How to travel without a phone

IN TODAY'S HYPERCONNECTED world, traveling without a phone seems impossible, or at the very least, pointless. But for those who've done it, the experience can be rewarding and rejuvenating.

- NOAH W MILLER

IN TODAY'S HYPERCONNECTED world, traveling without a phone seems impossible, or at the very least, pointless. But for those who've done it, the experience can be rewarding and rejuvenating. In January, Soraya Lemboumba, 40, a project manager in Switzerland, spent 10 days in Panama on a phone-free trip. "It was absolutely life-changing," she said. She said she awoke to the sounds of nature rather than an alarm and didn't spend her time composing captions for social media in her head or use her phone to fill the silence. "I spent days immersed in pure presence," she said.

Thinking of disconnecting for your next trip? Here are some steps to start.

Decide your rules: Before leaving for the airport, decide whether you're bringing a laptop or tablet or nothing at all. A laptop performs all the functions of your smartphone, but you're less likely to bring it to the dinner table or the beach. Then, if you're bringing a device, write down a list of rules to govern your tech use throughout your trip. For example: I won't use electronics for entertainment on this trip. If I can't hail a taxi, I'll use my laptop for Uber. I'll use my tablet only an hour per day for researching activities and lodging.