great takes on family travel in the U.S.

From guest blogger Glenda Watson Hyatt, The Left Thumb Blogger, continued from Traveling with a disability in North America: Hotels and Cruises.

Air Travel

Navigating airports can be daunting for the seasoned traveler, as well as those with disabilities, whether permanent or temporary (i.e. a broken leg), for those traveling with children, and for those who find airports too crowded and, thus, are reluctant to travel.

The key is to arrive at the airport in plenty of time before your flight to minimize the rush and stress of navigating check-in, security and customs. Check with your airline for the time they recommend you be at the airport. For international travelers, particularly those with disabilities, it may be three hours or more.

• Staff know their way around the maze of an airport. Accept their offer to assist and save your energy for your vacation.

• If you are a slow walker or have a temporary disability, request a wheelchair for getting around the airport. Many airports have wheelchair lanes through security, which can be much quicker.

• Arrive at your gate in plenty of time prior to departure. This way airline staff will likely pre-board you, which gives you time to get comfortable in your plane seat before the general boarding.

• Guide and assistance dogs, with appropriate identification, remain with you at all times. They are not checked into the cargo compartment like other pets are.

• When traveling with an electric wheelchair or scooter, know the type of battery: gel cell or wet cell. Typically, if it is a gel cell, you can stay in your own wheelchair all the way to the gate and it’ll be waiting for you when you deplane at your destination. With a wet cell, you will likely be required to give it up when you check in and then retrieve it with your other luggage. This means you’ll need to use an airport wheelchair while waiting for your flight.

Air travel can be a lot of hurry up and wait. Be sure to pack plenty of patience and take a book, small games or even a portable DVD player to entertain yourself or your children or enjoy a leisurely meal to help time fly by.

Ground Transportation

From personal experience, ground transportation, particularly for two people in wheelchairs traveling together, can be the trickiest part of the trip to arrange. Most accessible taxi cabs, if they are available, only take one wheelchair, and public transit isn’t always the most convenient.

• When booking accessible transportation, such as airport transfers or a sightseeing tour, Harington recommends ensuring the vehicle is lift- or ramp-equipped if you cannot transfer. She says that sometimes tour operators think that all wheelchair-users can walk a few steps, and they provide standard vehicles with wheelchair-storage space for folks that need accessible transportation.

• When you are doing a road trip, Candy Harrington suggests looking for the newer fast-food restaurants for accessible rest stops. “Granted they may not have the most nutritious menus, but most have nicely accessible public restrooms.”

There are many travel opportunities even if you have a disability. The key is to do your homework prior to your trip to minimize any unexpected bumps along the way.

Happy travels to you! Please share any tips and tricks you have found for making travel easier for you!

Additional Resources

• Accessible Transportation: In Flight Safety - Frequently Asked Questions
• Access to Travel
• Emerging Horizons
• Mexico Accessible
• Candy Harrington’s Blog
• Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality
• Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions

From guest blogger Glenda Watson Hyatt, The Left Thumb Blogger

With both my husband and I having significant physical disabilities and relying on electric wheelchairs for mobility, traveling can be challenging but, with some planning and research, definitely possible. Most recently, we have enjoyed cruising from Vancouver to Los Angeles, playing at Disneyland, and spending four nights in Las Vegas. I have also done some traveling within British Columbia. All with only minor glitches and some important lessons learned.

Hotels

When traveling in North America, keep in mind that Canada and Mexico do not have legislation similar to the American with Disabilities Act, which specifies requirements for physical access. However, this does not mean these two countries are not accessible; quite the contrary. But, it does mean not all hotels and resort destinations will meet your accessibility needs.

• When booking hotel rooms, keep in mind that “accessible” (or “ADA compliant” in the United States”) means different things to different people.

A couple of years ago, I traveled overnight to Victoria for a board meeting. The organizer booked an accessible motel room for me. If accessible room meant only a wide door, then, yes, the room was accessible. If an accessible room meant being able to park my scooter beside the bed or to get into the bathroom to even get close to the tub, the room was not accessible. The room was doable for one night. Had I wanted to take a shower or bath, the room was definitely not accessible.

Be specific about your needs. Do you need a roll-in shower? A bath bench? A flashing fire alarm?

Candy Harrington, editor of accessible travel magazine Emerging Horizons and author of 101 Accessible Vacations: Travel Ideas for Wheelers and Slow Walkers, recommends asking, “Can you block that accessible room for me?” In hotel terminology, “block” means to reserve a specific room for a specific guest. Asking the clerk to “guarantee the room” is the wrong terminology as that means “to secure with a credit card’. Harrington says if the clerk is unwilling or unable to block a room, then make your reservation elsewhere. If you can’t be sure that accessible room will be available when you arrive, then what good is your reservation.

• If there is a problem with your room upon arrival, politely bring it to the staff’s attention.Frequent business traveler Eric Lipp, Director of Chicago-based non-profit Open Doors Organization that teaches businesses how to succeed in the disability market, advises people with disabilities to speak up when they encounter an obstacle at a hotel. Ask to see the General Manager or the Manager on Duty and calmly explain your problem. Tipp who uses a scooter for mobility points out, “…you are probably the first person to bring it up. A hostile stand off doesn’t work. My experience has been that most managers are willing to come to a reasonable solution.”

• If you use an electric wheelchair or scooter, pack a power extension cord. There may not be an electrical outlet where you need to charge.

Cruises

Cruises are a great way to travel, particularly for those with mobility impairments, because everything is right there: accommodation, dining, recreation facilities and entertainment. The newer ships are quite accessible. However, the main issue is the number of accessible cabins and which passengers get them.

According to Lisa Burbank, contributing editor for National Geographic Traveler, “Cruise-line policies vary on booking such rooms in advance. The policy often depends on how quickly a ship is filling up.”

• Complete documentation. Cruise lines typically require a medical form, which will indicate an accessible cabin is necessary, so assignments shouldn’t be arbitrarily switched.

The special-needs department can also help with requirements such as flashing fire alarms for guests who are hearing impaired or Deaf and special menus for cruisers with severe allergies.

• Have your travel agent flag your reservation with a note “do not upgrade” in your record so you will not be bumped up to a non-accessible space. If you’re traveling with a group, Burbank suggests linking reservations together so one person’s cabin or dining assignment will not be changed.

I wish we had known this before our first cruise. During the registration on the day we left, we were told we had been upgraded at no additional cost. We boarded and eventually found our cabin. My husband unlocked the door and realized his power chair would not fit through the doorway. No way, no how. Things didn’t look promising when we could not even get into our cabin.

We found our way to the Purser’s Desk, where we were told the ship was fully booked and, thus, we couldn’t simply change cabins. Once they realized we were unable to park our chairs in the hallway and walk into our cabin, they told us to go have lunch while they tried locating the passengers in our original cabin to see if they could switch to a non-accessible room.

Dishearteningly we ate our first meal onboard, thinking that may be a mighty expensive lunch if we needed to disembark before the ship sailed. Eventually, we were reassigned to our cabin, which turned out to be ultra accessible. It was smooth sailing from there - until the seasickness struck.

Do you have any accessible tips to share? Please pass them on!

Additional Resources:

Disability Travel: Part I: Plan Accessible Trips
Disability Travel: Part II: Getting to the Destination
Disability Travel: Part III: At the Destination