What are the best Christmas gifts for travellers?

I love to travel and so the best gift that anyone could give me is a trip or experience. Since having children I’ve wanted to share these with them as much as possible, and to instill in them that experiences are often so much more memorable than physical things. For their birthday celebrations we have started giving them a choice between a party with friends (which usually means more presents too), a day out at a theme park or something similar, or a family weekend break. Nine times out of ten they will choose the family weekend away, because those are the trips that they remember fondly and look forward to the most. 

As Christmas approaches I’ve been thinking about how to give travel as a Christmas gift to my family. Whether you get someone a flight, a cultural experience or a new activity, it’s exciting for you to give and for them to receive. They have something to look forward to, something to enjoy in the moment, and something to remember once it’s over. What’s not to love?

Why I love travel and experiences as a gift

– Despite loving travel it’s nice, as a mum, for someone else to organise it for me occasionally.

– I enjoy the anticipation of the trip almost as much as actually going on the trip.

– My favourite thing is family time so I love any excuse to be together without the day to day pressures.

– Experiences create memories that will last a lifetime.

Types of travel and experiences I have given and received.

I have been lucky enough to have given and received trips and experiences in the past, so if you’re looking for the best travel gift ideas for Christmas 2025, here’s some inspiration:

Family trips in the UK. For my Mum’s 60th we arranged a surprise family weekend away in Cornwall. My Dad and I booked a lovely house and told her that he was taking her away, but she didn’t know that my brother and my family were going too until we arrived at the holiday home! It was such a lovely way to celebrate her birthday and was extra special because it was our first family holiday with my son.

Flights. I booked flights to Lanzarote for my partner and I as a surprise trip and only told him the week before we were going. I chose Lanzarote because we both love scuba diving and there was an underwater museum there that we both wanted to explore. I had to tell him in advance because it was a 5 day trip so he needed to take a few days off work, but it was short enough notice to be a surprise and to look forward to it.

Travel money (in the currency of the place they are going). If I’m invited to a wedding I will sometimes give the bride and groom currency for the honeymoon destination as their wedding gift. 

Cultural experiences for a trip already booked. If someone you know already had a trip booked but you know of an experience they would love to do there, you can always buy it for them. An example might be a food tour, a sightseeing trip to a historical site or even an outdoors activity like a canoe safari. Get Your Guide has some amazing experience gifts that you can book for holidays that are already planned.

Theme park days out for the kids. For my daughter’s 3rd birthday we had a family day out at Paultons Park in Hampshire. She was a huge fan of Peppa Pig and Paultons Park is the home of Peppa Pig World so we had a lovely day out and she enjoyed seeing all of her favourite characters.

Sailing trip experience. My partner and I would love to learn to sail and so were lucky enough to be gifted a morning sailing experience one year.

Voucher for The Wave, Bristol. For my partner’s birthday this year I got him a gift voucher for The Wave in Bristol. The Wave is an inland surf destination so the voucher can be used for surf lessons or, if you already know how to surf, sessions for practicing and improving your technique. They do lessons and sessions for adults and children at every level so I’m thinking about getting the kids a lesson too.

Junior Zoo Keeper experience. I’m looking at this experience for my son as a Christmas present because he’s very active, outdoorsy, and wants to work with animals when he is older (watch out Steve Backshall, he’s after your job!). Quite a few wildlife parks do animal experiences like feeding penguins, feeding giraffes or working with a keeper for a day. I think this would be so much fun for someone who loves animals.

How to gift an unforgettable travel experience this Christmas 

When it comes to actually buying or booking there are a few different ways that you can do it. All have pro’s and con’s so think about what is feasible for you and which the recipient will appreciate the most.

Option 1– plan the whole break thing yourself and keep it totally secret. This one is a lot of work but is perfect for someone who loves surprises. Just remember that if you’re going abroad you’ll need their passport details. These may be easy to get or you may need to enlist another friend/ family member to help, just make sure that anyone who helps can also keep the secret! You’ll also need to think about arranging time off work (if going for more than a weekend) and child care arrangements if you’re going as a couple.

Option 2– arrange something smaller like a night or weekend away in the UK. This option is generally more cost and time effective but just as much fun. I booked a child free weekend for my partner and I for his 40th birthday, in the New Forest. It was pretty easy to book as I was able to drop the kids off at my parents on the way, book the hotel and we took our bikes too so that we could do some cycling while we were there. It wasn’t particularly flashy but we enjoyed fresh air, exercise and good food while having some quality time together.

Option 3– book part of the trip (flights or accommodation) and let them arrange the rest. This works well if you are planning a trip for someone who likes more control of what they do and where they go, or if you want to plan it together. By booking one element of the trip you can still give them the gift of travel but it takes some of the pressure off you and still ensures they have a great time.

Option 4. Get an experience voucher that they can plan/ book for a time and date that suits them. I’ve been lucky enough to have received several vouchers and experiences and I love them for a few reasons:

1. I can arrange them around work and family life which makes my life so much easier.
2. The voucher is usually for something that I wouldn’t have booked for myself. So it’s either a new experience that I get to try or somewhere that would be out of the ordinary for me. I love this because it pushes me out of my comfort zone sometimes and gives me a new perspective as well as lasting memories.
3. They are usually with more than one person so you have someone to share the experience with and look back on it with.
4. They are easy to buy online so if you are pushed for time you can still get something thoughtful.

How to package the gift.

giving a trip as a present this ChristmasOnce you’ve decided on or booked the trip/ experience it’s time to reveal the gift to the recipient. This is one of my favourite parts! Here are a few ways you could do this:

Reveal scratch card from Etsy. These cards are readily available online and easy to personalise so you can have the destination hidden on a scratch card and they reveal the destination themselves. I think this is such a cute idea if you’ve planned the whole thing and want to tell them where they are going before the trip. It gives them enough time to look forward to the trip and to prepare for it, whilst also being a lovely surprise.

Give them a destination guide. When I helped organise a surprise hen weekend I gave them a city guide to reveal the destination. This was so well received and meant they could read more about the destination before we got there. I tucked tickets to an activity inside so she know what we had already booked, but we left room in the itinerary to add in any extra activities/ sightseeing that the hen read about in the guidebook.

Meet them at the airport or transport point and reveal the destination. If you’ve got as far as booking the whole trip AND managed to keep it a secret (well done!), you can always reveal the destination on the way. Take them to the airport and give them the flight time to look up on the board, or get them into the car and drive them there. Just make sure you give them enough information to pack appropriately because nothing kills the mood more than packing badly for a trip. 

If you’ve got a gift voucher or experience you could make a little hamper of things they will need on the experience or something associated with the place. So if I get a zoo keeper experience for my son I might get him some new wellies or a water bottle from the zoo, a kids book about being a zoo keeper and print out a certificate for him or something like that.

So, if you’re planning on giving travel as a gift, those are my favourite ways to do it. Have you given or received the gift of travel before? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!