Disabled travellers
Travel plans being stymied? Read our tips to help overcome obstacles and enhance your travel experiences
The world for disabled travellers
People are all different. A cliché, perhaps, but it’s a fact – and one that makes travel so fascinating. It can also make travel challenging, particularly if you have particular needs in terms of facilities and access to hotels, activities and transport. But while it’s true that there’s a long way to go in many places – particularly in the developing world, but all over the planet – with planning and determination, there are few adventures that are completely off-limits. Clearly, the problems you’ll face – and the solutions – will vary depending on your particular disabilities and needs, but our pointers should help you get your bearings when planning your trips.
1. Flights. Make sure you specify your needs when booking your flight – request a narrow aisle wheelchair (designed to fit in plane aisles), but try to stay in your own wheelchair till you board. Reconfirm your requirements a couple of days before departure, and remember to ask about accessible toilet facilities on board.
2. Insurance. Ensure your policy covers all pre-existing conditions as well as activities you’re planning to undertake, as well as equipment (including wheelchair or any other specialist gear) for the entire duration of your trip, from initial departure to return. It might be worth getting a health certificate declaring your fitness to travel.
3. Other forward planning. Leave plenty of time for visa applications; disabled travellers have sometimes been required to obtain reports from speciailists before visas are granted. Choose lightweight, easily manageable luggage; if you use a wheelchair, check that you can hang your bag from the chair. Be ruthless with packing – only take what you really, really need, but do include essential maintenance kit for any equipment, such as a wheelchair.
4. Accommodation. When booking places to stay, be sure to ask the right questions – be as detailed as possible. A venue might claim to have an accessible shower, but if it’s not fully roll-in, or narrow, you might have problems. If possible, get measurements and/or photos of the facilities.
5. Getting around. Travellers have reported troubles with trains in many countries; as well as issues with accessibility, simply having enough time to board or alight a train can be a problem, since stops are often short. Buses tend to be better, despite access to seating frequently being more limited, and other passengers are often willing to help with boarding or alighting. Car-hire-company policies and availability of adapted vehicles vary widely – availability of hand-control cars is usually better at main airport branches.
6. Don’t limit your imagination. We’ve heard from disabled travellers who’ve undertaken skydives and bungee jumps, gone horseriding in New Zealand rafted the Zambezi, kayaked among the Galápagos Islands and gawped at Ethiopia’s thundering Blue Nile Falls. If you really want to try something, there’s often a way – ask!
Top resources
Access Africa – Safaris for People with Limited Mobility (Bradt, 2009) by Gordon Rattray
www.able-travel.com – Global information for adventurous travellers
www.globalaccessnews.com – A site for disabled travellers to share experiences
www.flying-with-disability.org – Information for disabled travellers planning a flight.