Here’s What Makes the Perfect Vacation Keepsake

It’s fun to buy souvenirs when we travel. Unfortunately, most of those souvenirs end up in boxes in the basement…as clutter on shelves…or on the 25-cent table at a yard sale.

Bottom Line/Personal asked travel experts to discuss their favorite travel souvenirs, as well as the lessons they have learned about souvenir selection…

Plan ahead. Before I travel, I consult books and the Internet to find out what handmade products the area is known for. That helps me focus my shopping during my visit and gives me an opportunity to take an inventory or measurements before departure. For example, when I decided that I might want to buy a silk scarf in Istanbul, I dug through the scarves I already owned so that I wouldn’t accidentally buy anything similar…and when I decided that I might want to buy a rug in Morocco, I measured my floors to make sure I picked one of appropriate size.

Source: Susan Farewell is a travel designer and writer and founder of Farewell Travels LLC, a custom-itinerary travel agency based in Westport, Connecticut. FarewellTravels.com


Sometimes it’s OK to think big. My husband and I were on our honeymoon in Bali when we spotted a pair of distinctive hand-carved statues of the birdlike Hindu god Garuda. They were impractical souvenirs—they stood a foot and a half and probably weighed 35 pounds apiece. We bought them anyway. Today, 19 years later, they stand on our fireplace mantle and make the whole room seem special.

One of the most cited rules of souvenir selection is to pick something small and light so that it’s easy to carry home. That’s usually good advice—but it’s OK to ignore it when you find something truly special that you might never see again. While small souvenirs tend to become clutter, big, distinctive things can serve as centerpieces of rooms. These items are worth the trouble. If they’re too bulky to carry home (or would trigger ridiculous airline overweight bag fees), they likely can be shipped.

Source: Pauline Frommer is co-presdient of FrommerMedia and editorial director of the Frommer travel guidebooks and Frommers.com. She is a two-time winner of the North American Travel Journalists Association’s Best Guidebook of the Year award. Frommers.com/pauline


Some of the best souvenirs aren’t bought. Something that’s not purchased can be more deeply representative of a trip than something bought in a shop—and a money saver, too. Among the travel mementos I have on display is the jawbone of a piranha, complete with razor-sharp teeth. I caught this piranha on a trip to Ecuador. Later, at the lodge, the piranha was served to us for dinner. Thus the jawbone is more evocative of my visit than anything I could have bought in a souvenir shop. (Piranha, by the way, is very bony and a bit too fishy-tasting for me.)

Source: Patrick Smith is an airline pilot for a major commercial carrier. He is founder of the Ask the Pilot blog and author of Cockpit Confi­dential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel. AskThePilot.com


A travel collection can be more than the sum of its parts. A souvenir refrigerator magnet is nothing special on its own, little different from any other cheesy tchotchke sold in souvenir shops. But when you collect lots of souvenir magnets from different places and bring them all together on one refrigerator (or some other large metal surface), the result can be a memorable display that’s enjoyable for you and for visitors to look at. My refrigerator is completely covered with magnets, transforming an ordinary appliance into a unique travel album. And refrigerator magnets are widely available, inexpensive, light and easy to transport.

Source: Dori Saltzman is news editor with Cruise Critic, which offers cruise reviews and information. CruiseCritic.com


Pick something practical. I often eat at diners when I’m on the road because I love breakfast and run on coffee! If I like the mugs, I ask if they’re for sale—they typically cost just $5 to $10 apiece, and sometimes I swap them for a copy of my travel guide.

Mugs are a great way to remember a trip because they’re something I use every day and something I can share with guests, spurring conversation—houseguests inevitably are offered a cup of coffee or tea.

The mugs sold by diners tend to be sturdy and less tacky than the ones sold at souvenir shops at tourist destinations, but it is worth checking there, too. My personal favorite is a simple blue-and-white mug from the Blue & White Restaurant on Route 61 in ­Tunica, Mississippi.

Source: Jamie Jensen is author of Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways, now in its eighth edition. The New York City–based author has been writing about roads and driving for more than 20 years. RoadTripUSA.com


Anything small and beautiful can be a Christmas tree ornament. I purchased a simple wood camel many years ago on my first visit to Israel and use it as a Christmas tree ornament. I’ve gone on to collect Christmas tree ornaments all over the world. Ornaments make excellent souvenirs because they are small, light and easy to transport…because anything attractive of appropriate size can be turned into an ornament…and because Christmas ornaments come out of the attic only in December and don’t clutter up my home the rest of the time. My memory-filled travel ornaments make a special time of year even more special.

Source: Patricia Schultz is a New York City–based travel journalist with more than 30 years of experience. She is author of the New York Times best-seller 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. 1000Places.com


The best big souvenirs come apart or fold up. Nearly 25 years ago, I bought a stunning, intricately carved Sumatran “spirit stick” while on a backpacking trip in Indonesia. It’s a true work of art that took a craftsman a full month to make. It’s also six feet long, which ordinarily would have made it a challenge to get home—except that it was designed to pull apart into three two-foot sections. That made it the perfect travel memento, large enough to be eye-catching—to this day, it remains one of the most notable items in my home—yet compact enough to fit easily into my luggage.

Large printed items such as antique maps or art prints have similar advantages as souvenirs. They can be bought unframed, rolled up, then carried home—or shipped home in a mailing tube.

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