Looking for vacation place with no cell service
 

My husband and I have our own business and it is very hard to get away without constantly being hassled by modern technology. Our last couple of trips have practically been ruined by the phone ringing, email beeping and texts dinging. I am interested in planning a family vacation where cell service is spotty at best. A business center where we could check emails once a day would be fine. We have two daughters, ages 10 & 5 and are interested in national parks, history, natural beauty, and landmarks. We are not really into sitting around pools or the beach. I've read that Death Valley doesn't have much cell service so that is a possibility. Anywhere else you experienced travelers can think of? Looking to go sometime in the fall.

MarySue,

The national parks all have "very spotty" cell service. I was just in Grand Teton Natl Park last week and even at the lodge, AT&T didn't have coverage. They did have free wi-fi and internet at the lodge for guests' use.

But why, if you still want to check in at least once daily, don't you just TURN OFF your modern technology. Turn it back on when you need to check in?

I think the OP is not only interested in turning off their own modern technology, but not being surrounded by it from others.

I'd recommend Yosemite for good spotty service. While the park is trying to improve its cell service, for most plans, it still sucks. I was there for a retreat last week and the AT&T coverage was sparce. In fact, the only time I was able to be in actual contact with my husband, was when he was up at Nevada Falls and I was in Yosemite Village. Weird.

The Valley was pretty crowded, but I did not hear much beeping or ringing anywhere I went.

My thoughts are as above. Make arrangement for your business calls to be monitored or forwarded to someone you trust, or leave a message saying you'll be back in a week and turn of the in-box.

Leave the laptops at home and turn off the phones. If you really feel strongly about this and worry that "turning off" is not going to happen, call your cell company and have your service suspended on all but one line. Take only a dumb phone for emergency calls.

There's nothing wrong with Death Valley, but I sure wouldn't plan a vacation there just to avoid phone calls.

Grand Canyon is another one. You can get call service but mine with Verzion would go in and out. Internet is ok in the dining hall but I sometimes couldn't service there either.

Mount Rushmore thru Thermopolis to Yellowstone has very spotty cell phone coverage across Wyoming. It would be a great 1 or 2 week vacation.

Western Ireland also has limited cell phone coverage - that's one of the reasons I take my husband there. Every picture of us leaving, he has the ear bud for his cell phone. By the time we get back, he has gotten used to not wearing it.

You didn't say if you wanted to stay in the US or not...

There are actually huge areas of the western states that have NO or spotty service.

What type of vacation do you really have in mind? Do you really enjoy the wilderness, camping, hiking? It's not that hard to get away!

The Four Corners (AZ,CO,NM,UT) used to be a blessed haven of peace, but I can't tell you now.

Much of Nantucket, right here on the East Coast, has horrible ATT service.

Lots of areas have spotty enough service that you can monitor your calls but tell people "Gee, we just had horrible connections!"

My son uses Google Voice, which somehow turns incoming calls into emails or something like them, and if you can do wifi, you can manage them pretty much as _you_ want to.

Well...if you have ATT....you won't have service anyway! :) Just kidding

I would pick any mountain area, heavily wooded. Have you been to the Colorado Rockies? Beautiful - mountains, horseback riding, etc..

Good luck - it's hard to find a spot with no cell coverage - we usually bring a phone that our work members do not have the cell number for...only our family.

:-)

We found that in NYC . . just turned the damn things off

verizon service never kicked out on our last trip to ACK, including Great Point

If you want to head to the eastern part of the country, there's little to no cell phone service in Shenandoah National Park. Plenty of history, natural beauty and landmarks (and no beach or pools).

Sounds good longhorn. I'm going to Shenandoah next weekend(lots of memorial day crowds, but no phones-lol).

Do you think I can get my 18 year old to just leave her I-pod off on her phone for a while?

We have a neighbor here in Nantucket who has a land line with no phone connected to it. He is in the directory and gives the number out at work. You can call him all week long, but his phone won't ring because it is not connected the whole time he is on island. It's worth the cost of the line to him for the peace and quiet, and he has an old phone to plug in if the electricity goes off.

Thanks for some good information. At this point I was thinking of staying within the US or Canada.

Thank you for mostly staying on the travel topic too. After I posted my question I was afraid that I might get a lot of "turn it offs," which in our situation is really easier said than done. I didn't want this to turn into that kind of discussion. And having had AT&T for several years I know what you mean, cwojo99!

Most of the area around SnowShoe Mt. in WV is in a quiet zone imposed by the West Virginia Radio Observatory in GreenBank...no cell phone service....

It really depends on your cell phone/iphone provider. Is it too simple to call them and find out where you won't have service and go from there?

Personally, in case of emergency and with small children, I'd be uncomfortable with NO service. Tell us what is wrong with just turning it off? Along with vacation message on email.

Alaska- nothing in the lower 48 compares in terms of natural beauty, and very little cell service. Best vacation we have ever taken with our kids, and we have been all over the US and Europe.

Try Vermont! When I was there last year (we stayed at the Kedron Valley Inn in Woodstock) there definitely was no cell service. They stated this clearly on their website....but I didn't really believe it! Once we adjusted....we realized we could survive nicely without our cells, email, etc.!

birgator and others - there is nothing wrong with just turning it off - the problem is that some people just can't! They get all twitchy if they have service and don't check every 10 minutes or so. If they don't have service, it's taken out of their hands, so they can relax.

There are actually resorts popping up that require you to turn in your cell phone when you get there. They do yoga and the one I read about (I think it was in a Sunset magazine) had fairly heavy exercise, and a vegetarian diet.

I second Colorado because I live here and LOVE it. And Alaska. When my daughter lived there a couple of years ago she had to go down to the telephone pole by the river where there was a party line.

Lopez Island, WA (in the San Juans!)

I have verizon. Only places I had problems was in the south -- Alabama through Texas (never did get further than that with verizon). AT&T delivered in the west, even remote national parks many years ago. My kids can't get a T-mobile signal in their Grant Park Atlanta house....That's why I suggested calling your provider.

Although I suspect that if someone is REALLY twitchy, they will be trying to see if they have a signal yet every ten minutes....Trust me on that one.

I like the idea of leaving it all at home, and getting a basic throwaway for emergencies.

Vermont. Even Verizon can't break through those green mountains.

Lake Chelan in Washington State has a lodge at Stehekin. You cannot get any cell phone service at the lodge and you have to get there by ferry--you cannot get there by car.

I myself have not been, but my inlaws have traveled the area a lot and say Lake Chelan is very beautiful.

http://www.lodgeatstehekin.com/index.html

Arches and Canyonlands are pretty much free of connections, esp. Canyonlands, but in Moab there was service.

CBS Sunday Morning had a story yesterday on the national radio quiet zone around Snow Shoe as above. You can watch the story on line if of interest.

You really CAN turn the phones off. Leave the forwarded message that I get from many--we will be on vacation with limited access to email or phone. If there is an emergency call_______
Choose what you WANT to do, wherever it is and just say no.
Take a "throwaway" phone that you give the number to one person in case of emergency.

Three National Parks you are guaranteed not to get cell service in for most of your visit.

Carlsbad Caverns
Mammoth Cave
Wind Cave

When is this trip? I wouldn't even consider Death Valley in the summer. You really might need that cell phone if you went at that time.

Yellowstone....especially if you have AT&T

There is service at Old Faithful area just fine with ATT

I should move to Yellowstone. I couldn't get ATT in my own house!!

I too am kind of wondering about this problem. Just say no. If you don't want to use a cell phone, then turn it off, put it in your luggage and simply check it once a day, or whatever it takes for what you want to do. But the idea of going somewhere with NO or little coverage if you actually DO NEED to use the phone once a day, just somehow seems counterproductive to me. This is sort of like someone saying where can I go where I won't eat too much? Huh? Just say no!

Here are AT&T maps showing places that have no coverage. You'll need to click on both "voice" and "data" but they generally are the same zones. Cross reference with a regular Google map and type in exact address on the AT&T site to make sure.

http://www.wireless.att.com/coverage...73388672&sci=5

I agree. Just say no.

Believe the posts about the cell coverage in most of the National Parks. Cell coverage across the West is very spotty. If you want to make a call, you need to stop the car. I had a nearly 3 week roadtrip with my husband who travels like Get Smart. I can't believe what technology I find hidden on his body. But we had hardly any calls and could not make calls in Glacier, most of Montana, Yellowstone, Crater Lake, Grand Canyon,Zion, Bryce,Most of Utah and Clorado, Nothing on Pikes Peak. Yes at Old faithful,people are all on their phones and then it erupts. Then you leave that "hotspot"( pun intended) and no calls. If you are in the mountains, nothing. And most cruise ships have no coverage as soon as you are out of sight of land unless you tap into their very expensive servers. In Europe unless you are in a metro area, very little coverage. People are also surprised by the $500-$1000 phone bills they get when they get home! As soon as you leave port, nothing. It was 13 days later in the middle of the Adrienne Sea that a satellite passed over for 10 minutes and everyone's phone rang and downloaded their voice mails and e-mails. And then you couldn't do anything about it, because the satellite moved away. And it was quiet again.With a port intensive cruise and only 2 days at sea, there is little pool time. BTW, the kids will enjoy pool time and are unimpressed by rocks,mountains, and canyons after a few days. When we travel, as suggested above, we designate a time frame for receiving and sending calls. And after that, see you tomorrow. Good luck.

But it's sooo hard to just say no... to just turn technology off. It's a compulsion that makes me nervous knowing I could be missing something, especially now that we have smartphones that brings my emails, texts, and facebook right to my hand, wherever I am.

Yes, I understand how it's so hard for some people to say no. That's why we have a drug problem in this country, and an obesity problem, and a problem with children with no respect for authority. . . and. . . and.

But for the life of me, I can't believe the only way for a person to put down his cell phone and ignore it is to go to a place where it simply won't work!

I think you might be better off to stay home and enjoy your phone.