What could be a better gift than someone with a wanderlust, a hunger to experience other cultures, heritage, landscapes, a curiosity to see the world than to give a gift that facilitates that happening.

The gift of travel can be everything from the trip itself (even create a registry so that lots of friends and family can contribute), to pre-arranging some experience or activity to enhance a trip: a dining experience; a spa visit; admission to a museum, attraction or cultural event; a cooking, baking or jewelry making class; a hot-air balloon ride; rock-climbing adventure; walking tour; bike rental, to purchasing a gift-card or gift certificate that can be applied to the bigger-ticket items and give flexibility for when. And what trip doesn’t require some special gear? And if you time it right, you might also be able to benefit from holiday savings, even on the more open-ended gift cards or certificates.

Gift cards can open up doors to travel, or take the sting out of the pinch to a traveler’s, couple’s or family’s wallet. Gift cards can be that extra spark that gets your loved one to finally depart on their bucket-list experience. And more and more travel companies – hotels and accommodations, cruises, tours, theme parks, sightseeing, spa visits, restaurants and dining, and even transportation companies from airlines to Amtrak to Uber to a Maine Windjammer Cruise – offer gift cards. The beauty is you can give the amount that works best for you and the recipient can choose the date, and the purchase can be made instantly. (And check if you can apply Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Travel Tuesday discounts.)

You can purchase gift cards on many airlines: the Delta Gift Card is redeemable for any Delta Air Lines flight worldwide and for any Delta Vacations package that includes airfare, no expiration date (https://www.delta.com/us/en/gift-cards/overview); Southwest Airlines (no expiration date, fully transferrable, usable for passenger travel and vacations https://www.southwest.com/gift-card/); American Airlines (https://giftcards.aa.com/), United Airlines, British Airways, Air France, KLM, SAS.

Booking.com, hotels.com and others also sell gift cards.

You can purchase gift cards for stays or amenities at Historic Hotels of America, Historic Hotels Worldwide, Beyond Green and Preferred Hotels & Resorts (all brands of Preferred Hotels & Resorts), through the iprefer.com. Gift Cards can be used for services, experiences, and stays at participating hotels and resorts in hundreds of destinations around the world. Gift cards do not expire. Purchase online at giftcards.iprefer.com.

The extraordinary collection of Historic Hotels of Europe makes it easy to purchase a gift voucher (https://historichotelsofeurope.com/gift-voucher/). Small Luxury Hotels collection also (https://slh.com/about-slh/gift-cards).

Prefer riding the rails to boarding flights? Amtrak gift cards are available in an amount up to $500 with no fees and never expire. Have it emailed or sent through the mail. Redeem for travel online, in the app, by phone or in staffed stations. (May not be used for onboard purchases) https://www.amtrak.com/giftcards

Theme parks can be a very, very pricey vacation for families. Gift cards can put the vacation in reach or enhance the experience. Disney’s gift cards can be purchased in denominations of $25 to $500 and used for “practically” all things Disney – theme park tickets, resort stays, merchandise, dining and experiences at Disney destinations, and redeemable at shopDisney.com, Disney Stores, participating locations at Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida, Disneyland® Resort in California, Disney Cruise Line®, and Adventures by Disney®.  https://www.disneygiftcard.com/.

Spafinder.com, a compendium of resorts, wellness centers and day spas, makes it easy to purchase giftcards, and runs holiday discounts.  https://myspafinder.spagiftcards.com/category/eGift-Cards

Give the Gift of Experience

Enhance your traveler’s upcoming trip by prearranging a dining experience; a spa visit; admission to a museum, attraction or cultural event; a cooking, baking or jewelry making class; a hot-air balloon ride; rock-climbing adventure; walking tour; bike rental. And what trip doesn’t require some special gear? (If you time it right, you might also be able to benefit from holiday savings.)

You can pre-purchase a city-sightseeing pass that provides admissions to the most popular attractions and experiences in cities like Prague (PragueCoolPass.com); Paris (parispass.com); Amsterdam (iamamsterdam.com); Berlin (citypasses.eu); Dresden (getyourguide.com).  The added advantage is that the passes help organize the itinerary, provide info on hours, exhibits, and most importantly, save the time of waiting on line and the anxiety of being shut out and even save money over purchasing admissions individually.

Go City sells passes in 25 destinations from major metropolises like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Singapore, London and New York to oceanfront oases like Sydney and Oahu, on 1,500 attractions, tours, and activities worldwide, saving up to 50% over purchasing individual tickets, connected on your smart phone (GoCity.com, 800 887 9103). CityPass (https://www.citypass.com/) has pass programs in numerous US cities and Toronto.

Arrange for your travelers to drive an exotic car, learn to fly, rock climb, skydive, bungee jump, take a hot-air balloon ride. Virgin Experience lists some 5000 different experiences in 122 regions from 600 “best in class” partners. Categories include: Gift of Broadway, Gifts for Him, Her, Couples, Kids; Celebrations; Food & Wine Gifts, Adventures Experiences and other listings. Easy return, no expiration, free exchange (https://www.virgingifts.com/us)

Gift certificates from Broadway.com can be redeemed for tickets to any Broadway or Off-Broadway show currently playing in New York City (https://www.broadway.com/gift-certificates/). You can also purchase “show-stopping holiday gift” theater tickets at discounts at todaytix.com and theatermania.com.

Context Travel offers personal walking tours with experts in 60 cities across 6 continents. Its gift cards can be used for audio guides, walking tours, pre-trip talks, day trips, and shore excursions. Gift cards are redeemable for hundreds of tours and experiences in any city, can be e-delivered immediately or at a future date and can be personalized with your message https://www.contexttravel.com/gift-cards/new

Also consider gifting some of the really special experiences, like Zookeeper for a Day at Busch Gardens (www.buschgardens.com), a safari experience at Safari West, Santa Rosa, California (800-616-2695, safariwest.com, https://safariwest.com/plan-your-experience/wild-gift-cards/),a sleepover “Night in the Museum” experiences at places like National Air and Space Museum, International Spy Museum, American Museum of Natural History, Cincinnati Museum Center, California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, or family memberships.

For the skier/snowboarder, consider purchasing lift tickets, lessons, rentals, perhaps even a multi-day, regional or local pass (EpicPass.com, IkonPass.com, snow.com, ski.com). Get Ski Tickets is an online marketplace to purchase date-specific discounted lift tickets, lessons, rentals, group lift tickets and season passes (https://www.getskitickets.com/, 970-233-7040, info@getskitickets.com) and gift certificates (https://www.getskitickets.com/gift-certificates/).

And cruises may advertise as being “all-inclusive” but shore excursions are costly add-ons. Pre-purchase a shore excursion from Shore Excursions Group which offers 4,000 tours in 300+ ports worldwide, with something for every kind of cruiser, from first-timers to seasoned globetrotters, at 40 percent less than purchasing from the cruiseline (https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/)

Travel Gear

Travelers also appreciate the gear, special clothing, photo equipment that would vastly enhance a trip experience (expedition, voyage, journey), but may feel guilty about the extra indulgence or simply tapped out- items like sunglasses, hiking poles (one of my favorite things!); hiking/skiing socks; safari hat; packing cubes; day pack; chargers; rain poncho, a camera lens or binoculars can make a real difference.

Our favorite go-to outfitters (especially when you catch holiday deals, sales and closeouts): REI (makes it easy to find just the right gift for travelers, adventurers, top trending gifts, gifts by activity or price, www.rei.com/s/gifts-for-travelers; sale items https://www.rei.com/c/travel-gear/f/scd-deals, 800-426-4840; members have full year to return, non-members have 90 days);  LL Bean, 888-610-2326, llbean.com; Sun & Ski (gift cards available; can shop deals, promotions, purchase gift cards, chat with an expert, low price guarantee, https://www.sunandski.com/c/sun-snow-sale, sunandski.com, 866-786-3869); Eastern Mountain Sports (gift guides for men, women, kids, stocking stuffers, https://www.ems.com/collections/gift-center, 888-463-6367, ems.com); Tennis Express (gift guide online, TennisExpress.com), Bass Pro Shops, www.basspro.com; Patagonia (Patagonia.com); Paragon Sports (paragonsports.com).

Footwear is critical in such things as hiking, climbing. Check out Keen footwear (keenfootwear.com, gift guide, https://www.keenfootwear.com/pages/gift-guide) and Zappos (zappos.com)

Great stocking stuffers so appreciated by travelers are socks for hiking, running, endurance, skiing, biking, hunting, work and lifestyle: Bombas (I love that they say they give a pair to homeless for every pair they sell; get 25% off, https://bombas.com/, https://bombas.com/pages/holiday-gift-guide) and Darn Tough (www.darntough.com, https://darntough.com/pages/sock-gift-finder).

And of course, luggage and packs are always appreciated: travelpro.com,  Luggageonline.com, and www.nomatic.com.

What trip doesn’t involve photos! Go beyond the cell phone (or at least, purchase the lens enhancements that give the best of both worlds)! B&H Photo consistently has best inventory, prices and holiday specials, efficient delivery, excellent customer service, delivery and return policies – think about memory cards, a point-and-shoot camera for hiking/biking; a mirrorless that packs easily but gives great quality; a long lens for that safari; a waterproof camera for that snorkeling/scuba diving trip (www.bhphotovideo.com), 800-606-6969, 212-444-6615).

Memories: I adore my Aura, is an electronic photo frame where you upload from your cellphone photos and videos that change at a speed you select, which I was gifted. It’s fun to load the few favorites from a trip (not the whole album), and when they come around, you get to experience of that moment all over again (auraframes.com)

Taste of Travel: Another way to transport a travel experience is to arrange for food or wine from a winery or destination that the recipient visited or yearns to visit. Imagery Estate (imagerywinery.com) and Gundlach Bundschu Winery (gunbun.com) in Sonoma were two favorite travel experiences for us and make it easy to gift their wine. Send the taste of New York City by shipping fresh bagels and smoked fish from an iconic deli like Zabar’s or Russ & Daughters. Maine Lobster Now is one of the vendors that can overnight live lobster from Maine’s docks to your door (https://www.mainelobsternow.com). Goldbelly is an online marketplace for regional and iconic foods from restaurants, bakeries and artisans across the U.S.

Memberships Have Benefits

Gifting family memberships in a favorite museum, zoo, aquarium, preserve, historic site or attraction gives a sense of “ownership” and encourages multiple or multi-day visits (you don’t have to travel far away to be transported in place and time) as well as giving access to benefits – from special access to events and openings, discounts and promotions, magazines. In addition, these visits lay the foundation and trigger interest in traveling to the origin sites and destinations. Also, shopping the museum stores not only offer really special gifts but support the mission: American Museum of Natural History (members enjoy free admission, special access and previews of new exhibitions, and discounts on purchases with member ID (get $15 off membership with code MEM25); the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chicago Museum of Art, any and every important museum, hall of fame, attraction, zoo such as the Wildlife Conservation Society which operates the Bronx Zoo and Brooklyn Aquarium among others (www.wcs.org). The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a terrific online catalog, gift finder help, you can even shop by artist (https://store.metmuseum.org/gift-guide, members save 30%)

Memberships have additional benefits: Belonging to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum or Schenectady’s Museum of Science brings free or reduced admission to 300+ museums and science centers nationwide through the Association of Science and Technology Center’s ASTC Passport Program and the Empire State Museums Reciprocal Program (https://www.astc.org/membership/find-an-astc-member/passport/)

Smithsonian Institution not only has an excellent store and catalog of excellent expeditionary trips (Smithsonianstore.com), but I treasure the Smithsonian Magazine, which also provides membership benefits, access to gifts; subscribe to the magazine and get gift subscriptions to share with someone else, gift price $19.99, https://subscribe.smithsonianmag.com/gift). National Geographic inspires you to pursue your own expedition and also has links to great expeditionary gear; there is also a National Geo Kids edition, to sow the seeds for lifelong adventure. (https://ngmdomsubs.nationalgeographic.com/

Also check out the memberships and gift possibilities at: Sierra Club (produces an excellent catalog of trips, sierraclub.org); Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (also check out the trail shop for gear like jerseys, trail guides and such, railstotrails.org), Parks & Trails NY  (which hosts the annual Cycle the Erie 8-day, 400-mile camping/biking trip, ptny.org); Audubon Society; Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation (nwf.org); World Wildlife Federation (wwf.org) and Kennedy Space Center (www.kennedyspacecenter.com). (Memberships typically come with publications, too, that delight the whole year through.)

On that note, travel is aspirational and a subscription to a travel magazine helps inspire, inform, build the dream, the bucket list and the plan: Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler (holiday sale plus tote, https://www.cntraveler.com/v2/offers/cnt313, cntraveler.com), National Geographic Traveler and National Geographic; there is also a National Geo Kids edition. (https://ngmdomsubs.nationalgeographic.com/

Fantasy Camp!

There are any number of fantasy camps to satisfy, well, every fantasy.

Want to play baseball like a major leaguer? There are baseball fantasy camps with teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Atlanta Braves (mlb.com).

Join players from the gold medal winning 1980 USA Hockey Team for this annual Miracle On Ice Fantasy Camp, in magnificent Lake Placid, NY – host city of the historic 1980 Winter Olympic Games. Skate and compete in the 1980 Rink – Herb Brooks Arena where USA conquered the Russians and shocked the sports and political world (actual Miracle on Ice players usually participate!). (https://lakeplacidolympiccenter.com/todo/miracle-on-ice-fantasy-camp/)

Space Camp, an educational camp on the grounds of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center museum near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, provides residential and educational programs for children as well as adults on themes such as space exploration, aviation and robotics. There are camps for every age group, even adults! (www.rocketcenter.com/SpaceCamp, camps@rocketcenter.com, 800-637-7223).

Also: Broadway theater  (Broadway Fantasy Camp, broadwayfancamp.com), Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, an interactive musical event that takes place in various locations worldwide involving various Rock Stars on various dates (rockcamp.com; gift cards available, https://gift-cards.rockcampevents.com/)

For many, being able to participate in important science research is also a fantasy. Earthwatch Expeditions makes it possible to support important research into global challenges from climate change to human-wildlife coexistence to sustainability, while engaging local communities. It offers more than 40 field research expeditions around the world, with opportunities for teens and adults; no prior experience needed (Earthwatch.org, info@earthwatch.org).

Also Ecology Project International (https://www.ecologyproject.org/travel-programs); GVIUSA (https://www.gviusa.com/blog/how-to-join-research-expeditions-around-the-world/); and the award-winning wildlife conservation and citizen science NGO Biosphere Expeditions (https://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/availability).

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