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Could anybody tolerate a vacation from their phone or internet? How long could you go without being connected?
A couple years ago I took the Black Sea ferry from Odessa to Batumi, three days and nights, and I never heard a ring tone. No connections at all. People had to try to remember how to talk to each other. I think larger cruise lines have connections, but this was just a Ro-ro truck ferry, less than 100 passengers.
If you wanted to be in a place for a few days where there are actually other people and services (meals, bed, etc.) but no connections, what options are there?
There are plenty of wilderness spots where there is no cell service, whether it's the western parts of the USA or the mountains of Wales. We hit them from time to time on our travels.
Course we do still bring along the semi-old school portable GPS unit because it works where cell does not and it gives us additional freedom to explore interesting looking roads BFE- when it's time to head back to the hotel for the night, it's good to be able to hit a button and get directions on how to get there when you aren't entirely certain where you're starting from. (And therefore 'here' would be hard to find on the back-up road atlas in the back seat)
Before there was GPS, people could find their way back to their hotel by dead reckoning. I've done it hundreds of times. You had to pay attention to how you got where you are.
Person to person communication is very important when travelling, and you might not need to use your phone on a ferry, but it could come handy on land travel when you need to find transportation, reserve a hotel, find a road map, something to eat nearby, something you would be interesting to see, AND to take a quick picture while you're at it.
Also in case of emergency to contact family, call for tow truck, call police or ambulance, consulate, insurance, check on an image of an unknown snake or spider, translate to communicate, change reservation, purchase ticket/admission online, etc... etc...
Most places don't have public phones anymore, and many that still have, operate only on phone cards.
So, what are you going to do, when you REALLY need a phone?
You don't need to text, check on your Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or lol-cats every minute of you life, but having a phone became very essential part of our lives, and important ESPECIALLY when away from home and familiar surroundings.
So, what are you going to do, when you REALLY need a phone?
Get along without. Like I've always done. I've lived a long life, and I quite honestly cannot recall once when I really needed a phone. For that reason, I still don't own one. All the things you mentioned, yes, if I had had a phone, I cold have and might have used it. But I didn't, and decades of travel without it proved that there is a way to live without it, as there has always been.
You answered my question -- Can you live and travel without being connected every hour of every day? You say that you are unwilling to be unconnected, even for a short duration. Myself, if my life was centered around connectedness, I think I'd welcome being away from it for a while. Those are the kinds of everyday things that one takes a vacation to get away from. And it's getting pretty hard to find a place where you can be in that quiet retreat.
By the way, I do travel with a cheap tablet and use Wifi, but last year my tables crashed on the second day of a three week trip, and I got along fine in South America without it.
Could anybody tolerate a vacation from their phone or internet? How long could you go without being connected?
A couple years ago I took the Black Sea ferry from Odessa to Batumi, three days and nights, and I never heard a ring tone. No connections at all. People had to try to remember how to talk to each other. I think larger cruise lines have connections, but this was just a Ro-ro truck ferry, less than 100 passengers.
If you wanted to be in a place for a few days where there are actually other people and services (meals, bed, etc.) but no connections, what options are there?
Those of us who are over the age of (maybe) forty EASILY remember the days of not having a cellphone. Those of us over the age of fifty probably remember not having internet in our homes - and if we did, it was super slow dialup (remember all "you've got mail"? I do. But it didn't happen often because so few people actually HAD internet.)
It was a different world, and I have no trouble leaving my connected devices home. I do bring them but use them to loom up restaurantsand maps, which could be accomplished in other ways. I refuse to activate any phone call services while out of the country. On the majority of trips, I use the thing to hail Uber and that's aboutthe extent of it being required.
There are many remote places with no internet or satellites. There are dead zones All over the US. But why not do the easier thing to disconnect.? Just leave the devices home.
Could anybody tolerate a vacation from their phone or internet? How long could you go without being connected?
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I insist on turning off any connection when I'm on vacation. I just turn off my phone and put it in the hotel vault.
Little Dix Bay used to be internet-free (and there are no tvs in the rooms), but they got this slow wifi recently and are now undergoing massive renovations (so I'm afraid they'll put more computery options everywhere).
But used to be all you had for fun there was a book and the ocean.
Those of us who are over the age of (maybe) forty EASILY remember the days of not having a cellphone. Those of us over the age of fifty probably remember not having internet in our homes - and if we did, it was super slow dialup (remember all "you've got mail"? I do. But it didn't happen often because so few people actually HAD internet.)
Oh, I can definitely remember the days of not having a cellphone. But just because I can remember those days doesn't mean I want to return to those days.
When I'm vacationing, I try to disconnect from things like work email and social media, and may leave the phone in the hotel room if I'm just lounging on the beach or something, but if I'm out exploring I find a smartphone too valuable: navigation- first and foremost, finding food and other services, and letting me and whoever I'm with split up and re-converge without extensive "meet me by the tree at 2:30" plans.
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