Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 11:50 am
Who doesn’t want their travel memories to remain fresh forever? And it is only human to hold on to these memories in form of material belongings. Whether you splurge on your travels, buy an inexpensive souvenir, pick a free memento or just take a lot of photos, there is always something to fondly look back to upon your return.
But how do you keep bringing interesting souvenirs from your vacation every single time? Well, we’ve got you covered. In this blog post, we are sharing some fun souvenir ideas to keep in mind when shopping for memories from around the world 🙂
Let me clarify that our travels do not involve massive shopping sprees. We normally have a tiny budget for spending on travel souvenirs. Therefore, this post shall have a very little impact on your wallet!
Souvenir ideas for your next trip
Here are a few ideas to inspire you to bring back some interesting mementos from your trip.
1. The Cliche Souvenir
Who are we kidding, we are all guilty of buying one of these oversold made in China souvenirs at some point. So let’s get over with these really quick, shall we?
- Magnets
- Keychains
- Shot glasses
- Classic city T-shirts
While we have stopped buying shot glasses we still collect magnets which are now limited to one per country. I also love some of our travel keychains – esp the crown keychain from the UK, and the geisha doll and Samurai sword keychains from Japan.
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2. Postcards
Postcards are inexpensive, light, and compact souvenirs making it a perfect collector’s item. As travel photographers, we love taking postcard photos of new places ourselves therefore we try to stay away from buying them.
Having said that, we do buy postcards of places where photography is prohibited. For example, the postcard of Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Van Gogh paintings postcards from Amsterdam since photography is not allowed inside the museum. Even a clear view of Mt. Fuji postcard in Japan since Fuji San refused to give us a glimpse during our stay.
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3. Local Artisans Handicraft Souvenirs (Sustainable tourism)
Let’s talk about souvenir ideas that add purpose to the local community and eventually to your life as well. I must admit that I have embraced sustainable tourism only recently. And yes, it is a thing! I’ve been consciously using our souvenir budget on handicrafts made by local artisans.
For example:
- In Cambodia, we visited Artisans D’Angkor, a handicraft factory, where I picked up a metal jewelry holder for my nightstand and a few local handloom scarves.
- In Kenya, I bought a stuffed animal toy as a gift and funky jewelry from Amani ya Juu handmade local African women. I also picked a few home decor items such as hand woven baskets, ceramic display plates, clay animal displays from the Masai market in Nairobi.
- In Italy, we bought leather goodies such as gloves, handbags, wallet, passport holder, and a belt from a local Florentine designer instead of going to fancy big stores.
- In The Netherlands, we picked up a Delft flower vase and wooden chisled tulips from a local artist.
- In Thailand, a beautiful traditional wooden umbrella.
How to find local artisans or handicraft stores? Look for fair trade stores with local handicrafts near you when you travel or ask your hotel staff for recommendations. Some of these stores can surprise you with the variety of handmade souvenirs they offer.
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4. Home décor items (paintings, vases, statues, etc.)
Who doesn’t want their home to be a reflection of themselves? If you love to travel, consider picking up things from around the world to enhance the beauty of your house. Now, of course, you can buy a lot of these decorative items from Amazon but would you have an interesting story to tell about them?
Pieces from our travels are a big part of our house, a beautiful reminder of all the places we’ve been to. For example:
- A geisha doll from Japan
- The Delft flower vase from the Netherlands
- A traditional stein from Germany
- A couple of hand-carved wooden animals and a book stopper from Kenya
- The hand paintings from Italy
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5. Food
Whoever said the soul of a country lies in their cuisine is absolutely right. We try to bring back a part of that soul cuisine with us whenever we can. Since there are strict restrictions on what food items you can and cannot bring into the United States, we try to bring stuff permitted by law and declare it at the port of entry when asked. If you live in another country please check the rules before spending on food souvenirs. For example:
- We have brought home Maple syrup and apple butter from Quebec City, Canada
- Turkish Delights (sugar candies) from Istanbul
- Delicious Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka
- Spices from India
- Chocolates from Switzerland & Belgium
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6. Local Liquor
This might not qualify as a inexpensive souvenir (unless you pick samples) but it sure qualifies for a special treat back home. Whether you buy it from duty-free in the airport or a local shop, you cannot go wrong with bringing the “spirit” of a country.
For example:
- Liquor from Iceland (Birch, Icelandic Vodka, Brennivin)
- Local scotch from Scotland
- Limoncello & Chianti from Italy
- Riesling wine from Germany’s Rhine valley
- Sake from Japan
- Rum from Mauritius & Puerto Rico
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7. Kitchen accessories
Talking about food and liquor, let’s not forget that kitchen accessories can make for super useful souvenirs to bring back. For example:
- We picked Bialetti Moka machine from Italy.
- A traditional porcelain sake serving set from Japan.
- Indian teacup set for that perfect “cutting chai” experience.
- Coffee mugs from all around the world.
- Wine bottle stoppers (we bought a Murano glass wine stopper from Italy).
8. Car accessories
When you are running out of unique souvenir ideas think outside the box. Australia was one such country where I didn’t anticipate buying anything unique but came back home with the cutest ever koala tissue paper holder for my car.
9. Books
I prefer not to buy books during our travels to avoid excess baggage weight. However, I’ve found lightweight pocketbooks to be a keeper. One of my prized possessions is a small pocket book of abuses by the Bard, picked from Stratford Upon Avon which is the birth town of Shakespeare.
Talking about books, bookmarks make for a great souvenir or gift ideas.
10. Jewelry
A girl simply cannot resist the temptation of junk jewelry. I say junk not because it’s not worth anything but because these things are affordable and attractive. I, for one, love that my jewelry collection has a taste of the world. For example:
- Traditional Maasai necklace from the village tour in Maasai Mara.
- Local African women made jewelry at fair trade shops in Kenya.
- India has the best boho jewelry that a country can offer.
- Sri Lanka is known for its precious gems and without splurging a bomb I was able to purchase a beautiful Sapphire ring for myself.
11. Apparel & Accessories
Whether it’s a traditional piece of clothing or a fashion statement that you’ll never find in your home country, apparel shopping can be fun if you know where to look. Trust me you don’t even have to go to a mall for these gems just take a sneak peek in local markets For example:
- Although expensive, traditional Icelandic sheep wool sweaters are as warm as it can get.
- We shopped for light material clothes to wear in Cambodia’s night market when we couldn’t bear the heat anymore.
- Caps & Hats.
- Traditional Poncho from Mexico or South America.
- Learned the true meaning of ‘fit like a glove’ when we bought a pair of leather gloves in Italy.
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12. Skin care and cosmetics
While on vacation in S. Korea I realized the value of shopping for skin care and cosmetics. Not to mention, this is also how I spend my leftover currency at airports searching for local cosmetic brands.
- In Italy, I brought back a local Capri fragrance home from Carthusia perfumes.
- Bath soaps.
- Face Masks.
- Makeup & Cosmetics.
- Now add a little traditional hand mirror to help you with these beauty products.
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13. Miniature / Toy automobiles
This section is customized for Gaurav and all those like him. I do hope there are other adults out there who still love buying toy cars & planes.
- We have miniature Fiat from Italy.
- A toy auto rickshaw from Mumbai, India.
- A classic BMW from Germany.
- You name it and there is an aircraft miniature from all around the world.
There you go, so many fun ideas! I hope you enjoyed reading this post summarizing all our souvenirs from around the world. Did you have a unique souvenir that we didn’t cover? We’d love to hear from you so please drop a comment!
Don’t forget to share this post with family & friends.
Happy Traveling!
What can be picked as a souvenir would be a very difficult issue, especially when you want it to be original and spectacular.
My favorite souvenir is a beach towel from Sardinia.
And I often buy a new toothbrush, cotton swaps and other little things I can use every day. For example: whenever I brush my teeth I think of Switzerland. And when I’m cold I use a blanket from France. Little things like these make me super happy!
Ah, the joys in little things! Especially these souvenirs have become such an important reminder for us since 2020 resulted in a majoy travel stop.
You made a good what even if they are so cliché, magnets are still some of the best souvenirs to buy from an oversees trip. One of the places I’ve always wanted to visit at least once is Australia. I hope I could buy come cute kangaroo magnets from there and give one each to all my friends.
I like how you pointed out some of the souvenirs that can be bought during a trip such as magnets and traditional t-shirts. My brother told me that he will visit Paris, Texas and it sounds like an interesting place to visit. It would be nice for him to bring us souvenirs from that interesting place.
What to pick as a souvenir can be a really harsh question, especially when you want it to be original and truly surprising for the person.
I always collect postcards since they don’t take up any luggage space. However I like the idea of collecting car accessories. Thanks for all the ideas 🙂
Yup a lil out of the box but love a few things in my car that reflects my travels too 🙂
I rarely bring home souvenirs but do find myself bringing home skin care from Asian countries. Half the fun is buying and the other half is trying to figure out how to use it all.
Haha.. so true Jean! I am looking at the visual instructions behind these skin-care products half of the time 🙂
These are all great ideas, and you’re right, they won’t break the bank.
We try to find Christmas decorations from each place we visit, then we get a whole bunch of memories when we decorate our tree. 🙂
I guess the other main one is locally made art. It always makes me happy to see artwork from places we’ve visited.
Ah yes, Christmas decorations is another big one! 😀
So many cool gift ideas I really like the liquor bottles especially the sample size idea because that is tiny and compact! They are also sometimes really cool shapes or have beautiful labels. Thanks for sharing!
Exactly! The sake bottles we bought in Japan are now being used as a vase in our house. I love the different shapes of liquor bottles too 🙂
I wish I’d bought a few more souvenirs from my travels, but budget backpacking isn’t the friendlies for souvenirs! I have got a large collection of fridge magnets though, and some beautiful handcrafted textiles from Central America. I definitely think buying from small local stores is great for supporting the local people.
Cannot agree with you more on buying from local stores and sometimes they might have things that the big souvenir stores won’t.
I’m love/hate for souvenirs but I tend to misplace them or they go missing when moving!! Photographs are great. Thanks for the post
This is a really fun post, a great read! I am scaling down on trinkets when I travel..I collect too much stuff. BUT a magnet from each place I visit is my mission, I have some pretty cool ones!
happy travels!
Valerie
#3 is my favorite. My fiance and I always try and find street art on our trips!
I love indulging in street art especially when you can see them make it. Although I have been fooled by street artists in the past :/ Sold me a watercolor painting only to realize after coming home that it was just a damn good colored printout with some brush strokes over it!
I love bringing back souvenirs. I’d also recommend that you stop in antique or vintage shops when you’re traveling – you’ll find totally unconventional gems to bring home! I did that when I traveled throughout Ghana and came home with a carving from the colonial era that I count among my favorite possessions, hands down.
Great recommendation Catherine! I usually don’t step inside antique stores.. will definitely have to check it out next time 🙂
I’m definitely guilty of buying the cliche souvenirs …. Although, I do like picking up homewares and locally-made products. Kind of random, but the best souvenir I’ve picked up recently was actually a hand-made wooden spoon in Estonia and a hand-made wooden tea pot slab thing. So handy and I use them every day! haha
Wow.. those are 2 good kitchen wares Kachina! I when souvenirs come handy in daily use, makes me think of my trips 🙂
I always collect pins and shot glasses from everywhere I go! But when I went to Japan it was ALLL about the skincare and I’m SO glad that’s what I got! Everything I got was great!
I hear ya on skincare! 😀