This summer, identify the digital detox adventure that’s right for you and your group, and get there with the All-New Land Rover Discovery.
There’s something about hitting the open road that speaks to a deep, almost primal yearning to connect with nature, with ourselves, with our friends and family—and to disconnect from our everyday lives. Yes, that means putting aside your various technological devices, including your laptops and desktops, your Apple TVs and Rokus, your iPods, your iPads, and your iPhones.
Of course, you may need those digital devices to get where you’re going (though you could use a map), but embracing a world free of WiFi, even if only for a few days, is good for you and for your relationships. Studies suggest that spending too much time online can negatively impact your ability to communicate with others, for one.
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So put down your smartphone, rally the troops, and make like Henry David Thoreau. Here’s how and where to get off the grid.
If you’re ready to unplug, but wondering how, exactly, to go about doing it, consider this your step-by-step guide.
Give plenty of notice. Before you embark on your vacation, give folks plenty of advance notice that you won’t be online. Re-remind your boss, co-workers, neighbors—whomever—right before you go, too.
Set up your Out of Office email. Be pleasant but firm. You will be away, you won’t be checking email; if it’s urgent, here’s who to contact (hint: not you).
Think minimal. The fewer devices you bring, the less temptation you’ll find. Yes, you’ll probably bring your phone. But do you also need your tablet and laptop, too?
Get out of your time zone. Leaving your timezone for another, even if just an hour’s difference, will put you slightly off your “normal” routine. This is good. Embrace it.
Give yourself an out. Realistically, you probably won’t go the entire time without checking your email or watching your favorite television show, so allow yourself cheat time. Maybe, every morning, you’re allowed a half-hour to look at emails.
Your group can help each other stick to it, but don’t be aggressive. Whether you’re digital detoxing with friends, family, or coworkers, you can all help each other stay unplugged—but don’t let adhering to a detox regimen feel like a new type of work!
Located roughly 100 miles north of New York City, the Catskills are emerging as a vacation spot for New Yorkers looking to get back-to-basics. The area offers trails to hike, rivers to tube, swimming holes aplenty and, even if you have the urge to get online, cell service and internet are spotty! What’s more, there are a slew of stylish new places to eat, drink, and sleep. Here are a few highlights.
SLEEP: The just-opened DeBruce is the newest addition to Foster Supply’s growing hotel portfolio. Spend days wandering its hundreds of acres of private land, sunning by the pool, and tucking into the 9-course Saturday dinner. Afterwards, If you’re lucky, your room will have a clawfoot tub to soak away your troubles.
EAT & DRINK: For locally-sourced diner fare like home-smoked trout with a bagel and all the fixin’s, hit up the ‘60s-chic Phoenicia Diner. In Kingston, Brunette Wine Bar features an excellent organic wine selection. Everyone in your crew will appreciate pizza night at Table on Ten.
The Grand Canyon: These views will silence even the loudest ringtones. Needless to say, the Grand Canyon is a huge tourist attraction, and while many of its more popular hiking routes will see regular foot-traffic from other groups, there are still miles and miles of beautiful scenery to hike and camp with your crew. Just do some research and plan your route accordingly.
Big Sur: Try and snag a passenger seat while you’re driving the Pacific Coast Highway, the views here are the stuff of dreams. Big Sur has beckoned for decades to those who need to get away from the constant buzz of urban life, and it won’t take you long to see why.
Colorado Rockies: Ghost towns and high-end resorts await in some of America’s most dramatic, rugged scenery––with plenty of space between you and the office. A few nights out underneath the huge open skies of the Rockies and you’ll be transported back to a time when “mobile device” meant your covered wagon.
While it may seem that getting off the grid means leaving civilization, one hotel group is making it possible to unplug in the city that never sleeps: Kimpton Hotels has a “No Shame in Your Vacation Game” package which offers New Yorkers the following perks: They’ll compose the perfect Out-of-Office email, lock away your work phone and lose the key (until you’re ready to check out), and book a session with a photographer (so you can share your trip on social media only when you’ve departed).
