Unless you're willing to hand over your own hard-earned airline miles, diehard travelers can be impossible to shop for: If things are going well, they won't be home enough to enjoy that fancy new juicer. These are our picks for presents to make their travel days a little more luxurious--or to give them plenty of inspiration when they're between trips.
This is the carry-on you want on your arm when you're hoping to score that upgrade to business class. Clare Vivier Overnighter, $446
So they'll always know which way is up--or least north--even after the iPhone's dead. Wood compass, $24
Speaking of, this paperback-sized gizmo can charge four phones or two tablets simultaneously--forever changing long-haul flights for the better. EasyAcc power bank, $38.99
The most successful way to avoid a tangle of USB and other cables at the bottom of your luggage. Grid-It! organizer, $19.95
For a literary take on travel, this Berlin-based magazine skips the beach hotel round-ups in favor of tales from the road from the likes of David Lynch, Juergen Teller, and Matthew Barney. The Travel Almanac subscription, about $34 for one year
Douglas Adams had it right all along: "A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have." Equally true even if you're just throwing this peshtemal in the trunk in case of a spontaneous trip to a lake. Turkish beach towel, $22
Throw one of these in their luggage and they'll be rewarded with the smell of roses--rather than that I'll-do-laundry-when-I-get-home scent. Diptyque Roses scented oval, $45
For the outdoorsman in all of us: easy-to-light birch trimmings that can kick off a fire in style. Birch Bark tinder, $20
A little bit of easy-to-spot luxury dresses up even the most standard of black bags. Smythson luggage tag, about $90
The famed French macaron-maker debuts shipping to U.S. addresses this week--for a tasty bit of Paris in a very fancy box. Ladurée macarons, price TBD
The maker of this candle says the fragrance of "damp wood, incense, and freshly laundered linen" is reminiscent of "an old, wooden Japanese house from the [Tokyo] neighbourhood of Aoyama." Aoyama candle, $83
The magical powers of a scarf on an overnight flight cannot be overstated. Bonus: the geometric design was inspired by "the night skies at Taliesan West." (Which, for the record, is a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Arizona.) Dealtry Vela scarf, $220
Travelers can always use an extra place to take notes--like this hand-stamped camping journal. Mountain Range Moleskine notebook, $9
Get inspired to head to the airport in something other than Lululemons and a sweatshirt with this photographic tribute to "airline style." Airline: Style At 30,000 Feet, $14.95
It's not the most expensive present here, but it might offer the most: a one-year pass to the nation's national parks and other federally managed recreation areas. Note: Military families qualify for free, so if your loved one meets the requirements, perhaps your gift could be handling the paperwork. Everybody wins! Annual pass, $80
Susan Sontag spoke the truth--remember her quote with this hand-cut paper-cut design. Susan Sontag paper cut, $32
Bring a little pizazz to an early-morning immigration line with this monogrammed passport holder. Passport holder, $15.75
A clever take on the ubiquitous retro travel poster, for "Game of Thrones" fans dreaming of Qarth and Winterfell. Game of Thrones posters, $33.61
Give the gift of indecision: With a five-day France rail pass, your beloved will have the chance to wander from boulangerie to boulangerie from nord to sud and all points in between. France railpass, $316
Catnips for kids and National Park addicts alike: Collect hundreds of unique cancellation stamps from National Park Service sites here. Passport to Your National Parks, $8.95
It's what every traveler wants most: proof that love on the road can last. Before Midnight DVD, $25.53
If your favorite traveler is dreaming big, here's their new map. Letterpress solar system map, $23