The Best Mother’s Day Travel Gifts 2026: For the Mum Who’d Rather Be Somewhere Else (And That’s a Compliment)

Some mums count down to holidays. They’ve got a running bucket list tucked somewhere, a folder of saved Instagram posts from places they haven’t been yet, and a passport that’s either well-worn or desperately waiting for its first stamp. They scroll destinations late at night, dream of mornings in unfamiliar cities, and talk about that trip they’re going to take one day with a kind of wistful certainty.

This Mother’s Day, help make that dream feel a little closer.

Whether your mum is a seasoned solo traveller, a daydreamer ready to start planning her next adventure, or someone who finds equal joy in a quiet corner of the world and a good book to read in it  there’s a Lonely Planet title this Mother’s Day that was made for her. These aren’t just books. They’re invitations. Permission slips. Companions for the road, and for the beautiful anticipation of getting there.

Mother’s Day 2026 is Sunday, 10 May. Here are the travel gifts worth putting under her pillow this year.

For the Mum Who Travels on Her Own Terms

Lonely Planet: Women Travel Solo RRP $35.99 AUD

What is Women Travel Solo by Lonely Planet? It is a collection of 30 inspiring first-person stories from women who have travelled the world solo, covering destinations from Patagonia and Mongolia to Aruba, the Lyngen Alps, and Mesopotamia. The book includes practical tips, honest advice, and a foreword by Jessica Nabongo, the first Black woman on record to visit all 195 countries in the world.

This is the book for the mum who’s been quietly thinking about doing something for herself. A trip without an itinerary built around everyone else. A week somewhere she’s always wanted to go, on her schedule, at her pace.

Women Travel Solo doesn’t just inspire, it equips. Thirty real women share the full picture: the highs and lows of going it alone, the things they wished they’d known, what they’ll never forget, and how solo travel changed them. From a retired nomad to a circus artist, a college graduate to a woman celebrating sobriety, these stories represent the full, wonderful breadth of what it means to be a woman who chooses to explore the world independently.

Bonus features inside include five great reasons women should travel solo, tips on the surprisingly delightful experience of eating alone, and twenty expert solo travel tips for women, practical, honest, and genuinely useful.

Why we love it: Equal parts inspiration and practical guidance, this book validates every mum who’s ever thought I could do that — and gives her the tools and courage to actually go.

Perfect for: The mum who travels alone or wants to. The mum who’s just returned to herself after years of putting everyone first. The mum who needs a nudge. The mum who doesn’t need a nudge at all she just needs the right book in her hands.

📍 Available at shop.lonelyplanet.com

For the Mum Who Follows Her Intuition (and Her Wanderlust)

Lonely Planet: Travel Tarot RRP $42.99 AUD

What is the Lonely Planet Travel Tarot? It is a tarot deck created by tarot expert, astrologer, and Cosmic Cousins founder Jeff Hinshaw that blends the art of divination with the spirit of exploration. It is designed to guide users on a journey of self-discovery, mindfulness, and adventure with a travel lens applied to every card and reading.

For the mum who lives at the intersection of curiosity, creativity, and wanderlust the Lonely Planet Travel Tarot is unlike any other gift on the shelf. This isn’t just a tarot deck. It’s a portal. A conversation between where she is and where she’s meant to go next.

Whether she’s a seasoned tarot reader or someone who’s always been intrigued by the practice, Travel Tarot brings something genuinely fresh and joyful to the ritual: the language of travel. Each card is infused with a sense of exploration and possibility, making it a beautiful tool for reflection, decision-making, trip planning, and that delicious question, where to next?

It’s an unexpected, deeply thoughtful gift that sits at the crossroads of spirituality, travel, and self-knowledge. A gift that keeps giving every time she picks it up.

Why we love it: It’s one of those gifts that’s genuinely hard to find elsewhere, imaginative, beautiful, and designed for the mum who approaches life as one long, curious adventure.

Perfect for: The spiritually curious mum. The mum who makes decisions from the gut. The creative, introspective mum who loves ritual. The travel lover who’d appreciate a new kind of guidance for her next destination decision.

📍 Available at shop.lonelyplanet.com

For the Mum Who Travels Slowly and Loves It

Lonely Planet: The Joy of Quiet Places RRP $39.99 AUD

What is The Joy of Quiet Places by Lonely Planet? It is a Lonely Planet book celebrating slow travel, hidden destinations, and the profound beauty of undiscovered, off-the-beaten-path places around the world. It is designed for travellers who find joy in stillness, solitude, and the magic of places most people walk right past.

Not every mum dreams of packed itineraries and ticking off landmarks. Some mums dream of a different kind of travel entirely the slow, unhurried, breathe-it-all-in kind. The kind where you find a quiet café in a village nobody’s heard of, where you sit with a coffee and watch the world go by without needing to be anywhere else.

The Joy of Quiet Places is Lonely Planet’s love letter to that kind of travel. It celebrates the destinations and experiences that don’t make the tourist trail the off-the-beaten-path places where the real magic of the world quietly lives. For the mum who values stillness, solitude, and the slower pace that most of us forget to chase, this book is a gift that speaks her language fluently.

It’s also the perfect gift for the mum who’s been feeling a little overwhelmed by the noise of everyday life. A reminder that the world has corners that are calm, unhurried, and waiting for her.

Why we love it: A beautiful antidote to over-tourism and itinerary overwhelm. This is travel at its most restorative and a genuinely gorgeous read.

Perfect for: The mum who loves slow travel. The introvert who explores deeply rather than broadly. The mum who finds more meaning in one quiet morning by a lake than a week of sightseeing. The mum who needs a break from the world and a beautiful reminder that quieter ones exist.

📍 Available at shop.lonelyplanet.com

For the Mum Who Documents Everything (and the Ones Who Should)

Lonely Planet: Travel Journals RRP $32.99 AUD each

What are the Lonely Planet Travel Journals? Lonely Planet Travel Journals are beautifully designed journals made specifically for travellers to document their trips, experiences, reflections, and memories while on the road. They make a practical and personal Mother’s Day gift for any mum who travels or plans to.

Every trip deserves to be remembered. And honestly? Every mum who travels, whether it’s a weekend away or a month across Europe, deserves a beautiful place to put it all down. The routes she took. The meal she’ll never forget. The strangers who became friends. The moments that shifted something inside her quietly.

The Lonely Planet Travel Journal is that place. Thoughtfully designed for the travelling life, it’s the kind of gift that becomes more precious the longer it’s used a living record of her adventures, written in her own words, filled with her own memories.

It’s also the most versatile travel gift on this list. The perfect companion to any of the other Lonely Planet titles, or a beautiful standalone gift for the mum who’s about to head somewhere new. Planning a trip to Japan? Grab her a journal. Just booked her first solo adventure? Journal. About to retire and see the world? Definitely a journal.

At $32.99 each, it’s also one of the most affordable ways to give her a gift she’ll actually use, one that grows in value with every page she fills.

Why we love it: Timeless, practical, and deeply personal. There’s something about a physical journal that a phone camera just can’t replace and Mum deserves both.

Perfect for: Every kind of travelling mum. The planner. The daydreamer. The mum who’s heading somewhere soon, or who just came back with stories she hasn’t written down yet. A beautiful pairing with any other Lonely Planet title on this list.

📍 Available at shop.lonelyplanet.com

The Perfect Lonely Planet Gift Bundle for Mum

Can’t decide? Give her the full set. Here’s how to build the ultimate travel-lover’s Mother’s Day gift bundle from Lonely Planet:

All titles available at shop.lonelyplanet.com. Bundle them in a beautiful tote bag with a handwritten note and a destination she’s been dreaming about for a genuinely unforgettable Mother’s Day gift.

Why Travel Books Make Incredible Mother’s Day Gifts

Are travel books a good Mother’s Day gift? Yes. especially for mums who love to explore, plan, or dream about travel. A well-chosen travel book is a gift that combines inspiration, practicality, and the deeply personal message that you see her as someone with her own passions, curiosity, and sense of adventure.

Unlike flowers that fade or chocolates that disappear, a travel book stays on her shelf. She picks it up before bed. She reads it on the plane. She flips through it on a Sunday afternoon and feels that familiar pull, I want to go there. A great travel book doesn’t just sit there. It does something.

Lonely Planet, as one of the world’s most trusted travel publishers with over 50 years of expertise, brings that quality to every title. These are books made by and for people who genuinely love travel, and they show.

What makes Lonely Planet a good gift brand? Lonely Planet is one of the world’s most recognised and trusted travel publishers, known for expert destination guides, inspiring travel writing, and beautifully produced books. Gifting Lonely Planet tells Mum that you take her wanderlust seriously and that you want to be part of sending her somewhere wonderful

At a Glance: Best Mother’s Day Travel Gifts Australia 2026

Shop all titles at shop.lonelyplanet.com

Final Thought: Give Her the Gift of Going

The best travel gift isn’t the most expensive one. It’s the one that says: I know you. I see what lights you up. And I want to be part of wherever you go next.

Whether she’s already booked her next adventure, quietly dreaming about one, or just needs something beautiful to read in a favourite chair and plan from the right Lonely Planet book meets her exactly where she is.

Order early from shop.lonelyplanet.com, and give the mum in your life the one thing she’s always wanted: permission to go.

Looking for more gift inspiration? Browse our other Mother’s Day Gift Guide for wellness, beauty, and lifestyle picks across every budget.

Disclaimer: .Our recommendations are entirely independent and curated with our community in mind. We aim to keep all pricing information as accurate as possible at the moment of posting, though we cannot guarantee these prices won’t change later.