Accessible Travel Information for People With Disabilities

Author: Disabled World (DW)
Updated/Revised Date: 2026/05/29

Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Publications - Subtopics

Synopsis: Information on accessible travel for people with disabilities, with reviews of tours, cruises, flights, wheelchair accessible accommodation and travel tips.

At a Glance

• 1 - Many of the travel articles in this section were written by Disabled World members sharing their own experiences to assist other readers planning trips locally or abroad.
• 2 - Common obstacles for disabled travelers include a shortage of well-adapted hotel rooms, accessible airport transfers, wheelchair accessible vehicles, and reliable accessibility information for attractions.
• 3 - Practical tips include arranging travel insurance that covers pre-existing conditions, confirming medications are permitted at the destination, checking plug adapters and voltage converters for electric wheelchairs, and informing airlines of assistance needs in advance.

Topic Definition: Accessible Tourism

Accessible tourism, sometimes called accessible travel, is the ongoing effort to make tourist destinations, products, and services usable by all people regardless of physical limitations, disability, or age. As defined by Darcy and Dickson, it covers both publicly and privately owned tourist locations and aims to let people with access requirements - including mobility, vision, hearing, and cognitive needs - travel independently and with equity and dignity through universally designed environments. The concept is broad enough to include not only people with disabilities and seniors but also families traveling with young children in strollers.

Introduction

The Disabled World disability travel section covers reviews of accessible tours, vacations, and cruises for persons with disabilities, including wheelchair accessible accommodation reviews and articles about interesting places to visit or vacation around the world.

Main Content

Our holiday travel destinations include travel tips for those traveling with disabilities or health conditions. Many of these travel articles have been written by Disabled World members who wanted to share their traveling experiences with other readers in the hope they will be of assistance to others with disabilities who may be thinking of traveling locally or abroad.

What is Accessible Tourism?

Accessible Tourism, as defined by Darcy and Dickson (2009, p34);

• Accessible tourism is the ongoing endeavor to ensure tourist destinations, products, and services are accessible to all people, regardless of their physical limitations, disabilities, or age.
• Accessible tourism encompasses publicly and privately owned tourist locations.
• Accessible tourism enables people with access requirements, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of access, to function independently and with equity and dignity through the delivery of universally designed tourism products, services, and environments.

This definition is inclusive of all people, including those traveling with children in prams, people with disabilities and seniors.

Noting the obstacles that persons with disabilities, or those with other access requirements, face in taking advantage of fundamental aspects of travel, senior United Nations (UN) officials urge policy-makers, travel planners and companies that work with persons with disabilities to work together to make travel more accessible.

Specific problems often encountered by the disabled tourist when trying to book a holiday, scenic tours, and accommodation can include:

• Lack of well-adapted hotel rooms
• Lack of accessible airport transfer
• Lack of wheelchair accessible vehicles
• Lack of accessible restaurants, bars, etc.
• Inaccessible, or only partly accessible, websites
• Lack of adapted toilets in restaurants and public places
• Inaccessible streets (cars parking on the sidewalk, etc.)
• Lack of professional staff capable of informing and advising about accessibility issues
• Lack of disability equipment (wheelchairs, bath chairs, toilet raisers, electric scooters)
• Lack of reliable information about a specific attraction's level of accessibility (church, castle, exhibition, etc.)

Disability Travel Tips

• Wheelchair Travel Tips
• Tips to Make Traveling with a Disability Easier
• Major Airline Travel Tips for Travelers with Disabilities
• Bicycle shops are great places for wheelchair replacement parts.
• Learn foreign vocabulary that can help you describe your situation and needs.
• Consider getting travel insurance. Make sure that it covers pre-existing conditions.
• Bring plenty, even extra, of any medications that you take. Make sure that all medicines are allowed in the country you're visiting.
• Look for disability organizations or resources at your destination that can provide you with area-specific information as well as local contacts.
• If you use an electric wheelchair, look into whether you'll need a plug adapter and a voltage converter. Or see whether you can rent a battery charger abroad. Have a contingency plan if power outages or voltage drops.
• Have a backup plan, including your accommodation. In case your reserved accessible room isn't available, bring along items such as a portable ramp, a shower chair and a reacher to grab items that may be beyond arm's length.
• Know your rights. This is particularly important for airline travel, at the airport and on the plane. Familiarize yourself with applicable laws and airline regulations. Inform the airline of your situation and make assistance requests in advance.
• Understand cultural differences. You may get more, or less, attention in other countries than you would in the United States. Then again, Roth-Vinson says, you may stand out more as an American than as a wheelchair user or a blind person.