35 Gift Ideas for Someone Traveling to Europe That They’ll Actually Use (2026 Guide)

I’m really hard to buy gifts for, so I’ve found that the best gifts are always things someone wouldn’t buy for themselves, or you’ll end up like my mother, watching half her presents get returned.

This list of gifts for someone traveling to Europe omits travel basics like underwear, shirts, and a swimsuit and instead focuses on items that’ll make your friend or family member’s trip even more special. My most cherished gift is a journal a friend made for me to record my travels.

Having been to Europe eight times between 2006 and 2025 and visited 25+ European countries, I know what’ll not only impress your friend but also keep them safe, make the trip a breeze, or simply make it more enjoyable.

That means items like a heated vest to keep them warm in winter or a VoiceMap gift card so they can learn as they explore.

This list is mainly for women who may or may not have been to Europe, but many of these travel present ideas also work for men, so you can give a gift they’ll actually use on the trip.

Gift Ideas at a Glance

Thirty-five options are a lot to sort through, especially if you’re shopping the week before a birthday or holiday.

Here’s the shortcut: figure out what kind of trip they’re taking, and the answer will narrow down fast from this list of gifts for people traveling to Europe.

Gift Ideas for Someone Traveling to Europe

Clothing & Jewelry

1. Travel Themed Jewelry

Best for fashionable travelers

I have owned Jet Set Candy jewelry since at least 2018 (my emails don’t go back any further), and my earliest record is an order for the London charms that year.

That means I’ve had the plane charm and the earrings for even longer.

The fact that I’ve taken these extensive trips, including 4.5 months in Europe last year, and that they still look shiny is a testament to the quality.

I get people complimenting me on them all the time!

And if you don’t adore London as I do, they have a ton of other destinations, including Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Vatican City, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — to name but a few.

They even have one that covers all of Europe.

2. Travel Pants

Best for stylish travelers who want comfort

If you’re buying for someone who wants to look put-together without suffering for it, Halara is the move.

I climbed Caracol — one of the largest ancient Maya cities in Belize — wearing mine in 2024 (I still wear them regularly). If they can survive a temple climb, they’ll handle Lisbon’s hills or a full day on Paris cobblestones without issue, as they did during my 4.5-month trek through Europe.

They feel like pajama pants but look great, and they stretch enough that if the recipient indulges in a few too many gyros or gelatos, they won’t be fighting the zipper by the end of the trip.

They also have pockets, which shouldn’t be a selling point in 2026, yet here we are.

If Halara isn’t their style, linen pants are another easy win — light enough for Mediterranean heat and look intentional rather than sloppy.

Gift tip: Sizing is the risk here. If you’re not confident, a gift card is better than guessing.

3. Sturdy Shoes

Best for fast-paced travel

The best shoes for European cobblestones have two key features: arch support and grip.

Arch support because none of those pathways are even, and grip because those stones get slippery after rain. Just ask my mom after a lady smacked into her going down stairs in Salzburg.

The pair I reach for is the Dr. Scholl’s Women’s Time Off Sneaker.

The arch support is built in, so you’re not buying insoles separately.

They’re also understated enough that they don’t scream “tourist” the way a chunky shoe does. This is a bonus in cities where looking like a tourist makes you a target for pickpockets.

One important caveat if you’re gifting shoes: they must be worn in before the trip.

I’ve watched people buy shoes the day before departure, toss them in a bag, and spend the first three days limping (if your friend or family member does this, get the first-aid kit below as well).

If you’re giving shoes as a gift, give them well before the departure date — not the night before.

4. Insoles

Best for those who walk a lot

Insoles add cushion that takes the edge off cobblestones, and they’re a good option if your person already has shoes they love but isn’t sure those shoes have enough support.

This pairs well as a stocking stuffer alongside a bigger gift rather than as the main event.

The only caveat is if they’re very particular about their feet, as some insoles are designed specifically for things like high arches.

5. Water Shoes

Best for beach destinations

If your traveler is headed to Greece, water shoes are the gift they don’t know they need yet.

My family and I went to Anthony Quinn Bay and Ladiko Bay on Rhodes without them in 2021. Both are rocky, and wading in was difficult — we would have enjoyed those beaches far more if we’d had them.

Note: This is a destination-specific gift. Brilliant for a Greek island-hopping trip or a Croatian coast trip, but useless for someone doing Paris and London.

6. Rain Coat

Best for rainy destinations

It rains in Europe in summer, especially in Paris and London, which surprises many first-timers.

It’s why the former has its own dedicated Paris packing guide.

During a trip to London in 2013, I bought a cheap trench coat from Primark because it was pouring rain.

I loved it, but because it was inexpensive, it lacked warmth and a hood, so I’ve since invested in a khaki London Fog trench that I bring on trips now.

The big pockets are an underrated feature — I can quickly tuck my phone in when I’m climbing a spiral staircase or when it starts raining — without worrying about pickpockets.

I got it in 2020 and wore it until 2025, when I got a new one because I lost weight and it was too large.

Gift tip: a good trench is exactly the kind of thing people won’t buy for themselves because the cheap version “works fine.” It doesn’t. This is a strong gift for any packing guide.

7. Wool Socks & Gloves

Best for staying warm in winter

If your person is going somewhere cold — Finnish Lapland, the Alps, a Christmas market trip — this is the most useful thing on this list of gifts for someone traveling to Europe.

I learned this the hard way while visiting Finland in 2024.

I brought Merino wool socks from Columbia, plus a pair that came with my Merino base layer, and neither did much to keep me warm.

I also bought what Columbia claimed were their warmest gloves, but I could barely feel my fingertips during our first excursion —a reindeer sleigh ride, one of the best things to do in Rovaniemi.

My cousin, who grew up in Norway, told me to go to a local shop and buy 100% wool — no synthetics.

Even Merino usually reads something like “80% Merino Wool, 15% Polyester, 4% Nylon, 1% Spandex.” You want the tag that says 100% wool, full stop.

I bought a pair of socks locally that looked like a grandmother knitted them, and they were dramatically more comfortable than the synthetic pair.

She also told me to get mittens rather than gloves, because fingers share heat when they’re next to each other. That’s true, and it’s warmer — the trade-off is that gripping anything becomes a project.

Gift tip: If your friend is headed somewhere that’ll be below freezing, send them my winter Lapland packing guide to save them from frostbite.

8. Hand & Toe Warmers

Best for staying warm while exploring outside

I’ll be honest about this one because I don’t think a “gifts for traveling to Europe” guide is worth much if everything “in” it is a rave.

In Lapland, everyone around me was stuffing hand and toe warmers into gloves and boots. They worked for my travel buddy and several other people I met there. For me, they didn’t do a whole lot.

I suspect part of the toe-warmer problem was that my boot was already crowded—which is its own lesson.

Every excursion that issued us shoes sized me up two sizes, because room in the boot is what keeps you warm. I’d bought mine in my normal size.

9. Heated Vest

Best for those who get cold easily

This is the item I wish someone had given me!

I didn’t know heated vests existed until my travel companion showed up in Rovaniemi wearing one.

She let me borrow it on a few of our hikes, and on one of them I actually got too warm — which sounds absurd at -20°F, but it’s a real risk. If you overheat and start sweating in those temperatures, that sweat can freeze.

A guide in Rovaniemi warned us about exactly this.

Gift tip: this is the definition of “something they’d never buy themselves.” If your person is going on a winter trip and gets cold easily, this is the best gift for your traveler.

10. Pajamas

Best for those who want to be eco-friendly

I travel with Cozy Earth pajamas.

They’re breathable, soft, and have pockets, and they’re ethically and responsibly made, so although they cost more than the oversized free T-shirt everyone defaults to, I felt good about buying them.

I’ve had mine since 2021, and they’ve held up really well.

I have a long-sleeve set and a short-sleeve set, both in black — I wouldn’t recommend the white, since any discoloration shows immediately.

If your person is staying in hostels or shared accommodation while in Europe, they’ll be sharing a room with strangers, and having pajamas they actually feel comfortable in matters a lot.

If your person is planning to hostel-hop, check out my hostel packing guide for more must-haves.

⚠️ Deal Alert: By using my affiliate link, you get 20% off!

Gift Cards & Vouchers

11. GetYourGuide Gift Card

Best for activities, tour tickets, & tourist cards

If I could give only one gift from this list, it’d probably be this one—because GetYourGuide buys experiences rather than objects.

I’ve booked close to 50 experiences through GetYourGuide since 2020: skip-the-line tickets, food tours, boat tours, walking tours, sightseeing passes, and day trips across Europe (see some of my favorites below).

It’s my default platform, and when I link tickets on this blog, I research the cheapest option—it’s GetYourGuide about 9 out of 10 times.

Two experiences sold me on their customer service.

When my cousin was injured in San Ignacio, Belize, I reached someone through the app’s support system within seconds, and even though we were inside the 24-hour cancellation window, they refunded me in full without making me jump through hoops.

The money was back in 1–2 business days, not the 3–5 they quoted.

The second was in Istanbul, where the instructions said I’d get a separate email that never arrived. They checked, confirmed it hadn’t been sent, called the provider, and pointed me to a voucher I could use to get in.

You can also use a GetYourGuide gift card toward tourist cards, a nice way to fund a full day rather than a single ticket.

Some of my favorite picks that cover a ton of attractions are:

• Paris Museum Pass
• Lisboa Card
• Vienna Pass
• Ljubljana Card
• Bratislava Card

Read my complete Viator vs. GetYourGuide review for even more reasons to purchase.

Gift tip: pair the gift card with a link to one specific tour you think they’d love. It turns a generic voucher into a thought-out gift.

12. VoiceMap Gift Card

Best for those who like audioguides

VoiceMap is a self-guided audio tour app where you walk a route while a narrator — often a local writer, historian, or someone with a genuine connection to the place — talks you through it.

It uses GPS, so it triggers automatically as you reach each stop, and it works offline once downloaded.

I used it in Cardiff in 2025 for a Doctor Who filming locations tour I did on a short trip from London.

It walked me through the heart of Cardiff to location after location, packed with fun facts I’d never have found on my own — including a tiny Cyberman hiding in a church used in the series.

Here’s why it makes a better gift than it first sounds.

A guided walking tour locks you into a fixed time slot on a fixed day, which is a real constraint when you’re juggling a tight itinerary. An audio tour doesn’t.

They can start it when they want, pause for coffee, and go at their own pace — which matters enormously if you don’t want to be herded, or, in my case, if you can’t find any tours available.

VoiceMap gift cards come in bundles — 3, 5, 8, and 15 tours.

I’d go with the lower numbers if you’re not sure they love audioguides.

13. Transport Vouchers

Best for getting around

Getting around is the cost travelers most often underestimate, and it’s the least fun thing to pay for out of pocket — which makes it a genuinely useful gift.

Flights

A gift card toward the flight itself is the highest-impact gift on this entire list of gift ideas for someone traveling to Europe, since airfare is usually the largest single line item.

A Delta gift card is the sensible choice for a US-to-Europe traveler, given its transatlantic route network.

Rideshare

Uber operates in most major European cities, and a gift card is useful for trips a traveler might need—like the 6 am airport run or getting back to the hotel instead of walking alone at night.

The latter of which is especially important if your family member or friend is a first-time solo traveler.

Trains

I used Omio to get around during my 4.5-month trek, but they unfortunately don’t offer gift cards, so I’ll suggest Traingift, which your person can use to explore Europe thanks to their railway partners in 33 countries, serving 25,000 destinations.

14. Hotel Gift Cards

Best for accommodations

Accommodation is usually the second-biggest line item after the flight, so contributing to it is a generous gift.

The options worth knowing:

• Hotels.com — broad selection, and their rewards program stacks if your person already uses it.
• Marriott — the pick for someone who wants consistency and knows what they’re getting with this brand name.
• Airbnb — for travelers who want a kitchen, which is a real budget-saving lever on a long trip.

Of the three, Hotels.com will give your person the most options, since Airbnb is limited in some areas and Marriott typically has only one or two hotels per city.

I’d have pointed you to Booking.com or Hostelworld, since that’s where I typically book, but neither sells gift cards.

Check out my detailed hotel reviews on my booking resources page.

15. Visa Gift Card

Best for flexibility

Sometimes the most useful gift is the least imaginative one.

A Visa gift card works when you genuinely don’t know what your traveler needs, or when they’re the type who’d rather put the money toward a splurge dinner than a gadget.

Two practical notes:

• Check whether the card works internationally and whether there are foreign transaction fees — some prepaid cards are domestic-only.
• Card acceptance is good across most of Western Europe, but smaller vendors, market stalls, and some rural areas are still cash-first.

16. Libro.fm Credit Bundle

Best for audiobook listeners

If your person is a big reader, especially of audiobooks, you can’t go wrong with a credit bundle from Libro.fm.

Not only do they give your friend or family member something to listen to on the plane, train, or boat, while traveling, but I love suggesting books that go with their destinations, such as:

• Julie Andrews’ autobiography — Austria
• The Enola Holmes series — England
• Stalking Jack the Ripper — England
• Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer — France
• Eat Pray Love — Italy
• Angels & Demons — Italy

You can also feel good about spending on these good travel gifts, as they split the profits with an independent bookstore of your choice!

Bundles come in 2-, 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, and 24-credit sets.

Check out my literary travel page for destination ideas!

17. Lingopie Subscription

Best for language learners

Lingopie is a subscription platform that lets you learn a language by watching TV shows and movies with interactive subtitles — essentially Netflix with language-learning tools layered on top.

It covers Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and English.

I tested it over a two-week trial, using it to pick Korean back up through K-dramas and music videos.

You click a word in the subtitles, get a definition, hear it repeated, and add it to a vocab list you can then drill with flashcards, a pop quiz, and a sentence builder.

Here’s my honest take as a gift, though: I wouldn’t buy it for a complete beginner heading to Europe for a week.

Clicking individual words pulls you out of actually enjoying the show, and finding the handful of practical travel phrases inside hours of drama dialogue is a slog.

Where Lingopie shines is for someone who’s already learning a language and wants listening practice with real accents and natural conversational flow.

Read my comprehensive review of Lingopie to get more details.

Products

18. Checked Luggage

Best for frequent travelers

My mom gifted me a Delsey Paris Helium Aero Hardside around 2013/2014, mainly for its TSA-approved locks, since I was staying in hostels and worried about security.

More than a decade later it’s still my go-to for long trips.

Why it’s a great gift: It’s expensive enough that people put off replacing it, and a good one lasts a long time. I haven’t had to buy a suitcase in over ten years, even as I’ve watched friends cycle through multiple cheaper ones.

What’s held up: no cracks or splits in the polycarbonate shell despite years of airline handling, Italian cobblestones, and a trip all the way to Thailand. The double spinner wheels still roll quietly.

What hasn’t: the rubber on a wheel has come off twice. The first repair was free under warranty; the second was after the warranty expired, ten years in, which is fair enough.

Full breakdown: Delsey Paris Suitcase: Why I Still Find It Worth It After a Decade

Gift tip: if you’re buying luggage for someone, check what they actually travel with first. A 29″ checked bag is the wrong gift for a committed carry-on person.

19. Carry-on Luggage

Best for carry-on travelers

For the carry-on person, the BlackVoyage AirCabin Pro is an interesting option because it does something most carry-ons don’t: it has a built-in vacuum compression system.

A handheld pump removes air and reduces clothing volume by up to 57% in about 10–15 seconds.

I tested it on a family trip to San Diego in 2026, and it fit a week’s worth of clothing, workout clothes, and toiletries.

It weighs 8.6 lbs empty, has a 60L compressed capacity, a TSA-approved integrated lock, puncture-resistant YKK zippers, and a lifetime guarantee.

The honest caveats: there’s no expansion, so it’s the wrong bag for someone who overpacks. There are no exterior pockets. And at $359.99 on Amazon, it sits in the premium category.

💰💰💰 However, you can save a bit of cash by signing up for their newsletter to get a discount or use my code (travelherstory15) for $15 off on their official website!

Transparency: This was a complimentary item I was gifted in exchange for a blog post, but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Full review: How to Choose a Vacuum-Seal Carry-On

20. Backpack with Laptop Compartment

Best for digital nomads

If your person works while traveling, get the BlackVoyage Airback Vacuum Seal Compression Travel Backpack.

I took it with me during my 4.5-month trek across Europe while working remotely, and it survived beautifully and protected my laptop throughout.

The padded laptop compartment fits up to 17″, there’s a built-in anti-theft combination lock on it, and the vacuum compression let me pack enough for that length of trip with just an additional carry-on.

$149.99 on Amazon. Same code: travelherstory15 for $15 off on their site.

Transparency: This was a complimentary item I was gifted in exchange for a blog post, but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Full review: What’s the Best Work and Travel Backpack

21. Anti-Theft Items

Best for traveling big cities

This is my number one gift recommendation for anyone heading to Barcelona, Rome, or Paris.

I’ve been using the Travelon Classic Anti-Theft Messenger Bag since 2021, when I went to Barcelona solo.

Everyone I’d spoken to before that trip warned me about pickpockets, so I went looking for a bag I could rely on.

I’ve since taken it to Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Thailand, Mexico, England, Finland, Sweden, and Belize, plus through 18 countries during a 4.5-month Europe trek.

It has locking zippers, slash-resistant mesh in all four sides and the bottom panel, a stainless steel wire inside the strap, RFID-blocking card slots and passport pocket, and lockdown straps for securing it to a chair.

There’s also an exterior expansion pocket that holds a water bottle — the feature that sold me.

After five years, the only wear is minor discoloration on one D-ring and a small tear in one mesh expansion pocket.

It’s $88 on Travelon’s site and often $33–$69 on Amazon, making it an unusually strong gift for the price.

If style matters more, the Thafael crossbody is made from vegan cactus leather and looks considerably less touristy.

It has locking zippers, an anti-cut polyethylene lining, reinforced metal wires in the straps, a chairlock, and RFID-blocking pockets.

It’s $169, doesn’t have a water bottle pocket, and the cactus leather can dent if it gets crushed — which is why I use it as my day-to-day bag rather than my long-haul one.

Whichever you pick, get a crossbody. It’s much harder to steal a bag worn across the chest.

Transparency: The Thafael bags were complimentary items gifted in exchange for blog coverage, but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Full comparison: What’s the Best Purse for Traveling in Europe?

22. Compact Umbrella

Best for rainy destinations

Paris and London weather changes fast, and a lightweight umbrella that fits in a bag saves your person from an overpriced emergency purchase in a downpour.

Look for one with a decent grip in windy conditions and compact enough not to take up too much luggage space.

The little ones I can easily tuck into the Travelon bag mentioned above, making it great for on-the-go!

Gift tip: this is a stocking stuffer, not a main gift. Pair it with the raincoat above.

23. Packing Cubes

Best for over packers

Regular packing cubes just organize. Compression cubes add a second zipper that squeezes the air out and reduces volume by roughly 30–60%, depending on what you’ve packed. Fluffy sweaters compress a lot; hard or densely packed items barely at all.

I got my first (non-compression) set at the WITS travel conference in 2019 and used them for years.

I currently use an 8-piece set from Well Traveled: two large and one medium compression cube, two small compression cubes, two accessory bags, and a laundry/shoe bag.

Twill fabric, reinforced stitching, two-way zippers, water-resistant, washer- and dryer-safe, and a lifetime warranty (I had one break because I overstuffed it and they sent me a whole new set).

Partly because of these, I’ve managed carry-on-only trips, which I’d always insisted I could never do.

I use the large ones for clothing and the small ones as a shower caddy for shampoo, conditioner, and a razor.

Transparency: This was a complimentary item I was gifted, but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Full review: How Do Compression Packing Cubes Work

24. Packing List

Best for those who forget things

The least expensive gift here and one of the most useful.

A packing list narrows down what they don’t need and reminds them of what they’ve missed.

I know it sounds odd to put a packing list on a list, but I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve forgotten something and only remembered it when I checked mine.

I even got mine as a gift about a decade ago and still use it before each trip!

Related: How to Pack Light for a Trip to Europe: 2-Week Suitcase Guide

25. Waterproof Phone Case

Best for winter and summer travels

Useful in two very different climates, which is what makes it a safe gift.

In Greece, I used a waterproof phone case to take photos in the water and on boat trips.

In Finnish Lapland, I bought one because I was afraid of dropping my phone into several feet of snow—and I did drop it more than once without worrying.

One honest heads-up I wish someone had given me: it made my audio recording wonky. If your person shoots video, warn them. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s a surprise nobody wants to discover on playback.

26. Waterproof Bag/Dry Bag

Best for boating

If your traveler is doing any boat tours—Greek island-hopping, an Amalfi day trip, a Croatian island run—a dry bag makes a useful gift.

The one I use includes a waterproof phone case, making it a two-for-one.

I’ve taken it into the water, and while I didn’t get many clear photos through it, knowing my phone was safe was worth it.

Also, if your person is at the beach alone, they can swim with a dry bag rather than leaving valuables unattended on the sand.

Check out my Greece packing guide for even more tips on what to bring.

27. Journal

Best for those who want to record their trip

This is my sentimental pick, and it’s the one I opened this guide with.

My most cherished travel gift is a journal a friend made for me to record my travels.

I carry a journal in my crossbody — it’s one of the reasons I needed a bag slightly taller than it is wide, since anything too narrow wouldn’t fit it.

It also came with a pen with a glue stick on the other end, so I could paste in tickets, postcards, or anything else I picked up and wanted to keep as a memory alongside my writing.

I sadly can’t find these dual pen-glue sticks anymore, but even buying the two separately would help.

Gift tip: a handmade or personalized journal beats a nice store-bought one every time, and it costs less. If you’re not crafty, write a note on the first page to do some of the work.

Tech

28. Camera

Best for vloggers

If your person documents their travels — or wishes they did — the Insta360 GO Ultra Camera solves a problem unique to solo travel.

As a solo traveler, I’ve spent years either asking strangers to take my photo or missing the shot entirely.

The GO Ultra’s standalone camera is 53g and clips magnetically to a cap or hangs on a magnet pendant, so you can record hands-free.

I used it at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and got 4K footage even from a moving tram.

The Easy Clip on a baseball cap was noticeably better than the pendant, which bounced and occasionally caught my hair.

FlowState Stabilization and 360 Horizon Lock handled the hills without the footage going off-kilter.

Honest limits: it only zooms 2x, which means I couldn’t get the animal shots I wanted from a distance, and the photos aren’t as good as my iPhone’s. There’s a real learning curve on the button presses. The Action Pod is only water-resistant, not waterproof.

⚠️ Health note: If the recipient has a pacemaker, they shouldn’t wear the GO Ultra on their chest or use the Magnet Pendant due to the magnets.

Transparency: This was a complimentary item I was gifted in exchange for a blog post, but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Full review: What’s the Best Camera for Solo Travel?

29. AirTags

Best for tracking your belongings

I got a set of AirTags as a gift from a co-worker a few years back, which is a decent endorsement of them as a gift in itself.

I now keep one in my purse, one in my backpack, and one in my suitcase.

I’ve only had to actively track something once: coming back from Mexico City, the airline told everyone we were at one baggage claim when we were actually at another.

Following the AirTag on my phone got me to my bag while a crowd of passengers was still standing at the wrong carousel.

Practical note: the batteries that come with them last longer than replacements, so a pack of spare batteries is a sensible add-on.

AirTags are also essential when planning a solo trip because they let me share the location of my items.

Note: They only work with Apple devices, so check what phone your person has before buying.

30. AirPods

Best for listening to music, movies, & audiobooks

If your person loves listening to music, wants to watch a movie in-flight, or wants to listen to an audiobook, you can’t go wrong with noise-canceling AirPods.

I’ve drowned out a number of noisy people with them!

They’re also increasingly practical, not just a ‘nice to have’ — plenty of museums now let you download their audioguides, and nobody wants to listen to them out loud.

31. International Outlet Adapter

Best for anyone bringing electronics

I’ve used the same outlet adapter since 2013, and it’s been my go-to for all my electronics.

Two things to check before you buy:

• Plug fit. I once brought a hair dryer with an oversized plug that didn’t fit my adapter properly, so I couldn’t use it the entire trip. If you’re gifting an adapter alongside a specific device, test them together.
• Enough ports. Count how many things your person charges overnight. Most people need more USB ports than they think.

32. External Battery Pack

Best for cell phone users

Navigation apps, downloadable audioguides, and constant photo-taking drain a phone fast, and a dead phone abroad is a safety issue, not just an inconvenience.

My external battery pack is so old that they no longer sell it. When I replaced it in 2026, I chose one with USB-C charging, which is much faster.

Check the weight, because some power banks are surprisingly heavy and every ounce counts when you’re carrying it all day.

And don’t forget the cable—most power banks don’t include one, which is frustrating to discover at an airport gate; however, my pick, the INIU 45W Fast Charging Portable Charger, comes with one.

Toiletries

33. Makeup Remover Pads

Best for those who wear makeup

Small and cheap, makeup remover pads solve three problems at once: they reduce liquid products, which matters for carry-on limits; they work in cramped shared bathrooms with no counter space to spread out; and they’re eco-friendly.

Mine are soft cotton and machine washable, so when handwashing doesn’t get all the mascara out, they go in with the laundry.

If your person identifies as female, check out my guide to 43 Budget-Friendly Female Travel Essentials.

34. Battery Powered Toothbrush

Best for those who don’t want to charge several items

I use an Oral-B electric toothbrush at home, but when I travel, I want to minimize how many things I have to charge — especially in a hostel where outlets are contested territory.

So I bring a battery-powered electric toothbrush instead.

It’s almost as good as my at-home one, doesn’t require a charger, and the batteries last a long time.

I haven’t had one die on me yet, including during a 4.5-month trip, though I bring a spare battery just in case.

35. Travel-Sized First-Aid Kit

Best for those who get blisters

I end up with at least one blister on most trips, even after breaking in my shoes, so a small first-aid kit earns its space for that alone.

Most prefilled kits are mostly band-aids and basic cleansing supplies, so a thoughtful version of this gift is to add a few things yourself—melatonin, immunity tablets, whatever they usually reach for at home.

FAQs

Related Travel Packing Guides

• How to Pack Light for 2 Weeks in Europe | Suitcase Edition
• Hostel Packing List for Females: My 38 Must-Haves + 4 Items I Skip Entirely
• How Do Compression Packing Cubes Work + Are They Worth It?
• What is the Best Purse for Traveling in Europe?
• 10 Reasons Why I Love My Delsey Paris Luggage
• What’s the Best Work and Travel Backpack? Top Pick for Digital Nomads with Laptops
• The Complete Guide to Choosing a Vacuum Seal Carry-On
• 43 Budget-Friendly Female Travel Essentials to Pack for Your Next Trip
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• 35 Gift Ideas for Someone Traveling to Europe That They’ll Actually Use (2026 Guide)

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