Gift-giving is fun and exciting. There’s something special about watching someone unwrap an item you picked out with just them in mind. But it isn’t always the easiest undertaking, regardless. Knowing what to get somebody can be daunting, and tracking down just the perfect item is often even more difficult during the holiday rush. Struggling through this problem when buying for any adventurers you know and love? We can lend a helping hand. Here are seven great gift ideas that any not-to-weary traveler would be thrilled to receive.
A Few Travel Guides
World travelers are a bit of a different breed from the average person. They tend to be more spontaneous, more adventurous, and curious. The world around them isn’t a source of distraction, anxiety, or annoyance, but rather one of opportunity. Exploration is everything, and what better way to foster that than by buying the travel-lover in your life a guide that’ll aid them on their voyage?
Available in both state and international varieties, they are a great source of information about restaurants, museums, attractions, hotels, shops, and more in a given area and can help anyone plan the trip of a lifetime. Know someone who’s just starting on their quest to see the world? Gift them our First-Time Around the World Rough Guide to get them started on the right foot.
World Map
World Maps
The Map Shop is proud to have the largest selection of world wall maps on the internet. We have a number of different styles based on your preferences from color schemes, labeling, projections, and more! We carry a number of executive-style world maps with subtle earth tones fit for an office. We also have a variety of world maps suitable for the classroom, designed with different levels of detail for grade levels.
If you prefer old maps, we carry several antique-styled maps for a classy look. Many maps present other data sets like climate, bird migration, and even mythical monsters! For most world wall maps, you can choose a finishing in the drop-down menu. You can choose a paper map, laminated map, mounted map, railed map, framed map, and spring roller maps. All of our maps are finished by hand using high-quality materials at our Shop in Charlotte, NC.
All our maps can be finished any way that you need to ensure you get the full use out of them. Whether that be lamination, mounted to foamcore, or fully framed with hardware. With this diversity, you can get maps that allow both dry-erase markers and push pins to see your map come alive right in front of your eyes.
Unless you lived under a rock throughout the entirety of your formative years, you’re no doubt well-acquainted with world maps. They’re an absolute staple within our schools, ideal for teaching students about the makeup of the world – its scope, the appearance of our continents, how our countries are split up, and how it all comes together – anyone who has ever sat through geography has interacted with one. Most of us don’t interact with them much in adulthood, though.
Change that for someone by purchasing them a world map this holiday season. Still super helpful in plotting out a multi-country trip and easily able to keep track of everywhere one’s been, they’re an essential tool for anybody who’s serious about seeing the world and all it has to offer. Plus, they make pretty great décor as well!
Country/City Folding Map
Travel Maps
We carry hundreds of travel maps that will ensure you’re well-equipped for your next adventure. This section is broken down into international folding maps, United States folding maps, trail and hiking maps, and atlases. Click each section to browse the maps alphabetically or use the search field at the top right to search for your map. We’ve done the hard work for you by only offering the best folding map options available, with the greatest amount of detail, presented in an easy-to-read format. We love technology and enjoy the convenience of GPS, but you can’t plan a trip on a phone screen and navigation doesn’t work where there’s no cell signal. Start your next trip on the right foot with a high-quality folding travel map. Get off the beaten path while remaining confident you won’t get lost. If you need help finding the perfect map, we’re standing by to help you. Please click here to contact us.
Once upon a time, phones were used for one thing: talking to people. The rise of smartphones totally changed that, and now we use them for everything. Want to play a game? Watch a movie? Listen to music? Do research? You can easily do all that with just a couple of taps on your screen. We can also instantly access maps and navigation thanks to the technological powerhouses in our pockets. But it has limits. Find yourself in a place that lacks reliable cell service? You’re out of luck – a serious, scary issue when traveling in an unfamiliar place. That’s why it’s critical to also always carry a country/city folding map on any travels. Get a few for yourself or your loved ones, and you’ll always have peace of mind, able to find your way, GPS or not.
NOAA/NGA Charts
NOAA Charts
NOAA Charts are nautical charts developed and maintained by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA’s catalog of 1000+ coastal and Great Lakes nautical charts provide up-to-date navigational information to mariners. These charts are updated weekly and include all of the latest Notice to Mariners corrections. To find your chart, use the map-based navigation below, browse the categories below, or click the magnifying glass icon at the top-right of our website and enter your chart number. We love technology but also know that the data can be unreliable and out of date. Recreational boaters and professional captains get peace of mind by having up-to-date paper charts onboard. All of our charts are available on fine bond paper or on waterproof paper if you plan to use them onboard. But NOAA charts aren’t just for functional use – they make great decoration too! We can mount and frame any chart, making it the perfect decor for beach or lake houses. The intricate detail and clean style can fit into almost any decor. If you need help tracking down your chart, please click here to contact us.
For those of us addicted to seeing as much of the amazing world around us as possible, all travel is good travel. Even the longest car or plane rides become time well spent in the excitement of gazing upon a new place filled with new sights, scents, foods, and people. Yet boat rides? Those usually aren’t a figure in the equation.
Still, other people live for them, driven to travel along the high seas instead of dry land, and they well can’t do this without a bit of guidance. NOAA and NGA charts provide just that, allowing hobbyist boaters and pro captains alike handy, up-to-date map-based navigation that’ll always get them from point A to point B. As a bonus, unlike most phones, they’re also waterproof, so you won’t suddenly be stranded far from shore if your cell meets its demise sailing the ocean blue.
US Raised Relief Map
Raised Relief Maps
Hubbard Scientific Raised Relief maps are 3-D maps created by vacuum forming maps onto a mold using heat and air pressure.
Satisfy both your intellectual and artistic appetites with these unique maps. Raised Relief maps from Hubbard Scientific deliver geographic data molded into a touchable three-dimensional form. See and feel the changes in the landscape’s topography. These molded maps allow you fully sense and understand real-world changes in elevation. These raised & tactile maps are educational, aesthetic, and interactive … they literally make you feel something!
Read more on the history of the Hubbard Scientific brand here. Want to see how a flat map becomes a 3D Raised Relief? Check out Map Shop’s complete breakdown on all things Raised Relief here: What You Need to Know About Raised Relief Maps
There are a million different kinds of maps out there on store shelves and eCommerce listings, all distinct in font, color, size, and general presentation. What you might not realize, though, is that they also vary dimensionally. Despite a map generally being a 2D object, there are some that are actually 3D in nature.
Called relief maps, they utilize vacuum molding to represent terrain more realistically – something pretty important if you are someone who wants to explore the world beyond its carefully designed cities and paved trails. Snag a US relief map, and you’ll be set to navigate through nearly any landscape, able to see exactly where any peaks and valleys lie before happening upon them.
Custom Created Map
Personalized Maps
Looking for a map that you can track your family’s progress all over the world? Want something to visualize all the states you have been to and plan your next vacation? We can help with that!
Our personalized map collection brings the best of our custom cartography and that touch of your personal stories to life. Choose between 4 different map styles, 4 different badge designs, and what you would like to have those emblems say. We will even get you started with 2 packs of different colored pins included!
It’s no secret that travel costs a good deal of cash. Those who’ve found their hobby in jumping on a plane to sightsee thousands of miles away certainly pay their weight in gold for it, and they’ll see it as a worthy expense along the way. However, the same folks frequently then don’t splurge in other areas.
Treat them to something a little nicer than they’d usually buy themselves by purchasing them a custom map for either their business or just as a nice piece of décor. Colors, finish option, text, and size are all up to you – so you can gift the wanderlust-stricken in your life with a piece that’s made specifically to their tastes.
Artistic Map Print
Think of maps for a second. They’re practical, utilitarian, and serve a specific need. Function is what really matters here; however, it doesn’t have to only be about the pragmatic stuff. Maps can also make for awesome decoration on top of helpful navigational tools, bringing a touch of class and scholasticism to anywhere you decide to hang them.
There are now even specially designed artistic map prints that put a greater emphasis on looks, so you can feed your travel addiction while still outfitting your space in something beautiful. Here at the Map Shop, we actually have over 1200 prints – from stylized college campus maps to those of military bases, wine regions, cityscapes, and more – to choose from, almost guaranteeing we’ll have the ideal gift ready and waiting for you!
– Let us know what you thought of this article and if you have any questions! Reach out and share your thoughts with us at www.mapshop.com.
