Wanderlust Gifts for Travel Lovers

After traveling full time for two years, my husband and I have acquired quite the collection of travel items. We absolutely love to travel and have spent most of our time exploring national parks, biking with our Boston Terrier, visiting museums, car camping, and more. If you are looking for a gift for someone who loves to travel or want to buy something for yourself to remember your adventures, here are some of our favorite things!

Travel Items:

1. National Park Pass:

National Park road trips make the top of our list for our favorite vacation types! With our current annual pass, we have visited 14 national parks and counting. If we had paid to visit them individually, we would have spent over $300. Instead, we paid $80 for a year long's access to over 100 national park sites that charge fees.

This pass covers the entrance fees, standard amenity fees, and day use fees for a driver and their passengers (up to four adults at locations that charge per person).

Types of passes:

*Annual Pass: $80. Available for everyone.

*Military Pass: Free for current U.S. military members and their dependents in the Army,

Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force, as well as Reserve and

National Guard members.

Starting on November 11, 2020, Gold Star Families and U.S. military veterans

receive free access to national parks, wildlife refuges, and forests.

*Annual 4th Grade Pass: Free for the duration of the 4th grade school year (September -

August). Available to U.S. 4th graders.

*Senior Pass: $80 for lifetime senior pass. $20 for annual senior pass. Available for U.S.

citizens or permanent residents age 62 or over.

*Access Pass: Free. Available for U.S. citizens or permanent residents with permanent

disabilities.

*Volunteer Pass: Free. Available for volunteers with 250 service hours with federal

agencies that participate in the Interagency Pass Program.

For more information, visit https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

2. Cooler Backpack: We don't take ANY trip without bringing this backpack! Cold water can be your best friend on a hot day when hiking. What's great about it is that you can use it for more than keeping food and drinks cold. We have filled our backpack with other items such as clothes, binoculars, bear spray, a flashlight, hats, a hammock, etc. Additionally, we have used this backpack as a personal item on flights when we don't want to pay baggage fees. We got ours from Sam's Club, but here is a link to a similar one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H446RN1/ref=dp_prsubs_2

3. Portable Charger: I think this one speaks for itself . . . no one wants to be on vacation and have their phone die just before they are able to take a picture of the breathtaking scenery or beautiful wildlife. In addition to our phones, we have used our portable charger to charge a rechargeable fan while car camping in Utah in 100+ degree heat. The fan added much comfort when sleeping! Here is a link to Amazon's Best Sellers: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Cell-Phone-Portable-Power-Banks/zgbs/wireless/7073960011

4. RFID Travel Passport Wallet: I love my wallet so much that I use it for daily life too! It has plenty of space for money, credit cards, gift cards, identification cards, receipts, a passport, a phone, pen, and a small notepad. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GH1T74V/ref=afx_dp_prime_egress?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh

5. Bombas Socks: Over half of our socks at this point are Bombas socks! They are great for hiking, long plane/car rides, sports, sleeping, or just relaxing. They have socks that range from no show to knee high. A bonus is that for every purchase, they donate a pair to the homeless community. Link for 25% off first purchase: https://refer.bombas.com/x/ZF4zUg

6. Hammock: Perfect combination of adventure and relaxation! Our typical hammocking experience consists of hiking for a few miles, setting up our hammock with a view of a valley, cliff edge, waterfall, or river, enjoying a packed lunch, and snuggling with our Boston Terrier. We have a double hammock, which allows for enough space for two adults and a loveable pup!

Remember Your Adventures:

1. Passport to the National Parks: Collect cancellation stamps from each national park service unit. https://shop.americasnationalparks.org/store/category/30/278/Passport-Books/

2. Scratch Map: Watch the map come to life with color as you record your adventures by scratching off each destination. https://www.amazon.com/Maps-International-Scratch-World-Travel/dp/B00O8PNW6M/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=scratch+map&qid=1607233224&sr=8-5

3. Shutterfly Photo Books: A long-lasting documentation of your globetrotting adventure. You can upgrade your book by adding memorabilia pockets for maps, tickets, postcards, etc. https://www.shutterfly.com/

4. Destination Souvenirs: Pick an item to collect from each of your travels. We collect coasters, but your travel collectibles could be postcards, stickers, T-shirts, maps, magnets, socks, mugs, etc. If you want to be wacky or creative, you could collect snow globes, hotel key cards, plane sickness bags, soaps, hot sauces/condiments, or a deck of cards.

5. Make a Video: Whether it is with your phone or a GoPro, videos can be a sentimental way to remember your past adventures. Our videos are nowhere near professional, but it brings back amazing memories, and that's what's important. And it doesn't have to be a video . . . you could make a photo collage, photo shadow box, travel journal, or drawings.