Where to go to truly unplug

Staying connected while traveling has its upside, like handling logistical things and being able to work from almost anywhere (like I did living in Dakar, Senegal for the last two years.)

But, there is a dark side too, because it's now so much harder to get away. All you have to do is use your phone for one minute — maybe to take a photo, perhaps — and BAM, you get a notification that takes you back to the world you were hoping to forget.

Which is why, considering how important it is to periodically unplug, we’re offering a list of the approaches I use to disconnect from "reality".

1. Go Remote

This is the original way to unplug, by heading off into nature. But even in sparsely populated areas you can be surprised to have a signal.

The answer is to invest in going further. Backpack overnight. Visit someplace interesting, but less famous. Don’t hike the name brand hike, do the one right next to it; and maybe, off season.

These days you have to go deeper. Which is more fun, anyway.

**Lose Reception in The Canyons** **The biggest canyon adventures can be found in books by Steve Allen. Note, these trips require serious physical fitness, outdoor experience, and technical canyoneering skills.** **See: Books By Steve Allen**

2. Be Away From Land

Ignoring a satellite phone, there is one sure place to go without reception, and that’s the ocean.

Being at sea is so special because one’s whole focus is around the rhythms of the sun, the wind, the waves, which I find resets my existence to a more primal level.

One way to do this is on a sailboat. You can get captained charters in sailing meccas like the Caribbean.

Another is to visit an island that itself is far away. This places me not at sea, yet immersed in it.

**Go Offshore in Belize** **An assisted adventure can be found three hours offshore with Belize Adventures. They specialize in full instruction in water sports while living on an island just a few hundred meters long. It’s a catered experience, that is far away, indeed.** **See: Belize Adventures**

3. Go Where Phones Are Less Used

Go where the culture says No. Someplace you'd be embarrassed to use your phone.

In my travels, I've met people across the world who live very different lives with at least one bad habit in common: they too live on their phones.

But enter cafe culture in Morocco, or have a glass of wine in France and phones are a no-no. Beyond the pressure to confirm, the joy of whatever it is everyone is so focused on - maybe music, or conversation, or just watching the world go by - will keep you grounded.

Seeing different ways of adopting technology is a way of learning from a foreign culture. You might be inspired to change a habit back home.

**Explore Your Mind at Kirpalu** **Instead of a far off land, you can enter another world in your own mind in a place like Kirpalu in the Berkshires. Yoga, meditation, and no talking over meals will send you deep.** See: Kirpalu Retreat

4. Buy a Local SIM Card

The last way to mix travel with a small unplug is to simply change your number. By buying a local SIM card you can still handle logistics, but with fewer interruptions. If you temporarily disable your primary number to not see alerts, you can still give your new Ethiopian / Argentinian / French number only to those who need it most.

**To simulate this back home, you can get a Light Phone. It’s a phone designed for the necessities, only. When I limit technology and focus on seeing my own city anew, it’s like a fresh experience.** See: The Light Phone (although stock is low)

Maybe I'm uncommon in this regard... that I need a big reset to change my perspective, but I don't think so.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Bluff On,

Stefan Loble