Travelers’ gift suggestions

Posted by Bill on Monday, December 17, 2007   |   1 Comment

Here are a few suggestions for travel-specific gifts for the footloose on your list. The first things that spring to mind when I think about travel are leisure time and a more relaxed schedule. Both suggest time to read. So let’s begin by talking about books.

Of course, you can simply buy books for someone who will be traveling—reading material for the downtime on the road. Both magazines and books would be good choices for most readers. You can also buy books about a specific destination or special interests which tie into travel.

For example, a new retiree who intends to travel extensively along the East Coast may enjoy a B & B directory for that part of the country. Or perhaps a selection of the Weird books by Moran and Sceurman. These collections deal with the offbeat and little known oddities travelers can visit while touring. Most are state-specific.

Or an avid fisherman would likely relish a region-specific fishing volume . . . and so forth. Directories, round-up kind of books and those offering reviews of restaurants, hotels, campgrounds and other facilities would be great choices, too.

A special category in this gift genre is the travel journal. They are not always easy to find, but when I’ve given them, people (and family members) are delighted. It’s such fun to revisit places months or years later through the pages of your own travel journal. This one ranks high on my list for people I know who are taking extended trips.

I don’t what to overlook the obvious here, because there’s one gift that’s always welcome: money. The cost of road travel has never been higher so help in chipping away at the high cost of the open road is certainly not a bad idea. If cold, hard cash seems a little crass, you might try a gift card for a restaurant chain, gas cards and the like. A novel twist on this idea is offered at www.bedandbreakfast.com. Visit here, and you and get their “Getaway Gift Card” for a lucky traveler on your list.

You can load it with any dollar amount you want, and the recipient can use it at any of nearly 4,000 participating B&Bs. You also get a directory of B&Bs, and the site lists lots of reviews registering the impressions of those who have already visited there.

Of course, travel accessories, tools, gadgets and clothing also make ideal gifts. You can find these in a variety of general department stores, mail order houses and online. Try here for starters. This is another good choice. Also here. You’ll find most everything you can think of and a lot you would probably never discover on your own.

When it comes to the RVers you may be buying for, the list of possibilities is almost endless. A lot of what I’ve already suggested—money, gift cards, general books, region-specific reading material, clothing, accessories—is also relevant here. There are also tons of books targeting the special interests of RV enthusiasts. RVers love gifts relating to RVs in general as well as specific things for their RVs. The latter could be anything from tools and accessories to cookware and clothing.

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