It’s that time of year again, when you’re combing the shops and the Internet to find the right presents for your family and friends. I’ve tried to make it a little easier for you by rounding up some gift ideas for anyone who loves to travel, whether they are an active traveller or more of the armchair variety. And, who knows, you might even decide to treat yourself…

Books For Travellers

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a few new books to read, and a great place to start is the Lonely Planet book shop. They are known for their destination guides and phrasebooks, but they also have a whole section on “Art and Inspiration”, with lots of titles for planning your next trip or just whiling away a winter afternoon. Try Best in Travel 2019 for advice from the experts on their top places to visit next year, or seek inspiration from the writings of great travellers, with titles such as A Moveable Feast.

There is even a section on food and drink. Some titles – like the newly published Wine Trails: USA and Canada – will induce wanderlust. And others, such as The World’s Best Bowl Food, are full of recipes to help you recreate your travels at home.

For travellers with a taste of history have a look at the English Heritage Shop. It is limited to English history, but who could resist titles like Eight Ghosts, a collection of spine-tingling stories based in some of the country’s oldest – and spookiest – places? Or Photographing Historic Buildings, which is full of tips for those who like to photograph the places they visit.

Of course, many travellers like to read about the places they visit before they set off. Check out my guides on what to read before you visit New Zealand, Ireland or Italy.

Other Christmas Gifts For Travellers

Lonely Planet also has a selection of inspiring stationery for travellers. These include journals and sketchbooks, and there is a great looking Where to Go When Diary for 2019. English Heritage has lots of gift ideas too. Some of their games will help you to plan – or relive – your travels around England’s historic sites. Try their version of Cluedo – a virtual tour including including Hadrian’s Wall, Kenilworth Castle and the Dover Secret Wartime Tunnels – or Castles Monopoly (with Pendennis Castle in place of Mayfair…)

A great gift for anyone living in England is English Heritage membership, giving them free access to more than 400 properties for a year. (And you can currently get 15% off gift membership – just use discount code EH2018.)

Gifts For Future Travellers

But what about the younger members of the family? What better gift could you give than the inspiration for future travel? Every child needs a globe or a good atlas  – depending on age perhaps a Big Picture Atlas or a National Geographic Kids World Atlas.

Lonely Planet Kids has a fantastic range of books for all ages from three upwards. These range from the Lonely Planet Kids Travel Book (with a separate page for each of 200 different countries) to interactive adventures like Around the World in 50 Ways.

And travellers of all ages might enjoy a scratch map of the world to record where they’ve been (or where they want to go…)

I hope I’ve inspired you with a few ideas. Do you have anything to add to the list?

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