Have we passed peak vacation connectivity? New data suggests that travelers increasingly want to use their getaways to get away from cellphones and laptops. According to the 2025 Hilton Trends Report, which surveyed 13,000 adults around the world who plan to travel in the next year, a quarter of respondents say they turn off social media during vacation more than they used to, and a quarter are working harder to avoid responding to calls, texts or emails while traveling.
Tour operators and accommodation providers are listening and offering “digital detox” retreats where travelers opt into an internet-free environment, often in a setting surrounded by nature. A rising number of accommodations feature completely off-the-grid experiences.
In Sardinia, the Logout Livenow travel agency organizes vacations lasting one to four days with a “zero technology” mantra. Computers, televisions and cameras are forbidden, and when the trip starts, travelers lock their smartphones in a safe deposit box and only receive them at the end of the trip.
Even when phones aren’t locked away, many resorts, particularly high-end brands, have instituted policies strongly discouraging phone use in common areas, as is the case with Rancho La Puerta in Mexico and Miraval Resorts in the United States, where “phone free zones” are marked throughout the property. The all-inclusive resort Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, near Puerto Vallarta, offers a detox concierge, who puts guests’ digital devices in a safe and takes away the room’s TV. At the Grand Velas Riviera Maya, near Playa del Carmen, couples and families are provided with T-shirts that read, “We are digital detoxing,” and a timer in the lobby features the family’s last name and the amount of time that they spent without devices.
For travelers who think a busy resort still sounds too “connected,” some tiny homes and cabins offer a more isolated setting for a digital detox.
Unplugged rents off-the-grid cabins in the middle of nature, like a lakeside studio cabin about an hour from London, for $620 for three days, that features a phone lockbox, a radio, board games and rain boots in lieu of Wi-Fi (the brand’s website warns that the detox may be punctuated by planes flying overhead). Unyoked offers something similar in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and in the United States, the accommodations run by Postcard Cabins are spread throughout the country, but Wi-Fi is only available at a few locations.
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