The Best Gifts for Kids Who Love Travel

Buying for a child who loves travel is deceptively hard. The obvious options are another plastic aeroplane that will be under the sofa by February, or something so grown-up they cannot use it for five years. What you want is a gift that makes the next trip better and survives the one after that.

Here are fourteen that do, roughly in the order we would buy them for a child aged three to twelve — including an honest note about our own book, which is number one because we made it and we think it answers this exact question best.

What makes a good travel gift for a child

Four tests, and a good one passes at least three. It packs small — anything that will not fit in hand luggage is a gift for the house, not the trip. It needs no batteries and no screen, because most of these exist as an alternative to the tablet. It grows with them, so it is still in use next summer. And ideally it connects to something real: a specific place, a specific journey. Gifts attached to a real event are the ones children keep.

1. A personalised book about the place they're actually going

Full disclosure: this is what we make, so of course we would put it first. But it is the gift that best fits all four tests, and nobody else was doing it — which is why we started.

Most personalised children's books drop a name into a generic adventure. A personalised travel book is set in the real destination the family is flying to — a child heading to Mallorca gets Palma's cathedral and the Sóller train; Lanzarote gets the volcanoes and the camels; the Algarve gets the golden cliffs and the Benagil cave. My StoryWing is the only personalised book written about your child's real-life travel destination.

It does three jobs: it builds excitement in the weeks before, it is a screen-free hour on the plane, and it stays on the shelf afterwards as a record of that holiday. Digital PDF £14.90, hardcover £39.90, or both for £44.90 — and you can preview eight pages free before you buy, which is unusual for a personalised gift.

Best for: ages 3–12, and anyone buying for a family with a trip booked.

Gifts that make the journey easier

2. Their own small backpack

A child-sized rucksack they pack themselves is a surprisingly big deal: a job at the airport, a sense of ownership, and somewhere to keep the snacks that are not yours. Look for chest straps and something light enough to carry when full. Around £15–30.

3. A reusable sticker book or magnetic play set

The most reliable plane activity for a three- to five-year-old: no small parts to lose down the seat, works on a tray table, and can be played with over and over. Buy two and hold one back for the flight home. More ideas in our guide to screen-free travel activities for toddlers.

4. A water wow or paint-with-water pad

Painting with nothing but a pen full of water, and no mess at 30,000 feet. Ideal for two- to five-year-olds. Around £6–10.

5. Child-sized headphones

Volume-limited headphones make audiobooks and story podcasts usable on a plane or in a hire car — the best screen-free alternative on a long journey. Around £15–25.

6. A travel pillow they will actually use

The animal-shaped ones are not just cute: a child who sleeps on the plane changes the whole first day. Around £10–20.

Gifts that make the world feel bigger

7. A proper world map for the wall

A big illustrated world map — the kind with animals, landmarks and boats on it — is the best-value gift on this list. Add a sticker for every trip and it becomes a growing record of where they have been. Around £10–25.

8. A children's atlas

The picture-atlas format works from about four upwards and is the gift most likely to become a genuine interest. Look for one organised by country, with illustration rather than dense text. Around £12–20.

9. A globe

Old-fashioned and still brilliant. A child who can spin a globe and find "where we are going" understands distance in a way a phone map never teaches. Inflatable ones work well for under-fives.

10. A jigsaw of the world or of a country

Floor puzzles of the world map hit the sweet spot for three to six: a shared activity and geography by stealth. Around £10–20.

11. Binoculars or a simple compass

Real binoculars, not toy ones, transform a boat trip or a hotel balcony; children's models start around £15. A compass costs almost nothing and turns any walk into an expedition.

Gifts that keep the memory

12. A travel journal or scrapbook

For children who can write, a holiday journal is a lovely habit. For those who cannot yet, a scrapbook and a glue stick work better — tickets, leaflets, a flattened pastry wrapper. The real gift is the ritual of doing it together each evening.

13. A child's camera

Chunky, drop-proof children's cameras are a great gift for a small traveller. What they photograph is never what you would, which is the point. Around £30–50.

14. A personalised passport cover or luggage tag

Small, cheap and disproportionately exciting for a four-year-old — ideal as a stocking filler alongside a bigger gift. Around £8–15.

What to avoid

Three things. Anything with a hundred small pieces — a Lego set on a plane is a lost brick and a very long remaining flight. Anything noisy, out of respect for row 23. And anything you have to charge, unless it is headphones: batteries die at the worst moment.

One more thing: a gift in November for a holiday in July is a long wait for a small child. If the trip is far off, choose something they can use at home — a map, a globe, an atlas — and save the trip-specific gift for nearer the date.

Buying for a trip that's already booked

If you know where the family is going, a gift tied to that exact place beats a generic one every time. It gives the child something to talk about for weeks and the parents a calmer countdown — children who know what is coming are easier travellers, as we explain in how to get kids excited about a holiday. If you are buying for a toddler in particular, we have a separate list of Christmas gifts for toddlers that aren't toys.

That is what we built My StoryWing to do. Choose the destination the family is travelling to, personalise the child — name, hair colour, skin tone, age and a dedication from you — and preview eight pages free before you decide. No sign-up, no email, no card. Every book is checked by a real person: digital PDFs arrive by email within 48 hours, hardcovers are printed in Europe and delivered in 2–5 working days.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good gift for a child who loves travel?
The gifts that last are the ones tied to a real journey: a personalised book about the destination they are actually visiting, a wall map to track where they have been, a child's camera, or their own small backpack. Avoid noisy, battery-powered toys and anything with pieces small enough to lose on a plane.

What can I buy a 3-5 year old that isn't another toy?
A personalised storybook, an illustrated world map, a floor puzzle of the world, reusable sticker scenes, or a small rucksack they pack themselves. All of them get used more than once, which is the honest test.

What is a good gift for a child's first holiday?
Something that prepares them for it. A book set in the actual destination, a small suitcase or backpack of their own, and a plane activity pack cover the three moments that matter: the countdown, the journey and the arrival.

Are personalised books worth it?
They are if the personalisation goes beyond the name. A book that only swaps a name into a generic story is read twice; one set in a place the child recognises gets read all week and kept afterwards. Being able to see a free preview before buying takes most of the risk out of it.

How far in advance should I order a personalised gift?
Allow a week or two. With My StoryWing, digital PDFs are checked by hand and emailed within 48 hours, and hardcovers are printed in Europe and delivered in 2–5 working days — but ordering early avoids the December rush.