Caribbean Resort Bans Mobile Phones, PDAs, Laptops From Beach

Looking for the perfect beach getaway? A place where you can sit and relax, free from the daily stresses of life such as work, commuting, managing your finances and, mobile phones?

Palm Islands, a popular holiday destination in the Grenadines, has become the first place in the Caribbean to ban the use of mobile devices. Under the ban, the use of mobile phones, PDAs and laptop computers is prohibited within half a mile of Casarina Beach.

Rob Barrett, CEO of Elite Resort Islands — which owns Palm Islands — says “there is nothing worse than lying back in your double hammock, sipping on your strawberry daiquiri and hearing the Motorola jingle in the background.” He adds that guests should be on Caribbean time when vacationing at Palm Islands, which essentially boils down to switching off your mobile phone and listening to waves crashing on the beach.

My feeling is that if you have to worry about sitting on a beach surrounded by cell phones, you’re probably not far enough away from home and need a better vacation location. The best beach vacations I’ve ever taken have been to a place where my cell phone doesn’t have a chance of making a phone call. That’s how a real beach vacation should be, out in the middle of nowhere, unreachable to the outside world.