I don’t think of myself as overly difficult to shop for, but then birthday after birthday, my brother doesn’t buy me a gift. Maybe it’s him, maybe it’s me. We will never know.
As a traveler, there are a lot of things I absolutely do not want, and most of what I do want has something to do with travel. Anything that is not useful, as well as anything that goes into a kitchen, no thanks! Basically anything that can’t go with me or can’t keep up with me, leave it on the shelf! And if the gift is not going with me, I’m a fan of awesome things that remind me of my travels!
But don’t get me wrong, it’s not all about SmartWool socks. I still want cool travel gifts, and I know my fellow solo female travelers do as well.
So for those of you who are scratching their heads about giving gifts for the intrepid ladies in your lives, I got your back.
1. JORD Wood Watches for Women
These watches are AMAZING! They are beautiful, made of real wood and are customized specially for your wrist size. I have the JORD Dark Sandalwood and Emerald watch, and I may have never gotten so excited when something arrived in the mail.
My model is pretty big, which I actually love since I am kind of blind, but there are smaller ones for the delicate flowers, as well as men’s and unisex looks. What actually makes these watches awesome for travellers is that because they are made of wood they don’t shout BLING. The wood is gorgeous, but doesn’t attract attention from would-be thieves or make you a target for anything else untoward. Since we know attracting attention with expensive gear is a big solo travel safety no-no… So it’s kind of tricky: you get to wear a wicked beautiful watch but not be all showy about it!
Even resident cat Michelle Obama wanted to get in on the awesome wood watch action!
PLUS: JORD is GIVING AWAY one of these awesome watches!
The Giveaway runs until October 4 2017, and you can find it HERE!
2. Landmass Travel Tracker Map
Not something to take on the road, but an awesome piece to celebrate your nomadic memories. These travel tracker maps are made with the same materials as scratch off lottery tickets. The entire map starts off gold, and slowly gets colourful as you scratch off the countries you have been to.
The map makes a great wall hanging, and a fun activity to remember all of the good times from abroad. I am also obsessed with maps, so it really is just a perfect addition to my family of maps already scattered around my life.
My only downfall with this map is that personally I have been to a lot of really small countries. Meaning at first glance, my map doesn’t seem to represent how much I have travelled. The Cook Islands are such a tiny dot! Looks like I need to check out Russia, or Argentina…
3. Joby GorillaPod Hybrid Flexible Mini-Tripod
There is absolutely no way I am carrying a tripod with me on my travels. I barely want to bring extra pants. But this tripod is so different, I actually bought it for my Dad a few years back.
The GorillaPod is first and foremost, small, lightweight and flexible. The legs wrap around things, and can be manipulated to stand on slanted surfaces, like volcanos.
There are several GorillaPod models, though the most versatile can hold a camera over 2.2lbs in weight. And if you’re carrying a bigger camera, well…
4. Nomader Collapsible Water Bottle
As I mentioned earlier, I’m all about saving space when I travel. Water bottles are by nature,bulky and rather unyielding. Until the modern age of genius!
There are now all kinds of collapsible water bottles out there that will not leak, tear, or otherwise self-destruct. I like the Nomader water bottles because they are made of silicon, which means they can carry hot and cold liquids plus they are super durable. Which is big for me since I break things, all the time.
5. Shacke Pak Packing Cubes
Packing Cubes are another grand invention that is just so simple, but has totally revolutionized travel. They really are just a much more sturdy version of the packing everything in Ziplocks technique, but packing cubes keep your bags organized and compressed. Choose what to pack in each cube depending on the size, and make a better use of all of the space in your bags.
There are tons of different packing cubes out there, but you definitely want to look for some with sturdy zippers and a variety of sizes
6. Travel Gift Cards!
I know, this sounds super impersonal and lame, but I can’t describe how thrilled I would be to get gift cards that would chip away at the cost of my trips, without giving up any personal freedoms 🙂
Hotels.com offers either physical gift cards that get mailed to your special person or electronic gift cards that they can keep in their email. The gift cards can be redeemed for any online hotel booking, such a great deal!
AirBnB also offers gift cards, but unfortunately they are only available for the US residents in our midst 🙂
7. Buy a Memory!
Get Your Guide is an awesome attractions booking website where activities, tours, attractions tickets and more can be bought online ahead of time. That means, you can buy any of those awesome experiences for your most loved traveler in your life!
Think about it, if you know someone wants to visit the Eiffel Tower, you can help them out by buying their entry for them! The one thing you need to know, is the date and time, which can be tough for any kind of surprises. But personally I would take a day trip to Machu Picchu over a surprise any day!
8. Help them Stay Connected with SkyRoam
Skyroam is another one of these crazy new age inventions that makes travel so much easier.
Skyroam is a device that can be either bought or rented, and for a certain amount of money per day, provides Wifi anywhere in the world with no roaming charges. Just think how many Instagram posts your buddy could make if they had Wifi ALL THE TIME!
Plus, I would love it because then I could receive pictures of my cat constantly!
9. SteriPEN Adventurer Opti UV Water Purifier
Probably the easiest way to purify water, the SteriPEN is literally just a crazy piece of science that I have no idea how to explain but it makes undrinkable water drinkable.
Basically, the very light epi-pen shaped contraption is left in a container of water and minutes later the water is free of bacteria, protozoa, and viruses that can cause water-borne illnesses. Or as I know it, 7 minutes after a Jack-in-the-Box breakfast.
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