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| Traveling for people with disabilities |
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print story|email storylast updated: 1/17/2003
Traveling for people with disabilitiesJanuary 19, 2003 ¡ª Planning a trip can be fun and challenging. For many people with disabilities it takes more work, especially when you need special accommodations.
Even though there are federal laws that require the travel industry to be more accessible. Travelers with disabilities need to be proactive when it comes to planning a vacation.
Las Vegas, New Orleans, Washington D.C. and London are some exciting cities to visit. They are also some of the most accessible cities for people with disabilities.
Celestine Willis is the independent program specialist at Chicago's National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She travels all the time.
"I travel for work and pleasure. I travel quite a bit and the thing you really want to keep in mind when you are traveling with disabilities is to be informed and organized," said Willis.
Celestine says her best travel experiences so far have been in New Orleans.
"I had a wonderful time in New Orleans and found it to be very accessible, I found the French Quarter to be great-- everybody was very accommodating," said Willis.
If you like to vacation on the water, there are a number of cruise ships that are accessible.
"For a while there we were having a little bit of a problem, cruise ships wanted to put you down in the bottom of the cruise ship if you needed accessible, but some people want to sit up and sit out on the balcony and why not, so most cruise ships now are able to accommodate individuals with physical disabilities," said Willis.
For those who fly, you'll need to work with the airlines, especially if you use a wheelchair or scooter.
"You talk with the individual that is going to break your chair down, to sort of try to at least eliminate and minimize some of the damage that may happen to your chair," said Willis.
Getting a rental car with adaptive equipment is not too difficult but a getting an accessible van is more challenging.
"There are not very many agencies around the country that handle accessible cans. So you would need to make that reservation well in advance," said Willis.
You don't have to do everything yourself. There are travel agencies who specialize in travel for people with disabilities, however you still need to know what your specifics needs are.
"You need to be able to ask the right questions, because for normal people you think the doors are wide enough, it's accessible but you have to be able to get into the bathrooms, you have to have accessibility for your outlet, there are a lot of different things you need to ask questions about," said Willis.
So if you plan ahead and ask the right questions, you can relax and enjoy your vacations.
For more information about traveling for people with disabilities you can call the M.S. Society at 312-421-4500 or visit www.nationalmssociety.org/travel.asp.
Special Travel Agencies:
Access Institute: 410-715-1241
Accessible Cruise Planners: 800-801-9002
Accessible Journeys: 800-846-4537
Blue World Travel: 800-466-2719
Flying Wheels Travel: 507-451-5005
Nautilus Tours and Cruises, Ltd.: 818-591-3159
Neverland Adventures: 800-717-8226
A Travel Outlet, Inc.: 800-708-6359
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