A gift guide for travelers at home this year, because we can’t buy them plane tickets!

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Because of 2020 and all the craziness it’s brought, odds are we’ve all had to cancel plans this year.

Spending so much more time at home means we’ve had to get creative with the ways we engage with the world. That’s meant experiencing other cultures through Netflix, getting back into language learning, or finally going through the photos from that last trip.

So if you have someone on your Christmas list that loves to travel, I’ve rounded up some quarantine-friendly gift ideas for them! Think of it as a gift guide for travelers at home edition.

I also have a more traditional gift guide for travelers, but I wanted to put together a slightly different list that includes more options we can enjoy from home.

Some of the below are affiliate links, but most are just products or companies that I love! Everything on this list I either own or want for myself this Christmas. 😉

Gift Guide for Travelers at Home

Traveling at Home

• I love my scratch map! It’s so much fun to scratch off each country when we’re back home. I have this one for the world and one similar to this for US states.
• Great olive oil is the perfect gift for someone who’s impossible to shop for! I love Bonamini – it’s a family-run company with fantastic olive oil. I’ve toured their frantoio (olive oil farm/production shop) twice and love everything I’ve tasted from them! Plus, they ship to the US.
• Since food is one of my favorite ways to experience a place, cookbooks make great gifts. I still use this one all the time, and I want this one. If you’re specifically looking for Italian food, try this or this!
• Subscription boxes are always fun! I’ve had Try the World in the past and it’s fun and cute to try snacks from a different country each month! They also have two versions at different price points to fit your budget.
• Because they need breaking in, hiking boots are a great gift option right now. You can wear them around the house to avoid blisters that first hike. And hiking is socially-distant, so they can get out there and put them to use!
• Traveling from our couch has been a thing this year, so books and movies are big wins. Some of my favorite books about travel are In a Sunburned Country, Bella Tuscany, and The Sweet Life in Paris.
• If you’re wanting pure fiction, try The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency or The Stationery Shop.
• A gift card to Shutterfly will encourage them actually print all those gorgeous photos they took on the last trip! Even better, make an album!

Prep the next trip

• One good thing from 2020 is the rise of the online course, especially by small businesses! Whether you’re interested in learning more about planning your next trip, wine, or wanting to move to Italy, there are some great options out there.
• Guide books are a seriously underrated gift in my opinion. A friend gave me one right before my 2016 month in Europe: it was ridiculously helpful and surprisingly fun to read!
• I’ve recommended Rosetta Stone before, but they continue to impress me with their app. Nothing beats live speaking to someone (which you can do with them for an extra fee), but Rosetta Stone’s program is the next best thing. It gives a great foundation with helpful scenarios that you’ll actually find yourself in, and their pronunciation feedback is where they set themselves apart from most other language learning programs.
• My favorite souvenir is always the photos, so a good camera is clutch! If you want a DSLR, this one is a great place to start. If you want something smaller and cheaper, go with this guy.
• Getting into photography? Extra memory cards are a must, as well as a tripod!
• A journal is a fantastic gift for a traveler. Whether it’s to dream up itineraries, keep lists of destinations, or record future trips, it’s perfect! There are some fun guided ones from companies like Lonely Planet, and you can’t go wrong with a classic notebook.

Travel tools on their wish list

• It’s not the most exciting gift, but a universal adapter is essential when they’re traveling again. Trust me, these things are clutch.
• I am obsessed with this backpack – its the perfect balance of small enough to carry on flights but big enough to fit what I need! Makes a great gift for someone saving up to backpack around Europe in the future!
• Not a backpack person? These rolling bags are on my wish list this year!
• Because we use phones all day for photos, directions, and so much more, a portable charger brick is essential. I take mine everywhere, even on day trips.

I hope my gift guide for travelers at home gets you inspired, both for thoughtful gifts and for future travel!

Looking for more gift guides? Try my traditional gift guide for the traveler or for the chef in your life!