From the narrow streets to the rough, cobbled roads and few-and-far-between bathrooms, Europe can be incredibly challenging for disabled travelers. Depending on your destination of choice, your trip may require extra preparation. The following are links to resources that can help those with disabilities better prepare for their trip abroad.
Other Helpful and Useful Links
- Ablethrive.com: This site has tips and suggestions from other disabled travelers about various important topics—from how to enjoy a wheelchair-accessible Caribbean Cruise to lists of attractions that can be visited on a wheelchair in several locales. The site also has more practical advice on what disabled travelers should know when flying and things to consider when looking for hotel rooms.
- Tabifolk: This site sells itself as a “way for travelers with disabilities to connect, ask questions, and share wisdom.” The site shares information in community forums, including smaller, shorter-themed conversations that aim to answer YOUR questions. The community forum set-up allows participants’ questions to be answered and discussed from various perspectives, offering a unique eye for nuances that can’t be answered on a FAQ page.
- Airbnb.com: Airbnb added 21 accessibility filters to its site in 2018, intending to make it easier for guests with disabilities to find accessible travel accommodation worldwide. Guests can search for listings with features such as wide doorways and hallways, step-free access to the front of the home, bathroom, and bedroom, and accessible parking spots.
- Handiscover.com: This site allows the user to filter by their mobility level and then book the hotel room or listing that fits the user’s needs directly from their site! The site also includes a blog and travel guides with sections such as “Coasts & Cliffs", “Islands & Peninsulas", and more! The blog contains many articles with lists of the best accessible destinations and things to consider before traveling abroad.
- Rick Steves Tips for Travelers with Disabilities: This article, published on Rick Steves’ Europe website, features advice from John Sage, who owns Sage Traveling and has traveled Europe in a wheelchair, and Susan Sygall, the CEO and co-founder of Mobility International USA. Sage says to plan ahead, and as soon as you can—on where you’re staying, the area you’re staying in, what you’re planning to see, which (if any) tours you may want to take, and possible backup plans. Sygall has lots of specific advice on a smooth and successful trip, including learning a little of the language of the country you’re traveling to in case you need assistance, getting information about disability groups in the area, and keeping a positive attitude.
Travelers With Disabilities Blogs
Gem Hubbard is a Vlogger from the UK and has over 3.7 million hits on Youtube and provides tips and products that have come in handy to her when traveling and inspires the wh have also struggled with being in a wheelchair after an injury.
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