Shopping for someone who lives for long drives, scenic byways, and spontaneous weekend adventures? This 2025 gift guide has you covered. These are road trip gifts that travelers actually use, not the gimmicky stuff that ends up forgotten in the trunk. After years of road-tripping ourselves, we’ve learned exactly which items make a long drive smoother, safer, and a whole lot more fun.
Whether you’re buying for a cross-country traveler, a couple planning the ultimate bucket-list route, or a friend who just loves hopping in the car with no plan and a bag of snacks, you’ll find plenty of practical and fun gift ideas here. From helpful accessories like trunk organizers and roadside kits to memory-making favorites like Polaroid cameras, here are 25 gifts road trippers will love in 2025.
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Driving Accessories Road Trippers Actually Use
When you’re looking for gift ideas for road trippers, start with what makes long hours in the car easier, safer, and more comfortable. These essentials always earn a spot in our car:
Sunglasses
A must for every road warrior. Glare hits from all angles, and good polarized sunglasses make a huge difference.
Our picks: Sunski Treeline (great side-shields), Ray-Ban Justin Classics (Greg-approved for driving and hiking).
Window Shades
Perfect for keeping the car cooler and protecting passengers from harsh sunlight. Easy to install and incredibly handy. Check these Munchkin Brica shades on Amazon.
Phone Mount
Navigation is impossible without a secure mount. We love the WeatherTech CupFone , it sits in your cup holder, avoids windshield clutter, and keeps directions right where you need them.
Car Power Converter (Inverter)
For travelers who take photos, videos, or work on the road, this is a game-changer. It lets you charge cameras, laptops, drones, and more right from the car. This is the one we chose and so far no problems. Find it on Amazon.
Car Seat Gap Filler
A funny-but-practical gift that keeps phones, food, and keys from disappearing into the “car abyss.” This seat gap filler by Drop Stop was seen on “Shark Tank” and is a best seller.
Pro Tip: Keep must-use items, such as sunglasses, chargers, lotion, and wipes, in a small grab-and-go pouch for easy access.
Travel Towel
Having a quick dry, washable travel towel can prove very useful. If they get caught in a rainstorm or spill something in the car having a towel handy can be a lifesaver. This towel by Rainleaf is super absorbent and soft.
Accessories like these make every trip easier, and that’s what makes them some of the best gifts for roadtrippers. They’re practical, useful, and guaranteed to get used.
Keep Them Comfortable on the Road
Long drives don’t have to be miserable. These comfort-focused gifts help make the ride much more enjoyable.
Travel Pillows
A good travel pillow saves necks and sanity. Inflatable or compact pillows are best for cars since they don’t hog space. Check out this travel pillow on Amazon, it comes in great colors!
Pro Tip: Washable covers are a must for frequent travelers.
Lumbar Support Pillow
A lifesaver for anyone with back pain (or anyone who sits too long). We like this Lumbar Support Pillow, its sturdy, comfortable, and fits most car seats.
Blanket or Throw
A cozy extra layer for passengers when the AC blasts Arctic cold. This blanket by Bedsure is lightweight, soft and warm. It comes in a variety of colors too!
Seat Cushion
Having an extra cushion on your car seat helps with comfort. Just having a different position of the body helps with comfort during a road trip. This Gel Seat Cushion is a great option. I use one in my car just driving around doing errands.
Portable Trays
These are surprisingly useful. Think car picnics, journaling, laptops, writing while your partner drives, we use ours constantly. This Enrich Up steering wheel tray is great for hooking on steering wheel to keep from tipping, but I use one on my lap to eat and write.
Pro Tip: Keep sanitizing wipes handy. Trays get messy fast.
Any item that will help make the trip more comfortable and easier is always a winner.
Help Them Stay Organized
Nothing derails a road trip faster than a messy car. These organization gifts are useful for absolutely every traveler.
Car Cooler
An essential for road trips, keeps drinks cold, snacks fresh, and minimizes gas-station stops.
Soft-sided coolers: Best for everyday travel (the RTIC Soft Pack is our favorite). We take this on short trips.
Backpack coolers: Great for picnics and trailheads. This cooler from MIYCOO is really versatile for hiking, camping and even in the car since it has a flat bottom it can fit on the floor. It also has a top pocket for fruit or utensils and a bottle opener on the strap.
There are many types of coolers, including hard sided, but for us, it’s about what fits into car and what is easy to take with us to hotel or campsite.
Car Trunk Organizer
A foldable organizer keeps essentials from rolling around, first aid kits, snacks, jumper cables, and more. This organizer by Hodor comes in various sizes and designs. What I like about it is that it is collapsible when we don’t need it.
Backseat Car Organizer
Perfect for families or gear-heavy travelers who want everything where they can reach it. We use this organizer for things we’ll be using for our trip like Kleenex, wipes, etc. But it’s great for traveling with kids because it has a spot for a tablet where they can watch videos. Check it out on Amazon.
Car Trash Can
Not glamorous, but extremely practical. Keeps the car clean and reduces snack chaos. I have had a trash can in my car for as long as I’ve had a car, but they were always the small plastic ones that sat on the floor and then I found this one and it is so much better! It hooks on the back of the seat which saves room on the floor and it has a lid. This one from Hotor comes in cute designs, too!
Portable Car Vacuum
A must-have for any road trip car (hello, crumbs). Great for quick gas station clean-ups. What I like about this car vacuum is that you can charge it in your cigarette lighter and it has multiple attachments.
Staying organized on any trip lessens stress from looking for things and saves room. You can’t go wrong with an organizational gift.
Keep Them Safe on the Road
These safety-focused gifts bring peace of mind and prepare travelers for the unexpected.
Headlamps
Hands-free lighting for campsites, late-night unpacking, or finding something in the car after dark. I never thought we would use these, but we have-many times! Check this set out on Amazon!
Pro Tip: Keep one in the glove box and one in a backpack.
Roadside Emergency Kit
One of the most practical gifts you can give. Kits usually include jumper cables, reflective triangles, tools and a flashlight. I like this kit from Lianxin because it has both jumper cables and a tow rope. It also has the reflective triangles which for me is important, so people see you.
Tire Inflator
These are great if you get a flat tire. They are very compact and hold a charge for quite a while. We have even used ours at home to give our tires a bit more air. This Nuste inflator is the one we bought.
Road Atlas
Every serious road tripper needs a backup paper map. The Rand McNally Road Atlas is big, easy to read, and covers all 50 states. I love paper or plastic covered maps to go along with our GPS. We always get Rand McNally maps because they seem to be the easiest to use.
Fun Road Trip Gifts
Gifts that help capture memories or bring some fun into the car make every mile better.
Polaroid Camera
One of my favorite gift ideas for travelers! I still use my Canon camera to take videos, etc. but these provide instant fun and a way to preserve memories as you travel. I love the Fujifilm Instax Mini Camera for its compact size and easy-to-use design. Because the pictures are credit card size, they’re great for putting in a collage frame when you get home. Your roadtrippers will love it so much they’ll bring home a stack of photos! For bigger prints and a more retro feel, Polaroid Now is another great option.
Pro Tip: Pack extra film – trust me.
ROVE Dash Cam
A dash cam is both safety gear and a memory-maker. The ROVE R2-4K captures beautiful footage of the trip without you lifting a finger. This is gift most won’t buy for themselves, but they are so nice to have. You never know when something comes up and you want to get a picture but can’t get to your camera fast enough. No worries, the ROVE got it.
Pro Tip: Use the ROVE SD card as it meshes better with product. We suggest starting with the 256GB.
Saving memories is one of the best things about going on road trips. Your road tripper will love anything that helps them to save their memories.
Read more: How to Preserve Memories
Food & Fuel: Gifts Every Road Tripper Appreciates
Coffee or Food Gift Cards
Always a win. Starbucks, Tim Hortons, fast food chains -just find out where they like to stop.
Pro Tip: Sam’s Club often sells discounted bundles.
Gas Gift Cards
Fuel is the biggest road trip expense. This gift goes far.
Easy-to-find brands: Shell, BP, Chevron, Exxon
Truck stop favs: Love’s, Pilot, Flying J, TA
Snacks
For a more personalized gift, make a road trip snack bag with nuts, jerky, protein bars, hard candy, seeds, mini donuts, water, and juice. Skip chocolate unless you want a melted science experiment. Add a fuel card and you’ll be the best present giver this year!
Final Thoughts
Shopping for a road trip lover doesn’t have to be stressful. Practical, fun, and thoughtful gifts like these make long drives easier, safer, and more enjoyable – and they’ll actually get used. Whether it’s comfort, organization, safety, or snacks, these are the best gift ideas for road trippers in 2025.
We love to pass on tips and information we learn along the way to help you make the best decisions for your next trip or finding the perfect gift for someone you love. We hope to inspire you to find your adventures, have lots of fun and make many memories.