Travel Souvenirs | How to Buy the Perfect Souvenirs For Your Rental Space

Buying travel souvenirs for a renter can be a difficult task! Let my tried and true tips and tricks help you find the absolute best souvenirs to make your rental space into an oasis of your travels!

What makes buying travel souvenirs so difficult for the renter??? You have to think about if you have the space for something, if it’s worth lugging from one place to the next, and if it’s even functional in the first place. Not to mention, you want it to remind you of the place you were at. All of that can be tricky! But don’t stress, I’m here to help.

First off, I want to say that I feel like this post really pulls the whole concept of my blog together. When you keep your life simple by renting, one of the perks it allows for is time to travel. Plus, I feel like if you spread tidbits from your travels around your space, you constantly have reminders of the amazing things you have done. We all know you cannot always land an apartment with the character you really want, but you can bring that character along yourself with perfectly picked travel souvenirs! Read on to see how…

This post is all about travel souvenirs.

Know what you actually need

This may seem like, huh? When you’re traveling you are often thinking about treating yourself to something you don’t normally buy. But if you don’t normally buy something, then you don’t normally use it… Get my drift? We want to buy something we will use. I accomplish this by knowing what I need and what I have been on the hunt for. For example, I know I need a catchall place for keys and those random things when I walk in the apartment, or I need something to place blankets or slippers in, perhaps I have been on the hunt for throw pillows, blankets or rugs. Things like these. Anything you have been looking for at home, don’t just forget about those things when you’re on vacation. Combine this point with my next one before buying anything though…

Know what the travel destination is known for

This is important because before you even get there you may know exactly what you want! When you think of Turkey for example, you likely think of Turkish coffee, towels and rugs. So if you’re a coffee drinker, you may want to buy a cezve or Turkish coffee maker and some coffee. By the way, I linked to one on Amazon if you’re interested. Also this is the best Turkish coffee 🙂 It’s something you’ll use and it’s not too big to move around. Even though you can often find things that look like they’re from exotic places in the U.S. it’s nice to look at your stuff and know it really did come from there. It’s a cool feeling 🙂 Perhaps you do want an investment piece like a Turkish rug. You can do your research before you go so you can find good places to buy from that will ship for you at a decent price.

Or if you’re going to Italy or Greece, you may want something to do with food. Something like an olive wood board you can use as both home decor and a charcuterie board, olive wood cooking utensils or a beautiful bottle of olive oil that is something you can refill. You get the idea. This can help you to have some idea of what you’re hoping to find and help you to avoid aimless wondering for souvenirs. You don’t want you trip revolved around looking for something you don’t even know you want. This leads into my next tip…

Don’t be overly stuck on the things that the place is known for or your original plan

I know that is a bit contradictory, but let me explain. When I lived in Turkey, I really wanted to come back with certain things. Although a Turkish rug was so obvious, I quickly realized, at the time, I really couldn’t afford a Turkish Rug that was decent quality. I wasted a whole afternoon a week before I was moving home looking for a beautiful rug I could afford, essentially looking for something that didn’t exist, LOL! All of a sudden, I noticed these round flat disks in piles all over one of the rug stores. I asked what they were. They were pillow covers! They were much smaller for traveling and still had a rug like vibe to them. Also, they did remind me of my time in Turkey and I had never really had nice throw pillows. So it was a win all around! But I had to think out of the box a bit and not be stuck to my original plan.

Focus on the less known things

Often when I travel, I have this idea of what a place is like. Then I get there and it’s a lot different than I thought. Like Turkey is really known for Turkish coffee, but in reality tea is the drink of choice by literally everyone. They drink more tea per capita than any country in the world! It is very Turkish to see men on the streets with a cigarette in one hand and tea in the other. Their tea cups are known for being hourglass shaped. They also have beautiful mosaic tiles and beautifully painted tea cups with designs in colors that are very Turkish in style. These are the less known things. But they really stood out to me in day to day living more than the things Turkey is generally known for. Me being a HUGE tea drinker knows anything to do with tea is always a good choice for souvenirs. That said, if you’re not a tea drinker, it may not make sense for you.

So, like I said before, be open minded. You really are trying to capture the true essence of the place for you personally, not the essence everyone else thinks it is.

Think of what the place means to you as a whole

So this tip is very similar to the tip above, but personalize it. Places often just give you a vibe when you’re there. Sometimes the vibe is just what you thought it would be, and other times it’s nothing like you thought it would be. Also, when you travel to less known destinations you may have not expectations at all. So really, all you can do is pay attention to the overall vibe once you’re there.

Case in point, We went to Budapest with zero expectations. We didn’t know much about it at all. We just needed to leave Turkey and re enter to extend our visas for three months. Budapest was very affordable so we went. First of all, we fell in LOVE with Budapest! It is very European and yet affordable. I would say they are likely known for Hungarian goulash and these mineral spring baths people come from all over Europe to bathe in. However, it was very eclectic and artsy. Something you may never know unless you go there. Tons of indie artists and small shops of people selling cool things. Just a total artsy-fartsy vibe. That is what I think of when I think of Budapest. So I wanted to capture that in my souvenir. I opted on a catch all, handmade, knit basket from a cool small store and a small drawing from a local artist of the city that I framed when I got home.

Sometimes these items may just seem like nothing to someone else, but to you, it is more.

Think of multiple uses for items

This is important for the versatility of items. Using all of my other tips, you’ll already be thinking outside of the box. But this is a bit more straight forward. Usually, we use items for what they’re intended for. But I challenge you to use them for something else, if it’s something you don’t necessarily need. An easy example is Turkish bath towels. They may not be your style for bathroom towels, but they do offer a certain boho vibe when used as a throw blanket. They’re not too heavy and can be used all year round. They dry out super quick, making them the perfect beach towel. So you’ll have one towel for two or three things! That’s a total rental score, just saying!

Another example, we spent 6 days in Newport, RI last year. Then a few months later, we spent about 2 weeks wandering the coast of New England. I hadn’t really wanted to buy any souvenirs, so I wasn’t on the lookout. Plus I didn’t feel like pressuring myself to find something in each place. However, I kept noticing a certain store in just about each coastal town.

Finally, I went in. It was a store that used recycled sails to make bags!!! They were so cool! That said, I knew I wouldn’t really use a handbag. But my mind was still stuck on the idea. I felt like it would sum up both trips wonderfully if I could come up with something. Portland, ME, our last stop was the home of the flagship store. So we looked around in Portland at a few stores, as each store has some unique pieces. I ended up finding a tool tote. Well that’s what they market it as. Now you know as well as I do, I have no tools of my own, LOL. But I did need a basket for throw blankets and/or slippers. So I decided to buy the tote and that’s what I use it for. Plus it has more character than a basket from Home Goods! It’s pictured below.

Use your own photos

This is pretty obvious, but I figured I’d mention it. These days our phones take such beautiful photos, you can easily get stunning shots you can edit and make into your own wall art for next to nothing. Everyone else will think you bought it but you’ll know you didn’t. Although, I will say, most people do figure we took the photos.

My favorite way to display them is ordering a canvas print, ordering from Mixtiles, or placing them in a simple frame. But if you’re looking for something a bit more eclectic, we made a calendar from all of these door shots we took in Budapest. It’s a bit dark and gothic looking. But Budapest to us was also Europe with a gothic twist, almost “Frozen” like in style. We were obsessed with the doors and wondered what we’d do with them. So I ended up printing out wallet sized prints and glueing them on a poster board. Then I put it in a frame and bought chalk makers.

Also, we have a beautiful panorama of a hot air balloon ride in Turkey we took for our anniversary. We turned that into a canvas and hung it in the living room. I’m sure you can all think of ways to use your photos.

Those are my tried and true tips for buying the perfect travel souvenirs for your rental space

I hope these tips will help you to choose intentional travel souvenirs that will add your flare and personality to your rental space. It is so important to feel at home in your space and remember all of the experiences you have had along the way. It’s what makes you who you are. They also make great conversation pieces if you like to entertain. Lastly, just have fun with it! Don’t over stress or force yourself into finding something. Often, the perfect travel souvenirs come along when you least expect it. Happy travels!!!