One writer has dialed up the details.
What if Steinbeck had traveled with CharleyandWaze?
Now, travelers can choose from a growing number of intentionally tech-free trips.
Escaping screens is easy at Arwen cabin, in Llangollen, Wales, which is available through the agency Unplugged.Credit:Adam Firman/Courtesy of Unplugged
Instead of three days, it felt like we had seven, recalls the Graz, Austriabased software engineer.
Tara Cappel, founder of the agencyFTLO Travel,has noticed something similar.
(Digital cameras are still allowed.)
Each Unplugged cabin is stocked with an analog camera, plus a lockbox for phones.Adam Firman/Courtesy of Unplugged
Without that distraction, the experience feels so much richer because youre just immersed in it, Cappel says.
Theyve proven particularly popular with couples, says cofounder Hector Hughes.
Courtesy of Miraval Berkshires
Many experts emphasize the need to avoid half measures.
The minimalist cabins in the Unplugged portfolio put an emphasis on the outdoors.Adam Firman/Courtesy of Unplugged
The most effective retreats happen when youre completely disconnected, says Melissa Huey, a behavioral scientist.
Its a lesson I learned the hard way recently on a two-week writing retreat in the woods of Georgia.
Its an addiction, Huey acknowledges.
An Iceland trip organized by FTLO Travel, which launched phone-free escapes in 2024.Courtesy of FTLO Travel
For London-based photographer Elena Bazu, a weekend alone in an Unplugged cabin was much more successful.
Since then, she has committed to weekly walks without her phone.
I feel much better, mentally and physically, when Im not checking it all the time.
A winter pool plunge at Miraval Berkshires, where phone use is discouraged.Courtesy of Miraval Berkshires
