If you still have some last-minute Christmas gifts to buy or you forgot an important birthday, don’t worry, all is not lost! I’ve found some fantastic last-minute travel gifts that will save the day. All of these last minute gifts for travellers can be ordered online and sent electronically to the recipient, so you don’t need to worry about missing Christmas delivery deadlines or them getting lost in the post. I’m sure you’ll find something suitable among these last-minute travel gift ideas!
Last Minute Travel Gifts to Send Electronically
It happens to us all, sometimes life gets in the way of planning and you need to get a last-minute gift for someone. I’ve come up with these last-minute travel gifts you can buy online and either send electronically to the gift recipient, or have a final shop on Amazon and get the gift delivered straight to them. Here’s my pick of travel gifts to buy online!
Hotel Vouchers
If you’d like to pay for some accommodation for your traveller as a gift experience, a fantastic place to buy hotel vouchers is Tinggly, which has various gift boxes available for different amounts.
The European Escape for example is $150 USD for a one-night stay for two at one of 10,000 hotels in the collection, or if you have a higher budget, the Weekend Getaway for Two is $359 USD for a two-night stay for two people in a double or twin room, or the Relaxing Stay for Couples is another option, priced at $599 USD for two nights for two people.
For added flexibility, your gift recipient can choose to add extra nights in the same hotel at their own expense or convert the price you paid into Tinggly Value which means they can add more money to stay in an alternative hotel if they don’t find anything they like at that price range.
I usually use Booking.com to book my hotels, but they don’t sell online gift vouchers so another good place to buy hotel vouchers online is through Hotels.com gift cards. You can buy the the gift cards in various denominations and can be used to pay for thousands of places to stay worldwide, at any hotel listed on Hotels.com.
Experience Gift Vouchers
Tinggly gift boxes are a fabulous last-minute travel gift idea where you purchase a gift box for a certain value, and the gift recipient chooses the experience they want from the variety of options available across the world.
The higher the value of your experience collection, the more luxurious options they will have to choose from, and you can see a selection of what they can book at the bottom of the experience page.
For example, for the Bucketlist collection, they can choose from over 10,000 experiences worldwide, including things like paragliding, scuba diving, food tours, wine tours, and many more.
When purchasing you have the choice of a physical gift box you can give as a gift which takes a couple of days to arrive, or an online voucher which is best if you’re not going to see your gift recipient in person before they travel or you need something right away.
Flight Vouchers
If your gift recipient has a favourite airline they always fly with, consider getting a gift card for that airline. I’ve read reviews of a company called Flightgift which suggests you can use their gift vouchers for any airline, but their prices are significantly higher than booking direct with the airline, so getting a specific company voucher would be better value.
Most airlines sell gift cards or flight vouchers that you can give as gifts, from Ryanair to Delta, so hopefully you’ll find one that suits the person you’re buying for!
Worldpackers Membership
Backpackers or budget travellers who are looking for ways to save money while travelling would love this last minute travel gift.
Work exchange programs allow them to trade their time and skills in exchange for accommodation, so they can basically travel for free! Work exchange websites like Worldpackers list thousands of available work exchanges which travellers can apply for, once they have paid the membership fees.
Membership fees start from $49 for 12 months (with this $10 discount voucher) for Worldpackers. The memberships can be used in any country in the world (including their own) so no matter where they plan to go they can find something to suit them.
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Membership to Trusted Housesitters
Another great way to save money while travelling long term is to become a house sitter. Websites such as Trusted Housesitters list hundreds of homeowners who are looking for people to look after their homes and pets while they are away.
Placements vary from weekend stays to several months, so can save a lot of money for long-term travellers! Membership starts from £99 for the year, just make sure your traveller is an animal lover! If you want more information about TrustedHousesitters, read my full review here.
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Wanderful Membership for Female Travellers
Give the gift of community. For a woman who travels, there’s nothing better than meeting like-minded soul sisters who understand your need to explore the world around you. I’ve been a member of Wanderful’s travel community since 2019 and I love connecting with other female travellers all around the world.
Membership makes a great gift for a travel-loving lady in your life, and with prices for yearly membership starting at $99 USD they are sure to appreciate it!
Check out some of the benefits of Wanderful membership, like:
- 24/7 access to an online platform where you can meet other travelling women, make travel buddies and get help with trip planning
- Cross-cultural, face-to-face virtual meetups, workshops, happy hours, and more
- Free access to chapter events in 50+ cities around the world
- VIP perks at global events
- Special deals and discounts
- Optional membership upgrades for content creators and entrepreneurs in the travel space
Kindle Unlimited Subscription
If your favourite traveller loves to read, they will find that packing several books in an already stuffed suitcase just isn’t practical. A Kindle (or any kind of e-reader) makes a great travel gift. Travellers will certainly make use of it on planes and buses, at the beach, or in the evening chilling out under the stars. Storing hundreds of books in one tiny space means they will never be without their favourite book, no matter where they go.
If they already have a Kindle, then a Kindle Unlimited subscription could be really useful for them, as it includes unlimited access to over 1 million eBooks. They can also use the subscription on any device with the free Kindle app, they don’t even need to own a Kindle.
And of course, there are lots of travel books available as a Kindle eBook which could be another last-minute gift idea.
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Audible Subscription
If your gift recipient prefers to listen to books, an Audible gift subscription to listen to audio-books would be better for them. They can also use the Audible subscription on a Kindle with Bluetooth headphones.
I love listening to my audiobooks while travelling as it gives me something to do on a plane or bus ride, as I suffer from motion sickness and can’t read books while I’m moving. On long journeys, it’s very comforting to have your favourite author reading to you! At the moment I’m listening to David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet which is essential listening.
Foreign Currency into their Wise Account
Depending on where your backpacker is planning to travel, buying some foreign currency for them is a thoughtful and very useful gift, but you can’t always get currency last minute as you may need to order it.
A way around this is to transfer money directly into their travel bank account, for example, Wise (formally TransferWise), which means you can send them any currency no matter where they are. The exchange rates and fees for taking money out of the account abroad are much better than using their regular bank account or credit card, so you would be saving them money on every transaction too!
Get Prime Delivery with Amazon
Amazon is another great place to look for travel gifts to buy at the last minute, especially if you have Amazon Prime as you can get next-day delivery on most items – although check delivery times as Christmas might vary if a lot of people are getting last-minute shopping.
While I do try to support local businesses, Amazon Prime delivery is very useful if you will be seeing the person you are buying the gift for, or you can send it directly to them to open. If you send it to them, remember to click the option to show the item is a gift so the delivery doesn’t spoil the surprise!
If you’re not sure what to get, I have lots of gift ideas for travel lovers in my Amazon storefront, or take a look at these posts, with many gifts available on Amazon:
Want More Travel Gift Ideas?
Check out these other gift guides for inspiration:Have you got any other ideas for last-minute travel gift ideas?