Traveling is a sensory pleasure, but when it’s difficult to get around safely, it can be much harder to enjoy the sounds, smells and tastes of a new place.
Every airport, rail system, and point on your itinerary has different rules and different levels of accessibility and support. Even in destinations that don’t have accessibility standards similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the U.S., there are ways to make your trip easier, whether you’re traveling with or without a companion.
Whether that’s finding the right hotel or choosing a guide or tour operator who offers enriching experiences that center around sound, taste and touch (think wine tasting, cooking classes or tactile museums), it all comes down to planning, says Jani Nayar, executive director of the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality (SATH).
We’ve tapped the expertise of tour operators, travel advisors, and blind and low vision travelers to create a list of tips and resources to help you plan a trip you’ll remember for years to come.
Plan early
To ensure a smooth travel experience, you should take the time (ideally several months) to thoroughly research the supports available in your destination, says Cindy Caldwell, disability travel advisor at Full Access Vacations. That means checking every aspect of your trip, including hotel layouts, staff reviews and supports like braille room numbers and signs, large print menus and more. If you’re planning on touring the city and traveling with a cane, it’s a good idea to get a tactile map, check for cane curb markings and make sure there are audio signals for crosswalks.
Plan early and find out about accessibility features, such as tactile paving, at your destination.
Photo by Andrej Lišakov/Unsplash
Book the assistance you need at the airport
Navigating airport crowds is one of the toughest parts of traveling. But a lot has changed since the Air Access Act of 1990. Airlines are now required to help visually impaired (VI) passengers board, disembark, transfer, and collect their bags at baggage claim, and can’t require them to travel with a companion. Check with your airline when booking to find out where their pickup access points are. Consider taking advantage of the TSA Cares program and reserving a Passenger Assistance Specialist, who can help get you through security quickly and easily.
Get familiar with the plane and introduce yourself to the crew
After the flight attendant shows you to your seat, make sure you know where the call button is in case you need to be escorted to the bathroom or have other questions during the flight, says Amar Latif, who is blind and founder of the travel company Travel Eyes.
Find out if you can travel with a guide dog
U.S. airlines are obligated to accept guide dogs with the proper Department of Transportation paperwork; for cruise ships, it’s largely up to the operator. Foreign destinations have varying policies regarding service dogs, ranging from not accepting service dogs at all (United Arab Emirates) to requiring special applications, health certificates, and even a two-week quarantine that could ruin your trip. Mobility organizations recommend checking with the embassy or consulate of the country you’re interested in to find out their policies, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture to see if guide dogs are exempt from quarantine.
Ask the hotel staff for accommodation recommendations
Latif says having someone to briefly guide guests through the hotel’s layout and amenities when they check in can save them a lot of time and give them more independence in the hotel: Where are the elevators? Can they help me find the pool, restaurant, gym?
Try a tour operator that caters to the VI community
Companies such as London-based Traveleyes, Seeble and Maine-based Mind Eye Travel pair travelers with background-vetted companions who are blind or visually impaired, so they don’t have to pay to bring family or friends along.
“[Our travelers] “More and more people are wanting to go to places like Thailand and Italy that they normally wouldn’t be able to go to without assistance,” says Damiano La Rocca, director of Seable, “where they can get trained assistance and meet other people.”
Seable’s blind and visually impaired local guides lead two travelers at a time on each tour. Guides must undergo visual perception training so they can describe attractions in a meaningful way and lead the way appropriately. These companies opt for experiences that don’t rely too much on lengthy descriptions of visually stunning landmarks. Instead, they immerse travelers in physical activities like adaptive skiing and cultural experiences like wine tasting, crafts and cooking classes. Vehicle transportation is included at all points, giving you one less thing to worry about.
Leveraging technology to support
If you’re traveling alone, visual aids are available through apps such as Be My Eyes, which uses volunteers and cell phone video chat to guide blind travelers through unfamiliar areas. Many airports also use Aira, a visual interpretation app that helps blind travelers find restrooms and restaurants near their gate. Additional travel tips are available from VisionAware, an online directory of resources for the blind and low vision community.
Some tourist destinations also offer tactile exhibits to help the visually impaired better experience artworks and landmarks.
Photo credit: MZeta/Shutterstock
Don’t give up on a big adventure
Adaptive recreation organizations around the world run programs tailored to every sport, from windsurfing and skiing to rafting and kayaking.
Jessica Pita, a blind traveler and blogger from South Africa, had no interest in the highly visual sport of scuba diving until a friend enrolled her in a PADI disability program in Mozambique. With a buddy diver guiding her around the reef and using tactile hand signals to communicate depth and time, she says she never imagined how much the experience would stimulate her other senses.
“The sound of the coral was intense,” she says, “like a crackling sound, and as we got closer and deeper into the coral, it seemed like the sound was all around me.”
For Pita, the biggest lesson was learning to trust her guides, relax and have fun, and she now has dive spots like Hawaii and Zanzibar on her bucket list.
After years of relying solely on friends and family while traveling, “I needed to know it was okay to let my guard down,” Pita said.