Every traveler with a disability knows how difficult it can be to plan a vacation that meets your exact needs. Even with great information on the internet, sometimes you need to ask a really specific question…
“Can I use a mobile scooter on the train in Tokyo?”
“Is there an accessible toilet at the Taj Mahal?”
“Is the sleeper train from Vancouver to Toronto accessible?”
Accessible Travel Forum was built to meet this need by Josh Grisdale from Accessible Japan – a guy who loves to travel and has way too many questions he wants answered before he goes somewhere.
While it started off as a simple forum for asking questions and sharing information, it has evolved to more of a community with social networking elements and even free tumblr-style blogs for all users!
After creating a profile, you can dive into the three main areas of the site:
Forums
The forums are divided by location (UK, Japan, India, etc) as well as by topics like flying or cruises. They are easily searched and are great for researching future trips or asking for information from other travelers. For example, in the Europe forum you could make a post asking “Can I use a scooter in Venice?” and people can answer that specific question. You can also share resources you found that were useful to you in your planning. The info you share today could help countless hundreds in the future!
Groups
Groups on Accessible Travel Forum are something like Facebook Groups. They are a great way for people to join with others and discuss topics that are lighter in tone. For example, you could join the groups for “Pictures of Accessibility Around the World” and “Travelling Now!” to share your recent discoveries, or share your current reading list in “Good Reads for the Road”. You can also create a group based on your own interests like “Power Wheelchair Travelers” or “Foodies with Disabilities”. They are also a great way to find people with similar interests and make friends.
Blogging
Have you ever thought about creating your own accessible travel blog but not sure where to start? Well, just by joining Accessible Travel forum you get your own blog! They are similar to tumblr and easy to use. It is a great way to start sharing about your accessible travels with the world! Social sharing buttons on your posts make it easy to tell all your friends on social media about your post, and readers from all over the world can contact you in the comments.
Friends
As you probably guessed, communication is at the core of Accessible Travel Forum. While interacting with people on the site you can friend people like in Facebook. After you have become friends you can send private messages to each other and write on each other’s wall.
Accessible Travel Forum also welcomes influencers, organizations and companies involved in the accessible travel industry to join the community and act as experts for their location.
Go check out Accessible Travel Forum and join the exciting new community.