The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, one of my favorite destinations
Photo by: Alan Rainbow (Stock Exchange)

Thanks again for visiting Disabled Travelers!

You know, over the past many months we’ve covered a lot of territory, and some of our favorite sites – the ones that are most useful for handicapped travelers around the world – haven’t gotten as much attention as they used to.

In this post, we’ll visit some old favorites and also some new entries in the world of accessible travel, and take a little refresher course on what they offer and where to find them.

Quite a few new pages have popped up, too!

Let’s look …

Start off with 14 hot disabled travel tips from Independent Traveler, which also offers a great links page that covers a lot of topics including accessible cruises. Then try Global Access News for a local, ground-level perspective on international travel destinations; new travelogues from wheelchair users are posted every month! Current articles cover Prague, Amsterdam, and points of interest in England, and accessible hotels are highlighted, too. Speaking of hotels, please use Hotels.com and encourage them to continue expanding their disability-friendly search features!

Gimp on the Go is good for a collection of interesting travelogues; though the site itself hasn’t been updated in many moons, the archives are still worth visiting. Apparelyzed, a spinal cord injury support and community website, is also great for reading about others’ valuable international travel experiences. Disabled World also boasts a huge number of articles on many, many topics relevant to disabled travel, including accessible cruises, tour operators, and way more stuff than I could even list! Makoa.org also has a stellar general directory of handicapped travel links; prepare to be astonished!

Speaking of tour operators, Accessible Journeys has always been at the top of our scorecard. Providing customized, disability-friendly itineraries worldwide for over 25 years, it’s now visiting destinations including New Zealand, South Africa, Buenos Aires, Israel, and Chile. World on Wheelz is another well-established firm that seems to be everywhere at once: Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the U.S. West, among many other places. It’s the only handicapped travel organization I know of to visit Ecuador and the Amazon! For another option that’s adventurous and challenging, Endeavor Safaris is a big name in African excursions for the wheeled crowd.

And what about wheelchairs? A lot of “all-terrain” wheelchairs have sprung up on the market, which we like to highlight from time to time for those who want to get off the beaten path. Renegade Wheelchairs is one of the pioneers in this biz; and many folks find the Renegade ideal for outdoor sports like hunting and fishing. Everyone enjoys a day at the beach, and you might want something more specialized for such a trip, so check out De Bug Beach Wheelchairs and Natural Access. For getting in the pool or spa, Aqua Creek products might be your best bet, and the Tiralo handles beautifully in the ocean!

So, here you see the best of the best, the creme de la creme, the Triple Crown winners of handicapped travel in a whole slew of categories. Also remember that we’ve covered dozens of destinations around North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and even a few trips down south now and again, so anything that’s not covered here is probably in there somewhere! It’s been a pleasure to serve you – thanks again for reading, and adventure on!

Si

Ready to roll on land, sea, and air!
Photo by: Jos van Galen (Stock Exchange)

Hello again, folks! On today’s Disabled Travelers I want to highlight some good general resources for wheelchair and oxygen users traveling abroad. Though many airlines supply free wheelchairs for handicapped travelers on airport grounds, it’s not always clear where to find medical and assistive equipment once you’ve reached your destination. Sure, we’ve discussed these logistical issues here and there on the blog, but since this is a vital part of travel for so many of us, I thought it should all be in one place. There are also some great NEW resources for your travel use.

Scootaround is one reputable company that constantly comes up in discussion of special needs travel. With over 500 locations throughout the United States, Scootaround will not only provide wheelchairs and ECV scooters, but will actually deliver them to your location and pick them up when you’re done. Wheelchair selection includes both manual and electric models, and there are expanded services for airlines and passengers.

Going on a cruise? Special Needs at Sea is the top choice for mobility equipment rental on the water. They work with you and your cruise line to ensure that appropriate equipment is available to you in a smooth, timely fashion. SNS provides wheelchairs, oxygen, and equipment for the hearing impaired, and are well-established with fourteen cruise lines.

For great information on keeping your wheelchair safe in travel or renting a wheelchair at your foreign destination, read this article. There are lots of great tips here that really give you an insight into the differences between wheelchair designs internationally that might affect what kind you need. There’s also a listing of several rental companies for wheelchairs and wheelchair-equipped vans. For more on van rental worldwide, visit Adapted Vehicle Hire.

For a bigger compendium of wheelchair resources, check out The Wheelchair Site. Providing a great consumer guide to wheelchairs of all kinds, as well as resources that will be of use to just about any wheelchair user, like chair-based exercises to maintain your health, it’s another good way to get to know your chair before you take it out on a major excursion. There are also links for rental and related services.

Traveling with oxygen? It’s now easier than ever thanks to the variety of travel oxygen concentrators you can bring with you on planes, trains, and buses. Oxygen Freedom’s Travel Oxygen Guide gives you all the facts on preparing to travel with medical oxygen. Specific tips are included for bus, train, plane, ship, and long-distance automotive travel. For rental, try TravelO2, which offers services to more countries than any similar provider I’ve seen.

That’s all we’ve got for now, but I’m always on the lookout for products and services to make handicapped travelers’ lives a little bit easier and a lot more fun. If you’ve had a great experience with a reputable supplier, write in and let me know. In situations like these, where integrity counts for everything, there’s nothing better than real endorsements to help people find what they need!

Hope to hear from you soon. Adventure on!

Si

Recently we spent a week in Hervey Bay in Australia. Off course the highlight of our trip was whale watching, even though one of us is in a wheelchair. The crew of Quick Cat 2 were very considerate in advising us to postpone our outing by a day, due to the rough conditions. The 18th of September was indeed much smoother, and we had an ample display of whale activity.

We sincerely appreciate the help and care received from the skipper and crew. The cruise was a great experience for us all.

Regards,

Paul, Kathleen & Michael V

Hervey Bay Whale Watch website

Paris on Wheels in Middleton, New Jersey – This company is actually one man, Mr. Guzman, an American. While in Paris I did walking tours with him (he pushed me in my chair), and he referred me to another good company (great service) with whom I did van tours of Paris, Versailles, and Normandy. He knows accessible Paris like no one else I’ve come across. I believe he also does work as a travel companion for trips to Paris and other places. This company was outstanding!

Sincerely,

Adrian S.

Paris on Wheels website