It’s holiday time again. I have some great gift ideas for the travelers in your life. There are many technical gifts, but not all. Some will help you with your luggage, while one will help you sleep in noisy places. The second is perfect for visiting American national parks.
The winter holiday season has started in America and Europe. I’m always looking for gifts for the travelers in my life and for this annual list. In addition to my research, I’ve been testing products for my 2025 traveler gift list. There are some classics that remain on my list. I also have some new and updated items in my suggestions for the travelers in your life.
There’s nothing better than Bose headphones and the AirFly Pro2 to help air travelers cope with long flights.
• Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Generation) ($440 currently on sale for $399) – Noise-cancelling headsets make listening to music, videos, and audio books more enjoyable while flying by blocking out engine and cabin noise. They are great on trains at blocking out background noise and boring conversations around us. They are travel essentials for me. Over-the-ear headsets are better than in-the-ear headsets for blocking out loud and ambient noise. The Ultra’s (second generation) AI-powered adaptive noise cancellation feature, ActiveSense, is the best I’ve tested for noise canceling ability and tonal quality. Bluetooth wireless headsets can also be connected via a standard wired connection. My tests show over 18 hours of battery life.
• Airfly Pro2 ($59.99 currently on sale for $41.99) – The AirFly Pro2 is a Bluetooth adapter that lets you use wireless headphones when the connection to your plane or other entertainment systems is only through the headphone jack. It works well with the treadmills and steppers in the hotel gym. This gives users freedom of movement not available with wired headsets. In testing, I got 25 hours from the AirFly Pro and it still has battery life left.
There’s no better gift than Apple AirTags to help travelers track and recover their lost checked luggage if necessary, especially now that many airlines can use your data to find your luggage.
, apple airtag ($29.00 per one pack, $99.00 per four pack (on sale at Amazon for $17.97 and $62.99 respectively) – I’ve recommended Apple AirTags for luggage tracking since 2021. Due to their robust network of over a billion Apple iDevices they are the best overall tracker for luggage and luggage. With an AirTag in your luggage, if it gets lost or delayed, So using the “Find My” app an iPhone can be located as long as the iDevice is within range of the AirTag in your bag and has reported its location to the “Find My” network.
Over the past year, Apple has improved significantly, sharing AirTag’s location with 23 airlines around the world, including the US’s three largest airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
• Soundcore Sleep A20 ($179.99 currently on sale at Amazon for $107.99 on Cyber Monday) – These are the most comfortable and effective in-the-ear sleep earbuds I’ve found for sleeping in a noisy hotel environment and in a room with a noisy sleeper. You can preload sounds like white noise, gray noise, etc. to play in your ears to mask unwanted noise around you. These have 14 hours of battery life per charge. If you want to watch videos or listen to music quietly in bed before falling asleep, the Sleep A20 also works as a Bluetooth headset connected to your smartphone or tablet. You can toggle between sleep mode and Bluetooth by double tapping the left earbud. Anker has a new model available, the A30. It has slightly better noise canceling capabilities, but shorter battery life and costs $229.99. I like A20.
• Etekcity Luggage Scale ($10.99) – This is a great stocking stuffer for any traveler. With checked baggage limits strictly enforced everywhere and carry-on weight limits outside the US, an easy-to-use luggage scale is a must. Its capacity is 100 pounds (50 kg).
Personalized, colorful, durable luggage straps are great for quickly identifying your luggage at airports, to prevent theft or accidental retrieval by someone else thinking the bag is theirs.
• Label Weaver personalized knitted luggage/suitcase/luggage strap ($23.95 per strap, $34.95 per pair) – Preventing luggage theft while traveling can be challenging, especially at airport baggage claim, as well as finding luggage quickly and easily among hundreds of other bags at baggage carousels, cruise ship piers and other locations. A personalized luggage strap around the perimeter of your checked bag can solve that problem. This special strap is as durable as they come and your name (18 letters) is woven directly into the strap.
, Hydro Flask 21 Ounce Water Bottle ($34.95 currently on sale for $26.21) – Help your favorite travelers be part of the climate change-plastic waste solution and help save cash. Give them a great multi-use water/drink bottle that they can keep filling throughout their trip to prevent them from buying expensive single-use water bottles. Hydro Flask is my favorite. It keeps beverages cold all day long with no sweat on the exterior of the bottle and works great for keeping hot beverages steaming in cold weather. If you want to spend a little more, get it with a Standard Mouth Flex Straw Cap ($14.95 currently on sale for $11.21) to make it easier to sip cold drinks from the flask in the summer.
Around the world, more and more countries are banning single-use paper and plastic bags. Baggu Bag will solve that problem and help you with travel shopping everywhere.
, BAGGU Standard Reusable Shopping Bag ($14.00) – Another great way for travelers to be part of the climate change solution is to stop using single-use paper and plastic bags. Many places in the US and around the world have banned single-use bags and fewer stores than ever are offering free bags. I’m never without several of these highly useful ripstop nylon, multi-use tote bags. They can carry two grocery bags of stuff, yet fold into thin five-inch squares into the included bag when not in use. They have built-in handles. Mine has lasted for years.
, YIVIEW Sleep Mask ($14.99 currently on sale for $8.54) – The mask made of memory foam is comfortable, has a cutout for the nose and a 3D outline for the eyes to allow blinking. It is very important for me to help me sleep during the flight.
, SKROSS Pro Lite World Travel Adapter with USB, 3-Pole Travel Adapter with Slide System and USB ($35.25) – Is your favorite traveler a world traveler? I gave my old model to a friend and am now using this unit. This is the most versatile I’ve tried so far. There are other SKROSS models available as well as imitations from other companies, but this one is the best. It includes a 3-pole adapter so it’s good for laptops and other 3-pole devices. It can handle up to 1,500 watts of power and has a few USB charger outlets.
If you’re visiting US national parks, especially in the western US where there is an entrance fee, nothing beats the America the Beautiful National Parks annual pass, or if you’re a senior, a lifetime pass.
, America the Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass ($80, free for veterans and current military) – Some of the best places to visit in America are its national parks. The Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone, among others, are world famous for good reason. Entrance fees at many parks are $35 per vehicle and $20 per person, unless you have a park pass. Even if you only visit a few parks each year with no admission fees, the pass is a bargain. Senior lifetime passes cost $80, but they are forever.
I hope my gift list helps you find great gifts for the traveler in your life. Have a wonderful holiday season.
After working for several years in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive, and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a technical consulting company and later restarted his photography business, NSL Photography. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a public health engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a renowned corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned writes about travel and photography around the world, as well as runs photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s photography blog and gallery.
