Good gift for my father who loves to travel
 

Hey there, my father is a hardcore traveller, can you recommend of a good gift to buy for their birthday?

We put our father on a cruise recently.
He had never done it.

Cheaper - a book about a place he likes.

Hard to say without knowing what he has or what he likes.

We bought my father an expensive roller carryon with compartments for his electronics- it wasn't something he'd buy himself.

Rain proof notebook and pen, if he journals? A book or map of his favorite destination? A goofy luggage tag? Gift certificate to his airline of choice?

Thanks for the help. Glad to hear some interesting ideas from you guys!

A top quality leather man-bag carry-on that fits under the plane seat, can be easily shoulder carried, and is small enough to just hold just a few items, water,pills, paperwork, a snack, a phone and a headset... mine is 10 × 18 inches and has been indestructible for over 30 years... just make sure it doesn't look like a purse....

What kind of travel?

Where to, mostly?

Where to, next?

I would recommend against anything travel-gadgety. There are a lot of travel-related items out there that non-travelers think are good gifts but which are not all that useful when traveling.

The suggestions above for nice versions of things he probably already uses (nice luggage, fun luggage tag, book related to fav destination) are good ones.

The best travel stuff is so practical, it can be hard to find a fun travel gift.

If he travels internationally then a passport holder/jacket. I have this one and love it:
http://www.brookstone.com/pd/royce-d...r/659409p.html

It is nice soft leather. It is a bit tight to fit into a neck pouch, but it does fit and, once in, is not going anywhere.

A deep wallet. US bills are shorter than several foreign currencies. Japanese notes, for example, stick out of the wallet opening. They are too tall. So, I have a deeper wallet for that. It also has a zipper compartment inside where I stash US bills when I don't need them.

How much do you want to spend?

I agree with the advice, most travel gifts as are usual as most kitchen gimmicks=like left handed radish spinners. We are older travelers and the less the better, unless he has spoken of specific need/

As for travel magazines, The Conde Nast Traveler has become so beautiful as to be useless.

Agree about Conde Nast, almost all ads. Nat Geo Traveler is a possibility, as is International Travel News.

https://www.intltravelnews.com/

But not if he only travels in the US. See questions above.

Does he have binoculars ?

There is a variety of bags and backpacks that fold up into a small zippered pouch. I have couple of these. Sometimes I put my hoodie in one to stow in the overhead bin or if I think I might need when going out and about. I also use it as auxilary luggage: put souvenirs in my luggage and dirty clothes in that bag.

Here is a link to what I mean:
https://www.google.com/search?biw=11....0.1YxDCQdzJZM

Mrwunrfl- I've got one of those, but I never used it much! Turned out to be one of those "travel gadgets" for me. I ended up using the water bottle sling I bought with it a lot, though.

OP- does your father have a good shaving bag? Does he travel with one? That's another gift someone got dad- a coach shaving bag, the leather takes any amount of abuse and it cleans up like new. Or an insulated water bottle or thermos- that's been really useful on the flights where beverage service is cancelled or takes forever.

I love the eagle creek compression travel bags.

A gift certificate to eBags.

My fashion forward daughter tells me that fanny packs are making a comeback.

Passport holders are very passe, to me. Had one in the 50s--too bulky and not useful any more.
A nice cross body bag, if he doesn't have one--big enough for what is needed for the day, but not too heavy or too large.
Fanny packs are fine--if turned to the front and still under some clothing--even when they were out of fashion.

Gretchen maybe you are thinking of a neck pouch, not the passport holder that I linked above? They were more useful back in the day of paper tickets.

There are shorter neck pouches just large enough for a passport and I sometimes use one at the airport even if nobody else does. Maybe I need a new one - with an RFID blocker.

My passport holder is not bulky at all. It fits snugly into my shirt pocket and easily into a trouser or jacket pocket.

I got it after I saw a story about a Nigerian man who got detained overnight in a cell when transiting LHR. His passport was too beat up. They called Nigeria the next day to confirm the pp was legit. I took a look at my beat up passport and decided to take better care of it. Call the thing a passport cover or sleeve. It is protecting my passport right now in a drawer.

Other ways that I use a foldable bag or backpack is when I will be flying on a regional jet. I found that my carry-on was too thick to fit into the tiny bins. I removed some stuff from the front pockets (book, laptop) and put it into the emergency bag and then into the bin or under the seat. Or I might do that at the gate and then allow them to put the carry-on into the belly of the plane.

A cross-body bag could work as long as it doesn't look like a man-purse. But I prefer to have the bag on my back.

nicholleolores777, take a look at his passport and see if it is beat up. He has probably figured out and has what he needs in terms of luggage, neck pouch, fanny pack, etc. But if his passport is in bad shape then he definitely could use a passport holder/sleeve.

A NetJet membership.