7 ways for people with disability to travel better

Travel is therapeutic and liberating. It is an experience that lets you soak in the new environment, culture, cuisine, practises and so much more. But let’s take a step back to think if travel is truly liberating to all. As of today, 10% of the world’s population live with a disability. Have we made the surroundings convenient for them to travel?

The United Nations has listed the following as reasons that hinder people with disabilities to travel:
•Untrained professional staff capable of informing and advising about accessibility issues
• Inaccessible booking services and related websites
• Lack of accessible airports and transfer facilities and services
• Unavailability of adapted and accessible hotel rooms, restaurants, shops, toilets and public places
• Inaccessible streets and transport services
• Unavailable information on accessible facilities, services, equipment rentals and tourist attractions

But hey, there is a bright side to everything. We’ve put together a list of websites that specialise in helping people with disabilities travel the world.

1. Traveleyes: Award-winning tour operator with over 15 years experience in holidays for blind, visually impaired and sighted travellers. Whether you’re travelling solo, as a couple or with friends, you’ll be part of a small group. Traveleyes groups are a mixture of both blind and sighted travellers. Sighted traveller shares his sight by describing the wonderful world around. You won’t need any experience of blindness and, as an added benefit, you get a subsidised cost of your holiday by up to 50%. As a blind traveller, you’re able to book a holiday with the same freedom and independence that sighted people have always enjoyed. What’s more, you don’t have to bring anyone with you, as you will be joining a group of like-minded explorers.

2. Disabled Holidays: UK’s accessible holiday specialist provides you with all the support you need at every step including choosing, booking, preparing to go, travelling, holidaying and coming home. They spoil you with an exhaustive list of holiday types to choose from like safari, ski, beach and what not. They guarantee accessible rooms, provide mobility equipment on hire, flight and airport assistance, and adapted transfers.

3. Enable Travel: Holiday tours designed by the disabled for the disabled with an aim to make India more accessible. They provide the finest recommendations for travel and specialised equipment for our India tours so that not only you but your family and friends have a relaxed and a memorable holiday. While they focus on tours within India, they have some international tour options too. Tours are customised for different disabilities.

4. Dementia Adventure: They enable people living with dementia to get outdoors, connect with nature, themselves and their community, and retain a sense of adventure in their lives. Whether you want to relax by the coast or walk up mountains, they have something for everyone. They offer a bespoke holiday service which is ideal for families or groups of friends who want to go away together. The holidays are based around there being at least two people to support a person living with dementia, a person who knows them well and a person from the Dementia Adventure team.

5. Enable Holidays: Enable Holidays is an award-winning disabled holiday specialist providing accessible tailor-made holidays for wheelchair users with guaranteed adapted accommodation. They have detailed information on every hotel, villa and apartment featured, and their well-trained staff will tell you everything you need to know to book a perfect holiday. They have a variety of holiday types like luxury, assisted, all-inclusive accessible and whole lot more. They also provide mobility equipment on hire, in-resort representatives, airport transfers.

6. Accessible Travel Netherlands: ATN was initiated to provide tourists with accessibility information and to create awareness amongst tourism organisations about the importance of accessibility and inclusion within tourism. They work with individuals, foundations worldwide and tour agencies. They specialise in local knowledge, offer package holidays and tours and activities, city tours, excursions. They also provide mobility equipment for hire and accessible transfers.

7. Disabled Access Holidays : An online travel agent offering services to disabled people throughout the UK and abroad. They are a one-stop shop for all your travel needs right from insurance to airport transfers. They even offer wheelchair accessible holiday taxis. They have over 1000 accessible hotels and cruises available on their site for you to pick your dream holiday.

With such travel options, it leaves us with the hope for a more inclusive tourism. Because travel is a holistic and life-altering experience should not be restricted to a part of society.

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored or endorsed by any of the organisations mentioned.

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