Disabled Travelers’ Best Places to Retire Series: Disabled Access Brazil
Posted May 13th, 2011 in Accessible Travel
Brazilian beach
Photo by: Photo by: danielmosc (Stock Exchange)
Welcome back to Disabled Travelers!
Last week, we checked out accessible travel in Argentina, marking a rare trip to the south for our beloved blog. This time around, we’ll be continuing our “Best Places to Retire Outside the U.S.” series, with a tour of wheelchair accessible accommodations and attractions in that perennial hot spot, Brazil.
Like Argentina, Brazil benefits from an accessible tour package provided by the top-notch disability travel specialists at Accessible Journeys, but I’m willing to bet that’s not all we can discover. Join us for the Brazil access guide, won’t you?
For a local disability tour operator in the capital city of Sao Paulo, The Rolling Rains Report suggests Happy Life Tours, which has a wheelchair accessible van in its fleet. As of the time of this writing, though, the HLT website seems to be available only in Portuguese, the national language of Brazil. TVTrip has a directory of disabled hotels for Brazil, with emphasis on wheelchair accessible accommodations … but be careful, as the definition of accessible can vary. For high points and low points of accessibility in Sao Paulo, the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange has a page from a visit to the Universidade de Sao Paulo – very revealing and candid!
One of the best sources for disabled travel tips for Brazil is AngloINFO. The site’s Notes for Disabled in Sao Paulo, Brazil gives an in-depth listing of services for the physically and visually disabled, dealing with local public transportation, and other details disabled travelers will find helpful. There’s even a list of local disabled advocacy organizations sure to be of use for anyone considering a long-term relocation. Lonely Planet also has a great introduction to Brazil, which provides pointers on getting the facts you need to deal with the recent flooding in the countryside. For general guidelines on travel, stop by the local travel guide: Brazil Travel Information. Just Brazil is another guide that goes a bit deeper on attractions, what to pack, and much more.
With two down and eight to go, the Disabled Travelers guide to the best places to retire is rocking through the southern hemisphere and blazing trails in places we’ve never been before! Next on the original list, as written by CNBC, is Costa Rica. From there, we’ll be spending a few weeks in more familiar surroundings, including France, Italy, and Mexico. Of course, savvy readers of the DT blog know that we’ve visited these places – but it might be high time for an update. And naturally, we’ll continue to provide the best in handicapped travel and accessibility news as we go. Hope to see you there!
Si
