The best travel gifts for 2024

We called the Logitech MX Anywhere 3S a “nearly ideal travel mouse” earlier this year due to its compact frame, quiet clicks, and 70 days of rated battery life. It’s lightweight (95g), its scroll wheel is smooth and, though it may be a little too small for those with larger hands, its ambidextrous, mostly flat shape should be comfy for most. It tracks accurately, plus it can pair with three devices at once over Bluetooth. The catch is that it doesn’t come with a USB receiver in the box, but that shouldn’t be a big deal unless you want something for gaming. (In which case you should check out our gaming mouse buying guide.) Not having to worry about losing a dongle on the road may be a blessing anyway. — J.D.

The next time you stays at a hotel, a compact media player like the Roku Streaming Stick 4K will make it easier to stream all your favorite shows and movies on the TV. That means no more squinting at a laptop or settling for the hotel’s shoddy channel selection. It may require some setup, but Roku’s streaming dongle can draw power straight from a TV’s USB port and works with most of the major streaming services and cable apps. Roku’s OS remains dead simple to navigate, while those with Apple devices can beam content straight to the stick over AirPlay. And, when others are sleeping, a “private listening” feature makes it possible to listen to what’s on TV through your smartphone. All of this has made the Streaming Stick 4K a top pick in our streaming device buying guide. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter

Read more: The best streaming devices

This is featured in our best travel gifts guide.

I don’t condone blasting one’s personal soundtrack to the world at large, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying some low-key tunes on a picnic or a stroll through the park. We’re fans of JBL and recommend their speakers in our guides because they’re durable and pump out decent volume. The Clip 4 Eco is small enough to go in a suitcase and comes with a handy clip for attaching to packs, chairs, or the towel rack in a hotel room. The waterproof build will keep it safe during water-based adventures and the eco-friendly construction with recycled plastic and fabric are a nice touch. — A.S.

This is featured in our best travel gifts guide.

This two-pack of European power adapters was a last-minute purchase of mine before my husband and I went on a 10-day Italian vacation earlier this year, and it was easily one of my best impulse buys. Each give you three AC outlets, all accessible thanks to their strategic locations on the adapter itself, plus two USB-C and one USB-A port. Between all of those options, I was able to use just one of the adapters for all of my necessary tech, including my phone, smartwatch and earbuds, while my husband used the other. They even worked well on high-powered tools like my mini hair dryer. And despite their prongs not folding down, both take up very little space in a suitcase. If your next trip isn’t to Europe, don’t fret, the two-pack comes in a variety of country options including Japan, Ireland and Australia. — VP.

Regardless of whether your grad rides public transit to work, drives a car everywhere or lives within walking distance of all the essentials, a reusable bag will be a necessity for them. This one from Peak Design is especially handy because it has a zip closure, something many other reusable totes don’t have, an interior pocket that fits most smartphones and a single-strap design that’s easy to carry by hand or over the shoulder. It’s made of ripstop nylon as well, so it will hold up to even their heaviest of grocery runs. And when they don’t need it, it packs down into itself in a shape that’s only slightly larger than a deck of cards. That means they can toss it in their bag or trunk and never leave home without it.

A pocket USB cable has to be a lot of things. It has to work with the things you want to charge, which now means USB-C in 90 percent of cases; it needs to support high-wattages for speedy recharging and it needs to survive the bottom of your bag or being tethered to your keys and bounced around with your life. Inspired by the pocket knife, Native Union’s Pocket Cable hits the sweet spot. It’s pricey but has so far survived the lives of our most chaotic editors – something we can’t say about most small cables. The company is known for its understated, smart designs and keeps each cable protected when not in use, folded away inside. The cables themselves are hardy too, with reinforced braiding. The Pocket Cable keyring is available in five different colors, too. — Mat Smith, UK Bureau Chief

It can be hard to control the environment you’re working in when you work from home. You may have kids yelling around you, pets barking, meowing or otherwise making noise and maybe even your partner taking a Zoom call in the room next door. A pair of noise-canceling headphones will become your best friend when you need to block out the world and get things done, and there’s none better than Sony’s WH-1000XM5 right now. They have a refined design and an even more comfortable fit when compared to the (still excellent) XM4 that came before them, and Sony managed to improve upon their already stellar sound quality and ANC.

Thanks to double the number of processors and microphones and a separate V1 chip, the WH-1000XM5 is even better at blocking out human voices and other higher frequencies than its predecessors. And what might be even better is their 30-hour battery life; you’ll be able to use them for hours each day for multiple days before they need a recharge. — V.P.

Read more: The best wireless headphones

Bellroy’s travel packs are sleek and organized, just like I wish I was during travel. The Toiletry Kit Plus goes overboard with pockets — zippered, stretch, mesh, magnetic — and that’s great for keeping one’s toothbrush, comb, face wash, lip balm, Advil and deodorant separate and easily findable. The whole thing opens wide and sits upright on a countertop, making it easy to get at what’s needed and it’s made from a recycled woven fabric that’s water-resistant. The traveler in your life will see this as a serious upgrade from the ziploc baggie they’ve been using for ages. — Amy Skorheim, Reporter

I have been looking for this backpack my entire life. I’ve bought packs from Timbuk2, Bellroy, The North Face, Fjallraven, Patagonia, Osprey and more, all in search of something I thought didn’t exist: A lightweight daypack that stands on its own, has a reasonable amount of pockets and is comfortable to wear all day. On a recent trip to Chicago, when I found myself on a cross-city trek without a pack, I dipped into REI and settled on the Topo Designs Light Pack. I’ve been continually impressed since.

Some bags load up on ergonomics and end up weighing two pounds empty, but this one is super light yet has just the right amount of padding. The two expandable bottle slots on either side hold water and travel cups securely and there are just enough pockets inside to keep smaller bits organized. There’s even a laptop pocket for computers up to 15 inches. The 15-liter capacity is perfect for day trips in the destination city, fitting a couple of hoodies, snacks and even some impulse buys from pastry shops. It stands upright when you set it down instead of tipping forward like a sleepy toddler, something that other bags do that drives me mad. The padding lends structure and both the 400D (medium-heavy) nylon and the uncluttered design make it look polished, something I appreciate on day seven of a seven-day trip. — A.S.

We previously recommended the Kobo Libra 2 in this gift guide, but this year, the Libra Colour is the ereader to get. It’s one of the most versatile ereaders we’ve tested as of late: it’s got a lovely color E Ink Kaleido 3 screen, an upgraded processor, stylus support, page-turn buttons and handy Overdrive integration. Color adds live and vibrancy to those travel guides you may have in your ebook library, and stylus support means you can underline, circle and otherwise mark up pages of your digital books as you please if you spring for Kobo’s stylus to go along with it. Not only can you buy ebooks directly from Kobo’s store to fill the Libra Colour, but you can also search for and borrow library books directly on the device thanks to its Overdrive integration. All of that’s to say that regardless of what you like to read and how you like to read it, the Libra Colour has you covered. — V.P.

Read more: The best ereaders

After two years testing power banks for our buyer’s guide, I’ve ended up with more than a few models lying around the house. Nimble’s Champ Pro battery is the one I grab when traveling or decamping to a coffee shop for a long day. The sleek design is smooth like an oblong riverrock and there are just two USB-C ports, one at either end, and both support in/out charging. A button activates four lighted pips to indicate the bank’s charge level and there’s even a handy carrying strap that’s easy to grab onto when the battery goes swimming in the deep end of my backpack.

But its best feature is how quickly it recharges smartphones and tablets. It bumped a Galaxy S23 Ultra from near-dead to fully charged in just over an hour and refilled an iPad Air in under two hours. The 20,000mAh battery holds enough juice for just under three smartphone refills and a little less than two tablet charges. Plus the company, Nimble, is a certified B Corp — a rarity among tech manufacturers. — A.S.

Read more: The best power banks

We have concerns with virtual private network (VPN) services when it comes to cybersecurity, but for folks who just want to log into their streaming accounts outside of the country, they can be useful. ExpressVPN is our top pick for frequent travelers. It passed all of the geoblock, streaming and gaming tests in our VPN buying guide, and more generally, it provides access to a wide range of server locations with relatively quick connection speeds. It also works on devices, like game consoles, in addition to phones and laptops. It’s not our top overall pick, nor is it free, but it should be useful the next time your recipient wants to keep up with an US-only Netflix show while staying in Europe. — J.D.

Read more: The best VPNs

After I lost my long-time sunnies to the shallow depths of the Rio Grande, I bought a pair of Warby Parkers — then set them aside because I thought they were too nice and delicate. I subsequently scratched up and broke two other pairs of cheaper shades before pulling these out again. While I don’t abuse them, I don’t coddle them either (I’ve come to grips with the inevitable decommissioning of all eyewear) and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by their robustness. And at under $100, they’re not terribly expensive. The Fletcher design is a classic silhouette that should look good on most face shapes and complement a range of personal styles. In short, these are a reliable pair of glasses that will keep your giftee looking good (with protected eyes) on their next trip. — A.S.

Boox has been in the ereader game for over 15 years, but the Palma is arguably the most intriguing device yet. The smartphone-sized 6.3-inch E Ink device is an ereader with an Android skeleton. That means you can read your Libby books, your Amazon Kindle library and myriad others on this tiny thing, with none of the aggressive light of your smartphone screen.

Unlike most ereaders, the Palma’s physical buttons can be customized to your reading needs, for page turning or screen refreshing. This being 2024, we’re probably reading a lot on our smartphones, meaning there’s also a certain degree of comfort to the Palma, even if it’s not book-sized. Its portability makes the Palma a great addition to our traveler gift guide, but it’s easy to recommend to any bookworm in your life — or anyone unwilling to pack their Kindle. — M.S.