This guide is intended to help you to buy thoughtful gifts for blind travelers, though most recommendations can just as easily be used at home.
I am personally familiar with all of the items I recommend, and use most of them on a regular basis.
I would generally divide gift ideas for blind people into two categories.
- Things specifically made for blind people
- Other items which are not made with blindness in mind, but for some reason they are a good choice to compensate for visual impairment in some way.
And of course, there is the everything else category that you may buy for your loved one, but I will not recommend any of those items here.
Keep in mind
Before we dive in, I would like to give you a useful advice about braille:
If you want to gift anything that requires the ability to read braille, first make sure that your loved one uses braille. According to statistics, only approximately 10 percent of completely blind people read braille. Also, it is important to know if they read abbreviated braille, which is used for most publications, but not all braille readers know it.
And now the gift ideas!
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Things specifically made for blind people
Miniature buildings
One great present for a blind or visually impaired person would be a miniature building they have visited or are planning to. This is particularly a great present because when one cannot see a building, the only way to understand what it looks like is either by description or touching a smaller version of it. On this 3d building page, you can find a list of miniature buildings available for sale, and each has a description specifically made for blind people when they touch the building.
Games
There is nothing like a nice small game that you can take with you anywhere. However, most games are print only.
A few games were adopted for the use of blind people, either by using braille, or tactile features.
- Plastic Braille Playing Cards
- Rosewood Foldable Travel Chess Set for The Blind or Those with Low Vision
Watches
There are two types of watches, braille (tactile), and talking. They are called braille, because they use braille like dots, but they really don’t require the ability to read braille.
Keep in mind that people often have a strong preference on which one they prefer. Personally I prefer a tactile watch, because I often make presentations where I can quietly keep track of time.
Below are just a few good ones, but there is a range of options, some are just functional, while others are more decorative.
Greeting cards
Here, the selection is also much smaller than for print cards, but there are a few options. Some cards only have a short message, such as “happy birthday”, others contain something more in the inside. I have to say though, selection is quite limited.
Another solution would be to order adhesive braille overlays from GetBraille so you can customize the cards. In a similar way they also create overlays for business cards, but before you gift braille business cards, talk with the person about what they want on it.
Braille slates
As technology is rapidly taking over these days, less people use slates. But I never leave the house without it and a few sheets of papers. It just gives me the comfort that even if my phone battery dies, I can write down information at any time.
There are all kinds of sizes, keep in mind that the metal ones can get heavy, and for travel a smaller one will be more suitable.
Braille labeler
It is great to create short braille labels on adhesive tape. It can be particularly useful to label objects which often need to be identified, such as medication bottles, envelopes that hold important print documents, cans or bottles.
Items to compensate for visual impairment
Voice recorders
You will often find that blind people collect voice recordings during a trip, instead of photos or videos. And while you can record sound using a mobile phone, the downside is that while recording, you can’t use the phone for anything else because the sound of the screen reader will be heard throughout. Therefore, one of my favorite devices is my standalone voice recorder.
Please be careful here, most digital voice recorders are not made to be accessible for blind people. Maybe some functionality is usable, for example it may have a distinct beep when starting and stopping recording, but other functions may not be available.
When it comes to digital recorders, there is really only one I would recommend, and this is the Olympus DM-720. This recorder talks the first time you start it, and most of the menus are speech enabled. Though it is not hundred percent accessible, the majority of the functions work with the speech. It is rich in functions and easy to use. Also, it has an online user guide, which is fully readable with a screen reader.
Please be careful, there are many other great Olympus recorders, but most of them do not have speech capability.
Airtags
There is an interesting use for airtags, when you want to find one, you can also make it beep. Therefore, it is not only useful to track a lost item, but also to find certain locations. For example, you can leave one in your hotel room near the door, and when you return, you can activate it and know where your door is. Of course, there are the braille and raised large print door numbers, but trust me, those are always so dusty.
Another good use of an airtag is to place it into a suitcase. People generally use it to track a lost suitcase, but for blind people it is helpful to know when their suitcase is arriving on the carousel so it is not necessary to touch every single baggage.
In the United States, airlines allow leaving airtags in a checked bag, and many other airlines also do around the world, but check if you are not sure.
One more application would be to be able to quickly return to a particular place, for example an outdoor location that doesn’t have a sidewalk, or mark a space in an open office where the walls and tables can be rearranged.
If somebody gets hooked on airtags, it can be useful to have a few to work with.
Suitcase with a pullout handle
Are there any other kinds, anyway? I maybe stating the obvious here, but a pullout handle is so much more than making it easier to roll the suitcase. I like to hang other things on it like a laptop bag, or any other miscellaneous bags, swetters, etc.
Here is why: somebody who is completely blind will probably have only one hand available, because the other is busy with the cane or the guide dog. I’m sure you have dragged many things with you when even two hands weren’t enough. Imagine doing all that with one.
The gift of books
It is unfortunately difficult to find as many braille titles as you can in print, not to mention that braille books are bulky to travel with. However, most major book reader apps are very accessible with the screen reader, such as Kindle, Apple Books or Audible.
This way you can indirectly gift books, which can get very useful during a trip.
Power bank
When you read, you will need a battery that lasts a long time. While most power banks will work just fine, there is one that was made accessible specifically for blind people. The Energrid power bank uses beeps and vibration besides lights to indicate when the charging starts and the battery level. It comes in two sizes, I have the larger one which charges my phone six times. The seller also provides a guide in the format of your choice, which can be braille or electronic.
The Harbolt Company
There is a great company that serves blind and visually impaired people, and perfectly lands itself as a great place for gifts for blind travelers.
They primarily sell cables, chargers, battery packs and similar items, which by default are perfect for travel. However, what makes these items a great gift is that each one is curated in the store ensuring that it will be an easy experience to use for a blind or a visually impaired person. Also, each product has a recorded audio description and user gude when the complexity requires it.
Did I miss anything? If you have any ideas, please leave a comment.
I hope you got some ideas to bring joy to someone special.
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