If you're travelling independently for the first time, or are making a trip with someone who is disabled, read on for our advice to ensure that your holiday goes smoothly.
Before You Go
- Plan everything as far ahead as you possibly can. Many airlines will only allow one wheelchair per plane, and many hotels have only a certain number of accessible rooms. Wherever you are going, you need to let everybody know in advance about your requirements. Though the legal responsibility for providing special assistance lies with airport regulators such as BAA, any such requests will initially be processed by the airlines. For this reason you should notify your carrier of your needs as early as possible - preferably at the booking stage. Check with your airline about procedures before you fly. Telephone hotels to request wheelchair ramps and find out about round-the-clock room service just in case you need it.
- Research your destination. Accessibility can be terrible in some foreign countries - though there are usually ways to get around this if you want to. Lonely Planet guidebooks have details on accessibility for most cities, which is invaluable to check before you go. Cobbled streets, lots of old, tall buildings without lifts or towns on a hill can make travel a nightmare if you are in a wheelchair. Check on the transport available as well, especially if travelling on a budget - are the tubes, trams or boats easy to get into and will they transport wheelchairs? Taxis are a failsafe method of getting around in most places, but will lead to an expensive holiday.
- Research the accommodation. The excellent www.access-able.com has a searchable worldwide list of cities with details of accessible hotels or hostels. If booking independently, phone the hotel in advance and ask about the services that they have for disabled travellers. Don't rely on agents for information but make sure you speak to the hotel direct. Access-able.com advises asking the person who picks up the phone if they have been in the rooms themselves and if they say no, ask to speak to someone who has. Then ask them to describe every facility in detail, rather than simply asking whether they have it or not. Accommodation will not necessarily deliberately try to mislead, but they will always want your custom and therefore might embellish in order to tell you what you want to hear. Make sure you pin them down on all details, and if possible get a written confirmation about the services they have available, especially if wheelchair access is needed.
- Ask others who have done it. Forums can be the best way of finding information that isn't available anywhere else. The Thorn Tree forum for travellers with disabilities is great for asking questions of others.
- Pack carefully. Make sure any medication that you will need is in your hand luggage, just in case your bags go missing in the air. Some medication needs to be kept below certain temperatures so if you're travelling somewhere hot take a cool bag with you or make sure that the hotel you're staying in has a mini-fridge in the room. Carry spare prescriptions if possible, just in case you lose anything and ask for the doctor to write the universal medicine name rather than a brand name in case this differs by country.
In the Air
- Confirm with the airline 48 hours before you travel that they have details of any special requests that you've made.
- Check-in as early as you can if you need help with boarding.
- Request that your wheelchair is stored on board, rather than put in hold. Planes will usually only allow one wheelchair per flight, so an early check-in can help ensure that this is yours.
- Label your wheelchair or scooter clearly, with the gate you're departing from, where you're going to, where you're staying and a home address, just in case.
- Ask if there is an aisle chair available if you need to get up and go to the loo during the flight. Also ask if there is a particular attendant who can help you. Tell them exactly what you want them to do - they will have been trained, but it is better to make it clear what you expect than to suffer in silence.
On Holiday
- All holidays can be ruined by planning on doing too much in one day, or visiting too many places in a week. Don't overdo it and don't let anyone you're travelling with bully you into fitting too much in. If they absolutely have to go and visit the seventeenth church of the day, let them go alone and sit in a café in the town square instead.
- Be prepared to explain to people exactly how they can help you if you need assistance. Most people are willing to help carrying or pushing a wheelchair, but are often too shy to offer unless you ask them.
- If anything is not what you've been promised at any stage the only thing to do is complain. Refunds can be hard to obtain once you've got back home. Demand a new room if you need to, or even a new hotel…
Sabrina Wolfe
© Cheapflights Ltd
Updated April 2009
