Holiday: Sun, Sea and 4G?

Holiday. We all look forward to it. Time out from work, home chores, bad weather and traffic jams. An escape from the daily routine to relax, enjoy and recharge. But are you truly switching off?

When packing my bags for a short break last week, I made sure to include my tablet and smartphone. Whilst beach slippers, shorts and suntan lotion are the more obvious tools to take on holiday, tablets and smartphones are rapidly becoming fixed items on the list of things to pack. And it doesn’t come as a surprise. We are used to being connected 24/7 wherever we are: at work, at school, at home, or on holiday. Hotels, restaurants, public places at home and abroad cater for this demand (or should I say need?) and offer free Wifi as an incentive to stay.

Gone are the days that you could happily tell your colleagues not to bother to get in touch as your holiday location had no connectivity. Whether on a Greek island or somewhere on a cruise in the Med, you can get connected easily. And at speed as well as 4G is rapidly spreading its reach across Europe, resulting in e-mails and notification effortlessly tracking you down to your holiday destination. It makes it very hard to switch off and unwind as one quick glance at your mail will take you back to your work.

Being connected can be great to keep up to date with your friends and family back home, post your holiday pictures real time on Facebook or check online for the best local restaurants and clubs. But I have to admit that it is an uncomfortable sight when almost everyone in the restaurant is looking at their little screen, rather than enjoying the lovely sea view. We seem to be so busy tracking and indulging in our online life, that we almost forget to enjoy the real thing!

So here is my advice for a relaxing 4G holiday:

• Go and enjoy your holiday. By all means pack your tablet and phone but use them wisely. Don’t take them to the beach, the sea is for swimming and not for sending messages.
• Get connected only to check local holiday sights, activities or directions. Try to explore and find out for yourself, you might be  pleasantly surprised.
• Give your e-mail a miss. Switch off your work account, your colleagues will take care of business and in case of a real emergency you can agree to send a short sms.
• Grab the moment, live in the now and enjoy every minute. The folks back home can wait to see the photographs when you return refreshed and full of stories.

Here’s to a Great holiday season! What do you do to “switch off”?