5 Travel Tips to Consider When Traveling the World With Disabilities

Traveling the world is such a beautiful thing and should be experienced by everyone. The travel industry is becoming more aware of the special needs of travelers that have disabilities. A lot of the greater services and accommodations have been made apparent by travelers with disabilities themselves.

When traveling, the thing to keep in mind is that no one’s disability is the same and everyone’s needs are different. There’s no such thing as getting on a plane and finding an area for the disabled that will fit all disabled. For that reason, it’s very important to plan ahead. Check out these five travel tips to consider when traveling.

Figure Out What You Will Require For Safe Travels

This is where planning ahead is crucial. If you want to travel the world, there should be nothing standing in your way… you shouldn’t have to settle for a basic trip that limits you to certain activities. These days, information is accessible at our fingertips.

There are plenty of locations around the world that give people with disabilities the opportunity to see the world. Philadelphia is a great place to visit with tons of wheelchair accessible activities! You can visit the Betsy Ross House and experience the Liberty Bell as well!

Whether you’re traveling with family or traveling with a large group of peers in the disability community, you need to make sure everyone will be able to maneuver around the destination. You want to be sure you go with a transportation service that handles passengers with physical limitations.

Know Your Rights

People with disabilities have civil rights designed to protect you from being treated unfairly in the world’s society. Whether you encounter an airline, hotel, attraction, or restaurant during your travels, you have the right to the same access as any other non-disabled person.

The Americans with Disabilities Act states that travelers with disabilities be guaranteed the same equal treatment under this law. This law is followed in the United States and in most countries but can get a little tricky in foreign countries where the laws and accessibility regulations can vary. You will want to get very familiar with this act as well as the Air carrier Access Act. If you experience any types of prejudice towards to you, be sure you report those violations to the Department of Justice.

Set Realistic Travel Expectations

Whether your disabled or not, traveling can be a nightmare for travelers in general. As you start to do research on your travel destination, consider formulating a list of expectations (good ones and bad ones) that you can establish in your mind to possibly expect during your travels.

Certain attractions will allow you to see the actual destination, but may not allow you to explore the insides of those attractions, so it’s very important you do thorough research on the destination and attractions you want to visit so that you aren’t terribly disappointed if you’re not able to see that particular attraction due to accessibility limitations.

Look Into a Travel Agent

There is nothing wrong with needing a little help as a result of being disabled, and it’s definitely not something you have to do alone, after all that’s the whole purpose of having a travel agent… they can do the work for you!

Your travel agent will be able to do more than just find you handicap accessible flights, transportation, and hotels. They should be able to put your mind at ease by being able to answer your questions and provide you with information about what to expect on your trip.

Now keep in mind, you don’t have to hand over all the control of your trip to a travel agent. If there are things you can do on your own, by all means, do them! A travel agent is there to help answer questions and do for you what you cannot.

Take a Deep Breath and Go See the World!

The world is such a big place, and just because you’re disabled that doesn’t mean that you have to be confined to where the wheels of a chair will take you? You can make those wheels take you to New York, the Pyramids of Giza, and Philadelphia! Traveling the world can definitely be scary, but fear of a few travel mishaps is no reason to stay at home! Live your life to the fullest regardless of how much the odds are against you. Happy Travels!