13 Last-Minute Digital Gift Ideas for Travelers

Digital gifts have a distinct advantage: in most cases, they can be bought online and get delivered almost instantly (or on a chosen future date), straight to the recipient’s mobile phone or email, which makes them an ideal choice for a last-minute gift.

The best travel e-gifts are things your loved ones will actually use and enjoy on the road.
A great gift can make someone’s trips more efficient, flexible, comfortable or luxurious – or simply save them money on things they need or want.

Whether you’re looking for travel-related gift ideas for a birthday, Christmas, anniversary, graduation, retirement, or any other special occasion, look no further. We’ve got you and the globetrotter in your life covered.

We rounded up a sizable list of last-minute e-gift options that almost any traveler will love.

Let’s Begin!

Send Them to Eat with Locals

Websites like Eatwith provide your traveling friend or family member with authentic culinary experiences hosted by locals, either in their private homes or at other exclusive venues.

The platform connects visiting diners with local hosts in over 130 countries, including professional chefs, experienced home cooks, and amateur food enthusiasts.

If your recipients love food, travel, and meeting new people abroad, then a digital gift card for this unique social dining experience might be a great way to surprise them and make their trip even more memorable.

Organize a Professional Vacation Photo Shoot

Are you tired of uninspiring and amateurish smartphone selfies? Flytographer is a vacation photography company offering a global service that connects travelers with local photographers in over 350 destinations.

For couples and families, receiving an e-gift card for a professional vacation photography session is a fun and exciting experience and an amazing way to collect special travel memories.

Send Them an Experience Gift

The concept of Tinggly is simple: You choose a gift box (which is available in a range of prices and themes), you send it as a gift (either physically or electronically, if it’s a last-minute gift), and the recipient gets to choose from hundreds of diverse experiences in over 100 countries around the world.

Experience gifts range from hot air balloon and helicopter rides, bungee jumps, skydiving, racecar driving, and other high-adrenaline adventures to more relaxed options like cooking classes, romantic river dinner cruises, art and craft workshops, local food tours, live shows, concerts and many others.

Help Them Fly On The Cheap

Frequent leisure travelers, adventure enthusiasts, and backpackers often require cheap flights to sustain their globetrotting lifestyle.

The easiest way to find them is to join websites like Going, an email subscription service that sends out incredible low-cost flight deals for international and domestic (U.S.) destinations.

A gift membership will provide access to great deals that will save the recipient up to 90% on airfare, so they can travel and experience the world more frequently and affordably.

Give the Gift of Language

Learning a new foreign language is an incredibly rewarding and empowering experience.
Companies like Babbel and Rocket Languages help leisure and business travelers (as well as anyone else) learn Spanish, French, Italian, and other languages via smartphone or laptop.

Help Them Keep In Shape

Travel makes it hard to keep a regular exercise routine and stay committed to your fitness goals. Services like ClassPass make it easier.
Gift memberships are delivered by email and provide your special someone access to thousands of studios, gyms, spas, and beauty salons in over 2,500 cities worldwide.

Members can book classes and appointments in fitness, wellness, and beauty centers in their home city and abroad (where available) and enjoy everything from gym sessions, HIIT, Barre, and martial arts practices to yoga, Pilates, and much more.

Give The Gift of Air Travel

Traveling by air to any global destination requires getting plane tickets and booking through websites like CheapOair, where you can buy them online.
A personalized online gift card with your chosen dollar amount and personal message gives your recipients the complete freedom to decide when to fly, where to, and by which carrier.

Send Them a Travel Gift Card

Major gift card vendors like Giftcards.com and Gift Card Mall offer a great selection of e-vouchers in countless denominations for some of the most popular and well-respected airline, hotel, tour, car rental, and travel activity brands in the market.

The virtual gift card is delivered by email, and the recipient can use it to start planning their future dream trip.

Let Them Enjoy Premium Content

Frequent travelers have lots of time to kill: in airports, between connecting flights, on the plane, on the road, and more. Fighting boredom is not easy and can often drive you nuts.

A gift subscription to premium services such as Audiobooks.com (the name says it all), Scribd (ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, podcasts, and more), or Magzter (digital magazines and newspapers) can provide your giftee with access to high-quality, entertaining content they can easily consume as they travel.

Help Them Have Fun At The Destination

Every tourist seeks fun and interesting activities during their vacation abroad. This is where booking platforms like GetYourGuide enter the picture.

This online marketplace offers an easy way to purchase attraction tickets, guided tours, day trips, all-inclusive city passes, and a variety of enjoyable experiences in every major destination worldwide.

Send Them To An Authentic Local Cooking Class

From budget-conscious backpackers and adventure seekers to mid-range and luxury travelers, getting to know the local food is one of the most powerful motivators for many tourists visiting a particular country. It’s a great way to engage with people and their unique culture, history, and tradition anywhere in the world.

Global cooking class providers like Cookly connect foodies and culinary-curious travelers with local professional chefs and established cooking schools, teaching them how to prepare local food and enjoy a unique culinary and cultural experience.

Help Them Get Equipped For The Trip

Travelers need a lot of travel gear: weather-appropriate clothing and footwear, outdoor gear, camping essentials, luggage, accessories, and more. Sending your special someone a travel gear gift card from popular retailers like Bob Wards or Sportsman’s Guide lets them choose and order anything they need.

Turn Their Adventures into Wall Art

TilePix offers a great way to order beautifully framed, ready-to-hang photo tiles.
Your recipient can create a collage of their favorite photos from their trips. The special magnetic mounting ensures no damage to their wall.

Overview: Typical Travel Gift Recipients

Understandably, travel-themed gifts are a great option for passionate travel lovers, those always on the go, and others eager to see the world or who desire a vacation overseas. Let’s discuss some of the people that would love to receive a travel-oriented digital gift card:

Frequent Flyers: People who travel frequently by air, usually due to the nature of their work (for example, flight attendants, pilots, travel writers and bloggers, travel agents, etc.)
Business Travelers: CEOs, VPs and other senior executives, entrepreneurs, corporate professionals, consultants, and experts who travel abroad often for meetings, events, and other business-related purposes.
Travel Enthusiasts: Individuals who love to travel around the world, discover new destinations, and do so extensively, whenever and as often as they can, as part of their lifestyle.
Occasional Tourists: People who travel for leisure periodically, but not regularly or often.
Expats: People who live outside their native country long-term or permanently. They often travel back and forth to reunite with family and friends in their home countries.
Digital Nomads: People who are location-independent and use modern technology and the internet to perform their job. This professional is often employed either as a remote worker or freelancer. Their nomadic lifestyle combines travel and work harmoniously.
Couples: A romantic vacation abroad is one of the best ways to enjoy quality time with one’s husband or wife. It’s a thoughtful gift for birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day that can recharge any relationship.
Luxury Travelers: Wealthy people who are passionate about high-end travel options, such as five-star boutique hotels and resorts, Michelin-starred restaurants, private yacht cruises, and exclusive personal enrichment experiences.
Newlyweds: Travel e-gifts offer a great way to surprise the bride and groom right after their wedding celebration and make their dream honeymoon even more memorable.
Travel Newbies: People planning to take their first trip overseas.
Employees: Travel e-gift certificates offer a great way to show employee appreciation and recognition for a job well done.

Common Digital Travel Gift Options

Emailable travel gifts allow you to send someone credit to book domestic and international flights, hotel stays, vacations, and activities or let them enjoy other benefits or advantages. These unique gifts come in a variety of forms, such as:

Electronic gift cards, certificates, and vouchers
Website or program memberships
Premium service subscriptions
Commercial mobile apps
Downloads
Tickets and passes

Benefits of Sending Travel E-Gifts

Frequent travelers love receiving gift cards for obvious reasons: they help them on their global trips and save them money, plus they decide how and when to use them. However, they also offer significant benefits to last-minute gift shoppers. Here are a few examples:

Delivery Speed: Most e-gifts can be bought, sent, and received almost instantly – even last minute when there are no other practical gift-shopping options. You can deliver the gift electronically directly to someone’s email within a few minutes. Bottom line: it’s the fastest gift-shipping method, hands down.
It saves you time: Do you have a busy schedule? Shop from the comfort of your smartphone or PC and avoid dealing with busy mall crowds, long check-out lines, parking nightmares, or other time-wasting and energy-consuming hassles.
It’s always available: Online travel gifts are available to purchase 24 hours a day, even in the middle of the night, during the weekend, or on holidays.
It’s an instant solution: It solves your problem when you need a quick gift urgently, when stores are closed or when you can’t be there in person. A few taps on your phone and mission accomplished.
It can be personalized: Almost any emailable gift comes with an option to add a personalized message, which may contain a custom greeting with a few heartwarming wishes.
You choose the amount: Virtual gift cards are available in almost any amount, so it’s easy to fit them into your budget.
Save money: Express shipping fees for physical gifts are expensive. Conversely, sending a gift by email is free (concerning shipping costs).

Do you know of any other traveler-friendly
e-gifts we may have missed?

Let us know, and we’ll add them to the list!