How to Gift Travel

Hiking up Mount Baldy

​Gifting travel can be an easy go-to for the travel lovers in your life if you know where to start and the right approach for the giftee. To help you determine what's best, I've met with Brooke Walker, owner of Happy Tracks Travel, to get her inside tips about gifting a vacation.

​How Do You Give Someone a Gift of Travel?

There are a few ways you can gift travel. For the purposes of this post, we're sharing two. The first is to plan a surprise trip for them, and the second is to opt for travel gift cards.
​
Planning a Surprise Trip
To help make it easy to plan a trip for someone, we've provided a checklist below of things you'll need to get started.

1. Access to their schedule: You need to have a basic understanding of their schedule to ensure they'll be able to go on the adventure you're planning.
2. Access to their ID (Domestic) or passport (International): For their exact name and birthday, unless it's for a minor that doesn't need to travel with ID. It's important to note that most countries require the passport to be valid for 6 months past the end of the trip.
3. Ensure they're comfortable traveling, especially post COVID-19, and enjoy it.
4. Pick an appropriate destination. You may not want to hit the Las Vegas night scene with mum, or maybe you do.
5. Parents Permission: Some airlines and customs of the arrival country may require a written letter of guardian permission when traveling with a minor.

Happy Tracks Travel's Pro Tip: ​Buying travel insurance is highly recommended, especially post COVID-19 with travel industry inconsistencies. Canceled flights, unexpected quarantines, and unexpected medical emergencies can add up quickly.

Opting for Travel Gift Cards
​A general Visa gift card lets them spend the money anywhere for the trip expenses. This as well as an Amazon or TJ Maxx card allows them to get items they need to go on the trip. 

If you want to get more personal with the gift card, you can buy airline, ride-services, cruise lines, and hotel gift cards in stores and online.

Make the cards more fun to open with a novelty card or cardholder. Putting it inside a travel wallet or a luggage tag also adds a little something.

Photo: Happy Tracks Travel

Shop Gift Cards & Gifting Options

Visa Gift Card

Southwest Airlines Gift Card

Hotels.com Gift Card Email Delivery

Amazon Gift Card

Adventure Awaits Gift Card Holder

Personalized Travel Wallet

Personalized Travel Card

Custom Luggage Tag

​How Do I Give a Plane Ticket as a Gift?

​The easiest way of gifting flights is through airline gift cards. You can do a specific airline or if you're unsure of their preferred choice go with a Visa gift card.

If you have travel vouchers or airline miles you don't plan on using, you can also gift these to someone. The best way to do so is through the airline providing the voucher.

Happy Tracks Travel's Pro Tip: ​The recommended amount for round trip domestic flights is $300-$400 and $800-$1,000 for round trip international flights.​​ Don't worry, if there are leftover dollars they can use the balance to pay for checking bags, upgrading their seats, and auxiliary items.

How Do I Give a Hotel as a Gift?

​The best option here is through hotel gift cards to Hotels.com, Airbnb, or other providers.

How Do I Surprise My Family with a Trip?

​Below are creative and fun ways to announce your next adventure to the family.

​1. Destination Food Basket, $60+ at iGourmet
Pick a basket that represents your destination and use it as a family night activity. When you're ready, state that you're all going there.
​2. Custom Boarding Pass, $8 at Designed By Libby
Include all the trip details in this personalized boarding pass ticket.
​3. Custom Wooden Puzzle, $24 at FJ4 Life Creations
Select from seventeen images and add your destination to this puzzle.
​4. Vacation Reveal Pop Up Card, $11 at Outside The Box Cards
​This shop offers thirty-three destinations.
5. Travel Card Scratch To Reveal, $8 at Amazon
This card is a quick and easy way to share the news.

Shop Surprise Vacation Ideas

iGourmet

Designed By Libby

FJ4 Life Creations

Outside The Box Cards

Amazon

​That's a wrap on our tips and tricks for gifting travel. We hope that we've helped in making your next travel present a good one.

I would like to thank Brooke Walker at Happy Tracks Travel for sharing her expertise to help me put this post together. A bit about her business: Happy Tracks Travel provides time-saving travel planning services for people who need a vacation but simply don't have the time to plan one.  They do the research, handle the details, and design your dream trip so you can save time and travel more.  
​Visit Happy Tracks Travel

Wishing you and your loved ones the best and safest travels!​

Until next time,
Katherine
​
​Affiliate links may have been used in this post.

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