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Top Wheelchair Accessible Travel Tips

If you are disabled, it doesn’t mean that you can’t travel. Rather, it means that you have to be aware of the important wheelchair accessible travel tips. Let’s take a look at what you need to know.

Important Wheelchair Accessible Travel Tips

  1. Don’t go anywhere without a shower cap! You can use it to protect your hair if it starts raining, or to cover your joystick controller, which is even more important.
  2. Know where your nearest wheelchair repair shop is. While you will hopefully not need one, you need to know where to go if something goes wrong. Find out, as well, whether you will get a loaner wheelchair while yours is being repaired or, if not, whether your accommodation has wheelchairs available.
  3. Take more money than you intend to spend. This is a travel tip that applies to everybody, but even more so to people in wheelchairs because there are always possible extra expenses (repairs, wheelchair access, more expensive taxis, etc.). Don’t be tempted to spend it unless you need to, however!
  4. Have all your transportation arrangements made in advance. Know how to get from the airport to the hotel, whether shuttles are available, which local taxi firms offer wheelchair accessible vehicles, and so on. If you want to go on any excursions, have your transport booked in as well.
  5. Have wheelchair parts included in your carry on luggage. That way, if your luggage gets lost, you know that you will still have your parts. Not just that, main luggage isn’t handled carefully, and many people have found that their parts were broken by the time they arrived at their destination.
  6. Know your voltage! This is particularly important if you travel abroad, where the voltage is likely to be very different from here. Make sure you have adaptors available and that your wheelchair is able to handle other voltages.
  7. Do not book your vacation solely online but make sure you speak to someone from the airline or coach, the hotel, and more. Things have a tendency to look better online and there is no way that all your questions are truly answered through a website. It is always better to be safe than sorry, so make sure you check, and check again. Make a list with all your questions, such as whether your room is guaranteed, how high the bed is, what the access situation is in the bathroom, and more, so that you don’t forget anything.

Not too long ago, people in wheelchairs couldn’t go on holidays or vacations. Thankfully, this has all changed. However, the reality is also that you have to make a few extra checks because, for all of everybody’s best intentions, a lot of lessons still have to be learned. This includes lessons to be learned by disabled travelers themselves, by the way. The last thing you want is to arrive at your destination and find that it is unsuitable to you, so make sure you check everything first.