Staying Connected While Disconnecting

We are much more connected than previous generations.  We are expected to respond to emails within a fairly short period of time.  If we don’t check in on Facebook regularly people start to wonder if we’re dead, or at least gravely injured. Gone are the days when most people can go completely off the grid for any length of time.

Even on vacation, most people want to be connected at some level.  These days, it’s a pretty rare person who disconnects completely, even for a 3 or 4 night trip.   At Legacy Travel, we are frequently asked questions that relate to Internet access or phone service in destination.

So, what’s the answer?  What’s the best and least expensive and easiest way to be connected while you’re at a resort in Mexico?

As in many of life’s quandaries, the answer is…it depends.

There are several different situations regarding Internet access depending on the resort you’ve chosen.  Not so long ago, the most common Internet access at Mexico resorts was “none”.  You still find that at a few resorts.

The most common situation now, though, is internet terminals either in a business center or in an area in or near the lobby.  You either feed coins into the terminal itself which gives you a certain amount of time online, or you buy a code from the front desk that you type in to let you online.

Another common situation is to find free wifi in the lobby of your hotel. Of course, this only works if you brought your laptop along with you.  Free wifi in the lobby is also handy if you want to access the internet via your iPad or iPhone.

The newest and most deluxe resorts now are starting to install in room wired and/or wireless internet.

If you have a smart phone that allows you to be online via the cell phone company, you want to be very very careful to discover how much that access is going to cost you during your trip.  Call your carrier before your trip so you’re not caught by surprise.

What if you want to call home from Mexico?  What’s the best way to do that without breaking the bank?

Again, call your cell carrier and find out the per minute charge for using your phone.  Not so long ago, people purchased phone cards to make affordable calls from pay phones (not from the phone in  your room) so they could check on things at home.  Most of the time, the rate on your cell plan is not horrible for just checking in though, so most people don’t bother with phone cards any more.

My favorite way to call home lately is via the Vonage app on my iPhone.  When I’m within the range of free wireless, I can make international calls for almost no cost at all.

A word of caution, you should never, ever, (except in case of emergency) call from the phone in your room.  Those rates are highway robbery.

Now, the question of if you should be so connected while you’re on vacation?  That’ll have to be the subject of another article.