After a lot of research, we have come up with a list of the best gift ideas for a backpacker.
When we say research, it basically means we have emptied our bags 🎒 and workout what we used, what came in handy and what we never used. We have seen so many blogs out there that give you a HUGE list of items that supposedly you will need for you travels. When in reality, you won’t need them at all and are just a waste of money. Obviously, everyone’s needs are different depending on the location you are travelling too, how long for and the sort of person you are. But we have cut our list down to the essentials and more importantly, things that can be given as gifts. Saying that, we are not sure what is worse, buying your very own first aid kit, or getting it in your stocking this Christmas. 🧑🏻⚕️
Our list is a little different to a lot of the other blogs. All the items below are genuine products that we pack every time we go away and can’t live without. We have also tried to provide some helpful experiences, where these products have come in handy.
*This post might contain our affiliate links. This is at no extra cost to you, but you would be doing us a solid if you did use them. It shows us your appreciation after we have written this amazing travel guide for you 😏*
We signed up for the free Amazon Prime 30 days trail and ordered all the below gifts. This meant we got free delivery on all our items. You can get your FREE 30 day Amazon Prime trail here.
Gift Ideas For A Backpacker – Our Bags
The second trip we embarked on we ditched the backpack and invested in some robust suitcases instead. On this trip we travelled from the Philippines to Australia to work in a ski resort. So for us having the extra space of a suitcase worked a lot better.
PACKING CUBES
If you are like us and are thinking to yourself, why do I need packaging cubes. It is because they make your life so much easier. Whether you have a suitcase or a rucksack it doesn’t matter. Emptying your entire bag onto the floor to find 1 item of clothing or searching for the rogue adaptor that has fallen to the bottom of your bag is never fun. Packing cubes allow you to organise your bags into individual sections. We mainly use them for keeping our dirty washing separated from our clean clothes.
WATER BOTTLE 💦
Have ever been to the beach and seen the amount of plastic that gets washed up onto the shore? If you have, then you will know why a re-usable water bottle is a must. There are lots of different brands, but we love Chilly’s because of their amazing colours and designs and keep our water cold all day. There is nothing worse than warm water.
PORTABLE PHONE CHARGER 🔋
If you haven’t got one already then you will defiantly need to invest in a Portable Phone Charger. We have two tips when choosing the best charger.
1, Look for a product that has the cables built within the charger, you won’t have to carrying an excessive amount of cables in your pocket when you are on the go.
2, Check to see what the mAh rating is, the high the mAh the more charges you will get. Remember the more charges you get, the bigger and heavier the charger will be.
Gift Ideas For A Backpacker – See what is in our camera bag
NECK PILLOW 🛌
Some people love them and some people hate them. You can go for an inflatable neck pillow which is handy when travelling as it will fold away nicely. However this type of pillow are not normally that comfortable. Whereas the big luxury, comfy ones are a pain to store but you will get a better night sleep.
EYE MASK/EAR PLUGS 💤
Planning on staying in a hostel dormitory? Then you will need an eye mask and ear plugs. You won’t believe how something so small can’t make your life so much better.
MICROFIBER TOWEL
We generally don’t use our microfiber towels for day to day showering and washing. But the convenience of having a compact fast drying towel in your luggage for those random occasions is worth it. They come in all different sizes from hand towels to full length shower towels.
PAD LOCK 🔒
Whether you use it to secure your suitcase whilst taking a flight, or to keep your thing safe in your lock in a hostel, every traveller and backpacker needs a pad lock. We recommend one with a combination, so you don’t need to worry about losing the key.
TRAVEL ADAPTOR 🔌
When it comes to Travel Adaptors, you can spend years collecting all different shapes and sizes for different countries. We recommend buying a universal world wide adaptor which is all built into one plug. When travelling, these plugs often get left behind or stolen so we suggest you buy two. This item is one of the best gift ideas for a backpacker
MINI FIRST AID KIT 🧑🏻⚕️
Not something that you initially think of when planning your next trip. But there have been so many occasions when a plaster, bandage or paracetamol come in handy. We always pack extra and normally end up giving out lot to people we meet on our travels who have forget to pack these simple items. You will have some of the worst hangovers of your life while travelling, pack appropriately.
BLUETOOTH SPEAKER 🎶
There are hundreds of different brands and sizes to choose from when it comes to Portable Bluetooth Speakers. Getting the balance between carrying a boom box around and having a speaker loud enough hear at the beach is a technical task. We opted for a reasonable small waterproof speaker we could use in the pool and on the beach.
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LONELY PLANT BOOK 🌏📗
These books are still one of the best ways to research a new country. Although some people may think a Lonely Planet Book is limited, they always seem to surprise us with different location and activities you wouldn’t find on mainstream websites and blogs. We always order a guide before heading to a new country.
WATERPROOF BAG 🎒
Dry bag / Wet bag / Waterproof bag, they are all the same and are relatively cheap to buy. If you are heading to somewhere like the Philippines where you know you will spent a lot of time in the water, these bags are great gift ideas for a backpacker . We have never had a leak with ours.
WET SHOES 👟
We were introduced to the concept of wearing wet shoes when we met a couple of a tour in the Philippines. They both had a spare set and were roughly our sizes. After a day of island hopping around El Nido we decided we needed our own. Here are a few reasons why you should buy a pair.
1, You can use them as an all-terrain shoes in and out of the water.
2. Great for rock climbing and exploring.
Check out our collection of pocket guides on the Philippines here
HEADPHONES 🎧
Headphones are a personal preference. We choose to go with the wireless Bluetooth option, mainly because we already have so many wires to carry around with us.
IPAD/KINDLE👨💻
Everyone loves to read or watch Netflix after a hectic day of exploring, an iPad or Kindle is perfect for both. We both travel with laptops but also take an iPad with us for those long coach journey where you dont have much room.
GO PRO 📷
These indestructible cameras have come along way. The quality you get from such a small camera whether you are filming or taking picture, is amazing. If your trip involves diving/snorkelling or any sort of extreme activity, then you need to get yourself a GoPro. We have the latest version which gives you amazing stabilisation on your footage. But if you are not looking to spend that much then there is nothing wrong with getting something like the GoPro hero 7 (the previous model).
More Gift Ideas For A Backpacker
Man, I should have thought to put the universal charging port on my bday list! I forget every time! Guess I should just buy my own then
This is a great list! So many things that I’d use too as a non-backpacking traveler!
Such a great list!
Author
Thanks guys 🙂