This year, don't fret about what to buy the loved one in your life who's been around the world and has everything. Here are our picks for the best holiday gifts for those who love adventure travel.
Best Stocking Stuffers:
These little gifts will fit as much within your budget as within a beloved traveler's Christmas stocking. For any traveler that has been confronted with unexpected rain, REI's pocket clothesline ($4.99) is the perfect gadget for drying wet clothes and gear on the go. Its twist-grip construction holds clothing items without clothespins and extends 72 inches.
Or, make sure your loved one never gets lost (except on purpose!) with REI's Mini Compass ($9.00). It's easy to attach this tiny compass to a zipper pull or key ring, and its luminous dial glows in the dark for easy viewing in low-light conditions.
The Bucky 40 Blinks Eye Mask is a great way to help you get some shuteye on the road. A featherweight, pillowy-soft eye mask with light-blocking fabric cradles your eyes without pressure ($10 on Amazon).
For the Fashionable:
Jet Set Candy is eye candy for female travel affectionados. Collectible charms designed to look like passport stamps by destination, it's an incredible way to project your passport envy on the world.
To showcase your love of travel at home, Airport Tag makes a series of adorable throw pillows, decorative canvases, blankets and more that are all travel inspired. Choose from airport codes, quotes, flight boards, and passport themes.
A suede passport cover and matching luggage tags are also a great personalized stocking stuffer. Conventional wisdom might have you believing you don't want to standout at customs, but you'll be fashionable and it'll be easier to find your stuff.
Most Thoughtful Gift:
Instagram is a favorite among travelers for sharing travel experiences, but images don't have to stay digital forever. Take that extra step and use printstagr.am to personalize everything from greeting cards, posters, photo books, and calendars to quality framed prints with your loved one's travel photos and immortalize their most memorable moments.
Maybe you want to commemorate a special trip you took together, or give a print of that one trip your loved one won't stop going on about. If you're not so Instagram-savvy, give a printstagr.am gift card and let your traveling friend choose and print their favorites themselves. Set of 24 square prints, $12. One 12x12 print in a wooden frame, $60.
A personalized travel map is another option that comes with a metal crest that can include up to 50 characters of your choosing. Beautifully mounted on cork board, it is delivered with colored pins to track places visited, upcoming trips and dream destinations. Purchase either a world or U.S. map both available framed or unframed ($99).
For the Techie:
This travel essential will please adventurers and extreme sports enthusiasts alike. The Olympus Tough TG-1 IHS Camera is water, shock, crush, freeze, and dust-proof, making it perfect for travelers who like getting active and want to document their up-close-and-personal experiences with nature. This point-and-shoot sports 12 megapixels and can be submerged in water up to 40 feet deep, plus its f2.0 lens will ensure that you get crystal clear underwater shots. $399.99.
I never travel without my trusty photographer’s assistant the Joby Gorillapod. The Gorillapod is a small portable tripod that can be attached to nearly anything. I have wrapped it around tree limbs, fence posts and trusted it on uneven surfaces. Don’t miss out on self-portraits or group photos by using a Joby Gorillapod on your next trip to capture yourself in the excitement of your destination. The Gorillapod is available in four sizes; choose the appropriate one for your camera
Electronics users must always be prepared for battery shortages on the road - but who says these practical gifts can't be super cute, too? J.Crew's Printed Backup Battery for iPhone sports a stylish polka dot pattern that prioritizes fashion as well as function. Or gift the Triple C for J.Crew Universal Charger for a practical addition to even the tiniest on-the-go clutch purse. $39.50 each.
For the Gear Head:
The Pacsafe Stashsafe Hip Pack is lightweight with multiple compartments and zips inside, but the real great feature is the built in cable and ability to ‘lock’ the pack to a fixture. If you are in a restaurant, bar, or hotel room, you can safely lock your pack and know it cannot be cut off of you, or be a safe distance away without it ever "disappearing’" ($45).
If you're a bit of a klutz like us, the travel medical kit is a great way to prepare for the unexpected. It has everything you need for your adventure holiday away (barring any serious injury) and is small and light enough not to take up too much room in your luggage.
Stop trying to balance your luggage on a bathroom scale. The Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale ($19.99) is a compact tool that will allow to easily and accurately determine the weight of your bag to make for a hassle-free trip through the airport.
If your travelers might take you off the beaten path, you want to make sure you have access to clean drinking water. The SteriPEN Adventurer ($89.95) uses UV light technology to sterilize water. Simply fill a glass or bottle of water and stir it with the SteriPEN for a minute and the water is cleaned to a level exceeding the EPA's highest standards in water purification.
The Gift of Travel:
What's the ultimate gift for any travel lover? The opportunity to travel more! And you can help the travelers in your life see the world without breaking the bank. Excitations offer a variety of affordable getaways in the U.S. for solo travelers or groups - just select the perfect activity and gift as an "experience certificate." There are tours and trips for any type of traveler, like a guided kayak tour for two along San Francisco's waterfront ($175), a culinary walking tour for two in Chicago ($100), or a 3-hour catamaran whale watching tour for two in Boston ($95).
Or help out with the costs of that next trip with gift certificates from Amtrak Vacations, Southwest Airlines, or BedandBreakfast.com. And while you're at it, why not spoil yourself, too?