We’ve searched far and wide for the best travel-inspired gifts, all under $25. Some will fit in a stocking (or a mailbox)—genuinely good instant coffee, comfy, packable slippers, a silk eye pillow—while two are hands-on experiences. Read on for 13 budget-friendly gifts to give this holiday season—or to keep for yourself.
This luggage tag stands out in the best way.
Courtesy of MoMA Design Store
1. Dusen Dusen Recycled Leather Luggage Tag
Buy now: $18, store.moma.org
Cut down on the chance of someone accidentally grabbing your carry-on or checked bag with a bright luggage tag from Brooklyn-based textile and home goods company Dusen Dusen. The company’s prints are inspired by fine art, commercial design, and even the brain’s reaction to visual stimuli like color and movement. This tag—made in Spain from recycled leather and sold only by the MoMA Design Store—has an eye-catching design that makes it easier to spot your luggage from a distance.
Learn all about the beauty of olive harvesting in Cyprus with this agrotour.
Courtesy of Aperanti Agrotourism
2. Aperanti Agrotourism Olive-Harvesting Experience
Buy now: $22, aperantiagrotourism.com
About 40 minutes by bus from Nicosia, Cyprus, is a simple family-run agrotourism with a roster of culinary experiences. Harvest olives, learn how to preserve them, then enjoy a picnic—and a sample of olive oil to take home. For a little bit extra ($27), try the truly unique halloumi-making workshop, which includes a delicious snack spread.
Pad around hotel rooms with ease in these comfortable jersey cotton slippers from Muji.
Courtesy of Muji
3. Muji Soft Slippers
Buy now: $13, muji.us
Japanese retailer Muji is known for its high-quality but unshowy essentials, including clothing, home goods, and stationery. These jersey cotton slippers are perfect for padding around hotel rooms and Airbnbs and can be tossed in a washing machine when you return home. Best of all, they’re lightweight, flexible, and can be sandwiched together, meaning they’re particularly easy to pack in any size suitcase or backpack.
This eye mask comes in a variety of colors, including the purple seen here.
Courtesy of Asutra
4. Asutra Eye Pillow
Buy now: $20, asutra.com
The Asutra Eye Pillow is ideal for when you’re trying to sleep on a plane or in a too-bright hotel room. It’s made with ultra-comfortable silk, it blocks out all light (so it won’t matter if your seatmate insists on reading the whole flight), and it’s filled with lavender and flax seeds, giving the effect of a calming weighted blanket for your face. You might want to wear this one every night—even when your PTO days have ended.
Say goodbye to your soap-storage woes with this bag from Matador.
Courtesy of Matador
5. Matador FlatPak Soap Bar Case
Buy now: $20, matadorup.com
When it comes to packing bar soap, Ziploc bags are messy, while traditional plastic soap cases can be bulky and hard to squeeze into your toiletry bag. Enter Matador’s ingenious fabric case, which is somehow both leakproof and breathable enough to allow the soap to dry off and not become mushy.
Step off a plane refreshed (or, at least, looking refreshed) with these funky eye masks.
Courtesy of KNC Beauty
6. KNC Beauty Star Eye Masks
Buy now: $25 for a five-pack, kncbeauty.com
KNC Beauty is a Black-owned skincare company named after founder Kristen Noel Crawley, who was inspired to create this line of eye and lip masks after a visit to Japan. Tuck a few of these under-eye masks into luggage for a quick, postflight treatment. Each packet contains two strips infused with aloe, rose flower oil, rosemary, and retinol.
Learn how to make an incredible Turkish lamp at this $25 workshop in Istanbul.
Photo by Brian Jeffery Beggerly/Flickr
7. Turkish Mosaic Lamp Workshop in Istanbul
Buy now: $24 for three-hour workshop, airbnb.com
For the ultimate Turkish souvenir that’s easier to carry home than an (admittedly beautiful) carpet, sign up for this mosaic lamp workshop in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district. Over tea and Turkish delights, travelers of any age can craft their own mosaic lamps, which are then carefully packaged.
Satisfy your caffeine cravings on the go with this instant coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee.
Courtesy of Blue Bottle Coffee
8. Blue Bottle Coffee Craft Instant Espresso Multiserve
Buy now: $25, bluebottlecoffee.com
Instant coffee is incredibly useful for travelers (and especially campers) but it can often be less than satisfying for caffeine connoisseurs. Enter Blue Bottle Coffee. Its instant espresso actually tastes great and is environmentally friendly—no plastic, no paper wrappers, just a reusable glass jar with 15 servings of top-quality coffee. Use it to carry snacks once it’s empty.
W&P Design adds Italian spritz to its lengthy carry-on cocktail repertoire.
Courtesy of W & P Design
9. W&P The Italian Spritz Cocktail Kit
Buy now: $22, thesocialtype.com
Spruce up your in-flight beverage offerings with this compact cocktail kit, which includes the ingredients and tools needed to make two drinks. Just add prosecco (or any sparkling wine), and you can temporarily trick yourself into thinking you’re living la dolce vita at some seaside Italian resort rather than sharing an aisle with strangers at 40,000 feet.
A slender novel by Satoshi Yagisawa that traveling readers can easily take along
Courtesy of Harper Perennial
10. More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Buy now: $17, bookshop.org
For travelers looking to escape with an engaging read, check out Satoshi Yagisawa’s More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, the second book in a duo about a bookstore. More Days continues the story of Takako, who works in her uncle’s secondhand bookshop despite scant interest in the written word. Afar contributor Pat Tompkins says, “The best aspect of these novels is their celebration of Tokyo’s Jimbocho neighborhood, a real-deal location packed with some 200 bookstores.”
Stojo Biggie’s collapsible design makes it easy to stow.
Courtesy of Stojo
11. Stojo 16 oz. Travel Cup
Buy now: $20, stojo.co
Ditch the disposable cups and bulky thermoses for this leak-proof, collapsible cup. The Stojo holds up to 16 ounces of liquid (hot or cold) and, when empty, flattens into a two-inch disk that can easily be tossed in a tote or backpack. Best of all, it’s both microwave- and dishwasher-safe, made from the world’s safest silicone.
Medications are a snap to keep straight using Port and Polish’s pill box.
Courtesy of Port and Polish Co
12. Port and Polish Pill Case
Buy now: $20, portandpolishco.com
Pill cases are a functional necessity when traveling—but who says they can’t also be stylish? Port and Polish’s updated version is divided into seven compartments with individual lids and a mirror on the inside lid. It’s the size of an iPhone and less than an inch deep, and it comes in a few colors, including cherry red, blush pink, and navy.
Sweet tooth, anyone? Grab these yummy chocolates from Milla Chocolates.
Courtesy of Milla Chocolates
13. Milla Hazelnut Praliné Bar with Turkish Coffee
Buy now: $19, millachocolates.com
Send someone’s taste buds on a trip to Istanbul with a hazelnuts and Turkish coffee chocolate bar from Los Angeles–based Milla, made from a mix of single-origin dark and milk chocolates. Other global-inspired flavors include Valencia orange and tahini almond.
This article was originally published in 2018 and most recently updated on November 4, 2024, with current information. Cat Sposato and John Wogan contributed to the reporting of this story.
