20 of the Best Travel Gifts Under $20
These travel gift ideas under $20 include practical and pretty items to take on vacation.
Looking for unique travel gifts for the globetrotter in your life? You don’t have to have a jet setter’s budget to find the perfect goody to put under the tree. These travel gifts under $20 make an ideal present for someone going traveling.
They include gadgets for aspiring adventurers, packing gear for the casual vacationer, and a few style items that are both practical and pretty. Whether you’re looking for travel stocking stuffers or need a gift for your favorite travel buddy, these ideas will get you started.
Visit our travel gift shop for even more ideas! We also love this list of gifts for road trippers.
Beauty Bars
Each shampoo bar holds the washing power of three bottles, while conditioners save about five bottles, cutting back drastically on plastic waste. Plus, they’re cruelty-free, vegan and compostable. Varieties cover different hair needs like frizz control, volume, or dry or oily scalp.
Packing Cubes
Who doesn't love a good set of packing cubes? They help keep suitcases neat and organized, compress the mess, and look pretty!
Mini Travel Bottles and Jars
Every light packer knows you don’t need 3 ounces of every product you use for one-week vacations. Not to mention, the quart-sized clear bag limit for your carry-on could only handle a handful of bottles in the max size. That’s why mini containers that hold 1 to 2-ounces are super convenient to have on hand.
Contoured Sleep Mask
Travel Towel
Travel towels come in handy for beach trips, camping, hostel stays, backpacking adventures — you name it! Made of microfiber, these compact towels are super absorbent but also dry quickly, making them easy to wash out and reuse. They also pack down small, and many come with a carry case or bag to store them tightly.
Dry Bag
Perfect for beach trips, boat rides, water sports, or even heavy rainfall, dry bags keep your stuff from getting ruined when you’re out adventuring. You can find premium options at outdoor retailers, but plenty of budget-friendly ones are available, too.
LifeStraw
Refillable Water Bottle
Universal Plug Adapter
Every international traveler needs a good plug adapter, and even if they already have one, they’ll inevitably leave it behind at a hotel and need a backup at some point.
Portable Charger
Nothing kills a day out sightseeing faster than a dead phone battery, and if you’re using your device to take photos, check maps and translate coffee orders, you’re likely to drain through it pretty fast. That’s why every savvy traveler should keep a backup charging device on hand to power up and keep moving.
Mini Tripod
Anyone who doesn’t want to be that annoying tourist wielding a selfie stick but also lives by the motto “pics or it didn’t happen” can find a happy medium with a mini tripod. It actually produce better photos than a stick since you can set it up further than an arm’s length away, and the bendy kind can even wrap around trees, poles, benches and so on.
Luggage Scale
Sun Hat
Pashmina Scarf
When traveling, a multipurpose scarf can transform into a warm wrap on a chilly airplane, a modesty cover for the shoulders or head, a sarong dress over a swimsuit, a pashmina to fancy up a plain outfit, a towel for laying on the sand, and so much more.
Hidden Pocket Scarf
Sarong
The multipurpose scarf for a warm climate, sarongs are a great gift for beach lovers and light packers. Their obvious function is as a swimsuit coverup, but they can serve double duty as a head cover, lightweight shoulder wrap or colorful scarf for a playful outfit.
Travel Jewelry
Travel Journal
Language Phrase Book
Help your favorite traveler prep for their next big trip with a foreign language phrase book. Sure, they could turn on Google translate in a bind, but there’s something retro and nostalgic about riffling through a pocket-sized dictionary to order a coffee or poring over the pages on a train ride studying greetings and pronunciations.