The latest concept aimed at Silicon Valley's stressed-out tech junkies is California's Camp Grounded, a summer camp for adults who leave their gadgets behind and get back to basics with bunk beds and bonfires.
Put your gadgets away: digital detox holidays are a rising trend among hotels and reteat centers.
For US$305, which includes meals and bunk-bed accommodations, campers check in their laptops, mobile phones, social media accounts, and work jargon for an "off-the-grid weekend of pure unadulterated fun."
The camps are organized by Oakland, California-based wellness organization Digital Detox, which offers monthly retreats and device-free cocktail parties. The company is also launching, for the first time, three international retreats this spring, with ventures planned for Cambodia, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
Recently the hotel industry has tapping into the digital detox trend by requiring guests to hand over their electronic devices at the front desk. They range from a simple "Be Unplugged" option at the Quincy Hotel in downtown Washington, DC, to more developed unplugged packages like one offered by St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Here guests are asked to leave their devices at home as part of the digital-detox package; also, when reserving, guests receive a booklet explaining how to function without access to technology, and an onsite coach is on hand for extra help. The Seattle company Via Yoga also offers digital detox packages at its luxury yoga and surf retreats in Mexico and Costa Rica.
Another option to be unplugged is to look for a "dead zone," an area out of the reach of mobile reception, or where reception is so painfully slow you won't be bothered to try. According to Skyscanner, some of these places include Death Valley National Park in the US and Kent and Sussex in the UK.
