Wheelchair accessible travel can be stressful at times. Even the most experienced travellers can have stressful moments at some point during their trip. Travelling with disability brings even more stress but by no means does it make it impossible. The key is to plan your trip and plan well. Here is the list of our travel tips for wheelchair users. Use this as a guide to help you plan your next wheelchair accessible trip.
Plan,Plan, Plan
Of course, planning your trip is the first step. Make a small list of places you wanted to visit and do a little research on the places to see if they are wheelchair accessible. Narrow your searches down to destinations that are best for accessibility. It’s not necessary to base it completely on this factor alone. If there is somewhere you desperately want to visit, do little more research and you’ll most likely find that it’s more accessible than you think.
“The more organised you are for your trip, the less stressful it will be”
Make a plan B, C, D and E
There is no guarantee your plan A is going to work out, so it’s important to have a back up plans. Prepare yourself for the potential problems that can occur on your trip. For example, if you have pneumatic tires (i.e. air filled), take a repair kit with you in case of flat tires or writing down the contact details of the local repair shops and mobility equipment suppliers that could help with flat tires or replacing spare parts for your wheelchair. Flat tires aren’t a risk for the EasyFold Portable Wheelchair because the tires are solid.
Book an accessible Accommodations
Booking hotels in advance is very important because most hotels, even the big hotels have very few accessible rooms and chances are that they might be booked up early. As well, if you prefer to stay at Airbnbs, you’ll need to interview your host intensely to find out if they can accommodate you (e.g. step free access). Booking in advance can also be cheaper and saves you a lot of money. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to check the reviews on the hotel website or call the hotel before booking and ask any questions you may have.
Take the accessible route
It is important to have a clear understanding of where you’re going, when you’re going, how you’re getting there and so on. Planning this before your trip will make everything easier. Planning your transportation to and from the airport is vital too, unless you know that there is definitely wheelchair accessible vehicles at the airport.
Dealing with Airlines
Flying with any electric wheelchair can be its own ordeal because each airline has their own specific policy in regards to what batteries that are allowed on their flights. EasyFold wheelchairs exceed at this by being flight friendly with nearly all airlines. EasyFold’s batteries fit inside the frame of the chair. By encasing them in metal, this allows us to meet nearly all airline authority requirements. Allowing you to ride through airports, all the way to the airplane itself. Flying with an EasyFoldWe have listed direct links to the policies for most major airlines explaining this. It’s important to have this information handy when flying with an EasyFold because not all airline staff might be aware of their own policies. It’s a good idea to have a note of the dimensions of your wheelchair before booking your flights because they ask this information to ensure your wheelchair will fit in the hold of the plane. Keeping the information ready at the time of booking saves you from having to call them back once you have the details.
2 thoughts on “5 Tips for Wheelchair Accessible Travel”
Wonderful innovation for disabled people to move the inside & outside. All modern facility are provided but I thought it would be cost full. Very useful post.If you added a video i think it would be very helpful for us.i have surgery on hydrocephalus disease & spinal cord operation in my backbone.I became very upset but when i read your post it gives me a like new life. Carry on post these awesome post day by day.
your post is very interesting to read.it’s very informative and helpful. Usually, I never comment on blogs but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job, Keep it up.
Wonderful innovation for disabled people to move the inside & outside. All modern facility are provided but I thought it would be cost full. Very useful post.If you added a video i think it would be very helpful for us.i have surgery on hydrocephalus disease & spinal cord operation in my backbone.I became very upset but when i read your post it gives me a like new life. Carry on post these awesome post day by day.
your post is very interesting to read.it’s very informative and helpful. Usually, I never comment on blogs but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job, Keep it up.