How to Give Surprise Travel Gifts

Jan

2009

Posted by Gift Giving Guy in gift ideas, guy gifts

Giving a travel gift on the sly can be tricky. What if your giftee has a schedule conflict during your secret getaway? Consider these three approaches to surprise travel.

Check with work
I’m not sure every employer would be as understanding as my wife’s, but I contacted her supervisor directly. (It helps that I had met her boss before.) Before calling, I checked our personal calendar to make sure I was not overlooking any existing plans. Then I asked her boss about specific dates that my wife might take time off for a surprise extended weekend. Her boss approved my first suggested days as vacation on the spot and made sure my wife’s calendar stayed clear. If you don’t think contacting the giftee’s boss will work, try asking a co-worker who you know and might suggest potential travel dates.

I revealed the getaway a few days before we left. Even though her boss approved the vacation days, my wife now had some time to wrap up work tasks and ready her luggage. Still, the unexpected can happen. If booking airfare and lodging, avoid non-refundable airline tickets and understand the hotel’s cancellation policy in case you must reschedule.

Present in advance without purchase
For our sixth anniversary, I planned a return trip to Hawaii — where we spent our honeymoon. Then I created a slide show that described the specifics: departure date, airline, hotels, restaurants and return date. I burned the slide show to DVD, but you might also print it or show it from a laptop or desktop computer.

However, I did not buy into any reservations yet. I just made sure that the trip was possible. I also got some Mauna Loa chocolate-covered macadamias, a Hawaiian favorite, to sweeten the deal. Or you might pick up a travel guide for your surprise destination. Two days later on our anniversary, I showed her the DVD outlining the plan with tropical photos from Maui and Kauai. She was delighted, and I finalized all of the reservations that day.

Give open-ended gift cards
If you can’t be sure on the timing, travel gift cards offer flexibility. This option also helps when you are not joining the giftee in travel. Several travel and hotel companies offer gift cards that allow your giftee to choose their own itinerary.

Travel Gift Cards

Hotel Gift Cards

Travelocity offers the most flexible of the hotel cards, good at 55,000 hotels worldwide. Several hotel chains offer individual gift cards to pay for lodging, but not necessarily to hold a reservation guarantee. Most still require a credit card to book your hotel room.