A few weeks ago, O and I traveled to Cuba for the weekend. Yes, the weekend. Nothing crazy, just two nights at a hostel in Havana. Honestly, we just needed to get out of this snow that Canada keeps unloading on us. Expecting to just “chill” all weekend, we didn’t pay much attention to packing or researching our destination even though it was both our first times there. Boy did we learn otherwise.

Adventures in Havana will be a story for another day, but one valuable lesson we did learn was the role of WiFi in our daily lives. You really don’t realize it when you live in a society where you check your Instagram at the bus stop, google what you want to eat for lunch or just ask Siri when you get lost.

Not going to lie, at first we did not accept this fact gracefully. The words “need” and “WiFi” were thrown around together a lot. But after a few hours, when we just accepted that WiFi wasn’t happening, we finally got the mental vacation we didn’t even know we needed.

“Ok, so you had to be without WiFi for the weekend. Big deal. Why would I volunteer to disconnect on my vacation?”

I actually switched my phone to airplane mode the next trip I took – on purpose – and I can honestly say, there is no feeling quite like it. I had the pleasure of actually being where I was. So here it is why you should disconnect:

1. Talk to people around you

• Despite our tendencies to only be social on social media, human interaction is actually fun. If you are traveling with friends you will surprise yourselves with how much to learn about each other’s travel habits when you aren’t staring into your phone the whole time. If you are traveling alone, it can be daunting to strike up a conversation with a stranger. But the main reasoning behind that fear is rejection. What if that person doesn’t want to talk to me and I’ll be the weirdo that reached out? From personal experience I found that 9 times out of 10, the other person is thinking the exact same thing. Especially the people sitting alone staring into their phones. The other one time that person is just looking to be alone and that’s fine. Don’t take it personally.
• This exercise is particularly fun in a foreign country. Even more so if you don’t speak the language. But that’s exactly it. You learn so much! The only real way to get rich in life is through experiences so why not.

2. See and do a lot more

• Your phone will still be there when you get back. You can post about it later. Take the pictures now; worry about sharing them later.
• Take recommendations from locals instead of online ratings. I’m pretty guilty of this myself. There’s nothing wrong with checking Pinterest or Instagram for recommendations when traveling, but be careful not to try to relive someone else’s trip. I can’t even count the number of times I googled “most Instagrammed places in ___” and although I got great pictures, I could have seen so much more if only I had asked the locals. If you are not comfortable with asking locals, check out various blogs offering guides and tips that match your travel style. If you’re like me and always looking for the perfect shot to take, this will help you come up with fresh material.

3. Take more pictures instead of just posting to social media

• This is a pretty big one too and relates to the second point above. Take the pictures now and play with the filters when you’re on your way home. Posting a picture on social media today is not like dropping it into an album on Facebook 10 years ago. A lot of work goes into adjusting filters, finding the right emojis and coming up with a witty but relevant caption. I know. I try too. But that is definitely something that takes time and can be done on the flight or bus home.
• This way you can see and do more, and take more pictures. Believe me, there will be plenty of TBTs to post all your material. Doesn’t have to be right then and there.

4. Stress less

• You know that feeling you get when your phone buzzes? Your hand and head flinch in perfect synchronization eager to respond to your latest communication. Well, after a while of being WiFi free, (a very short while, you adapt, trust me) you feel more relaxed knowing that your phone will not be buzzing anytime soon. You don’t have to attend to anyone’s basic situation. You don’t have to reply to anyone’s comments. Not checking the status of your latest post. No one liked your post. You didn’t post anything. It’s going to be ok.

5. Remember your trip better

• You may not realize it, but a lot happened while you had your face in your phone. Your adventure happened. Give the moment your full attention and you’ll be amazed at how well you remember the sights.