The Best Travel Experience Gifts You Can Give

Give the gift of adventure, not stuff, with these great travel experience gifts. These experiences are the perfect gift for any traveler!

Are you running out of ideas for what gift to give this Christmas? Are you tired of buying people things that you aren’t sure they even want and probably will never use? Maybe you’re looking for a more eco-friendly gift this year, or maybe you just want to give something that’s a little more meaningful.

Whatever your reasoning, an experience gift is a great choice!

What do travelers want most in the world? To travel more! So, short of giving your traveler cash, which many people feel is too impersonal, an experience gift is the next best thing.

Give your traveler the gift of more adventures, unique experiences, and memories that will last a lifetime!

I’ve compiled some of my favorite travel-related experience gifts to help inspire your gift-giving this year.

Top Experience-Based Gifts for Travelers

Get creative with your gifting and explore the different travel experiences you can give to your special someone. Whether it’s giving someone a hot air balloon ride, a skydiving experience, or a cozy cabin stay in the mountains, these travel gifts will make for an unforgettable adventure.

1. AmazingCo Mystery Adventure

Tours and Activities, Food Experiences

An AmazingCo mystery experience is a great way to explore a destination like never before. Your traveler can head out on a mystery tour of a city, following clues that lead them to local shops, restaurants, and hot spots.

You can gift your traveler a gift card value or you can pick out an AmazingCo mystery experience just for them — from mystery picnics (their most popular offering) to secret menu tastings to Insta-worthy adventures to weekend getaways.

There are mystery experiences designed for couples, friends, and families, making them the perfect gift for anyone.

Read more about how the AmazingCo mystery experiences work here.

2. Tinggly Experience Gift Box

Tours and Activities

HOT DEAL: Get 20% off all experience collections and getaway collections using code PAIGE20 through May 12, 2024.

Tinggly allows you to give a gift box full of amazing experiences that your traveler can choose from. They can pick from tours and activities from all over the world, so it’s a great gift whether they’re off on a trip or are exploring closer to home.

What I love about Tinggly is you don’t have to decide what experience to give, guessing what they might like — they get to choose their experience themselves. So no matter what, you know they’ll be happy with their gift.

Tinggly gift boxes have no expiration date, so your traveler can save the experience for their next big vacation or explore now in their own backyard. You can also check out what experiences are offered and where through a map view if you know where your traveler is headed next.

Read more about why you should gift Tinggly experiences here. And see exactly how Tinggly works in this guide here.

3. CityPASS E-Voucher for Adventure

Attraction Passes

With a CityPASS, your traveler can see the major sights of select U.S. cities at a fraction of the cost of normal admission. If you know your traveler is headed to one of these cities or lives near one, a CityPASS voucher is the perfect gift.

CityPASS attraction passes get you into the top attractions in the city. All of those must-see sights that have high-priced tickets when bought separately become incredibly affordable under CityPASS.

When you order the CityPASS, select the email option to gift it to your traveler, and they’re all set up for fun!

Read more about how the CityPASS works here.

4. Tickets to a Show or Game with SeatGeek

Activities

Get your traveler a ticket to see their favorite band in concert, the newest Broadway play, or their favorite sports team! With SeatGeek, you can find tickets for sports, concerts, and theater events.

• Shopping for a music lover? Get them concert tickets.
• Shopping for a theater lover? Get them tickets to a live performance or a Broadway play.
• Want to give the gift of laughter? Shop for tickets to a comedy show.
• You can even cheer on your favorite team together with NFL tickets, MLB tickets, NBA tickets, and more.

There are so many different options! You’re sure to find the right show or performance for your travel-lover on SeatGeek.

5. Eatwith Culinary Experience

Food Experiences, Tours

Eatwith specializes in food experiences, from food tours to cooking classes to dinner with a local. They have both in-person and online experiences making this a great gift for foodie travelers even if they don’t currently have a trip planned.

Your traveler can enjoy fun & immersive food experiences with local hosts and chefs in their own city or abroad, with offerings like supper clubs, dinners, brunches, cooking classes, food tours, and more.

Get your traveler an Eatwith gift card and let them choose from over 5,000 food experiences in more than 130 countries.

6. Flytographer Photography Session

Activities

Flytographer allows you to hire a local photographer when you go on vacation. Imagine your traveler coming back from their honeymoon, family vacation, or just their annual getaway with professional photographs to remember it by.

Doesn’t that sound like the perfect gift?

Get your traveler a Flytographer gift card so that they can bring back the perfect travel souvenir.

7. Arigato Japan Culinary Experience

Food Experiences, Tours

For Japan-lovers and foodies, Arigato Japan culinary experiences are the perfect gift! Arigato Japan offers an array of food tours led by local experts.

They offer over 40 different culinary adventures in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Mt Fuji Area, and Hiroshima. There are breakfast tours, dinner tours, cocktail tours, nightlife tours, even a cherry blossom tour. Your traveler will love whatever experience you get them!

There is also a great online experience that will help your traveler plan their trip to Japan, which is a great gift for someone who always says they want to go to Japan but hasn’t booked the trip yet!

8. GetYourGuide Experience Gift Card

Tours and Activities

GetYourGuide is a top site for booking tours, activities, and skip-the-line admission passes all around the world. GetYourGuide gift cards are valid for up to 3 years from the date of purchase, so there is plenty of time for your traveler to decide what activity to use the gift card on.

Get your traveler a GetYourGuide gift card and let them choose from over 35,000 experiences worldwide.

Have a specific activity in mind? You can suggest an activity on a gift certificate! Simply find the activity you want to recommend, click the “Give this as a gift” option under the booking info, and purchase it as a gift card. This also lets you gift the exact amount of that experience.

Learn more about using GetYourGuide here.

Top Travel Experience Gift Ideas

Need some more inspiration? Here are some ideas of gifts to give every traveler on your list.

Experience Gifts for Her

There are plenty of travel experience gifts the lady in your life would love. You might consider getting her a spa or massage appointment for her next relaxing vacay.

For the girl who is always looking for the best shot for her Instagram, book her an interactive photography tour or workshop of her favorite city.

For the mom who never gets to be in front of the camera, book a professional photography session with Flytographer so she can have professional photos and amazing memories of her next family vacation.

And if you’re still stuck, you can check out the Tinggly gift boxes curated just for her, like the Perfect for Her box or the Superwoman box.

Experience Gifts for Him

For the guy in your life with the need for speed, you could get him a driving experience he’ll remember forever, like driving the sand dunes in the desert or a Formula Yas 3000 Driving Experience. If you’re not sure what experience to gift, you can give him a Tinggly Best Driving Experiences gift box so he can choose one for himself.

For the guy who likes to drink, you might consider a whisky tasting and tour or a beer tasting and tour.

And if you’re still stuck, you can check out the Tinggly gift boxes curated just for him, like the Perfect for Him box or the Superman box.

Travel Experience Gifts for Couples

If you’re buying for a couple, you’ll want activities that they can do together and create great memories

Think of activities like a romantic hot air balloon ride with amazing views, or a helicopter tour of their favorite city.

A great gift for newlyweds is paying for the hotel stay for their honeymoon. You might also consider covering other travel costs like plane tickets or seat upgrades.

Every couple deserves some time away together. Tinggly makes it easy to gift a hotel stay with their Getaway Gifts for one-night and two-night stays sorted by city, state, country, and region. And AmazingCo offers Mystery Weekends that has their whole getaway planned for them and full of fun surprises.

For the photogenic couple, book a professional photography session with Flytographer so that they can have some amazing mementos of their travels together.

And if you’re still stuck, you can check out the Tinggly gift boxes curated just for couples, like the Fun Together box, the Time Together box, or any of their wedding gift boxes for newlyweds.

Travel Experience Gifts for Foodies

There’s nothing foodies love more than a good food experience.

You can always book your foodie traveler a food tour, food tasting, cooking class, or unique culinary experience. Think of experiences like this Las Vegas Strip Food Tour or this Macaron Workshop in Paris, both from Eatwith, or this Ultimate Ramen Tasting Tour of Tokyo perfect for Japan-lovers from Arigato Japan.

For the traveler who likes a good mystery, AmazingCo has self-guided food experiences like Mystery Picnics that make great gifts.

If your traveler is staying close to home for now, you can even gift them an online food experience. Consider this virtual Italian cooking class live from Tuscany, Italy.

And if you just don’t know what experience to gift, get them the Tinggly Taste the World box and let them choose an experience anywhere they want.

Gift Experiences for Adventure Travelers

Need to buy for an adrenaline junkie traveler or an adventure traveler who’s always up for trying new things? These types of travelers are pretty easy to buy for — just gift them a wild and crazy experience!

A skydiving experience would be something they’ll never forget. Along the same lines is a paragliding experience. And if they’re not ready to take to the skies just yet, there’s always an indoor skydiving experience.

Another idea for those travelers with seemingly no fear of heights is flying lessons, either for piloting an airplane or piloting a helicopter.

Those who love a thrill would also love a bungee jumping experience as a gift, or an amazing ziplining experience.

For the water-loving traveler, you could gift them SCUBA diving lessons if they’re not certified or a SCUBA trip if they are certified. There are also some unique SCUBA experiences like diving with sharks at the Georgia Aquarium or underwater astronaut training at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center that you could gift, depending on certification requirements. And don’t forget about SNUBA experiences, which don’t require certification!

You might also consider gifting a white water rafting trip, or maybe a flyboarding and jetpack experience for those who like to be in the water and in the air at the same time.

More Gifts for Travelers

Looking for more travel gift ideas for travel-lovers? Check out my comprehensive Gifts for Travelers gift guide, my Travel Christmas Ornament guide, my guide to the best Travel Décor, my Romantic Gifts for Travel Couples guide, or my list of favorite Travel Books. All these guides will help you find that perfect gift for the travel-lover in your life!

---

Ready to take a vacation? Plan your trip with these tips.

• Find cheap accommodation: Use my tips for finding cheap accommodation for travel every time.
• Book your flight: Find the cheapest flights using Skyscanner, my favorite flight search engine.
• Pack for your vacation: Make sure you’ve packed everything you need by checking out my packing list resources.

---

Cheers!

Paige

Have you given or received any travel experience gifts? Let me know your favorite experience gifts in the comments!