21 Coolest Travel Tech Gifts to Give or Receive

I wholeheartedly love my Amazon Echo and have gifted this brilliant device to several family members.

When it comes to travel, the Echo is a fantastic personal assistant.

With an Echo, you can search for tickets, check for flight times and delays, schedule a ride share, and so much more.

Alexa, what time does my flight leave?

I never travel without my Apple Watch. This tiny tech gift has so many helpful features built-in, whether it be for every day life or as a travel accessory.

One of the most common ways I’ve seen an Apple Watch used by travelers is adding airplane tickets to the Apple Wallet. 

Most airline apps are compatible with the Apple Watch app, so you might also be able to use their app to access your paperless ticket, as well. 

The Apple Watch is also jam packed with health and safety features, like a heart rate and blood oxygen monitor and fall detection. 

To learn more about how the Apple Watch makes a perfect travel tech gift, check out my post Is the Apple Watch Worth it?.

If you’re gonna be stuck in a metal tube thousands of miles up in the sky for hours, wireless active noise-cancelling headphones will be your best friend.

Between insanely loud plane engines, crying babies, and non-stop Chatty Cathys, you'll want a pair that will help drown out all that noise.

Then you can listen to a podcast, catch up on the latest movies, or lull yourself to sleep to the tunes of your favorite musical artist.

My vote goes to Beats Studio Pro or Studio 3 Wireless Over-the-Ear Headphones.

Both models have active noise cancelling technology built-in and can play music or audio up to 22 hours without needing to recharge.

I've had the Studio3 model for several years now and they work just as great as the day I got them.

Beats also has noise cancelling wireless earbuds, the Beats Studio Buds, which feature up to 8 hours of battery life, or 24 hours with the charging case.

NOTE: The Beats Solo 3 headphones do NOT include ANC technology, which is key for a good pair of travel headphones.

If your loved one is super into travel photography, surprise them with a photography drone. 

A photography drone will help them learn a new skill and take sick aerial photos for their Insta feed.

DJI is arguably the top of the line when it comes to photography drones, offering high quality photo and video capability and a range of drone products.

The DJI Mini 3 is the latest compact and affordable option from their line.

Learn more about how to pick the perfect photography drone in my Drone Buyer’s Guide.

Some travelers shy away from traveling outside their comfort zone due to language barriers. 

But what if there wasn’t a barrier?

Sure, you could learn a new language, but not everyone has the time, money, or mental capacity for that. 

Luckily there’s an easier solution these days: portable language translators. 

One of the best options out there are Google Pixel Buds and Google Pixel Buds Pro.

These aren’t a translator out of the package. They’re actually wireless ear buds, but when paired with the Google Translate app, they can be used for language translation. 

The only catch? You have to have an Android-powered smartphone in order for these to work as a translator.

WiFi is required to translate, which can make it tricky for instantaneous translation, but considering the Pixel Buds can be used for so many other scenarios, it’s a great option.

Plus, if you spring for the Pro version, they are noise-cancelling, so they can double as ear buds for the plane!

A power bank is one of the most practical travel tech gifts because it can double as a stocking stuffer. 

The higher the capacity, the more charges you can get out of it. For example, a power bank with 10,000 mAh capacity will give you 2-3 charges.

The catch is that devices with higher capacity, multi-charge capability are larger and heavier. 

If you want something small and light to stash in your purse or backpack for emergencies, look for a power bank around 4,500 mAh to give you a single full charge.

If I’m traveling outside of the US, I always pack my trusty WiFi hotspot from SIMO (previously SkyRoam).

This tiny device doubles as a power bank and enables me to connect to WiFi on up to 10 devices - all at the affordable price of $9 per 24 hours. Additional packages for longer lengths of time are also available.

A virtual private network, or VPN, creates a secure internet connection to help protect data and personal information, like credit cards and passwords. 

VPNs can sometimes be used to bypass location restrictions so that websites think you’re located somewhere you aren’t, too.

Basically, if you’re planning to connect your devices to WiFi while traveling, a VPN is crucial for these reasons.

A VPN would be a perfect gift for a frequent traveler or digital nomad to help keep their devices secure while traveling. 

I recommend Norton 360 Premium, as that is what I use and it has always served me well. It includes anti-virus, cloud backup, and VPN all in 1 subscription for up to 10 devices.

Alternatively, if you’re also purchasing a SkyRoam portable WiFi hotspot, you can add on the SkyRoam Solis VPN service to ensure any device connecting to your device is routed through a secure VPN.

Speaking of power banks, if new luggage is on your favorite traveler’s wish list, check out the carry on luggage from LUGGEX.

LUGGEX carry on luggage comes with a built-in USB and USB-C charging port that connects to your preferred portable charger so you can charge up while waiting for your flight. 

Since you supply your own power bank, it can be easily removed, which complies with TSA rules about lithium ion batteries, so no worries if you need to check your luggage.

LUGGEX comes in multiple sizes and colors, too, so you don't have to worry about this tech-friendly luggage being boring.

I love to read while traveling, especially when on a plane. The lack of easy WiFi makes it easy to stay focused.

I’m a fast reader, so I like to have several books and magazines with me while traveling, but I hate lugging them around.

An iPad or Kindle reader is the perfect solution for this problem. It was hard to choose just 1 device given the gap in price points.

An iPad can double as a travel-friendly computer and even a TV, so if you have the budget, I’d go this route.

An Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is far more budget-friendly, as its sole purpose is for reading books, magazines, and comics.

Simply put, it gets the job done, so if the extras aren’t necessary, go this route.

I’m a bit of a notebook hoarder, which admittedly isn’t very environmentally friendly. The second I saw the Rocketbook reusable notebook, I had to have it!

The Rocketbook is like part notebook and part dry erase board. It works with Pilot Frixion pens and markers.

The ink becomes smudge free after 15 seconds, but can be easily removed with a few spritzes of water and a wipe down with a microfiber cloth. 

Plus, there’s a companion app that lets you send a copy of your notes by simply taking a picture. The notes are shareable with common business apps, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, Trello, and Evernote.

The Rocketbook notebooks make for a fantastic travel journal, travel blog planning notebook, sketchbook, or photography ledger.

I love this notebook so much that about a year later, I also purchased the planner version!

I usually have a pack of tech-friendly sanitizing wipes stashed in my purse and at my desk.

With my frequent travel, I'm looking into more environmentally-friendly (and less time-consuming) ways to sanitize my phone, Apple Watch, keys, jewelry, and so on.

A UV sanitizer device can help with this task quickly and semi-passively. And thankfully, there are plenty of low-cost options available.

I’m a fan of the PhoneSoap 3 UV cell phone sanitizer & dual charger box because it can sanitize and charge at the same time. How brilliant is that???

It’s also pretty portable, so I take mine with me on most trips!

My favorite camera to travel with is a GoPro. It’s tiny, yet powerful and each new version blows the last one out of the water. 

The latest version, GoPro HERO 12, has a built-in preview screen on the front of the camera (perfect for solo travelers!), can shoot up to 5.3K video and up to 27MP photos, live stream capability, and scheduled shoots. 

My favorite feature with recent GoPro models are the GoPro Mods (sold separately).

GoPro Mods are like super powers you can add to your camera. There are detachable lenses, a light, enhanced microphone, and more.

If you get a GoPro, you're going to want all the fun accessories to go along with it, so check out my GoPro accessories post for a few ideas on what to get.

One of my favorite travel photography accessories is my GorillaPod, which has bendy tripod legs.

GorillaPods provide more flexibility than a traditional tripod and enable you to capture photos from unique angles. I never travel without mine!

The one shown here is specifically for smartphones, but they make ones for GoPros and larger cameras, too!

Unfortunately not all power outlets are equal around the world. Thankfully, travel adapters make it possible for you to bring your favorite tech with you when you travel. 

In a nutshell, travel adapters are plugged into power outlets to make them compatible with your devices' plugs. 

I recommend the Samsonite Converter/Adapter Kit that comes with 4 adapters, plus a converter.

For travel and music lovers, a portable bluetooth speaker is the ultimate travel tech gift. 

A bluetooth speaker enables phones and other devices to connect wirelessly. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about lugging around another set of cords or plugs. 

The result? You can use a speaker at the beach, camp site, AirBNB, or hotel room to blast your favorite tunes or listen to a local musical artist.

The Bose SoundLink Micro speaker is the exact speaker my sister gave our Mom for Christmas recently. It super durable, charges up quick, and my mom uses it all the time (especially for movie night outside!).

As much as I love using my GoPro or iPhone to snap pictures, it’s still fun to get prints of photos - especially for gifts or home decor. 

I got a Fujifilm Instax Mini Link smartphone printer for Christmas one year and absolutely love it! 

I love that I can use it to print photos from my childhood, photos I’ve taken with my iPhone or GoPro, or photos friends have sent me without needing a separate Instax camera to get the fun, vintage Polaroid-style print out.

Last, but not least, protect all your fun travel tech and accessories with an Apple AirTag.

This genius device is tiny but might!

It can be attached to pretty much any object you need to keep track of: remotes, luggage, power banks, cameras, keys, wallets, purses, and so on.

I always have one in my wallet, as well as in any luggage or carry on I have when traveling.