Time for a Digital Detox?

No, it’s not because celebrities like to come here to detox that Miraval Resort & Spa bans cell phones in the restaurants. It’s because the point of this spa retreat in the Santa Catalina Mountains is to reach a new level of mindfulness and balance. Start each morning with meditation, then choose from the menu of activities: spinning, tennis, photography walks and Ayurveda therapies. Ever try to do an Ayurveda therapy with an iPad? It’s just not the same.

With 16 adults-only villas hidden behind heliconia in the Costa Rican jungle, Nayara Springs lets you get away from your constantly-buzzing phone—and your constantly-buzzing children. Each teak and bamboo villa has its own outdoor shower, terrace and plunge pool facing the looming Arenal Volcano. Soak up the solitude or happily wander out of WiFi range on one of the guided jungle hikes, and you won’t feel the urge to check the New York Times app. Again.

With the Pacific crashing onto the cliffs and the hummingbirds flitting around your head, you won’t care that you’re missing Game of Thrones. Post Ranch Inn knows that, which is why their mountainside rooms have no TVs. All there is to do is soak in the stunning coastal terrain and enjoy spoonfuls of honey-glazed ricotta fritters at Sierra Mar, the on-property restaurant. The view is Instagram worthy, but you’re beyond that now.

The only thing that can ruin a Florida Keys sunset? The buzz of a Candy Crush notification. Fortunately, Little Palm Island Resort & Spa—a private island resort so remote you have take a boat there—limits Wi-Fi to the lounge. So take a seat on the veranda of your bungalow, dial up a margarita (the phone in your room only connects to hotel staff—no outside calls) and enjoy the serenity. 

Guess what? You’re not going to get a signal when you’re exploring an Andean cavern complex or kayaking next to an iceberg. So leave your phone in the room at the aptly named Remota lodge in Puerto Natales. Our suggestion: Take your pictures with a real camera (you’ll be glad you brought one when that glacier calves) and post them on Facebook when you get back home. 

A far-flung speck in the Indian Ocean, Fregate Island Private is home to tortoises, turtles, thousands of species of tropical birds—including the Seychelles Magpie robin, saved from extinction on this very isle—and the lucky humans who’ve come to see them. For wildlife lovers, it’s a far more fulfilling experience than sitting on the sofa glued to Animal Planet. And Animal Planet doesn’t have a restaurant tucked away in the branches of an ancient banyan tree.