Wheelchair accessible travel across the world – where should I go?
Red May 25th, 2009 21 Comments
Video blog #3: Travel!! from Red Nicholson on Vimeo.
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Hi Red
This website gives you info on wheelchair accessable travel on a global basis. I have looked up several other sites for you, to help you out on your question of ‘where should I go?’, but this is a starter for one. http://www.makoa.org/travel.htm
By the way, you look awesome in your video, I would love to travel, no finances to do so, but you are going and that’s great for a young guy who wants to see the world. I will always be happy to assist you, wherever I can.
Cheers
Susan
Hi Susan, that’s a great website, thanks!
Hi Red
Where are you planning on travelling to? Any country in particular?
Do you have ancestry in your family tree, which could take you somewhere that might be worth a lot to you when you have found out where your family orginates from, besides being a Kiwi?
What is your mob number, its easier to txt sometimes, don’t know about you, but I have more time to txt than I do to type on the computer!
Cheers
Susan
Hey Red
France is good access wise. Footpaths are sometimes a bit touch and go but what else is new? People are really willing to help and public transport is GREAT. (The only thing is you can't use the Metro in Paris because it's only accessible by stairs, but buses and trains are good). Venice is a disaster access wise. As for how to fund it I'm not sure there but if I think of something…
For those of us who could manage (just) on a plane, it would be ideal to be able to arrange with an overseas support agency online to have a local person meet us off the plane and go from there, thus having to pay wages but not airfares for a second person. But I don't know if it's possible, it sounds like it could be a major headache, and not all of us can or should be on planes alone.
In the first instance, I think you should try very hard to persuade a friend/family member/distant acquaintance with whom you're comfortable that they really ought to have a holiday too…
As for specific destinations, I'm always hearing wonderful things about Berkeley, California, where the civil rights movement for PWDs supposedly started. From personal experience I can only say that I was astounded on a trip to Brisbane almost ten years back to find that they have trains there which are fast, quiet, accessible, and go where you need them to. This was quite a revelation for an Aucklander!
Wherever you go, I'm sure you'll have a great time–you have that whole positive, open to adventure attitude that I think would see you well just about anywhere. Do you speak any foreign languages? That might indicate a possible destination. Also, in your case, if you're at all considering a European destination I think you should look for someone studying at AUT since you're already there–either a foreign student who might be wanting to return home after term's end anyway, or a student of, say, German, who might be quite keen to visit Germany.
Hey Red, brilliant site.
London is an amazing city but falls down a lot when it comes to wheelchair access. A lot of tube stops – the oldest and so most central – don't have step free access. Most tourist attractions are wheelchair accessable, with the big and annoying exception being parts of the castles that are dotted around the UK.
Hello Red,
Very interesting topic. I too want to travel sometime in the next year or two and have been wondering what I will do about carers and stuff like that. I would like to go to the U.K, and doing the rest of Europe by train is an option I think.
I take off for Paris next week. I'll be in a small folding manual wheelchair, and with my parents.
Has anyone got insider info on 'normal' cabs? Like, is it common to have big, ugly LPG tanks in the boot, thus making it impossible to fit my chair in?
Katherine, I hope you can answer me! I take off at exactly this time actually, next Sat.
Any hints appreciated.
Btw, I was in Berkeley for 3 yrs as a kid. It may have been well known as a great place for crip adults, but it just was freer and easier growing up here. Everyone was too worried about having lawsuits slapped upon them, to let you try doing anything different. But, gee that was 28yrs ago! I was too young to notice, but Mum got the impression that crip kids were locked away, and so only the adults were let loose…
oops. i typed in my webpg wrongly first attempt. try this second.
Katherine, all the info I've come across so far ( I'll look at the one cited above now) , says Paris isn't geared up for wheelchairs. So, yeah, you've given hope! Is there a trick/knack to handling public transport in Paris? I asked about taxis before, coz i had given up on the rest.
cheers.
ME ME TAKE ME!!!
Emma, If you wanna come vith me, it's just gonna be natural history museums bar the arty conference I'm delivering Dad to. Otherwise, no artyfarty stuff allowed!
(well, if you see me go into a coupla art galleries & Gothic cathedrals, I'll deny everything coz it'll destroy my rep…).
Kay- This has been my own personal experience although it should be noted that I never travel overseas on my own. I do stand by the earlier statement that public transport is good although the metro can't by used by anyone in a wheelchair. (as stated above).
Hey, thanks Katherine. Arrived home yesterday, and I'll try & report later to do my bit. it seems the curbs in Paris must've been all fixed up, coz they were great. taxis fine for our purposes. buses looked all accessible to me too, but dad couldn't risk using them just in case the way they parked up wrecked his back for the rest of trip – they probably were fine by all accounts. i'm in the same situation in that i had others helping me. Red's adventures, I think, will continue to be far more adventurous in that regard. The trip was more than i could ever dream. i'll write another short note later, but really i've seen much more comprehensive notes here concerning accesses etc, and i've the had the luxury, so far, of just bowling up to places & improvising. plastic water bottles, for example, in places where you just can't use the shower over the bath, are wonderful things…!
later,
recovering from a happy overdose on Greek and Roman material once i couldn't inflict the nat hist stuff on my parents any longer,
k
"Accessess"!? wtf?! Please put that down to jetlag -
The Louvre was a feat to wheel around, but I'm glad we all persevered. Technically, it's entirely accessible. The way I would describe it's access is that there are multitudes of split-level galleries, and so even to get to places on the same floor, you're commonly having to go up or down to another floor, across other galleries, in to another lift again, and then somehow returning to either the same floor if desired, or the next level of that same gallery (at last)! i know it sounds grand to have collections in a palace, but it doesn't do either justice. The Oceanic collection was waaaaaaay faaaaar out in distance, you have to ask several sets of guards to get there (it's the area Dad specialises in – so i had no choice but t0 see it). The Assyrian and Persian stuff just blew me away and were easy to get to. We just whisked past the paintings, beautiful and wheelchair accessible, but in no way what our two day limit at The Louvre could allow. I didn't manage to see the Greek stuff there, the Greek stuff I alluded to above was seen later at the British Museum. Others could complain here-and-there about lighting and label placement from a disability perspective, but I've heard the way people grumble about these without knowing the curatorial and artefact conservation constraints, and so a lot of such grumbling leaves me cold.
There's a massive archetechturally [sp?] designed ramp into the galleries of the Quai Bramly (ethnic) art museum. By all reports, everyone misses the lift for crips to dodge this, and many I know have had to grovel to use this saying they will be very obviously disabled by the time they reach the top, damnit! The gallery also has sloping floors, designed to be rough/bumpy – so don't shoot me as messenger! But, god, the collections are fantastic, incl about 8 very exquisite Maori pieces & a lot from where France had colonies.
BUT… oh god, I'll write about the rest on my own webpg later and post the link… coz i'm probably boring everyone silly with irrevalent stuff… um. you don't want to get me talking on how seeing a very old fashioned teaching paleontological and comparative anatomy museum really did mean the world to me. The British don't seem to realise how much the French made much of modern biology possible. I'm kind of giddy right now with all i've seen and learnt, informing my continual studies in ecology and evolution.
flying a Middle Eastern airline was an adventure as to how i was treated, and i know for this kind of website, it'd be handy to explain what i mean, but i'm just not thinking that way in comparision to all else i've experienced throughout the trip. maybe later.
Yeah, I'd just add for now that i spose ive been spoilt all my life now on qantas & airNZ where everything is such a breeze.
on the economy leg, i was stuck back at row 44, i think the airline didn't know the diff between an aisle chair and an aisle seat, they offered everyone else menus and newspapers even when it was obvious that others just were fine about sharing too. I wasn't offered the choice. They were graci0us on the few times i asked. We were cloistered away by airport groundstaff into a
'special' transit room at Dubai, with no clock or departure boards on the wall, boarding passes were taken from us, we were yelled at when we wanted to go and peruse the duty free – it was archaic. full credit to the staff that tried, but just had no idea how to help. Dad and i ended up pissing ourselves laughing at it all, but it was sad to think how for some, i guess that kind of treatment is the norm. In Paris, I eavesdropped on a few Anericans at the next breakfast table, and was poignantly reminded by them saying that disabled pe0ple have been rare on their travels and some across the world havent even gone to school, nor taught to read. i know it sounds twisted, but at times that's why i cant stand to hear crips whinging away over the smallest of issues here in nz. but i kinda do understand what's made some of us so militant from time to time, i fear it just creates an adverse reaction in itself though, that i hate seeing in those i care about very much.
the people were great in paris though. the very apparently frail seemed to feel so free to walk though even the busiest of intersections, and the plenty who offered help seemed to walk on cheerfully without looking back when graciously declined. in auckland, i get so anxious when dogooders dont leave me alone, that i end up crumbling as they expect. i think they are ready to insist i should be in care, or something and i hate it… i hate what it can make me become, if i let it. but i think understanding the dynamic gets me on top of it.
thanks for allowing me to get this down in order to get on with the brilliant impetus towards my own ways that this trip has given me.
k
ouch, i just read about a kid in Carterton, who has lost some funding for local schooling. i cant tell how comprehensive the alternative option to attending the local school would be. read it on "stuff" and her name is Wiki. lost the link. sorry.
at least we're in a society where we know this ain't ideal.
Hey bro its good to see that you have a desire to travel. I learn more about myself each time I travel. I think its important for everyone to try at least once in their lifetime. Travelling with a disability can take the fun out of it though. I remember my first backpacker experience. We tavelled with way to much luggage so I recommend firstly to try and go to places with the same sort of weather. We did mid winter in Europe to stinking summer in Thailand and Australia meaning we had to cart around our jackets and thermals. So in terms of clothing pack lightly bro and save the space for medical supplies and of course shopping!
I found it really hard to stay in backpackers. They were usually inaccessible and I hate snorers. We never booked in advance because even though they say they are accessible its not always the case. Its no fun tho have to sit on the floor to shower nor leave the door open to take a dump. I think you'll need time to organise your accommodation to ensure it cheap enough and accessible.
Don't be afraid to travel to places like Turkey or other Asian countries. I found the people in these places are overwhelmingly helpful. Someone is always on hand to get you out of a pickle.
Rome is my favourite place in Europe but if you want to talk to an expert you should get in touch with Craig Grimes http://craiggrimes.com/ he has numerous wheelchair accessible sites and even has a booking facility on one of them.
Craig has inspired me to tackle destinations usually off the disability travel radar such as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Argentina etc. But most of all I'd love to go to Barcelona http://www.accessiblebarcelona.com/
Check out http://www.btcmovie.com/btcultimate/phase1/ Beyond The Chair for added inspiration.
As for getting someone to pay for your trip…good luck on that one…tough times bro.
All the best my man
Curt
reread the last entry & now i'm itching re rome. africa beckons too! but pa wants yukatan. only interested in what's already died out…
Hi everyone! I came across this comment about places to travel to while doing some research. I am a para and work for http://www.wheelchairtraveling.com where we have created many travel guides for California, U.S. cities, and one international destination (for now). Anyone can add information and photos of their own. Check it out and let me know if I can help you with your travel plans or answer any questions. Would love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Ashley
Hi,
Im really wanting to travel to the U.K and Europe.Your stories and comments have really inspired me. So far my only travelling has been to Australia and round NZ so it will be a big leap when it does happen.
If there is anyone who is dependant on an electric chair for mobility has any experiences or advice I would be thrilled. My condition is Muscular Dystrophy.
I would be happy to shae my experiences with others as well.
I have taken numerous trips to Europe in my wheelchair and have posted accessibility reviews and disabled travel advice on a website I created. You can find all sorts of information on disabled access in Europe including accessible hotels, accessible museums, and accessible transportation. http://www.sagetraveling.com
I hope you find it useful!