The Ultimate Gift Guide for Budget Travelers

 

1. Waterproof phone case 2. Kate Spade laptop bag 3. Wool socks 4. Amika dry shampoo  5. Dr. Bronner’s soap
6. Mudder silicone containers 7. Baggu tote 8. MiraPure hair tool 9. R+Co hair care 10. Wash&Wear bags

 

Welcome back to the Ultimate Gift Guide series!

Last week, I shared my top picks for the best gifts for solo travelers. (My gift guide for traveling couples is now up too, which you can check out here!) This week, we’re tackling the best gifts for budget travelers, which is probably my most requested gift guide! Traveling while on a budget means that you need to make everything you bring truly count. Budget travelers often opt for carry-on luggage only (I know I do!) in order to save money on the crazy, sky-high baggage fees that most airlines charge these days.

That means choosing products and items to pack that you know will last your entire trip and be genuinely useful. I have put together a gift guide for budget travelers that has tons of great ideas for what to get the frugal traveler in your life. Any of these gifts would be helpful, useful, or improve their trip in some way!

Enough chit chat, let’s get into it!

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For the working traveler:

Let’s face it – when you’re on a tight budget, it often means that you need to bring your work with you and get some tasks done on the road. These gift ideas make bringing work gear on your travels much easier and more comfortable, which any work-on-the-go budget traveler will appreciate! Practical and useful, most of these items are on the budget-friendly end of the scale, so you don’t have to break the bank to be helpful. With so many people working remotely these days,

The one exception to that rule is this beautiful Kate Spade laptop bag. Many laptop cases and bags are boring and ugly (if we’re being totally honest). Why not add a little style and class to your friend’s laptop bag collection? If you’re looking for a gift on the slightly more splurge-y end, this classic black and white striped beauty is the perfect option! (This is its big sister, the Kate Spade Daveney laptop bag, which comes in the same design but is slightly bigger.)

If you’d rather gift something a little more budget-friendly, these gorgeous Tomoc padded laptop cases are slim, super protective and come in a variety of stylish prints and colors! (Bonus: they start at just $16.99!)

Shop gift ideas:

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Bonus tech ideas:

If the budget traveler in your life likes to document their trips with photo and video, they likely need a place to store all those memories safely! This 2TB hard drive by La Cie is one of the highest-rated and most durable drives on Amazon, and for good reason. It is shock-resistant for drops up to 4 feet, dust and water resistant, and great for all-terrain use! If they already have their own hard drive, you can gift them a sturdy slimline hard drive case like this one by Amazon Basics (bonus: it’s a great idea for a low cost stocking stuffer)!

There are lots of other great hard drive options at varying price points, like these 2TB hard drives by Seagate, or one of these two My Passport options by WD, which is a trusted brand as well.

A phone/camera tripod is also a great gift idea for the budget traveler who wants to jump in and get some photos of themselves on the road!

Lastly, a waterproof phone case is a fantastic gift idea for budget travelers who may want to use their smartphone for underwater photography or videography! This case by MoKo is IPX Certified and can safely withstand underwater dives up to 98 meters deep. Pretty cool! This is another great stocking stuffer, low budget item with great practicality – only $6.99!

Shop bonus gift ideas:

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For the chilly traveler:

Many budget travelers choose to take their trips during the off-season to save money, which means that they are often traveling during the cold, winter months! If the traveler in your life is heading to a chilly destination this winter, help keep them cozy and warm by gifting them a pair of these awesome, made in the USA, comfy wool socks by Darn Tough, suggested by fellow budget travelers Scott and Hayley:

 

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Bonus gift ideas:

This combo hair straightener and hair brush by MiroPure is an excellent choice for a budget traveler looking for an easy, compact way to combine two items and conserve on space!

Other great stocking stuffer ideas: aloe vera hand sanitizer by L’Autre Peau that won’t dry out their skin, a perfume atomizer so they can bring their favorite scents on their travels, or some stylish TSA-approved pouches by Squeeze Pod to put all their products in!

These items may seem like small gifts, but as a fellow budget traveler, I can attest to the joy of practical, useful gifts. Bundling together a few of these products in a travel care package or stuffing a few into your budget traveler’s stocking will be greatly appreciated by anyone looking to pack and travel more efficiently (and save money).

Shop bonus gift ideas:

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For the organized traveler:

Alright, truth time: I will probably include packing cubes in every single one of these five gift guides, because they are just SO useful! I can’t believe what a huge difference they make in packing efficiently, saving space, and staying sane on the road. Really. Giving the gift of packing cubes may seem silly, but trust me, they are incredibly helpful and life-changing.

The ones pictured above are these compression packing cube set by Lean Travel (right now, they’re only $29.99!) and while I don’t have any personal experience with this brand, they have a lot of good reviews and seem to be great quality. My favorite packing cubes of all time will forever remain Eagle Creek’s Specter line, which is just a little bit pricier. However, giving the gift of high quality, top-of-the-line packing cubes is something that will last forever (or at least…a really, really long time). Any budget traveler knows the frustration of trying to tetris all your clothes and products into one small carry-on bag. Packing cubes make that task a whole heck of a lot easier and less stressful!

One gift idea that many might forget to include is a luggage scale. Having one of these little gadgets has saved me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in surprise baggage fees at the airport. Totally worth the money (and they’re super affordable). I highly recommend gifting the budget traveler in your life a luggage scale so they can weigh out their bags at home and avoid paying the exorbitant overage fees most airlines charge!

Another one of my favorite packing accessories are these GoToobs by Human Gear. Perfect for storing your favorite liquid and cream products while traveling, GoToobs are durable and easy to squeeze, which sounds silly…but trust me, there are a LOT of annoyingly hard plastic imitators that make it impossible to use up your products fully (which is important when you have such little product volume to start with)!

Lastly, these silicone cosmetic jars by Mudder are another great option for storing favorite products from home while on your travels.

Shop gift ideas:

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For the sustainable budget traveler:

A tote bag, like this one in adorable polar bear print by one of my favorite brands, Baggu, is a great gift idea for the eco-conscious budget traveler who wants to practice sustainable travel and still wants to carry around a cute tote bag! Baggu makes super lightweight (seriously, they’re like feathers!), compact, easy to store reusable shopping and tote bags, perfect for small jaunts to the grocery store or a stroll through a Christmas market. Okay, you may need more than one tote bag at a Christmas market, but I digress…

A fellow traveler’s thoughts on why tote bags are awesome for those on the road:

Plastic bags are a budget traveler’s nightmare when entering foreign supermarkets to buy food rather than eat at restaurants. Bringing along a (personalized) tote bag makes it easier to say no to the 931 plastic bags offered, especially when you don’t speak the native language. You’re also setting a good example for other travelers you meet along the way (and it can even be a conversation starter).

– Jub Bryant, Tiki Touring Kiwi

If you’re looking for a sturdier tote bag option, Baggu also makes beautiful canvas totes, like this one:

For an extra special touch, gift your budget traveler one of these unique “Wash Me!” laundry bags. They’re cute and practical, which is the best of both worlds, right? Having a special dirty laundry bag helps keep their already jam-packed suitcase even more organized and clean. Side note: the adorable Wash/Wear bags featured pictured in the graphic above have sadly already sold out!

Another great gift idea is the Scrubba, suggested by fellow budget traveler Jean:

The Scrubba Wash Bag is the ultimate budget traveler gift. It’s a lightweight wash bag that also doubles as a dirty laundry or dry bag. The Scrubba Bag saves a ton of money when you’re on the road, allowing you the opportunity to wash your delicate items and frequently worn clothes. This means no longer having to laboriously hand wash your items in the shower of your hostel room!

– Jean Cheney, Traveling Honeybird

Shop gift ideas:

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Bonus unique gift ideas for budget travelers:

Give the gift of reading and think about signing up the budget travelers in your life for a Book of the Month Club subscription! Each month, they’ll be able to choose which books they want, add on extras, and gather fresh reading material for their travels. Such a fun, unique gift (and one they probably won’t be expecting)!

Another wonderful, slightly unconventional idea is donating to their favorite charity in their name. Find out which causes are most important to them and make a donation in their name as a holiday gift! There’s nothing more rewarding than knowing your dollars are going to a reputable organization that’s doing good in the world. Check out Charity Navigator for ratings on different charities to narrow down your search.

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Thanks for reading my Gift Guide for Budget Travelers!

I hope you found some unique, helpful gift ideas for budget travelers in this gift guide! Which of these gifts do you think you might buy for the traveler in your life? (Or just buy for yourself, shhh…I won’t tell!) Let me know your favorite ideas in the comments below, and let me know if I missed anything! Thanks for sticking with me ’til the end.

If you missed last week’s gift guide for solo travelers, be sure to go check that out. (Next week’s gift guide is for traveling couples, and it’s live now – click through if you need some last-minute Christmas gift ideas!)

And just in case you aren’t already, come join the Instagram fam!

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Note: There may be affiliate links in this post, which won’t cost you anything to use, but if you choose to purchase through these links, I’ll get a teeny commission, which will help me keep this blog going. Thanks for your support!