shopping list.

Well we’re here to make life easier on you by coming up with tons of gift ideas for the traveler in your life. We’ve scoured the web and talked with many world travelers to find a wide selection of gifts that meet the needs of many different types of travelers.

Gift Ideas for Adventure Travelers

Adventure travelers have very different travel gear needs than say your average business traveler. Thriving on adrenaline, adventure travelers prefer to see a place by climbing its mountains, rafting its rivers, and hiking its backcountry trails. Coming up with gift ideas for adventure travelers is pretty easy, all you need to do is pick up the latest new fangled piece of outdoor gear and you are sure to see a smile on their face come Christmas morning.

Recording one’s adventures is important to most adventure travelers so a waterproof camera that can endure extreme conditions or a compact helmet camera that can record in wind, rain, and snow would make a perfect gift. A handheld GPS is perfect for the backcountry traveler that wants to know where they are at all times and a SteriPEN Water Purifier ensures that your traveler will have safe drinkable water wherever their travels may lead.

>> See more gift ideas for the adventure traveler

Gift Ideas for Backpackers

Backpackers are about as easy to please as adventure travelers. You pretty much can’t go wrong with the latest and greatest sleeping pad, a cozy fleece jacket, a SteriPen Water Purifier, or a gift certificate to REI, Eastern Mountain Sports, or Backcountry.com.

For the backpacker that has everything, how about giving them all the tools they need to be a backcountry chef with the Harmony House Backpacking Kit or get them started in making their own camp foods by getting them a food dehydrator and a copy of Food To Go, a cooking e-book for the outdoor adventurer

>> See more gift ideas for backpackers

Gift Ideas for Round-the-World Travelers

Is your traveler planning a round-the-world trip?  If yes, there are plenty of items out there that will help keep your traveler more organized and comfortable on the road. Packing cubes and compression sacks keep your clothing organized and help maximize the amount of space in your pack or suitcase, which is very important for world travelers. Packing organizers come in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles so world travelers can never have enough of these guys.

Travel hammocks make great gifts. They are incredibly lightweight, durable, and easy to rig up plus they can substitute for a tent for those around-the-world adventure traveler types. Quick drying, lightweight travel clothing is also invaluable on the road.

>> See more gift ideas for round-the-world travelers

Gift Ideas for Techie Travelers

The best gift you could give your tech savvy traveler is a protective case for their electronics. Perfect for digital cameras, the Otterbox 2000 is a totally waterproof electronics case that can be fully submerged up to 100 feet. The Pelican 1010 Micro Case is crushproof, dustproof, and water-resistant and fits a cell phone, iPod, or small digital camera.

Personally I am hoping to find an iPad under the tree this year so I would be happy with any of these iPad travel accessories.

>> See more gift ideas for the techie traveler

Stocking Stuffers for Travelers

Besides the usual socking stuffer ideas like candy canes, lip balm, and movie tickets, we’ve thought up some practical stocking stuffer ideas for travelers. With all the limits on carry-on liquids these days, GoToobs are the perfect solution to that 100ml or less liquid rule. These BPA free bottles are leak proof and no-drip with a large opening so they are easy to fill.

Travel undies and socks make great stocking stuffers. ExOfficio Underwear wicks moistures and dries quickly after sink laundering and Goodhew socks have amazing moisture management and antimicrobial properties. You can get away with going days without washing these babies and they too dry fast after a wash in the sink.

>> See more stocking stuffers for travelers

50 Gift Ideas Under $50 For Travelers

Finally, we’ve come up with a list of 50 gift items for travelers that all cost under $50. From backcountry medical kits and bear bells, to travel chairs, hammocks, and waist packs – we’ve thought of all the best budget gift ideas for travelers.

>> See 50 gifts under $50 for travelers

And one last piece of advice, shop early and shop online.

Photos courtesy of Joel Bedford, Jhong Dixon, and Marshmallow