55+ Best Road Trip Gift Ideas for Road Trip Travelers

Every road trip lover needs a good cooler. They are essential for keeping sodas, waters, snacks, and picnic lunches cool and fresh while on the road.

Good quality coolers like the YETI Hopper make great gifts for long car rides or short day trips. Look for a soft-sided cooler that easily conforms to the space available in the trunk while not adding too much extra weight.

Bonus: coolers also make the perfect vessel to stuff with other fun road trip gifts for a Road Trip Gift Basket.

A cozy blanket is always a welcome gift no matter who the recipient and road trippers know that a warm indoor and outdoor blanket is an indispensable item to keep in the car.

A puffy but lightweight blanket like the Rumpl Camping Blanket can provide an intimate shield while sleeping under the stars, a comfortable layer for backseat passengers, and an in-case-of emergency warm layer for snow storms and blistery nights.

Bonus: this camping blanket comes in a variety of fun national park themed prints, making it one of the best gifts for road trippers who love exploring the outdoors. Find a pattern that commemorates a special trip you took during the year or hints at your next adventure!

Whether hiking up a mountain or hiking up to the bar, every road tripper needs a good quality day pack. A smaller-sized hiking backpack allows you to keep your road trip luggage in the trunk and only bring the basics when taking a stroll down a trail or hopping in and out of the car.

Bonus: look for one like this Osprey hiking backpack that has a built-in sleeve for a hydration reservoir, making this road trip gift idea into a multi-purpose backpack that is suitable for any adventure.

Friends don’t let friends get lost on the road. Even though many of us rely on on our smartphones and Google maps nowadays to get us to our destination, sometimes a good old fashioned paper atlas is a necessity.

Atlases, like the Rand McNally Road Atlas, allow you to see the big picture when driving across the country and, if technology fails or you’re out of a cell phone service zone, it can come in handy for reference. Every road trip lover should have an atlas in his or her car, so it makes a perfect road trip essentials gift.

Bonus: This atlas has expanded coverage of Canada and Mexico, making it one of the best road trip gifts for anyone driving across North America!

This durable, folded, road trip planning map contains information about the top country attractions, itinerary suggestions, a transport guide, road trip planning information, and travel tips. It’s a great reference for on the road and a perfect addition to any road tripper’s glove box or Christmas stocking.

Bonus: This USA map is durable and waterproof so you won’t have to worry about it tearing apart as you plan your road trip route!

While driving the interstate, you want to keep your eyes on the road. You also, often, need to check your phone quickly for directions, to change your Spotify playlist, or to pick up a hands-free call. This magnetic car mount locks to your air vent keeping your smartphone in place while not blocking any essential car functions. When shopping for gifts for car trips, a magnetic car mount makes for a great addition to your cart.

Bonus: Get one that has multiple mounts (this one has both an adhesive and a magnetic vent mounting base) for the most flexible placement.

Chances are, you’ve given socks for a present once or twice in your life. This holiday, skip the novelty socks with Santa’s face or smiling schnauzers and give some socks road trippers can really put to use.

Compression socks like these from Comrad increase circulation and blood flow, providing a great remedy for tired legs and cramped calves after being confined in a car all day. They should top any list of travel essentials gift ideas.

Bonus: Just because these socks are beneficial doesn’t mean they have to be boring! Look for fun patters like stripes or ombre!

No one likes a messy car. Back seat organizers make good road trip gifts because they keep all of those essentials, like road trip games, snacks, and maps, in one place. They make a perfect gift for road trippers or anyone with a messy car!

Bonus: Be sure to get one with an iPad holder to turn a boring back seat into an entertaining TV and movie station for kids or other passengers.

Luxurious luggage sets make the best road trip gift ideas. If you’re looking to splurge, a hardside luggage set like this one from Samsonite will be a present to impress. No road trip traveler should be without a nice set of baggage.

Bonus: Wheeled luggage makes getting from the trunk to the hotel room easy and the tough exterior means nothing gets crushed along the way.

The best gift ideas for travelers are ones that they will use over and over again. And nothing (besides the car) will get as much use on a road trip as a camera.

Take road trip photos and videos that go beyond the smartphone. With a content creator kit you have everything you need to get started in creating fun road trip videos and take killer photos of National Parks and world’s largest things! A content creator kit like this one has a mirrorless camera and accessories to take superior photos and 4K vlogs and videos.

Bonus: there is a wide-range of cameras to choose for for photographers with various levels of skills and budgets. Check out our list of the best road trip cameras to find the perfect one to gift!

For those looking to step up their road trip captures, GoPro cameras make excellent road trip cameras and excellent gifts for roadtrippers.

Bonus: Designed for action, the best unique feature of the GoPro is TimeWarp, which allows you to take a super fast hyperlapse of your entire road trip journey. How cool would that be?

We’ve all been there: you’ve trying to take a selfie in front of the world’s largest cow and all you can get in frame is half your face and half her udder. As much as selfie sticks get a bad rap, they can be life savers when trying to take photos of yourself at road trip pit stops. They are definitely one of the most fun things to buy for a road trip!

Bonus: Selfie Sticks like this one, that double as a tripod make great gifts for roadtrippers to ensure they can always get that perfect road trip selfie.

Play all your favorite games on the go. Keep your family entertained and never hear, “are we there yet?” again. The portable design of the Nintendo Switch Lite makes it the perfect gaming system for road trips and back seat play and the perfect road trip gift for children and adult passengers alike.

Bonus: While a Nintendo Switch makes a good gift for travelers it can also be enjoyed all year long from the comfort of their own home!

A duel car DVD player that clips to a car’s headrests can provide hours of entertainment for road trip passengers. With a dedicated screen you won’t have to give up your phone to your backseat passengers, especially if you need it for directions! This portable DVD player even comes with headphones to keep the kids and TV quiet in the backseat.

Bonus: This one plays DVDs or, for those who haven’t seen a DVD since the 90s, digital files stored on a USB or card reader.

For long car trips, nothing beats an e-reader or tablet for keeping people entertained. Individual tablets like the Fire HD allow car passengers or a driver on break to watch movies, listen to music, read, or play games and make great gifts for long car trips and the families taking them.

Bonus: A Fire Tablet is one of the best gifts for long car rides but will also entertain the recipient at home!

Allow your passengers to have even more fun singing along in the car! This Carpool Karaoke car karaoke microphone wirelessly connects to your car’s FM tuner and provides endless opportunities for do-it-yourself tunes.

Bonus: For an extra special gift idea for someone traveling, consider putting together a special playlist of the best road trip songs to accompany this car karaoke mic!

Attach a Tile Mate Bluetooth Tracker to your keychain and never lose your keys. It’s the best gift for road trippers who are going back and forth from their car to gas stations, roadside attractions, hotels, and more. Moving around so much there’s always the possibility of losing your keys or dropping them between the seats. Pinging the tile from your phone helps you locate just where your keys are no matter where you left them.

Bonus: Get a multi-pack of Tiles that also contains a card that slips into a wallet and tracker sticker to make sure your gift recipient never misplaces their keys or wallet on the road again!

You never want your phone to go dead when on a road trip. It’s essential for GPS directions, looking up roadside attractions, booking hotels on the go, making emergency calls, and taking photos of every Welcome to State sign you pass. Every road trip lover needs a USB charger for their car. Even if your car has a built-in USB port, portable versions that plug into the cigarette lighter still offer more power to keep your phone working all the way to your destination.

Bonus: Be sure to get one with multiple ports so everyone in the car can keep charged at once.

Imagine being able to follow your car with a camera as it winds down an abandoned road or being able to capture all of Carhenge from above. The only way to get epic aerial road trip videos and photos is with a drone.

Drones, like the DJI Mini 3, make the best gifts for road trippers who want to take their road trip videography and photography to the next level.

Bonus: Make sure to get a kit that includes extra batteries, a charger, and case so the person you buy this road trip gift for has everything they need!

Many road trip videos are unwatchable. Trying to take a video of that epic waterfall or breathtaking National Park view with a handheld iPhone will often result in a shaky movie that no one wants to watch. How do fix it? With a gimbal.

Gimbals suspend your phone for smooth stabilization that will take any road trip video from disastrous to delightful.

Bonus: This gimbal doubles as a tripod making it perfect for filming TikTok POVs or Instagram Lives.

For fun road trip photos that make retro souvenirs, an instant camera is a must have gift for road trip lovers. The Fujifilm Instax Mini is a cute camera that is compact enough to fit in the glove box to make memories on the go.

Bonus: Be sure to include a couple of packs of Instax Mini Film to make this one of the best gifts for a road trip!

Traveling can be hard for pet parents when they have to leave their dogs or cats at home. Give them peace of mind and a glimpse into what their four-legged friends do when they are not there, with a Petcube Cam. The most basic of the Petcube models these are a solid choice for travelers wanting to check in with their furry friends from afar.

Bonus: IYou can also find the Petcube Play that comes with a laser toy or the Petcube Bites that dispenses treats.

Enjoy fun games and challenges to pass the time on your next road trip with this entertaining must-have for your next vacation. The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book features fun and engaging journal prompts. plus 100 activities and games to play in the car, at your hotel, or at stops along your route.

Bonus: This book not only serves as an activity book to keep everyone entertained in the car but with fun journal prompts and a trip log it will serve as a road trip memento for years to come!

Keep track of all the states you’ve visited and keep hydrated along the way. The Fifty States Bucket List Water Bottle by Wondery Outdoors is a durable water bottle that comes with 50 stickers to add each time you drive through a new-to-you state.

Bonus: There are also bucket list bottles that feature National Parks and Parks of Canada!

Commemorate everywhere you went on a road trip or all your road trips! The Wander Club travel tokens are a modern charm bracelet for travelers. Small tokens represent countries, states, national parks, and other milestones. Collect charms for every adventure.

Bonus: Get a starter set with a key chain or necklace and few tokens, then add to it with every trip to come.

Help your favorite road tripper keep track of his or her travels with a scratch-off map of the United States. Complete with stickers and place markers this map will commemorate everywhere a road tripper has traveled and help them plan where to head to next.

Bonus: You can also find scratch off posters for favorite road trip destinations like National Parks and ballparks!

For the road trip lover stuck at home, this road trip scented candle is a perfect stocking stuffer. With scents of amber, musk, leather, paper, and jasmine, it will remind the recipient of sight seeing on the open road (minus the stuffy car and air freshener smell).

Bonus: Speaking of air fresheners, Homesick also makes a Road Trip car air freshener!

The reusable cup du jour is always a good gift to give someone. But a reusable cup especially makes one of the best gifts for car travelers. The Stanley cup is double wall vacuum insulated and keeps your water cold or your coffee hot for hours on the road. Your gift recipient will thank you for the money and time (and environment) she or he will save when filling this stylish vessel up with refreshing water or pick-me-up coffee at the hotel.

Bonus: The Stanley cup comes in a variety of colors so you can find one in your gift recipient’s favorite hue!

Pendleton blankets offer the cozy comfort of a thick wool cover alongside style and history. Their National Park collection pays homage to your favorite road trip destinations that feature distinctive colors, the park name, and an image of an important natural feature. Pendleton National Park Blankets make fantastic gifts for road travelers who want to commemorate a special trip to their new favorite park.

Bonus: If the blanket is out of your budget, Pendleton also makes a more budget-friendly gift set of National Park socks!

National Parks playing cards make double duty gifts for road trips. Featuring iconic scenery from parks around the United States they serve as both a memento and inspiration while giving travelers entertaining opportunities for game play whether at home, in an AirBNB, or at a campsite.

Bonus: Each playing card face in this deck is designed with unique imagery of U.S. National Parks, so they make great gifts for someone who loves to explore National Parks on their road trips!

For anyone planning on packing their own food, camping, or picnicking on a road trip, a picnic backpack complete with plates, glasses, and utensils would make a great road trip gift. It’s better for the environment than using disposable plastic plates and forks, and will have everything needed to enjoy meals on the go.

Bonus: If you gift a picnic basket consider filling out your road trip gift with some favorite road trip snacks or sparkling apple cider (they are driving after all!).

When trying to find road trip gifts for her, whether she is your girlfriend, wife, sister, mother, or best friend, jewelry probably will cross your mind. And a state-shaped necklace is the way to go.

Bonus: Gift the state she lives in so she never feels far from home or a particularly memorable road trip destination so she’s never forget the fun you had there.

Not many people keep change on hand nowadays. But it’s always good to have a few coins on hand for a road trip. You never know when you’ll need some for a toll booth, an older parking meter, an old school soda machine, or a pressed penny mavhine! This road trip money coin pouch is the perfect place to keep your loose road trip change.

Bonus: this coin pouch makes the perfect vessel for delivering Christmas or birthday money for someone planning a big road trip!

After a few days in the car, it sometimes will start smelling less than fresh. A portable essential oil diffuser makes a great stocking stuffer and will bring a fresh scent to any long car ride. This one plugs into the car’s USB port and fits right in the cup holder for a fresh car the whole journey long.

Bonus: to make this best gift for road trip travel complete, include a set of essential oils!

Every road trip lover needs a good pair of sunglasses. These polarized sunglasses feature offer UV protection and blue blocking lenses— essential features when driving on a sunny highway. They also offer a classic design that will have you feeling like you’re driving a Top Gun F-14 Tomcat instead of your Corolla.

Bonus: This classic style comes in a variety of lens and frame colors, including green and blue.

Keep the memory or your road trip alive. Use this road trip journal as a keepsake to document your vacation or plan your travel itinerary! The blank lined book can be used as a travel diary, logbook, or road trip planner for your car, van, or motorcycle adventure.

Bonus: For a complete roadtrip gift add a set of gel pens or road trip themed pencils.

Get the whole family excited and talking on your next car trip by gifting this TableTopics to GO Road Trip game. With travel-specific questions you’ll have fun while learning a lot about your fellow passengers.

Bonus: There are plenty of road trip games that make the best gifts for a road trip! Pick up a travel bingo set, a variety pack of travel-sized games, or a copy of The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book!

The perfect road trip stocking stuffer for anyone who likes to eat in the car…and that’s everyone! Clip this ketchup/condiment holder into your car’s vent and never eat sauceless drive-through fries again!

Bonus: You can buy these car condiment containers in a variety of colors, like red, gray, or black, to match the road trip car!

An homage to vintage motel key chains you’d have on a retro road trip, modern versions with catchy phrases make fun road trip gifts for adults.

Bonus: You can find many varieties that both capture the nostalgia of the road and fit your gift recipient’s personality. Find ones for their favorite TV show hotel, an inspirational affirmation, a fun saying, a zodiac sign, a favorite attraction, or a favorite road trip activity.

A tote bag is a must-have road trip gift that everyone will love. On the road it can serve as a cute catch-all for all the things to take in the car, beachwear, or camping supplies.

Bonus: For gift giving, you can stuff this road trip tote bag with all kinds of other road trip gifts and stocking stuffers!

A scarf that’s both pretty and functional? Sign me up! The hidden pocket infinity scarves by Speakeasy Supply Co. are stylish wraps with a secret twist: inside is a pocket to keep your ID, credit card, keys, or whatever you want to conceal. These scarves are perfect for all types of travelers but especially helpful to roadtrippers who might be hopping in and out of the car all day and don’t want to carry a bag around or leave their essentials behind.

Bonus: these scarves come in a variety of colors and patterns for any tatse!

Find the best things to do and see in every state in America with this illustrated book from National Geographic. From national parks to beaches, war memorials to museums, this guidebook has it all and will ignite your imagination and kick start your trip planning. It should top any road trip gift wish list!

Like the previous book suggestion, but for national parks alone, this sequel is full of breathtaking photography and travel tips for getting the most of the country’s national parks. These books make good gifts for car travelers, whether they are a national park novice or have every page stamped in their park passport.

Get inspired to take a new adventure by exploring forty of the world’s most incredible road trips across the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Colorful photos and illustrations compliment the overviews of each route, providing inspiration and practical tips.

Epic Road Trips of the Americas showcases fifty of the greatest road trips across North America, South America, and the Caribbean. The book features first-person accounts, challenge levels, facts, inside tips, expert advice, and similar drives.

Travel Internationally? Also check out Epic Drives of the World!

Take a tour of the best fantasy suites and honeymoon hotels across America and beyond, with photos and stories from the creators of A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour. If you love quirky destinations, heart-shaped tubs, and themed hotels, this is the perfect book to gift!

This book let’s you explore all the possibilities road trips have to offer. It presents a variety of road trips of all lengths and levels of challenge, including a transglobal route inspired by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s Long Way Round documentary series. This book will inspire you to hit the road and take a trip you couldn’t even imagine possible.

With route recommendations, off-the-road highlights, driving maps, colorful photography, and expert advice, Road Trip USA would be a fun gift for someone going on a road trip for the first time or the fiftieth!

She Explores celebrates women on the road. With photography, narrative, and practical tips this book is an essential read for any woman who wants to take off on an outdoor adventure. Engage with the stories of 40 women who have taken unforgettable trips into nature: women who live in vans, hike, road trip, or backpack.

I can’t have a guide of road trip gift ideas without a book all about my favorite thing: roadside attractions.

Unique America celebrates the unusual sights you’ll find while road tripping the country with full-color highlights that will have anyone enthusiastically asking, “are we there yet?”

Take a hilarious journey through the National Parks with this illustrated book that celebrates their beauty and the one star reviews people leave of them online. One of the best gifts for road trippers and a good laugh for anyone who loves traveling to national parks!

If you know someone who loves roadside attractions as much as I do and are looking for gift ideas for road trippers who love the weird and wacky, this roadside attractions coloring book will allow the recipient to unleash their inner child to color between the lines of some of America’s best world’s largest things.

America the Beautiful passes make excellent gifts for car travelers. The annual pass allows the recipient to skip the entrance fee on over 2,000 federal recreation sites, including national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, and grasslands. For the serious road tripper, this pass is gold.

A prepaid Go City Pass will save the recipient time and money at great road trip destinations across the US. If a big city excursion is on the list for the new year, this will help take their trip from ordinary to extraordinary. The passes will allow the holder to visit bucket list attractions, enjoy top tours, and discover handpicked hidden gems with the convenience of having one price and one pass on their phone.