If you’re looking for ideas for budget-friendly small travel gifts, here are a few products that I personally use on my own travels.
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With gas and electricity prices soaring and the cost of groceries rising steadily ever since we left the EU, there’s no doubt that quite a few us have been dreading the financial side of Christmas this year (myself included). For that reason, I ummed and ahhhed about publishing a 2022 Christmas Gift Guide, because, by doing so, I would be inadvertently encouraging my readers to spend money they may not necessarily have available to spend.
However, after some consideration, I decided instead to focus on more budget-friendly Christmas gifts. Money is tight for all of us this year (hell, I haven’t even put my heating on yet, because I really cannot afford to do so), but at the same time I don’t think any of us want to cancel Christmas completely; we just recognise that it might have to be a more low-key affair as far as present buying is concerned. And, this is why every single thing on this list of small travel gifts will cost you less than £50. Most of them come in at under £30.
So, without further ado, here are a plethora of gift ideas for the travel-loving person in your life. Whilst they may not be able to afford to travel as often, as far, or for as long as they used to, trust me, they’ll still travel. I’ll willingly shiver myself through winter and live on beans and toast for weeks if it means that I can still have the opportunity to explore somewhere new.
All of the items on this list are products I personally own, use and love, so I am not recommending anything I don’t have first-hand experience of.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. All this means is that if you make a purchase through one of the links I have provided, I will earn a small commission as a result but the cost to you will remain exactly the same.
Small Travel Gifts for Under £50
1 | Refillable water bottle with filter
This Water-to-Go refillable water bottle with filter is an absolute essential for anyone who’s travelling to a country whose tap water is not safe to drink. As you’ll probably be aware, such places aren’t limited to exotic, faraway destinations or third-world countries; even in Spain it’s not advisable to drink water straight from the tap. And, although bottled water is accessible and inexpensive, I shudder to think about the sheer number of plastic bottles that end up in landfill every year. So, I try to do my bit for the planet by taking my reusable water bottle with me everywhere I go.
You can fill them up from any water source in the world and the in-built filter will remove bacteria, viruses, water borne disease, protozoa, heavy metals such as Lead and harmful chemicals.
It’s one of the best small travel gifts for the traveller in your life, and for the world through which they roam.
2 | Silicone ear plugs
I do not travel anywhere without my ear plugs and eye mask (below), because (and especially now I’m a bit older) I really value a good night’s sleep. I’m fairly active on holiday. I walk a lot and always try to see and do as much as possible in the time I have available to me. So, feeling refreshed, alert and energised at the start of every day is important to me. I’m also a ridiculously light sleeper. So, even the slightest sound can rouse me from the deepest sleep. Ear plugs, whist they don’t obliterate sounds completely, do reduce the volume of them quite substantially.
These particular ones come with their own little carry case, which makes it much more difficult to lose or misplace them.
3 | Eye mask
Along with the above, an eye mask is an essential item in my travel kit.
If you’ve stayed in dorms at any point on your travels, you’ll be familiar with the kind of interrupted sleep you experience when sharing your space with other travellers. Everyone runs to a slightly different schedule, so even with the most thoughtful of room mates, there’ll be muffled conversation and torch lights to wake you from your slumber. Choosing a private room doesn’t necessarily guarantee a good night’s sleep though. Other guests, construction workers outside, church bells, dogs, cockerels, and late night music bars/clubs are among the long list of annoyances that have woken me in the past. And it’s not just limited to sounds — thin curtains, a total lack of curtains/blinds or sleeping in a tent has meant that, without my eye mask, I’ve often woken up as soon as the sun rises.
With my ear plugs and eye mask, I’ve slept right through the night on sleeper trains in China, in mountain lodges on the Mount Toubkal trek in Morocco, in tents at high altitude camps on the Inca Trail, and through the Muezzin’s regular call to prayer in Jordan (posts on Jordan to follow shortly).
4 | RFiD protected wallet
I received this as a gift quite a few Christmases or birthdays ago and I use it on a daily basis, not just for travel. I love that it’s small enough to fit in my handbag and has a zipped section for cash, a large pocket for notes, six sections in which to store cards, and the whole thing closes with a secure zip – so, no annoying velcro fasteners, which always seem to lose their stickiness over time.
It’s one of the best small travel gifts you can buy for the travel-loving person in your life. It’s compact, practical and durable, and also currently under £15, with free delivery.
5 | RFiD protected crossbody shoulder bag
Also made by LifeVenture (I own quite a few products by this brand and really rate them), this RFiD protected crossbody shoulder bag makes the perfect travel companion. There are multiple zipped compartments and pockets, an adjustable shoulder strap, and the waxed canvas provides protection from the elements. The bag is also made from recycled nylon, which is vegan and environmentally friendly.
6 | Packable daypack and carry-on washbag
Need a daypack as well as the bag you travel with on the plane, but have only paid for hand luggage so your usual daypack won’t fit inside? No problem – get a packable daypack! Contrary to popular belief, they’re actually really strong and sturdy and you can fit a surprisingly large amount of stuff inside. The one I’ve linked to is from Osprey, who make some of the best backpacks on the market.
The carry-on washbag is also from Osprey. I’ve had mine for years and it’s still going strong, and I’ve only once had an airline refuse it and ask me to transfer all my toiletries into one of their own flimsy clear plastic bags. As small travel gifts go, these are two I wouldn’t be without.
7 | Inflatable travel pillow
This is another product that I received as a gift, and one that I will now be taking with me on every single long haul flight I board. It packs down ridiculously small and fits inside its own little carry case that sits comfortably in the palm of my hand. It also inflates and deflates in seconds. And, the fact that it’s narrower at the back of the neck means that I don’t feel as if my head is being pushed forward in the seat.
It’s one of the best small travel gifts for the traveller who favours long-haul destinations.
8 | Head torch
Another essential product for travellers and one of the best small travel gifts for general outdoor enthusiasts, my Petzl head torch has a long burn time, is lightweight, and has an integrated emergency whistle and LED lights. This particular one is a hybrid, which means that it takes three AAA batteries as well as the core rechargeable battery, so you don’t need to be near a power source to recharge it; just pack a spare set or two of batteries.
9 | Portable battery charger
Like the RFiD protected wallet, I rarely leave the house without my portable battery charger (unless it’s just a standard working day in the office). As we rely on our mobile phones to complete more and more tasks in our daily lives, we cannot risk running out of battery life when we’re away from home. On a full charge, this 20000mAh Anker battery pack will provide in excess of four full charges for the latest smart phones on the market (I’m sure I’ve got more than four out of it for my Samsung S22), so even when you’re out on those hiking trails all day, using a navigation app and taking photos/videos, you can feel safe in the knowledge that this portable battery pack has got your back.
It’s especially useful for multi-day hikes when you’re camping overnight and have limited or zero access to an electricity supply. It’s one of the best small travel gifs for the traveller who likes to be out and about all day.
10 | Titanium spork
I recently upgraded from a plastic spork to a more durable titanium one, and I love it — it’s so much easier to cut with!
In case you’re not familiar with sporks, they’re a brilliant invention which is essentially a knife, fork and spoon all rolled into one incredibly useful piece of cutlery. It’s an important part of my camping kit, but I also take it on my travels with me. It comes in useful for peeling and slicing fruit purchased from the local market and for generally eating food that’s been prepared and/or purchased away from my temporary home. It also saves using the throw-away plastic cutlery that is universally bad for the environment.
The one I’ve linked to comes in a lovely little storage pouch, which makes it a bit nicer to give as a gift.
11 | Travel towel
Standard bath towels, whilst much nicer to use and a lot more absorbent than their microfibre equivalents, take up a hell of a lot of room in your backpack or suitcase, especially if you’re travelling with hand luggage only. For this reason, I always travel with my microfibre travel towel. It packs down into its own little carry case and weighs just 120 grams (large size). It also dries eight times faster than a standard beach towel, which means that if you’re on a trip where you’re moving on every couple of days, or you’re travelling somewhere with a climate not conducive to drying anything very quickly then a travel towel is a handy little item to have with you.
Yes, I’m very aware that towels are provided in a lot of hotels, apartments and guesthouses these days, but there’s certainly no guarantee that you’ll get one, especially in less developed countries and in hostels. And, if you’re incorporating a remote multi-day hike into your trip (as I often choose to do), camping or sleeping in mountain lodges, tea houses or basic homestays, then you’ll most definitely need to bring your own towel along.
If you fancy something a bit more fun then Tesalate make some compact, absorbent, fast-drying and sand-repellent towels, which come in two different sizes and a variety of bold and colourful designs.
12 | Combination lock
Whilst not as important if you’re heading to one specific destination and staying there for the duration of your trip, a combination lock is an essential piece of kit if you’re backpacking, using public transport, or sharing accommodation with other travellers. Having a combination lock means you don’t have to worry about losing keys; you just need to remember the 3-digit code you set up.
13 | Worldwide travel adaptor
Remember the days when you used to have to buy a different adaptor for every country or region you travelled to, and you had a whole box of them at home to sift through every time you packed for a new trip? Well, we can now rejoice that those days are over, because you can now buy a single universal travel adaptor that is compatible with over 150 countries worldwide. This particular one even has four USB ports and one USB-C, and comes in its own little carry case. It’s one of the most important small travel gifts for the traveller who jets off to multiple different countries each year.
14 | Solid shampoo and conditioner bars
When you travel with hand luggage only and have a small clear bag to fit all of your toiletries in, being able to travel with solid versions of at least two of these products is an absolute game changer. They don’t have to be declared at airport security, take up so much less room compared to their full-size liquid equivalents and last at least twice as long.
I’ve been using solid shampoo bars for travel for absolutely ages, but it’s only in more recent years that brands have started making conditioner bars that actually work as well as their liquid counterparts. One of my favourite brands for both shampoo and conditioner bars is Grüum.
Started by four friends from Manchester and inspired by Scandinavian ideals, Grüum is a company who make quality skincare and haircare products for ‘everyone’ (rather than targeting specifically men or women). They don’t believe in gimmicks, labels or fancy packaging, choosing instead to invest the money in the products themselves — products that are made from simple, natural ingredients. The majority of their products are manufactured here in the UK, they keep their packaging to a bare minimum and the packaging they do use is made from widely recyclable materials.
I also love that their shampoo and conditioner bars are such good value for money. I always stock up when they have one of their £5 sales on (which they currently do, for a limited period of time).
Other sustainable skincare brands I love are UpCircle and Face Theory. Click on the UpCircle link to get £10 off a £15+ spend or the Face Theory link to get 20% off a £15+ spend.
15 | Electronics accessories organiser bag
I don’t know about you, but as the years roll on, I seem to be travelling with an increasing amount of electronic equipment. There’s my camera, my smartphone, my laptop, my portable battery charger, my Kindle, my smartwatch and my head torch, and each one of these comes with its own charging cable. Considering that a lot of my adventures are of the backpacking kind — which means that I’m packing and unpacking multiple times during each trip — I’m actually surprised that I’ve not lost or misplaced any of these cables thus far. Bearing in mind that I’m not the most methodical packer on the planet, I put this down to the fact that a few years ago I purchased a small electronics accessories organiser bag.
Not only are there sections for cables in here, but also for batteries, SD cards, SD card readers and small plugs. There’s even room for a wireless mouse (as per the photo above). The whole thing fastens with a zip, to keep all of your accessories safe and secure.
If you’d like to save this guide on the best small travel gifts to refer to later, why not pin it to one of your Pinterest boards?
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