Gifts for Travellers: Maps to Mark Every Trip
Some people come home with a camera full of photographs. Others bring postcards, a collection of souvenir magnets or a story that gets better every time they tell it.
The best gifts for travellers give those adventures a place at home. A map on the wall can hold the journeys already made and the places still on the list, while bringing colour and character to the room.
Whether you’re choosing a Christmas present, celebrating a big trip or buying for someone who’s hard to buy for, a travel map gives them something they can make their own. Here are two different ways to do it.
Push pin travel maps: pin the places, connect the journeys
For someone who loves travel and enjoys getting creative, a push pin map is a lovely combination of the two. There’s pleasure in working with the pins and wire: choosing colours, shaping routes and gradually building a picture of their adventures.
Place a pin in each stop, then use fine copper wire to connect the route. A rail trip across Europe, a coastal road trip or a year spent travelling takes shape on the wall. Small detours earn their place alongside the headline destinations.
Use different pin colours for places visited, places lived and places still on the travel bucket list. A couple might choose a colour each, with another for journeys taken together.
Our push pin option is available on framed maps with Paper or Plastic finishes across the collection. Each comes with metallic pins and fine route wire, ready to begin.
Arranging the pins and shaping the wire becomes part of the enjoyment. They can spend an evening recreating a favourite journey, then return to it after the next trip. It’s a creative project that stays on the wall and grows with their travels.
Magnetic maps: a travel noticeboard for your wall
For the person whose fridge is disappearing beneath holiday magnets, a magnetic map gives their collection a home. Think of it as a travel noticeboard: somewhere to gather the little things that bring a journey back.
Place souvenir magnets near the countries they came from. Add postcards, photographs or tickets using the supplied magnets, and the map becomes a changing display of travels and keepsakes.
The markers can move, and the write-on/wipe-off surface lets them add notes or sketch ideas as plans develop. A photograph from the latest trip can sit beside a postcard kept for years.
Our magnetic maps come with marker magnets and larger cylinder magnets, along with magnetic hanging strips. Framing and hanging rails are also available, so you can choose a presentation that suits their home.
It’s a particularly good gift for travel lovers who bring little pieces of their journeys back with them—and would enjoy seeing them every day.
Choose a map of the places they care about
A world map gives a wide-ranging traveller plenty of room to explore. But the most meaningful choice might be somewhere closer in.
Think about a Europe map for someone who loves train journeys between cities, a USA map for a road-trip enthusiast, or a British Isles map for a keen explorer of home. A city map can bring back a favourite stay, a former home or the place a trip began.
The right scale gives their particular adventures room to breathe. Someone who returns to the same coastline every year may get as much pleasure from a regional map as another person gets from plotting a journey across continents.
Travel gifts for her, for him—or for the two of them
If you’re searching for travel gifts for her or travel gifts for him, start with the person’s interests and the way they live.
Do they keep every ticket and postcard? A magnetic travel noticeboard gives that collection a home. Are they happiest getting hands-on with a creative project? Push pins and copper wire let them build up the journeys in their own way.
For couples, a shared travel map can hold two sets of memories and the beginnings of new plans. Give it with a note about a favourite trip together, or an invitation to choose the next destination.
You could include a photograph of the place you met, a few dates to add, or the first stop of an adventure still to come. Those small additions make the gift personal before it’s even on the wall.
A kitchen map for conversations and daydreams
The kitchen is a natural place for a travel map. Over a morning coffee or while dinner’s cooking, there’s time to look up, spot somewhere familiar and start talking about where you might go next.
With your partner or family, it can be the beginning of a plan: a route you’ve been considering, somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit or a return to a favourite place.
When friends come round, the conversation can travel too. Compare journeys, share recommendations, work out a route together or find out where everyone’s heading next summer. Having the world in front of you gives those ideas somewhere to land.
A magnetic travel noticeboard brings postcards and souvenirs into those conversations. A push pin map lets you follow the journeys already made. Either can become a familiar part of the room: somewhere to remember, dream a little and find inspiration for what’s next.
Make it a piece of wall art they’ll love living with
A travel map will spend more time at home than on holiday, so its design matters too.
Think about their room, the colours they enjoy and how much wall space they have. A map above a dining table can become a talking point; one beside a desk can offer a moment’s escape between everyday tasks.
Choose a frame for a finished presentation or hanging rails for a more relaxed look, where available. If you’re giving a push pin map, choose a framed version with the pinnable backing. For magnetic maps, choose the hanging option that suits the space.
Our guide to choosing a world map is a useful starting point if you’re deciding between designs.
Christmas gifts for travellers, with the first story included
For someone who seems to have everything, a map offers room for something they already have plenty of: experiences.
Give it with a postcard from a shared holiday, a favourite photograph or a handwritten note about somewhere you’d like to visit together. The gift begins with a connection and leaves plenty of space for what comes next.
Unframed maps arrive rolled in a tube. For framed maps, overseas delivery or a particular arrival date, contact the studio before ordering so we can help with the timing.
A travel map gives the next adventure somewhere to begin—and the last one somewhere to stay.