Travel company offers phone-free vacations

NEW YORK - Phones have found a way of entering every space we enter. Whether public or private, there’s a pretty short list of what we’re willing to do without them.

"I feel I need my phone all the time. I get twitchy if I don’t have it," one traveler told FOX 5 NY.

But a week of travel unplugged, could you do it?

Clients traveling for FTLO Travel (For the Love of Travel for short) will get to do just that in new phone-free trips.

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"What makes travel and life interesting is the connections that you make with people," said Tara Cappel, the founder of FTLO Travel. "And when you travel abroad, especially people who might not look like you or talk like you or act like you, but the more you get to know them and the more you connect with them, you realize how similar we all are."

Cappel says the trips are designed to keep travelers engaged with both empty palms and pockets.

"We had that idea because I think when you look around these days, everyone is looking down at their cell phones, especially millennials and Gen Z, which is the age range that we really cater to. And when you travel, obviously the entire point is to be up and engaging with the world and meeting the people and talking," said Cappel.

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There is some substance to the view that we're all in our phones too much. A Harris poll found that when asked whether people would like to return to a time before the smartphone era, 77 percent of Americans aged 35-54 liked the idea.

FTLO's trips aim to enrich the traveling experience without the instant gratification of social media while also axing out mobile crutches.

"Embrace the challenge of having to ask people for directions or having to ask someone to translate something for them and asking people for help engaging with locals, trying foods they don't know because they couldn't translate it. You know, like the adventure of travel that I think cell phones kind of rob us," Cappel added. 

For those who welcome phone-free travel— trips in 2024 will include destinations like Italy, Cuba, and Costa Rica to name a few.

If you're up for it, visit https://www.ftlotravel.com