Top Three Travel-Related Graduation Gifts for High School or College Graduates

Planning for a trip and executing a successful vacation in this modern era require tools. For graduates, these tools often take the form of technology gadgets that are both compact and useful. Many people take off on vacation after graduating before returning to begin college (or work) in the fall. This article explores three popular graduation gift ideas to help these travel loving graduates on their journeys. If particular gifts are outside your price range, it often helps to merge resources with other family members or gift givers.

iPad and iPad apps
The recent invention of the 3G accessible iPad allows travelers to take all sorts of information with them on vacation. The iPad, and other gadgets soon to be created like it, support travelers with a large variety of apps suitable for the task. Some applications of the iPad feature GPS functionality, star charts, restaurant locations, e-mail access, and one even lets users know about where traffic is slowing down around the world. The iPad is currently growing in popularity and just emerging on the "must have" lists of graduates. Its price begins around $500 and increases based on features and memory size.

Digital Camera
No matter what the brand, every travel loving graduate should own a quality digital camera. This allows them to preserve their trip and memories made along the way. In addition, the camera continues to be useful if they attend college or post-graduate studies to send images back home. One favorite is the Nikon D90 and more recent models, but some people prefer Canon or Olympus. Ideally, the graduate would be able to try out which brand of camera prior to purchase as it helps for the camera to fit the person using it. Prices vary, but plan on spending around $500 for a good quality DSLR camera.

Journal
A more affordable graduation gift idea for travel lovers is a quality, bound journal. It enables them to track their journey, noting prices or points of interests, and preserving their thoughts on various locations. Journals come in various shapes and sizes, but the best ones would be bound with a cover that would not rip or tear. Several online stores sell journals that cater to various audiences. As such, choosing a journal that reflects the graduates interests would make an excellent gift. Here are some links to New Age journals, Rustic Leather journals, and more traditional Leather Bound journals. Journals range in price from a few dollars to around $50.

The gift ideas for graduates are truly endless, however, these three gifts are must haves for today's traveler. They also work as gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, or other holidays.

What do you think of these graduation gift ideas? Would you use them while traveling? Please leave a comment!

* To receive e-mail notification of Kristen's future publications, please click on "Follow" at the top of this article.