For most of us vanlifers, overlanders, outdoor lovers, camping fanatics, and adventure travellers, the fewer things we have, the better for our space in a van. We like to travel light, and consumerism is not something we support. The holidays are coming, and preferably we just receive a few pesos to put into the adventure fund instead of a present.
If you’re looking for the perfect present to gift to a vanlifer, overlander, RV-er or camping traveller, or you are a vanlife looking for the best vanlife gift to ask, in this van life gift guide you find some valuable and practical gift ideas for vanlifers, RV-ers, and overland travellers who love to go wild. Or if your friend, brother, or mum insists on receiving your travel gear wish list, here are some gift suggestions that pretty much every overlander would love.
Everything tested by yours truly living the vanlife as I write this. For five years I've been fulltime vanlifing through Spain, Portugal & Morocco now. See here some of my favourite van life items every van owner would love.
What matters for the van lifer and overlander?
Vanlife gear is super personal and most of us travellers are pretty particular about our preferences. Storage space is limited and campervan gifts must be something that van lifers need. That said, many of us are frugal and wouldn't gift some items to ourselves, even though we'd be sooo happy with it. Vanlife gear has to be lightweight, practical and purposeful. Vanlife items have to be durable and sustainable to be able to use for many adventures ahead. Every piece of gear has to have a clear purpose in the van, landrover or RV.
So what are some unique and best gifts for vanlife that you can actually give and that would be a welcome gift for any overland traveller?
Free Zero Waste Gift Ideas
Unique and fun gifts that are worth more than any item.
Your Presence. One of the best gifts.
Nothing but nothing is more valuable and appreciated than your simple presence. Your time is precious and sharing this with a loved one is the best gift you can possibly give. As travellers we are already often away. Show up as a surprise (if your family/friend can appreciate this kind of thing). And it’ll be a memorable day forever!
Your Creativity. One of my favourite gifts.
Make a natural straw, make a bracelet from ocean trash, paint a sign from driftwood, write a poem, gift a spice mix you made yourself, bake a cake, or bread, make a video, record a song, draw something, give a message in a bottle.
Gift an Experience.
Take your cousin out adventuring, sing a song, perform a dance, give a surf, yoga or freedive lesson.
Teach a skill. A meaningful gift.
Help someone with their website, design a logo. Or gift a course from Udemy, Coursera or Skillshare. Here are a few recommendations.
To gift eco-friendly, buy as local as you can. Here’s why. If you have to buy online (Rethink that approach to living the van life!), check second-hand first, order from the little shops, and check what has been created near you on sites like Etsy.
Gift Ideas for Vanlife Below 25 euro
Explore these budget-friendly gifts but oh-so-appreciated items by many vanlife travellers. You can especially make a difference by facilitating the zero waste vanlife travel kit with:
Portable Travel Bidet | A travel bidet like Culo Clean It helps to do your thing without creating any waste, which is essential for a sustainable van life. It's much cleaner too. This is a meaningful gift. You'll help hikers stay zero waste and keep clean the pretty places and national parks.
Pee rag | Gifts for women! A simple cloth to absorb the drips. A game-changer for women who hike, or camp, or van life, or sail, or anyone who sometimes pees outside! Kula Cloth is a famous brand that looks funky. Also on Etsy you can find cool ones made near you.
Spork | A Spork is a spoon and a fork in one. A super useful and fun gift. A titanium or wooden one is light and stylish. SeatoSummit has some nice ones (SeatoSummit Discount code: SUMMIT20)
Produce bags | to never ever have to accept a plastic bag again
Reusable Cup | to never have to accept a take-away ‘throw-away' single-use plastic cup.
A natural Shampoo Bar for those showers in the seas and river.
Reusable straw to zip those coconuts, zumos, and frappees plastic-free.
Reusable Tea Bags / Spice bags to drink and eat with those self-made herbal and spice mixes
A little notebook for the adventure dreams, thoughts, ideas and stories
Gift Ideas for Vanlife 25-100 euro
Medium-budget vanlife and overland goodies that make a great gift for overland travellers.
Water filter | I love the Maunawai Kini (Portable) and Maunwai (under the sink) RV filter. It's the best waterfilter out there. It's not just a waterfilter. It brings life back in to the water. the filter removes all pollutants from the water, whether heavy metals, medication residues, hormones, pesticides and give back life to the water.
Little pocket guide or Foraging is a great skill for nomads and van lifers to have. ‘Food for Free‘
A Masala Dabba | A unique gift for the van dwellers who love to cook and love to cook with spices. After researching the best way to store spices in the van, the masala dabba came on my radar and can’t believe I did not know about these before. Spices are best kept in the dark, and you only have to open one lid to get the full superpower spice palette open. I got one with a double layer, perfect for the leaves, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg sourced from my travels.
A real book | Here's a full list of books I recommend on ocean adventure travel, sailing, and healthy conscious living.
Manual spice grinder | If you're into cooking and natural food creations the Rubitec Portable Coffee / Spice Grinder (or any other small grinder) is a must-have to create your own superpower spice mixes. I love the bamboo ones.
ReefSafe Sunscreen | A must for any ocean lover who surf or sails. Say bye to chemical sunscreens forever.
First Aid Kit | A good basic and affordable first aid kit.
A yoga mat. Health is wealth. I love the ones of Gaiam.
Omnia Oven | A simple lightweight portable oven you can use on a stove!
BPA free water bottle | I've been travelling wayyy to long with a toxic ‘single use' water bottle (that I re-used a zillion times). It's simply one of the most lightweight options out there but the plastic is toxic. A titanium water bottle (on my list mum;)) or Tristan plastic water bottle are the most lightweight and healthy options out there.
A poncho towel | Super useful gift idea for any surfer, sailor or ocean soul that is jumping in and out of the sea a lot. Find a home-made poncho towel near you on Etsy.
Headlamp | This Mactronic headtorch is ultralight, without batteries (just USB), and with a red light option.
BoCamp Camping chairs | A gift from my parents after they vanlifed for a month with my camper. I LOVE these chairs. Perfect around the campfires and when the nights are a little bit colder. Every vanlifer I meet is jealous. Last but not least, when you come to visit, you'll have a comfi chair :).
Gift Ideas for vanlife Above 100 euro
E-Book Reader | A valuable travel companion for anyone. I love this Kobo Clara because it's lightweight, waterproof, has a background light, a small size, and it's made from recycled plastic from the ocean. I love that it has a background light so no need to turn on an extra light for reading. I bring it on any sail, vanlife, or backpack adventure to read adventure stories and plot the plan for the next vanlife adventures.
Garmin Inreach Mini 2 | The best overland gift for mum or dad to give! A personal tracking GPS device is a cost-effective satellite device that allows text communication, location tracking, and emergency alerts in the unlikely event that someone gets lost or injured anywhere in the wild. It gives the mums (and yourself) a lot of peace of mind. At any given time you can connect when there is no phone signal. Also your loved ones can follow your overland adventure. The Garmin Inreach Mini 2 is lightweight and chosen by overlander often, especially the wild ones. I have mine for 6 years already.
Compost Toilet | Living a nomadic lifestyle, whether on the high seas, on wheels, or in a tiny house off the grid, requires a unique set of solutions to everyday challenges. One such challenge is managing human waste. The traditional flush toilet system is usually not viable due to its water and electricity demands. However, the compost toilet is a sustainable, practical, and eco-friendly alternative. One of the best upgrades one can make to the your campervan or camping adventure. Myself I have the Kildwick Hydro of which I wrote a review here. Alternative compost toilet options:
Boxio, a very compact and even more budget option. This one would be good for camping trips.
Trobolo. I also liked this one, but my camper's dimensions were less favourable.
Trelino. A little more expensive
Sepperat. Most expensive and fancy
Cuddy Simple and Stylish
Thoughtful giving considerations
Quality over quantity. Campervan gear is meant to last and used for many van life adventures ahead. We don't need more stuff, we just need quality gear for happy, safe and longterm adventures.
Buy as local as you can. Here’s why. If you have to buy online (rethink that), check second-hand first, order from the little shops, and check what has been created near you on sites like Etsy.
Give the best vanlife gift of being an adventure buddy! Instead of giving ‘a thing', invite someone to your overland adventure, or show interest in joining.
Not sure about a van life gift? Give a giftcard instead. In the USA, a REI gift card is priceless, in the Europe a giftcard from Bever or Decathlon would put a smile on someone's face.
KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid for wrapping the gifts. Just use an old newspaper, T-shirt or towel, a rope to tie it together and that’s it. Here are a few more ideas in the Refuse-reduce-recycle department.
Happy giving with one of these unique best vanlife gift ideas in this guide of travel gifts for overlanders, camper, RV-ers and vanlife travellers.
Choosing the perfect gift for someone's overland adventure is about more than the item itself. By gifting an item you may help someone get into more and safe vanlife adventures! Or help the already avid overlanders stay safer, more comfortable, and motivated to keep exploring. If you can support someone by getting outdoors by gifting a van life gear item, do it! We can never have enough nature time and most of us need more. Make sure it's a sustainable and valuable asset. We do not need more things. We need more adventure :)
Embrace the wild, one thoughtful item at a time.
What is your best gift for van life and life on the road?
Disclaimer: As always, opinions are my own. What drives me is encouraging you to connect to nature and care for nature. If you’re looking to purchase something from this 2024 van life gift guide, huge thanks if you purchase van gifts via this website Oceanpreneur.co. At no extra cost to you, van life gifts and bookings through this website give me a tiny piece of the pie that helps me keep investigating, exploring, and creating content about living in a van and adventure travel in tune with nature.
