There is no doubt that the able bodied world has made disability travel much more difficult than it needs to be. Whether you have been disabled all of your life or if you are experiencing a long term injury or recovery period, traveling through the able bodied world can be quite infuriating if you let it.
Disability travel becomes much easier when you offer yourself the chance to gather up information that is necessary to help arm you for what you might face. If you have little to no experience with the particular difficulties that you might experience, it is often best to contact a travel agency that handles the needs of the disabled and let them take the reigns for you.
Starting with the airport, make sure you understand their rules and regulations regarding special needs individuals. Some airlines will have you check your wheelchair and then offer you one that belongs to the airport.
If you must move through various doorways or rooms, you might want to find out how hard it is to push the doors open or if they have easy access push plates to open doors. It is absolutely helpful to know exactly how far your accommodations are from other various access routes such as elevators, access ramps, and entrances that are designed for special needs use.
This may seem excessive but it is not unusual for flights to be delayed by an hour or two, and having a little breathing room in between boarding time can be very helpful when your flight landed late.
Shuttles that take you and your party to car rental or hotel destinations from the airport are actually the best when it comes to dealing with people with special needs. If you need to deal with a cab company or car service, talk to them in advance to let them know what your needs will be and find out how to make sure those needs are met. Often, you can get a direct line to a dispatcher in order to call in your cab ride and you won’t have to wait long for a ride.
Hotels can be difficult when it comes to their set up. Disability travel issues often center just as much around the hotel as any other travel issue. Carpeting can make wheeling around difficult while the doorways are often only wide enough to allow the wheelchair through but are often not wide enough to account for hands that are propelling the chair forward via the wheels. Talk to the hotel in advance and be sure to leave them accurate and directive feedback about their disabled accommodations before you leave.