The Frommer's Travel Gift Guide for Every Budget

Life's too short to give the gift of socks. Tell them you understand their wanderlust and support it by choosing one of these travel-related gifts, each of them hand-selected by Frommer's editors for making the art of exploring our world easier, better, more stylish, or smarter.

€55, with free interntional shipping

$295
Away.com

Ever since the airlines started charging for baggage and we began carrying luggage on board more often, every time we pack, we have been forced to choose which bag to use. Do we commit to a small one that we can carry but will force us to leave stuff at home, or do we go with a larger bag that will contain more but force us to check? The Away Expandable Bigger Carry-On straddles that gap. This luggage unzips to release an accordion fold that increases the size by nearly 2 inches, so it can be as small as a carry-on (47-liter capacity—generous for hand baggage) when we begin our vacation but convert to a larger checked bag (52-liter capacity) once we've bought our souvenirs. Outside, you'll find a built-in, TSA-approved combination lock and a front pocket that a laptop can easily slip into. Inside, there's a compression system to manage space and a laundry bag that snaps into a side pocket when it's not being used. Customer service is thoughtful too: It comes with a lifetime guarantee for its shell, wheels, handles, and zippers, and if you don't like it, you can return it for a full refund within 100 days. Measures 22.7 inches x 14.7 inches x 9.7 inches/11.5 inches expanded (58 cm x 38 cm x 23 cm/ 30 cm expanded)

$11
HalfPriceBooks.com

"Ah! there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort," Austen wrote in Emma (1815). OK, so she wasn't much of a traveler, but you have more sense and less prejudice than that. Transport your little gauds and bijoux (like an engagement ring from Mr. Darcy, if he'll ever hurry up and propose) with this literary satchel designed by offbeat novelty company The Unemployed Philosophers Guild. 5 inches x 9 inches with a 2-inch gusset (12.7 cm x 22.3 cm with 5.1-cm gusset)

$429 without data, $499 with two years of data
Jarvisen.com

We are living in a wondrous time. A few years ago, translation technology was a shambles, and there wasn't much of it Frommer's could confidently recommend. Now automated translation has arrived. Carefully speak into the Jarvisen Translator, and it shall swiftly un-Babel the babble, speaking an interpretation for 60 different languages on either side of a conversation. It's a wonder wand. While a few major interactions can be handled offline with downloaded data (English<>Chinese, Japanese<>Chinese, Korean<>Chinese, Russian<>Chinese), you'll either need a Wi-Fi signal or Jarvisen's unlimited 2-year data plan to access the rest. While all the fundamental pieces are in place and work well, some tongues work more smoothly than others; the farther a language is from Western Europe culturally (Urdu, Zulu), the less likely it is to have an audible translation yet, but the screen will still always display a written one that you can show. Some languages, too, are in various early stages of spoken simulation, so while Khmer sounds fine, Afrikaans sounds like an evil robot in a bad 1970s sci-fi flick. With time, all those gaps should smooth over, giving this invention the potential to work travel miracles. And as long as you still have that all-important written translation, you can get through one-on-one interactions in some 200 countries using this amazing, pocket-sized (4.58 oz/ 130 g) travel tech.

$379
SwissArmy.com

New this season from Swiss Army: the Werks Traveler 6.0 Hardside Global Carry-On. A few things make this stylishly compact bag unlike most luggage. One is the lightweight shell—despite the tough exterior, it only weighs 6.7 pounds (3 kg). By the handle, the flip-down, built-in address tag (pictured) is actually a multipurpose tool area straight out of the Swiss Army tradition; it conceals a SIM card replacement tool, a little ballpoint pen, and a USB port that links to an interior pocket. You can slip in a battery source for recharging on the go, or for airlines that prefer you don't carry batteries, you can leave it at home. The 360-degree wheels ensure it glides over airport terminal floors as gracefully as an Olympic skater, and inside, zip-away compartments and compression packs make the most of a carry-on's limited space. Measures 7.9 inches x 15.7 inches x 21.7 inches (20 cm x 40 cm x 55 cm)

$250
Jabra.com

For long flights, nothing compares to over-the-ear headphones. Let other passengers misplace their slippery little Airpods in the cracks of their seats when they fall asleep. The Jabra Elite 85h has some of the best noise-canceling capabilities of anything we've tested, and when you make phone calls using it, six of its eight microphones (yes—eight microphones) sample and erase the ambient sounds so your voice comes through clearly, too. That multiplicity of mics also allows for the useful HearThrough mode, which senses when you're being spoken to and lets you hear it, even when you're listening to something else. The ear cups also twist to fold flat for easy packing (pictured). But what really sold us was the exceptionally long battery life—up to 36 hours on a single charge, and that's even with noise-canceling switched on. And you can get another five hours from just 15 minutes of charging. While other headphones often run out of juice in the middle of a trip, those are numbers that just work for travelers, and having headphones that play for the duration of a journey is worth paying a little extra for.

$44–$55
TwelveSouth.com

Finally, if you ever wondered how you can possibly listen to in-flight movies using your personal wireless earbuds or headphones, this is how. The AirFly Pro plugs into the plane's audio jack and sends the signal using Bluetooth. Abandon those tinny, tangly wire headphones they give you when you board. The AirFly Pro's rechargeable battery lasts up to 16 hours, which is plenty. The Classic ($45) connects one headphone and lasts 8 hours, and the Pro ($55) connects two and lasts 16 hours.

Frommer's is synonymous with great travel. And we've got dozens and dozens of individually researched and curated guides that cover all the places you've always wanted to go.  So start planning your own dream trip anytime in our store: Frommers.com/store. 

Happy travels!