If you know someone who loves to travel and write about their adventures, you’ll know that when it comes to birthdays and Christmas, conventional gifts just won’t do.
Aspiring travel writers are always on the go, so they value portable gifts that can make any journey easier, and gifts that can help them find success as a travel writer.
But it can be hard to think of great gift ideas that are actually useful, especially if you’re not very travel-inclined yourself.
So to make the gift-giving process a little easier, here are the best gifts for aspiring travel writers.
Little gifts for aspiring travel writers
1: How To Be A Travel Writer, Lonely Planet
This book by Lonely Planet is one of the best books out there for aspiring travel writers.
It gives a thorough strategy to getting set up as a travel writer, covering everything from preliminary trip research, to story planning, to how and where to publish travel writing and start building an audience.
2: Travel Diary with scratch map
This travel diary is 2 gifts in 1, with a handy travel planner journal and a set of scratch maps for each continent.
Travel writers can plan their trips, make notes as they go, and scratch off the places they’ve seen.
3: Vargic’s Miscellany of Curious Maps
This is a quirky gift for an aspiring travel writer, and one that inspires old school adventure.
Travel writers can feel like traditional adventurers as they unfold the different vintage-style maps and plan a route through various countries.
The 64 maps in the atlas don’t just focus on geography, they focus on culture, changing the way you think about each country. There are maps of the internet, of literature, of gaming and sport. You can even see a map that shows the world in terms of heavy metal bands.
Each map is accompanied by a handful of interesting and unusual facts, so travel writers can learn about the world whilst planning a route based on culture.
4: How To Be An Explorer Of The World, Keri Smith
This is a travel book/journal that encourages observant thinking. It’s a refreshing reminder to look at the world through fresh eyes.
The colourful book is artistic and unusual, and it’s bound to get any travel writer thinking about new ways to observe and document the world around them.
5: Fair Trade Tree of Life Journal
Every travel writer needs a journal to jot down their ideas, and this tree of life journal is both ethical and stylish. The blank pages give writers freedom to write and draw in their own style.
6: LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
This is a great gift for travel writers who like to go off-grid. It’s a portable water filter so if there’s no bottled water around, you can use this safe in the knowledge that it’s going to remove 99.9% of waterborne bacteria and parasites. Lots of people have even said this makes water taste purer than some bottled water.
7: Pack-away Rucksack
Traveling can have its spontaneous moments, and when spontaneity strikes, you need a good day bag.
This pack-away rucksack fits easily into a pocket when folded away, and can be unfolded to be a full size, 20 litre day bag.
It’s also water resistant and has different pockets so you can keep your things organised.
8: Anti-theft dry bag day rucksack
Having a versatile day bag means no adventure is off limits. Travel writers can store their notebooks, valuables, and even laptops in this day bag, and go adventuring on land or in the water.
It’s water resistant so you can use it as a dry bag, and it’s coated with RFID technology that makes data theft impossible – hackers can’t scan through the material.
It’s also one of the safest day bags you can get, with a built-in lockable stainless steel cage.
9: Universal Travel Plug
Every avid traveler needs a universal travel plug. It saves faffing around with different adapters, and means you can charge multiple devices at once, even if there’s only one plug socket available.
This travel plug can be used in over 180 different countries and can charge one device with a standard UK plug, and 4 devices using USB cables.
Technology Gifts For Travel Writers
Gone are the days when travel writers hit the road with nothing but a pad and paper. If aspiring writers want their content to be seen, they need to take their writing online, and certain pieces of technology can definitely help.
10: Kindle Paperwhite
Most aspiring writers are also keen readers, where else would they have got the inspiration from? Anyway, bookaholics need to be able to take all their favourite novels with them when they travel, and a Kindle is a great way to do just that.
The Kindle Paperwhite is waterproof, and lightweight, so it’s perfect for anyone planning to travel. Travel writers can take thousands of books with them for inspiration, without feeling weighed down.
11: Solar charger power bank
Every now and then, travel writers need to go off grid, or at least venture into the countryside for inspiration.
A solar charger is the perfect gift for the more adventurous travel writer, as regardless of where they are, they’ll be able to charge their devices.
They can then stay connected with loved ones, use their devices to write or research, and call for help in an emergency.
12: PowerCube
For technologically inclined writers and travellers, the PowerCube is an ideal gift. They can plug in to a single power socket, and charge several devices from one port.
The cube includes 3 standard plug sockets, and 2 built in USB ports, so they can charge laptops, tablets, phones etc.
13: reMarkable tablet
The reMarkable paper tablet is the ultimate gift for a writer. It feels just like paper to write on, and it saves all your notes in one place. So no flicking through endless pieces of paper containing random notes.
It’s an easier, and more modern alternative to a notebook, and it’s much more environmentally friendly. It’s also really lightweight, so it won’t be a burden if you’re trying to pack light.
14: Skyroam Solis: Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot & Power Bank
Writers need to research, and nowadays, research requires Wi-Fi. One sure-fire way to get Wi-Fi all over the world is to have a Skyroam Wi-Fi hotspot, so this is definitely an impressive gift for a travel writer.
The device allows travellers to connect to the Wi-Fi as and when they need it. They can buy long term packages, or day passes. So if they ever need internet access urgently, think of this little device as the key to the internet.
It also doubles as a power bank, so you can charge devices whilst using the Wi-Fi.
15: Compact Travel Camera
Writers often need to take pictures to accompany their writing, but a bulky camera isn’t really suited to travel. So if your travel writer friend doesn’t already have a compact travel camera, this could be a good gift idea.
My favourite travel camera is the Sony RX100 VA, which is a high end compact camera that can film in 4K and shoot 20.1mp photos. You can check out my Sony RX100 VA review here.
But if you’re after a more budget-friendly gift, my top choice for a budget travel camera is the Sony Cyber-Shot WX500. You can also read my Sony WX500 review.
16: MacBook Air
Every travel writer needs a decent laptop, and a MacBook Air is the ultimate travel laptop. This is a pricey gift, but it’s a good one if you’ve got a travel writer who’s close to your heart.
With this laptop, travel writers will have all the equipment they need to achieve success. And it’s lightweight so it’s great for traveling.
17: Voice recorder
Writers need to take notes, and for some people, going through ideas out loud is the best way to sort genius from madness.
A voice recorder is a great way to take notes of ideas, without having to put pen to paper. This is a great gift for writers who suffer from not being able to write down their racing ideas quick enough.
18: Voice Recorder Pen
Voice recorder pens don’t have as many options and settings as standard voice recorders, but they’re great for writers who want to record conversations discreetly. It’s also a pretty cool writer’s gadget, and an unusual gift to give.
Gift a Course: Courses For Travel Writers
Every aspiring travel writer wants to achieve success as a writer. But to do that, they need to perfect their writing style and figure out how to get their content seen. A great way to better writing skills, and learn more about the world of travel writing, is to learn from the best.
These courses can help travel writers find success, and they can all be bought as a gift.
19: The Ultimate Travel Journalism Course
This course is run by the British College of Journalism, so writers can learn from the best how to write for an audience, and how to make money doing so. It’s a study-at-home course, so travel writers can take their time and study at their own pace. The course takes 24 weeks, but it can be completed in up to two years.
Students will be in contact with professional travel journalists who can give advice based on over 30 years of experience.
20: Travel Writing 2.0
This is a course in the form of a book, so it’s an affordable gift to buy your travel writer friend, partner or relative. It acknowledges that travel writing is no longer about getting a column in a local newspaper, but thriving in the digital world. So it has modern tips about getting content out there and making money digitally.
It also includes interviews from more than 100 successful writers.
If you’re confused by the ‘2.0’ part of the title, basically there was an original book that was really popular, but this is the updated version, with more up-to-date information.
21: The Business Of Travel Blogging
Nomadic Matt, aka Matt Kepnes, is the most successful travel blogger in the world right now. He’s making more than enough money to sustain a life of travel, and he’s inspired millions to seek the furthest corners of the earth.
His course on travel blogging teaches students how to write for an online audience, how to set up a blog, and how to get traffic to that blog. It really is a chance to learn from the best.
And it’s not just Matt’s advice that you’ll get on this course either. He also includes interviews with other successful travel bloggers.
I live in the UK, in the country’s most uneventful city, where the most interesting story in the local paper is about banning dressing gowns in supermarkets.
I travel and I write, because surely there are more interesting stories than that to write about and share.
