It’s that time of year when we all start wracking our brains to figure out what to get those hard-to-buy-for people on our lists. You want to get them something that will delight them, but that they’ll actually use. The task is doubly hard for teens and tweens with constantly-shifting likes and priorities.
To make your life (and mine) easier, I posed the question to my own kids who are now 14 and 11: what are the best gifts for teens who travel all the time? I tried to steer them away from technology – not entirely successful, but I’ve listed those separately down at the bottom – and honestly a few of their suggestions kind of surprised me!
Experiences meant for them
Our family travels a lot, and I admit that since I’m the one planning our trips I usually think about what I want to do in our destinations… after all, I’m the one paying and doing all the leg work! But it turns out they don’t always want to do a bunch of historical walking tours and lengthy museum visits.
One of the best gifts you can give to a teen or tween who travels a lot is an opportunity to connect with destinations in a way that’s meaningful to them. Now that I have a teen and a tween with specific (and sometimes very different) interests, they really feel more invested in our trips when they know I’ve gone out of my way to gift an experience focused on them.
Check out some of our favorite experience gifts when we travel – or see my Viator wishlist for even more teen-friendly tours and activities around the world:
- Wynwood Street Art Golf Cart tour in Miami
- Zip lining in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
- Gelato making class in Bologna, Italy
- Coliseum Underground tour in Rome
- Mask making workshop in Venice
- Warner Brothers Studio tour in Los Angeles
- SoFi Stadium behind the scenes in Los Angeles
- Tile painting workshop in Lisbon (coming up!)
- Harry Potter locations tour in London (coming up!)
Non-tech travel gifts for teens & tweens
Real luggage
Move aside, monogrammed Pottery Barn child suitcases. It’s time to get these young people some real luggage.
I was talking with a globe-trotting friend recently about what suitcase she should get for her 15 year old and I reminded her that whatever she buys her kid now for family trips and far-flung swim meets is going to be the same piece her growing kid is bringing for trips home from college, study abroad and unknown adventures yet to come. It doesn’t need to be super expensive, but when you’re buying luggage for a teen it needs to be durable and reflect their growing maturity (and bodies).
We’ve been using the Traveler’s Choice Pagosa hardshell luggage series for three years now and we’re incredibly happy with it. The 22″ carry-on is the perfect size for US airlines (YMMV with international carriers) and I love the organization inside. This is the suitcase our family fights over on every trip! I’ll be buying another one shortly, and I’m thrilled with all the new colors available.
On my recommendation, my friend grabbed the two-piece set for her daughter and she loves it! We have two of the 26″ size as well and I can tell you first-hand that it’s still easy to roll even when fully loaded.
But don’t make my mistake and order the sizes separately: the set comes out much cheaper than ordering individually!
If you’re looking for a fancier option, check out the Carry-On Pro from Monos. It’s a high-quality Canadian brand that uses great materials and has a well-organized exterior pocket in addition to the compartments in the interior.
Sunglasses
My kids aren’t normally sunglasses wearers (since we live in the midwest and don’t have sun for half the year), but they love them when we travel to sunny destinations!
Before your next tropical getaway, surprise your teen with a fun pair of goodr shades… and I won’t tell if you sneak some into the cart for yourself. My teen definitely put a few of these on his wishlist when we popped into one of their stores – he loved a few from the National Parks collection and above you can see my guys modeling UCLA and OSU from the collegiate collection.
Travel blanket
Who doesn’t love to feel cozy? My teen mentioned that he would love to have a super portable blanket for our long flights, and the Rumpl travel puffy blanket fits the bill perfectly! It packs down into a tiny stuff sack that’s the size of a 1L water bottle so your kiddo can either slip it into a spare water bottle holder on their backpack or clip it to the locker loop (which only works because it’s super lightweight). My kids are on the small size so the 52″ in length of the travel blanket will be perfect for them.
If your teen has grown into a full-sized adult body already, consider sizing up to the Rumpl original puffy blanket. It’s 75″ long – it’s basically double the size of the travel blanket. That makes for extra coziness, but it’s also a little less portable.
I love this as a gift idea because I know my kids could get plenty of use outside of flights: an extra layer of coziness in a drafty Airbnb, riding on the bus back from ski club all winter and on camping trips that are always a million times colder than we expect.
Toiletry/cosmetics case
My kids were at odds over whether to include this on my list of gift ideas: my teen boy claimed it was just an excuse for parents to avoid buying their kids real presents, while my tween girl was all in. Full disclosure: I gave these as gifts before our summer trip to Italy, so their reactions didn’t surprise me!
But truthfully the tween and teen years are when I expect my kids to be responsible for keeping track of their own personal needs. I want them to pack their own toothbrushes, combs, medications, deodorant and more. These are also great for them to bring to sleepaway camp.
- GOX Travel Toiletry Bag – I got this one for my son, and it’s a great choice for a teen with pretty simple needs. There’s plenty of space inside, but a surprising number of compartments to help keep small items consolidated.
- Waterproof pouch – With a tween getting into makeup, this simple waterproof pouch has been perfect. It fits her basic personal needs plus cosmetics and is thankfully very easy to clean!
- BAGSMART hanging organizer – It’s only a matter of time before my tween becomes a full-blown teen and wants to bring more “products” with her. Eventually she’ll upgrade to this awesome hanging organizer. A few of my travel buddies have brought it on our trips together and it offers plenty of space for anything a gal could need without unnecessary bulk.
Travel journal
Do you have a kid who loves to write? Give them an opportunity to record your upcoming trip from their perspective with a dedicated travel journal. This travel journal for teens has plenty of space and prompts for reflection, pages for drawing or attaching photos, boredom busters and more… but without seeming as childish as the travel journals we used when our kids were younger.
Sudoku/puzzle book
Before we get into the high tech options to keep teens occupied when you’re traveling, my teen added a good old-fashioned paper sudoku, crossword or puzzle book to the list. We actually like to do these together – it’s a fun activity that keeps us both off screens. Sometimes we collaborate on a harder challenge, or if it’s an easier one we take turns timing (and lightly chastising) each other as a friendly competition. My tween and I like to work together on hard word searches too!
You could opt for a travel-themed puzzle book or one dedicated to sudoku or crossword puzzles. My mystery-loving tween might find this one wrapped up for her soon!
Best travel tech gifts for teens & tweens
I tried to keep this list of travel gifts for teens mostly tech-free, but my teen forced me to include these items. Since we all travel with lots of devices, I know he’s just being realistic!
GoPro
This was the first travel gift my teen mentioned when I asked him to help me make this list, but maybe it’s a hint because he doesn’t have one. If you’re taking adventurous trips – think zip lining, snorkeling, hiking – a GoPro or more budget-friendly action camera is the perfect way to document the experience. We have an old version of the budget-friendly model and it’s been great over the years, but it’s nice to see that the new one has integrated waterproofing rather than a separate housing.
Instant camera
My teen also mentioned how cool it would be to have an instant camera to document our city trips. We had one when he was younger as part of our worldschooling experience, but the quality was only so-so and the film cartridges were really pricey. This updated model offers different modes for landscape, “normal” (think portraits) and macro shooting so the photos should be much sharper plus it includes an angle adjustment and timer for group selfies.
If your kid already has a smartphone that they love for taking photos, grab a compact photo printer like this one so they can make a physical copy of their favorite travel pics!
Headphones
Both my teen and tween bring headphones on every single trip – whether it’s an overnight flight or a three hour road trip. Whether you have a gamer, a music lover or an audiobook listener, they’re indispensable.
Personally I think it’s really important to choose secure headphones for kids of all ages, even teens. Tiny ones like AirPods are great for portability but can fall out a little too easily – especially if they fall asleep with them in. Even a few years ago, Apple was closing in on $1bn in sales for AirPod and case replacements if that tells you anything.
We opted for these budget-friendly earbuds with a hook for our teen a few years ago and they’re still going strong. At that price point, I won’t cry if they get lost or need to be replaced. They also come in a bunch of great colors so there’s definitely one your teen will love (and you can get different colors for each kid if they’re territorial with their stuff).
For families that don’t mind bringing a bulkier item along on flights, the Anker SoundCore Life Q20 is an excellent choice. It’s a bargain for active noise cancellation and 40 hours of listening time! ANC is a huge help to drown out aircraft background noice without cranking up the volume so much that it can damage hearing. They also recharge quickly, so when your kid forgets to plug them in before the flight they just need to charge for 5-10 minutes and they’re all set for a long travel day.
Portable gaming console
There’s zero chance my teen would go on any trip without his Nintendo Switch 2 – it’s his absolute #1 travel essential, because we take a lot of long-haul international flights (usually in Economy) and it makes the time pass quickly for him. This case slides easily into his backpack and has room for all his favorite games.
For a more casual gamer like my tween daughter, the Nintendo Switch Lite is a great choice. It’s cheaper, lighter and there are no parts to get lost or damaged since it’s a simpler body. Be sure to choose a slim case so that it doesn’t take up a ton of space in their carry on (I’ve made that mistake before).
More travel gift ideas
Didn’t find the best travel gift for your teen in this list? That’s ok! Check out my other gift guides to find something that will inspire you and them!
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.