15 Best Gifts for Travelers: A Peek Inside Our 2026 Holiday Gift Guide
I’m always looking for gifts that are beautiful and special, but also useful in some way. And after more than a decade of planning travel, I’m asked all the time about the things I take with me.
What bag do I carry?
What makes a long flight better?
What’s always in my suitcase?
So each holiday season, we gather our answers in one place.
This year’s Holiday Edit is a mix of things I own and love, things that have made traveling easier or more enjoyable, and a few wonderful finds I’d be very happy to give or receive myself. There are practical little things, a few splurges and some surprises too.
Here’s a peek at a few of our favorites.
3 Things I Never Travel Without
There are a handful of things I find myself packing for every trip lately, and these three have become favorites.
The Kaia Crossbody at Quince is my favorite travel crossbody right now. It’s small enough that I’m happy carrying it all day, but it holds everything I want to keep close, and I especially love that it doesn’t look like a “travel bag.” I can carry it sightseeing all afternoon and take it to dinner that night.
It’s simple, polished and very easy to wear, which is exactly what I want from a bag when I travel.
Photo Credit: quince.com
The full guide has two more things I find myself packing again and again. One is the leather travel wallet that keeps my passport, credit cards, cash and ID together in one place. It can also be monogrammed at no extra charge, which makes it especially nice for gifting.
The other is a pair of simple two strap sandals that take up almost no room in my suitcase. I wear them almost like slippers in my hotel room, to the spa or down to the pool, but they’re polished enough that I can also wear them out to lunch or dinner.
See the rest of my Things I Never Travel Without in the full Holiday Edit here.
Make the Flight Better
I’ve learned that a few small things can make a long flight considerably more comfortable, especially when I’m trying to sleep overnight and arrive ready to enjoy the first day of a trip.
The Drowsy Silk Sleep Mask has become one of my favorites. It’s soft and generously padded around the eyes, but what I really love is how completely it blocks out the light. I can’t guarantee I’ll sleep well on an overnight flight, but I’ll take anything that gives me a better chance.
Photo credit: DrowsySleepCo.com
In the full Holiday Edit, I’m also sharing the tiny gadget I use to listen to in flight entertainment with my own wireless headphones, the power bank I keep in my bag for long travel days and the inexpensive little thing I pack when I need a refresh after hours in the air.
Little Luxuries
You certainly don’t need these things to travel well, but they’re the small luxuries that make a trip a little nicer.
Friends gave me this cashmere wrap, and I’ve been traveling with it ever since. It’s warm enough for a cold airplane, but what I especially love is that it doesn’t feel like something I packed just for the flight. I can put it back on for dinner or a cool evening once I arrive.
Photo credit: jmclaughlin.com
I also almost always pack one fun piece of jewelry. I tend to travel in fairly simple clothes, and I love having a necklace I can add to a white shirt, a black dress or even a simple sweater and jeans to make everything feel a little more interesting.
There’s one I especially love in this year’s Holiday Edit.
Get the Full Holiday Gift Guide for the Best Gifts for Travelers
There are plenty more favorites in the full guide, including little things under $50, a few purchases I genuinely think are worth spending more on and some of the most fun gifts I’ve found this year.
One of my favorites is a beautiful leather travel backgammon set that rolls up small enough to tuck into a suitcase. I love a gift that gives you something to do together, and I can picture pulling this one out by the pool, over drinks on a terrace or during a relaxing afternoon. It’s useful without feeling practical, which I think makes it such a good gift.
There’s also a gorgeous book about traveling through the wine regions of France that my besties gave me for my birthday. It’s the kind of travel book I love most: beautiful enough to leave out on the coffee table, but interesting enough that you’ll find yourself opening it and dreaming about where you might go next.
Some of the things in the guide are things I own and pack again and again. Others are things I’ve discovered and would be very happy to give or find under the tree myself. I’m pretty particular about what I think is worth buying for travel. I want something to be genuinely useful, really beautiful or simply fun enough to earn its place in your suitcase or your home.
I hope you find something wonderful for someone you love, or maybe a thing or two to add to your own wish list.
