I’ve got some great holiday gift suggestions for travelers. Many are techie gifts, but not all. Some will help you with your luggage, while one will help you sleep in noisy places.
The winter holiday season has begun in the U.S. and Europe. I’m always on the lookout for gifts for the travelers in my life and for this annual list.
In addition to my search, I’ve been testing products for my 2025 traveler gift list. Some are classics that remain on my list. I also have some new and updated items among my suggestions for the travelers in your life.
The best way to help air travelers deal with long flights — Bose headphones and an AirFly Pro2.
• Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) ($440 Currently on sale for $399) — Noise cancelling headsets make music, videos and audio books far more enjoyable whenever flying by blocking engine and cabin noise. They’re great on trains by blocking background noise and boring conversation surrounding us. They’re a travel essential for me.
Over-the-ear headsets are superior to the in-the-ear ones for blocking acute and ambient noise. The Ultra’s (2nd Gen) AI-powered adaptive noise cancellation feature. It’s called ActiveSense and it is the best that I’ve ever tested. For both noise cancelling capability and tonal quality it is the best. The Bluetooth wireless headset can also be connected through a standard wired connection. My tests show a battery life of more than 18 hours.
• AirFly Pro2 ($59.99 Currently on sale for $41.99) — AirFly Pro2 is a Bluetooth adapter. This tech lets you use wireless headphones when your plane’s or other entertainment systems only connection is via a headphone jack. It works well in hotel gyms with treadmills and steppers. It gives users freedom of movement not available with wired headsets. In testing, I’ve gotten 25 hours from the AirFly Pro and it still had battery life left in it.
There is no better gift for helping travelers track and find checked luggage that’s missing than Apple AirTags. Many airlines can use your data to find “lost” luggage.
• Apple AirTag ($29.00 per one pack, $99.00 per four pack (on sale for $17.97 and $62.99 respectively at Amazon) — I’ve recommended Apple AirTags for luggage tracking since 2021. They’re the best overall tracker for luggage and belongings due to their robust network of more than a billion Apple iDevices. With an AirTag in your luggage, if it’s lost or delayed, an iPhone using the “Find My” app can locate the luggage as long as an iDevice has been within range of the AirTag in your bag and reported its location to the “Find My” network.
In the last year, Apple has greatly improved sharing an AirTag’s location with 23 airlines across the globe, including in the U.S., the big three airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.
• Soundcore Sleep A20 ($179.99 Currently on sale on Cyber Monday for $107.99 at Amazon) — These are the most comfortable in-the-ear sleep earbuds. You can preload sounds such as white sound, brown sound, etc., to play in your ears to mask the unwanted noise around you. They have 14 hours of battery life per charge. If you want to quietly watch a video or listen to music while in bed prior to sleep. The Sleep A20 doubles as a Bluetooth headset connected to your smartphone or tablet. With a double tap of the left earbud you can toggle between sleep mode and Bluetooth. Anker has a new model available, the A30. It has slightly better noise cancelling ability, but less battery life and costs $229.99. I prefer the A20.
• Eteckcity Luggage Scale ($10.99) — This is a great stocking stuffer for any traveler. With checked luggage limits being strictly enforced everywhere and carry-on weight limits enforced outside the U.S., an easy-to-use luggage scale is a must. This one has a capacity of 100 pounds (50Kg).
Personalized, colorful, durable luggage straps are great for quickly identifying your luggage at airports to prevent their theft or accidental retrieval by another thinking the bag is theirs.
• Label Weaver Personalized Woven Luggage/Suitcase/Baggage Strap ($23.95 per strap, $34.95 per pair) — Preventing luggage theft while traveling, particularly at airport baggage claim, plus finding luggage quickly and easily among hundreds of other bags on luggage carousels, cruise ship piers and other locations can be challenging. A personalized luggage strap around the circumference of your checked bags can solve that problem. This particular strap is about as durable as they come and your name (18 characters) is woven right into the strap.
• Hydro Flask 21 oz Water Bottle ($34.95 Currently on sale for $26.21) — Help your favorite travelers be part of the climate change-plastic waste solution and save cash to boot. Give them a great multi-use water/beverage bottle that they can keep refilling throughout their journeys to stop buying expensive one-use bottles of water. The Hydro Flask is my favorite. It keeps beverages cold all day with no sweating on the bottle’s exterior and works great for keeping hot beverages steamy in frigid weather. If you want to spend a bit more, get a Standard Mouth Flex Straw Cap for it ($14.95 Currently on sale for $11.21) to make it easier to sip cold beverages from the flask in summer.
Across the globe, more and more countries are banning single use paper and plastic bags. Baggu bags will solve that problem and help you with your travel shopping everywhere.
• BAGGU Standard Reusable Shopping Bag ($14.00) — Many locations around the U.S. and across the globe have banned single-use bags. And fewer stores than ever are providing free bags. I’m never without several of these highly useful ripstop nylon, multi-use tote bags. They can carry two grocery bags of goods, yet fold into thin five-inch squares in the included bag, when not in use. They have built-in handles. Mine have lasted for years.
• YIVIEW Sleep Mask ($14.99 Currently on sale for $8.54) — The mask, made from memory foam, is comfortable, has a nose cutout. The 3D contour for the eyes permits blinking. It’s a must for me while flying to help me sleep.
• SKROSS Pro Light World Travel Adapter with USB, 3-Pole Travel Adaptor with Slide System and USB ($35.25) — Is your favorite traveler a globe trotter? I gave away my older model to a friend and am now using this unit. It’s the most versatile one I’ve ever tried. 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 and has a couple of USB charger outlets.
If you’re visiting U.S. National Parks, particularly ones in the western U.S. that have entrance fees, there’s nothing better than an America the Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass. 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 travel in the U.S. are its national parks. Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone, among others, are world famous for good reason. Many of the parks have an entrance fee of as much as $35 per vehicle and $20 per person, unless you have a Parks Pass. Even if you go to just a few parks with entrance fees each year, the pass is a bargain. Senior lifetime passes cost $80, but are forever.
I hope my gift list helps you find great gifts for the travelers in your life. Have a wonderful holiday season.
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
