19 Remarkably Fun and Useful Small Travel Gifts

(This article may contain some affiliate links. Read my disclaimer to learn more.)

Are you looking for a gift for someone who loves to travel? Then you’re in the right place! These gifts may be small, but they’re some of the most fun and useful gifts a traveler can receive! Whether you’re looking for travel gadgets, electronic devices, fun accessories, games, or something else, these 19 amazing small travel gifts are the perfect choice for any birthday, Christmas, or stocking stuffer needs!

A collection of different travel items on top of a map

1. Anker Candy-Bar Portable Charger

No one wants to end up without phone charge, especially while traveling. I’ve had this happen to me during my first time solo traveling in London, and I got so lost without the ability to look up directions on my phone to get to my destination! After that experience, I said “never again” and got this Anker portable charger that I now take everywhere with me.

Whether your favorite traveler uses their phone for navigation, to keep in contact with family or friends, or just for fun and playing games, it’s important to keep their phone charged up for when they need it! This is why a portable battery pack is my top pick for a small travel gift.

I especially love this particular Anker charger as it is small and about the size of a candy bar (3.8″ x 1.7″ x 0.9″), so it fits easily in any bag, purse, or pocket. But even though it’s so small, it can charge a phone 1.5-2 times before needing to be recharged itself! This is invaluable as a traveler, since you’ll always have a back up power source just in case!

Click here to buy the Anker Candy-Bar Charger now or read more reviews!

2. TSA Luggage Locks

If you’re looking for cheap travel gifts that will still be incredibly useful, then TSA approved luggage locks are the way to go! While they don’t guarantee that your luggage will remain safe, they do provide an extra layer of security to ward off thieves who look for easy opportunities.

These luggage locks are the ones I use and trust, and I love them because they are small and lightweight enough that I can use them on my checked luggage or I can even use them on my Osprey carry on backpack or my everyday backpack. It’s nice having this extra layer of security from pickpockets and petty thieves, especially when wandering around new or crowded cities. And because they’re a combination lock, I never have to worry about losing the key!

Buy these 4 Digit TSA Locks now!

3. Passport Holder or Travel Wallet

[one_third padding=”0 0 0 0″] [/one_third] [one_third padding=”20px 0 0 0″] [/one_third] [one_third_last padding=”20px 0 0 0″] [/one_third_last]

Did you know that a damaged passport is no longer valid and will have to be replaced? This can include any water damage, a significant tear, missing visa pages, and other miscellaneous injuries. And that is why a passport holder or travel wallet makes an excellent gift for international travelers!

While it won’t protect from every possible damage, a travel wallet/passport holder can be a good first layer of defense against any accidents that might render your passport useless. It’s also a great way to keep a passport in close to mint condition if your traveler likes perfection!

But beyond the benefits to keeping your passport safe, travel wallets are also a fun way to express individuality or interests and spice up your passport! There are plenty of designs to choose from, but some of my favorites include the Bon Voyage Passport Holder, a minimalist and sleek Airplane Travel Wallet, and of course the amazing Wonder Woman Travel Wallet!

Check out even more passport holder designs!

4. Travel Bottles for Carry-On Liquids

Any airplane traveler will know the pain of packing all their liquids into TSA approved sizes. So little travel bottles for shampoo, conditioner, etc. can be a huge lifesaver!

These GoToob travel bottles work great and are very practical, but I have to say that these penguin shaped ones may just be my favorite…if only because of the adorable shape!

Buy GoToob travel toiletry bottles now or read more reviews!

5. Travel Jewelry

Travel themed jewelry can be an excellent small gift to give, and something that your favorite traveler can take with them on their next journey! Some of my favorites include airplane earrings, a world map necklace, and passport earrings. They’re just so cute! (And bonus if you give them a portable jewelry case for them to keep their jewelry organized on all their travels too!)

6. Collapsible Water Bottle

For all types of traveling and adventures, water is a necessity. But sometimes you don’t want to have to carry around a full-sized bottle all the time…and that’s where the Nomader Collapsible Water Bottle comes in!

Collapsible water bottles like this one are perfect small travel gifts as they take up little space in luggage or bags, until you need it and then you can just expand them! I especially like collapsible water bottles to take with me on long plane journeys, so I can keep them collapsed until I’m through airport security and find a water fountain to fill them up. And then it’s easy to roll it back up when it’s empty! It’s the perfect practical and unique travel gift for any traveler.

Click here to buy the Nomader Collapsible Water Bottle now!

7. Luggage Scale

When traveling, it can be easy to accidentally load up your suitcase with more weight than your airline allows. This goes for whether you’re preparing to leave home to go on vacation…or about to head home after vacation and realizing you may have bought too many souvenirs. And then you arrive at the airport and you’re stuck with extra baggage fees because your bags are overweight!

Well, not anymore with this Etekcity luggage scale! This portable scale measures in at 5.1″ x 1.2″ x 2.4″ and is very lightweight, so it’s great to keep at home or carry with you during vacation. You can easily weigh your luggage and know exactly how much you can bring with you, without worrying that you may accidentally have gone over the limit. That makes this the perfect gift for any traveler!

Buy this luggage scale now or read more reviews!

8. Travel Journal

[one_half padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_half] [one_half_last padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_half_last]

Travel journals make excellent gifts for travelers who like to document their adventures on the road or keep mementos of their experiences abroad. Some cool journals to check out include this refillable compass journal and this fun world map journal. And while this may be a small gift, it’s actually a long-lasting gift as they will treasure the memories they write here forever!

9. Travel Sized Games

For the traveler who also loves playing games, getting a few games that are easy to carry on-the-go can make a great gift! Games are great for some relaxing vacation fun with family and friends, but they’re also perfect for making new friends along the way or when staying in hostels.

Many companies make travel sized versions of their games, such as the travel Yahtzee or travel Jenga, but you can also pick up games like Bananagrams, Uno, and regular playing cards that are already perfectly travel sized and ready for fun!

10. Universal Plug Adapter

A universal plug adapter may be a small device, but it is the ultimate gift for international travelers. With just this one adapter, you can use your electronic devices in any country you visit!

I love the Skross Pro World Adapter, and take it with me everywhere. It’s suitable for use with plugs from pretty much any country to pretty much any other country (and yes, that means that people from countries other than the United States can use it to adapt to the US plug system too!)

This adapter is also really small for all that it does, and it’s especially nice for if you’re visiting multiple countries on one trip or have a layover in one country before your final destination in another country. No more worrying about whether you bought or brought the right adapters! So that makes this an amazing device to gift to any international traveler in your life.

Click here to buy the Skross Pro universal adapter now!

11. Trtl Travel Pillow

For long flights, bus trips, road trips, and really any type of travel, it’s nice to be comfortable and rest well along the way. And travel pillows are a great way to help get the rest you need!

The Trtl travel pillow makes an excellent gift choice, because it provides a balanced level of comfort with convenience for carrying. Many travel pillows are super bulky and a pain to carry with you, but the Trtl pillow is made of a soft fleece material with a support system inside and folds up really small. It’s like a combination between a scarf and a pillow, and the scarf part can easily be wrapped around a handle on a bag or backpack to conveniently carry it with you!

To use it, you just wrap the pillow around your neck and its structural system holds your head in place while you sleep. This means no more nodding off and waking yourself up when your head drops! It’s a handy little pillow for long travel days, and would make a wonderful gift.

Buy the Trtl travel pillow or read more reviews!

12. EnergyFlux Rechargeable Hand Warmer

Specifically for cold weather travel, one of my favorite travel devices is a rechargeable hand warmer. I used this all the time when I spent a winter in Germany, and I still use it to this day for those especially cold days or nights as well as long hikes in cold seasons. It’s wonderful to have a little portable heater that you can keep in your pocket!

I love the EnergyFlux Rechargeable Hand Warmer in particular because it heats up quickly and warms on both sides of the device. It’s great to have one of these on hand, but even better to have two of them so you can have one for each hand!

I also love this rechargeable hand warmer because its far more eco-friendly than using the single-use hand warmers that many travelers recommend. Plus, these hand warmers last for up to 500 recharges…so if you do the math, you’ll realize that to get the same amount of use from single-use hand warmers you’d have to spend at least $300 dollars on them! So all in all, why invest in creating more plastic waste when you can invest in a less expensive rechargeable hand warmer that your favorite traveler can use again and again?

Click to buy the EnergyFlux rechargeable hand warmer or read more reviews!

13. Luggage Tags

[one_third padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_third] [one_third padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_third] [one_third_last padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_third_last]

Luggage tags are the perfect cute and fun small travel gift, and even make a great travel stocking stuffer for Christmas! Like passport holders, they express a little individuality…but they also serve another purpose.

Luggage tags are great because they give you a place to write your name and contact information in case your bags go mission while you’re traveling. But if you choose a unique or bright luggage tag, they’re also so helpful when you’re trying to spot your checked baggage on the luggage carousel after a flight. It can be difficult to spot your bag when there are so many others that look nearly identical, but a unique luggage tag is like a little homing beacon to help you find your bag!

There are plenty of designs to choose from, but some of my favorites are the “I’m outta here” luggage tag, some cute doughnut luggage tags, and this bright and cheerful elephant luggage tag!

Check out more cute luggage tags to find the perfect gift!

14. Kindle

While this is one of the more expensive small travel gifts, a Kindle is an amazing gift for any traveler who enjoys reading. It’s basically gifting an entire world of entertainment in a 6″ device!

The Kindle Paperwhite is perfect for traveling as it is so small, waterproof, has a built-in adjustable light, and has a battery charge that can last for weeks! This means it’s an excellent device to have on any long haul flights or other long journeys, and it’s also perfect for lounging at a hotel or on the beach at a final destination.

Plus, with tons of new and old books to choose from through the Kindle library as well as from other eBook sources online, this gift really is many gifts in one. (Protip: you can get a free one month subscription to Kindle Unlimited to get access to over one million book titles…or you can gift a longer subscription along with the Kindle if you prefer).

Buy a Kindle Paperwhite now or read reviews!

15. LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

For the traveler who enjoys hiking or will be going somewhere with an unsafe water supply, a LifeStraw water filter is an excellent gift. It can filter up to 1000 liters of contaminated water to remove bacteria and parasites, making any freshwater safe to drink. Now that’s amazing!

Plus, at only nine inches long, it’s small enough that you can throw it in a backpack, purse, etc. and won’t even notice it’s there unless you need it in an emergency. This makes it a superb gift for hikers and other travelers or adventurers!

Click here to check out the LifeStraw Personal Water Filter or buy now!

16. JOBY GorillaPod Action Tripod

One of my favorite things about traveling is taking photos and making memories along the way! But when traveling alone, it can be difficult to take photos with yourself in them…and that’s where a travel tripod comes in!

The JOBY Action Tripod is one of my favorite tripods for GoPro and other small cameras. It’s small and lightweight (only 0.4 lbs) and can easily attach anywhere with its flexible leg system. It also has fantastic 90° tilting and 360° panning capabilities, which is so helpful for capturing those amazing panoramas of all the best views you see while traveling!

Of course, it isn’t a necessary travel device…but it is a great gift for travelers who like to take photos, videos, and panoramas while they’re adventuring. So if you’re looking to add a bit of photographic fun to your favorite traveler’s life, then this is the way to go!

Buy the JOBY GorillaPod Tripod now or read more reviews!

17. Inspiring Travel Books

[one_third padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_third] [one_third padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_third] [one_third_last padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_third_last]

While traveling is fun, we can’t travel all the time. Sometimes we have to stay at home and work (unfortunately). For times like these, an inspiring travel book is a perfect gift for the traveler in your life! Books like Atlas Obscura, Destinations of a Lifetime, and Wild can help inspire your traveler to look forward to their next destination, or even give them new ideas of what they want to see and where they want to go. So go ahead, give the gift of inspiration!

18. GoPro Dome for Over/Under Water Photos

Ever wondered how people get those really cool over/under water split photos? Well, it’s simple. All you need is a GoPro and a GoPro dome!

The dome I use and recommend is the PolarPro FiftyFifty Dome, which helps you take clear and beautiful shots half above and half underwater. Essentially, it works by pushing the water away from the lens so the GoPro lens can see more of the scene. This dome comes with a floating grip and features an easy snap-in design, so you’ll be ready to use it in no time!

If you know a traveler who loves being in the water and taking cool photos, then getting them a dome for their GoPro is an amazing present!

Buy the PolarPro dome now or read more reviews!

19. Travel Gift Cards

[one_third padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_third] [one_third padding=”0 0 0 0″]
[/one_third] [one_third_last padding=”40px 0 0 0″]
[/one_third_last]

While all of the gifts above are amazing, if you’re really stumped then sometimes nothing can beat giving a good, old fashioned gift card. This can be an exciting option as you give the actual gift of travel, by contributing to their travel fund!

Some good gift card options include Airbnb or Hotels.com for accommodation or Southwest for air travel. It may be a small gift in size, but I’m sure it will mean a lot to the traveler in your life!


Save for Later

Pinterest image for small gifts for travelers article

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *