Your phone is ruining your vacation. These tools will help you escape its lure and be more present | Life and style
As a freelance writer, I’m a chronically online person. When my phone buzzes, I have to look. Did that editor reply yet? Did I receive any new cool product pitches? Even when I turn on do-not-disturb mode, I find myself opening my phone to check my muted notifications.
At home, it is a nuisance I can live with. But on recent trips to Las Vegas, Barcelona and London, I started to notice that my phone was preventing me from connecting with new places. On a serene bus ride between Barcelona and Andorra, I found myself ignoring the Pyrenean peaks out the window to respond to inconsequential emails.
Then I found an unlikely antidote. After a recent trip to Hong Kong, I came home and realized that I remembered it more distinctly than other recent destinations. It wasn’t because I left my phone at home; it was because I brought a camera. Taking photos with a dedicated camera instead of a phone meant I wasn’t tempted by notifications or other distractions. Sure, I spent some time fiddling with the settings, but that was better than getting sucked into Instagram Reels or X posts.
What else don’t I need my phone for? Four months and five cities later, I’ve found many more ways to reduce my reliance on my phone when on the move. Counterintuitively, it involves carrying more stuff, but it’s worth the joy of being in the moment.
At a glance
Camera:
I wasn’t trying to detox from my phone with the Ricoh GR IV; I was trying to expand my photography chops without lugging around a bulky DSLR. Besides the lack of notifications, it packs a sensor five times bigger than the one in an iPhone 17 Pro into the smallest possible camera size. It captures more light, which means higher-quality images, but it still fits in my pocket.
I also love the more film-like look of photos taken on my GR IV. They still get digitally processed, but Ricoh skips the oversharpening and aggressive high-dynamic-range processing that the iPhone does. My photos have a more natural and human feel to them. Ricoh also offers “recipes” for simulating different films, such as the Kodak recipe I used on these shots from the valley of Fire. You can always capture RAW photos from your iPhone and fine-tune them with software, but the GR IV makes the process easier.
As a fixed-lens camera, it technically can’t zoom in, but the high 25.7MP resolution means you can crop into the photo to adjust its framing and still retain the image quality. Most shots in this photo carousel are cropped, but they didn’t lose any significant detail.
I wish Ricoh added weather resistance and improved the video quality in its latest generation, but if you want a high-end camera that genuinely fits in your jeans pocket, the Ricoh GR IV is for you. It helped me spot the best lighting for my frames instead of notifications on my phone.
Traditional watch:
Every time you glance at your phone to check the time, you create another opportunity to get distracted. Get a traditional watch instead. You can keep your phone in your pocket, and unlike a smartwatch, it won’t bug you to charge every few days, or connect with an app to update.
They are also better than smartwatches at being an extension of your personality. Classy? Quirky? Rugged? Luxury? You decide.
A cheap quartz Casio watch is all you need. But if you want a self-winding mechanical watch on a budget, Seiko is the way to go. When travelling, I prefer to wear watches with multiple time zones so I can keep track of the time in my home country. The Seiko 5 Sports series allows you to track the time of up to three time zones while also being comfortable to wear and easy to maintain.
Casio
AE1200WH Digital Watch
from $29.92
For a dress watch, I’d recommend the Seiko Presage series for its premium finish on a budget. I have owned one for five years, and it goes with any formal outfit, thanks to the stainless steel case and leather strap combination. For a more robust look, you can’t go wrong with the Hamilton Khaki Field, which was originally built for the US military and still retains that identity with a highly legible dial design, rugged case and nato strap. They are built to last.
Hamilton
Khaki Field
from $675
Paper books and diaries
My phone can hold decades of reading material and store more notes than I could write in a lifetime, but I always carry a paperback book and a small diary with me. The book keeps me company on flights when my eyes are too tired for a screen, and the diary allows me to jot down notes on the go. Over time, I’ve learned that I think better when I write, but I don’t always want to type in a notes app. It’s more pleasant to write on paper and less distracting.
Plus, both of these items can double as souvenirs from places you loved visiting. I picked a small notebook from the Hasselblad Center in the Gothenburg Museum of Art in Sweden, and it always reminds me of that place. A notes app can never do that.
No Particular Order
Off the Grid Prompted Travel Journal
$28
Games
Phone games lock you in your own little world, but card games can help you connect with new people around you. In fact, I’ve made friends in a hostel through Uno on a trip to LA for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios, where I stayed in a dorm room with three strangers, all of us from different nationalities. We were just four exhausted, barely awake humans with nothing in common except we didn’t want to go out for drinks, and we ended up bonding over Uno. I’m glad I wasn’t watching scrolling through videos on my phone that night.
Mattel Games
Uno
from $6.97
Maps
Nothing beats the sheer scale of a physical map for understanding the layout of a new destination, and you won’t get sidetracked comparing 30 different restaurants, either. National Geographic’s waterproof national park maps become particularly useful when you don’t want to risk pulling out your phone in a downpour.
National Geographic
Waterproof National Park Map
from $13.93
Earbuds for voice navigation
Phones are still great for turn-by-turn directions, but you don’t need to pull it out of your pocket at every corner, or expose yourself to phone snatchers by walking around holding it like a compass. Earbuds with voice navigation let your eyes drink in your new surroundings while your ears handle the directions.
Open-ear earbuds that do not fully plug your ears, like the AirPods 4, are the best way to stay attuned to your environment. But what if you need noise cancellation for flights and don’t want to carry two different pairs?
The AirPods Pro 3 and Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 offer a comfortable fit and a good transparency mode, which pipes outside noises in. Personally, I prefer the stemless design of the Pixel Buds. It makes them easier to use on my side while listening to relaxing music.
Apple
Airpods Pro 3
from $229
Pixel Buds Pro 2
from $189.99
Orbitkey Travel Sling
A sling bag doesn’t replace anything on your phone, but you’ll need one if you want to hold all your other replacements. After testing at least six different options, I’ve found the OrbitKey Travel Sling (3L) to be my favorite. It has RFID-blocking pockets, compartments for small items, resists water and comes in fun colors. You can even remove the straps, if needed.
OrbitKey
Travel Sling (3L)
from $89.90
I have carried it on four trips, where I used it to store my sunglasses, Ricoh GR IV, pocket diary, power bank and external lenses for my phone camera. It never felt uncomfortable to carry. More importantly, it is what makes this entire setup practical. If carrying all of this felt like a chore, I would default back to just using my phone. This sling bag is the reason I continue to carry these things everywhere I go.
Pro tip: Use a limited data plan
I don’t want to look at my phone when I’m travelling, but I can’t afford to go off-grid entirely. A global eSIM gives me enough data to stay in touch without incentivizing idle surfing.
They work just like the physical SIM you would normally buy in an airport, but there’s no plastic card: you just need to scan a QR code. Coverage starts almost instantly. I’ve used Saily in Spain, the UK and Hong Kong, and it’s always been a reliable option.
You can buy country-specific, regional or global plans ranging from 1GB all the way up to unlimited data. Buy the smallest plan you can to help avoid time-wasting YouTube and TikTok binges. The price of buying more data will ensure you use it sparingly – but it’s easy to add more if you need it in a pinch.
Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
