Travel Gift Ideas

1. AirTags

I bought two AirTags and keep one with my camera bag and the other with my regular suitcase.

After having several tight flight connections with delays this fall, I started using AirTags—a tracking device made by Apple. I have one in my main suitcase and one with my camera. (AirTags often come with free monogramming so I had these labeled with a camera and suitcase icon.) The devices are tracked in the Find My app so it’s easy to see that my luggage is in the same country as I am! The app also notifies me when the devices are no longer detected near me. This is helpful but also annoying when I’m just walking to breakfast and my things are in my hotel.

2. Peak Design 30L Travel Backpack

The Peak Design Travel Backpack is 30 liters and comes in three colors. Photo courtesy of Peak Design

I’ve struggled for years to find the perfect backpack for my camera gear. Everything I tried was too bulky or impractical because I need a pack that will hold my computer, camera gear and still be a regular backpack when needed. Enter the Peak Design 30L Travel Backpack – it not only fits my MacBook Pro but my camera gear with room to spare. For years, I’ve used hiking day packs instead of a traditional compartmentalized camera backpack but always struggled to make my gear fit. This bag was a few liters smaller than my previous one and is designed so well that there’s actually extra room. The best part is that it has a WAIST STRAP to take the load off my shoulders—this is critical for day hikes! (When I’m doing a proper hiking trip, I take an Osprey pack, which padded waist straps and a wire frame.)  This pack is meant to be used with Peak Design’s cube system but I just put my gear in it without the cubes. I also like that my water bottle NEVER falls out of the side pockets, which are made from a sturdy material instead of a net that rips easily. The anti-theft zippers that lock or slide under a loop deter pickpockets. The reason I love this brand so much is because they really understand photographers—they literally think of EVERYTHING. Every feature I need/want, they have! (I also LOVE their lightweight travel tripod and slide camera straps!) Did I mention they have a lifetime warranty?

3. Cotopaxi Hip Pack

I’ve been rocking this hip pack (1.5 liters) for the past few months and love it. 

My shoulders are wrecked after years of carrying around heavy camera gear.  I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t even like a normal purse strap because it can still cut into my shoulders and be uncomfortable. Inspired by my friend Trevor, I bought this 1.5-liter Cotopaxi hip pack. It’s basically a colorful fanny pack with a llama on it. Each pack is one-of-a-kind and made from repurposed materials. People compliment me on it all the time. Due to the wide variety of colors, it honestly matches most things. Cotopaxi also makes hip packs in other sizes ranging from two to four liters. Some are equally colorful while others allow you to choose the color scheme you’d like. ( I’m so tiny that the three-liter packs are too big for my hips, and I didn’t care as much for the design of two-liter ones.)

4. Peak Design Phone Case & Car Mount

When I bought my new iPhone this spring, I bought the Peak Design phone case with a finger loop along with the magnetic wallet that connects to the back. I also got the charging car mount that has been a life saver on road trips because my car doesn’t have Bluetooth. Photo courtesy of Peak Design

Since I LOVE everything Peak Design makes, I decided to try their phone case and car mount when I got a new phone in the spring. (They make cases for all brands of phones—Apple, Samsung and Google.) I love the case for many reasons – it’s raised enough to protect the screen when you drop your phone. It also includes a finger loop, which I use to keep a sturdy hold on my phone in places where phone theft is common. The case is also magnetic, which is great for the detachable wallet and the car mount. I’m a big fan of the charging car mount as well. They also make mounts for bikes and motorcycles.

My goal is always to find ways to lighten my luggage. These SanDisk portable SSD hard drives were a godsend. I travel with four of them – one is a backup for my Mac and the other three contain my travel photo archive. Each one is four terabytes, lightweight and lightening fast!  (I have two copies of all my data in two different locations stateside.) Online storage is impractical for someone like me who spends their life in remote corners of the world with unreliable internet. While these are not cheap, I bought all of them for 50% off. They were worth every penny. (Amazon currently has them on sale for 40-60% off depending on size. Sizes range from 500 megabytes to four terabytes.)

6. Vuori Joggers & Crew Tops

Vuori’s Weekend Joggers

My biggest pet peeve with mainstream retailers is that they literally cannot make lightweight summer clothes for the hotter places in the globe—Texas, Thailand, etc.  All of their ads show someone wearing a sweatshirt with shorts. Is Alaska their target market? Yoga pants are TERRIBLE for humid places. Lightweight, breathable fabrics are key, which is why I love these Vuori Weekend Joggers. They are as lightweight as the thin elephant pants they sell in Thailand, which is the only type of material you should wear in humid weather. Since this is a summer pant, they are sold out now but will restock in the spring. I also really love their long sleeve daydream crew top. The fabric is breathable and wicking with a UPF 30+. It’s a great layering shirt as well.  This one is in stock now! 

7. Bare Republic Sunscreen

Alfred the Gnome wanted to be in one of the photos. Here he is with my favorite SPF and bug spray!  

Bare Republic Mineral Face Sunscreen is by far the BEST face SPF on the planet! It’s the only light, non-greasy SPF I’ve ever found that works! It’s also chemical-free (zinc and titanium-dioxide based), biodegradable AND reef-friendly! I swear by their matte face SPF but love their new mineral gel-body lotion SPF, too! It’s all zinc-based but doesn’t leave a white, sticky sheen like their previous body SPF. It’s available at Amazon, Target and other pharmacies.

8. Wondercide Insect Repellent 

This natural DEET-free bug spray is lovely. Unlike most natural bug sprays, the smell is subtle. (Earlier this year, a bottle of Repel’s Lemon-Eucalyptus bug spray leaked all over my luggage. I literally had to scrub my suitcase down about five times with Dawn and vinegar to get out the smell.) This Wondercide spray repels mosquitos and ticks for an hour. (It does have to be reapplied more frequently than DEET but it doesn’t destroy clothes or melt my flip-flops as DEET-based bug sprays have done. (DEET and greasy SPFs have been torture on my camera bodies, eating up the rubber grips and causing them to deteriorate.) This spray comes in four different scents—lemongrass, cedarwood, rosemary and peppermint.

9. Rothy’s

I’ve had these yellow Rothy’s for two years, and they’ve really held up well!

I bought a pair of yellow pointed-toe Rothy’s during the pandemic and they’ve become my go-to travel shoe because they are comfortable AND machine washable. Yes, they are pricey, but they will have a discount of some kind for the holidays. I have a yellow pair of The Point style, a pointed-toe flat, that I get compliments on all the time. They also pack well and retain their shape. (My pair is currently drying in my apartment in Chiang Mai because I just washed them.)