Unwrap Something Truly Unforgettable this Christmas – Give the Gift of Travel!
🎄 Explore unique weekend and short trip ideas to surprise your loved ones with a gift they’ll never expect. Whether it’s a city break or a snowy retreat – find inspiration and plan a memorable getaway for them – to create lasting memories.
Contents
- Surprising Your Loved Ones with the Gift of Travel
- How to Present a Gift of Travel
- Booking Your Travel Gift
- Weekend Trip Ideas to Surprise Your Loved Ones
- 🚸Travel Christmas Gift Ideas for Children
- 🍽️ Gift of Travel for a Foodie
- 🧑🏫 Ideas for a History Buff
- 🏖️ Trip Ideas for Beach Lovers
- 💗 Romantic Gifts of Travel Ideas
- Travel Gifts for Culture
- 🪣 Bucket List Trips
- Book Your DIY Gift of Travel
Some of my content may contain affiliate links for companies I use and love and recommend to awesome readers like yourself. If you take action, (i.e. subscribe, make a purchase) after clicking one of these links, I’ll earn a small amount of pocket money (at no extra cost to you), so I can buy a coffee while creating more helpful content like this.
Surprising Your Loved Ones with the Gift of Travel
🎁 A surprise trip for Christmas is such an amazing gift to receive and can actually make a dream come true. We have a tradition of gifting travel in our family and it all started with a surprise trip to Disneyland Paris when our children were small.
🎉 Experience gifts, such as Red Letter Days have become extremely popular in recent years. People are placing more importance on experiences than material possessions.
However, generic experience gifts from companies can be a bit of a lazy present and don’t really match the recipients’ unique personality. They can also be a pain to organise and book because they are often less than straight forward.
You can plan a unique travel gift for your loved ones DIY-style and inject some personality into it and tailor it perfectly for them. This of course, is much easier to arrange for close family members so you can make the necessary arrangements for time off work, pet sitters, etc.
Try to match the gift to something you know has been on their bucket list or matches their personality. Some examples of my gifts of travel have been a Pizza Cookery Class in Italy, a Wine Tasting Weekend in Bordeaux and a Shopping Trip to Paris.
🌟 Trips for January and February are a good idea if you want to have something to look forward to and improve the bleaker months. This time of year is cheaper and quieter for all of the destinations I suggest.
How to Present a Gift of Travel
A fun way to give the gift of travel is to wrap up clues or hints that lead up to the ultimate surprise. You could even make a treasure hunt of clues for your children to build up the anticipation.
Alternatively, you could create a trip itinerary complete with images and wrap a travel guide book for the destination.
Booking Your Travel Gift
I like to use these websites to make booking a DIY trip easy:
✈️ Skyscanner to search for the cheapest flights.
🏨 Booking.com for accommodation.
🎉 For experiences, search on Get Your Guide and Viator.
🌟 See my 10 Step Guide to Booking DIY Holidays for an easy guide and all the information you need to plan the perfect DIY trip.
Weekend Trip Ideas to Surprise Your Loved Ones
🚸Travel Christmas Gift Ideas for Children
Disneyland, Paris
The ultimate travel gift for our children was Disneyland Paris. We have surprised our children twice with a trip here. Although it is cold in winter, it is still a wonderful experience, there are far less crowds and it is much cheaper.
🔗 See my Disneyland Paris Guide for all the information you need to book a DIY trip.
New York, USA
“New York with children?” I hear you say. Well, yes! Think ‘Home Alone 2’, ‘Enchanted’ and ‘Night of the Museum’. We took our children to New York and we had the most fantastic holiday. We made it like a movie set tour to inspire them. From Afternoon Tea at the Plaza, ice skating at the Rockefeller to meeting Rexi the Dinosaur at the Natural History Museum, there are so many exciting activities you can do with your children – they will love it.
🔗 See my Kid Friendly New York Itinerary
Lapland, Finland
🎅 Home to Santa and is his elves and reindeer. Finland is the fantasy winter destination for cosy retreats, snowy landscapes, husky sleigh rides and seeing the Aurora. Flights to Rovaniemi are cheaper after the busy festive period too. And the best thing is that the Santa Claus Village is open all year and you can still do all the wonderful festive activities in the snow. Yes it’s commercial but your kids will love it!
🔗 Blog to read: How to Plan a DIY Trip to Lapland on a Budget
🍽️ Gift of Travel for a Foodie
Bordeaux, France
Located in southwest France, Bordeaux is the world capital of wine. It centres much of its tourism around wine and food. People call it a mini Paris because it is very similar in its architecture and feel.
If your loved ones enjoy food, they will find an amazing choice of gastronomy and wine here. There is also lots to explore; beautiful architecture and history.
🔗 Learn more about our Wine Tasting Weekend in Bordeaux.
Bilbao, Spain
Bilbao is a lively port city in the Basque country of Northern Spain, famous for its culinary scene and fantastic museums. It has a great mix of old and new architecture, a beautiful old town and iconic modern landmarks.
Not far from the town of San Sebastian and other beach towns, there are lots of things to do in Bilbao and the wider region. It is an affordable destination compared with most major Spanish cities and it is definitely worth a visit.
Why not book a food tour for your loved one to try out all the delights and learn about pinxtos; tiny snacks like tapas but served on bread.
🔗 See my blog: Things to do in Bilbao.
Florence, Italy
The city of Florence is the capital of the Tuscan region of Italy. Known for its history and Renaissance art and architecture, Florence also has many cookery class experiences to offer.
We enjoyed the most amazing pizza cookery class overlooking the Tuscan countryside.
🔗 Read about our experience here: Pizza Cookery Class in Italy.
🧑🏫 Ideas for a History Buff
Berlin, Germany
The capital city of Germany is a fascinating city, especially for seeing and learning about modern history. The previous century has shaped the city dramatically and World War 2 echoes across the east side of Berlin.
Berlin has undergone much building and renovation since the Soviet days. The Germans have deliberately left war relics as a reminder of their history to deter it from happening again. They have embraced the past as a lesson learned.
Berlin is a top choice for surprising a history fan with a weekend getaway. The best way to explore and learn is by walking tour, which you can book on GuruWalk, Get Your Guide or Viator.
🔗 Read about our favourite Berlin Gems here.
Athens, Greece
Athens, the capital of Greece, was once the centre of Ancient Greece. You can still see the remains of it today. The city is a wonderful mixture of ancient and modern. It surrounds the Acropolis (the highest point), which contains several remains of ancient buildings including the Parthenon.
🔗 Discover our 4 Day Itinerary for Athens.
Prague, Czech Republic
Voted the most beautiful city in the world by ‘Time Out’ magazine, Prague looks like something out of a fairy tale.
Prague is a central European city and the capital of the Czech Republic. Built on the banks of the river Vltara, overlooked by Prague Castle, this city is a must-see destination. It has an interesting history dating back to the 14th century.
🔗 Again, the best way to explore and learn is by walking tour. See our guide here: Exploring Prague.
🏖️ Trip Ideas for Beach Lovers
Agadir, Morocco
Situated on the coast of Morocco, next to the Atlantic, Agadir’s winter temperatures makes it perfect as a winter beach destination.
The well maintained beautiful beaches, palm line boulevards and Moroccan culture will appeal to someone needing a warm, exotic escape from our cold winter climate.
Torremolinos, Spain
Not far from Malaga, Torremolinos is located on the Costa del Sol. It is a pretty town with pristine beaches and good restaurants. We came here in February and enjoyed plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures.
🐊 There is also a fantastic crocodile and alligator park that is well worth a visit.
Lanzarote, Spain
Lanzarote is one of the Spanish Canary Islands situated off the north coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.
It is an incredible and unique destination where you can see volcanoes, amazing landscapes, beautiful beaches, distinctive art and architecture AND it has year-round good weather! It has an average 300 days of sunshine a year and only 125 -150 mm of rain.
🔗 A perfect destination for a beach lover. Read our Guide to Lanzarote here.
💗 Romantic Gifts of Travel Ideas
Venice, Italy
The romantic city of Venice, Italy is built on 118 small islands over a lagoon. The islands are connected by bridges over the canals.
You could spend hours just meandering around its narrow streets, frequenting coffee shops and eating and drinking wonderful Italian food and wine, soaking up the atmosphere.
See the Grand Canal, Doge’s Palace, Piazza San Marco and the Basilica di San Marco. We watched an opera at La Fenice Opera House.
🔗 Learn More about our Venice Opera Trip
Verona, Italy
What could be more romantic than the city that was the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? One of my personal bucket list destinations. You can actually rent an Airbnb opposite the famous balcony.
Verona is in Northern Italy and is a UNESCO world heritage city. It has a charming Medieval old town, stunning architecture, an amphitheatre, pretty piazzas and of course delicious Italian cuisine and wine.
🔗 Read my Romeo and Juliet Verona Blog here!
Nice, France
The large city of Nice is located on the French Riviera in the Cote d’ Azur. It has a wide palm tree lined promenade next to a white pebbled beach along the Mediterranean sea.
The old town is full of old Italian style, colourful bright buildings. There are art museums, shops and many restaurants offering a mixture of French and Italian dishes.
🌟 It is also close to Monaco, so you could visit 2 countries in one weekend.
🔗 Learn more in my Nice and Monaco blog.
Travel Gifts for Culture
Marrakech, Morocco
Marrakech ‘the red city’ is a bustling vibrant city, full of life, tradition, music and colour. Learn about centuries of Islamic history and culture.
Explore the souqs, lose yourself in the maze of the Medina. Stay in a riad, a mini palace like guest house and relax in the wonderful restaurants and gardens.
🔗 Blog to Read: Marrakech 3 Day Itinerary
Istanbul, Turkey
The largest city in Turkey, Istanbul lies across Asia and Europe. Once called Constantinople, it was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire.
A melting pot of culture, this busy city has a plethora of captivating sights and experiences to enrich your senses.
Top sights include the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, Basilica Cistern and Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.
🔗 Blog to Read: Istanbul First Timers Guide
Tirana, Albania
The capital of Albania. Tirana is perfect for a short stay city break. Flights to Tirana from the UK in the winter are a bargain and you can stay in the best hotels for reasonable prices.
Tirana has a long and interesting history, beautiful churches and a lively bar scene. It has only recently started to rise as a popular destination so you could take a look before it is overrun with tourists.
🪣 Bucket List Trips
Jordan
Jordan’s rich history dates back to biblical times. Hike through the ancient city of Petra, float in the Dead Sea, star gaze in the Wadi Rum Desert and see the colourful corals in the Red Sea. Jordan is an Arabian adventure your loved one will never forget.
🔗 See our 6 Day Jordan Itinerary here.
Iceland
Iceland – the Land of Fire and Ice – is a bucket list dream for many people. Geologically, Iceland is still forming and has many active volcanoes because it lies on the Mid-Atlantic ridge.
The Icelanders harness the geothermal activity to provide their energy. You can witness volcanic activity and watch geysers eject water high into the air. You can explore ice caves and glaciers, walk or snorkel between tectonic plates and enjoy soaking in geothermal waters while you visit.
🌟 The highlight for me has to be the Blue Lagoon,
🔗 You can read about our 4 Day Iceland Adventure here.
Rome, Italy
An at least, once in a lifetime destination, Rome’s fascinating history and lasting legacy make it a bucket list destination for many. The capital of Italy has many iconic sights: the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum and Vatican city.
Rome is one of the most visited places on earth and for good reason. It has been many years since we visited Rome and we would love to go back.
It is best to see this city in the colder months if you want to escape the crowds, although it is popular throughout the year.
Book Your DIY Gift of Travel
Hopefully these ideas have given you some inspiration and food for thought. Below is the link to my ‘Book Your Trip’ page. It has all the links you need to create your perfect gift of travel. They are my affiliated links and if you choose to use the links, I will receive a tiny commission, enough to buy me a coffee, at no extra cost to you.
Leave a Reply