Do you love to travel, but hate to deal with barriers to accessible travel along the way? Your ability to see new sights shouldn’t be hindered by your spinal cord injury. Some destinations are harder to travel to than others, but we’ve got information on four highly accessible places to share with you. Why don’t you check them out and see if you’d like to make one of them your next trip?
Seattle, Washington; USA
Seattle, Washington is one of the most accessible travel destinations because of its public transportation. The rail system was built in 2009, which means every aspect was able to be constructed to be fully compliant with the standards of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Most of the popular tourist attractions, such as the Space Needle, or Great Wheel, are all wheelchair accessible.
Also, the city has a compact downtown area. This makes traveling to the different attractions and restaurants easy because the distances are short and the paths are well paved. Other forms of transportation, such as shuttles, taxis, and ferries are also available.
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin has many attractions, but one of the biggest may be how accessible it is! The city is flat and compact. This makes the terrain easy to travel across in a wheelchair. And there are other accommodations, such as delayed traffic lights and dropped curbs.
If you need to use public transportation, that’s also a breeze. While not all of the buses and trams are accessible, they do have ones that are. You can ask ahead of time which ones you should take, to save time and confusion during the trip.
Many accommodations in Dublin are also accessible. Several hotels have rooms that include full sized roll-in showers. And if you’d rather stay somewhere more adventurous, both Abbeyglen Castle and Cabra Castle offer accessible rooms.
Sydney, Australia
Sydney, Australia may be one of the most attractive accessible travel destinations. Almost anything you would want to do in Sydney, you can.
Accessible transportation is easily available. Even ferries and taxis have accessible options in Sydney. Public walkways are easy to navigate, and Coogee Beach has an accessible ramp with an accessible bathroom available.
Eveleigh Market at Redfern is a Farmer’s and Artisan Market that is accessible by ramp. The Australian Maritime Museum is equipped with accessible parking, restrooms, and a cafe.
Ventuno Restaurant, on Walsh Bay, is an accessible dining spot. They take reservations for people with disabilities so they can plan ahead to make sure you have wheelchair access. And the accessible bathroom at Ventuno is kept locked so that it can only be used by customers that really need it.
Accessible Travel Destinations Are Just a Click Away
While these three accessible travel destinations are good choices for your next adventure, they are certainly not your only options. Many more destinations are just a click away from your discovery. Use the internet to search terms such as “accessible travel destinations” or think of a city or country you would like to visit and then search for that name along with the word “accessible.”
Many places are starting to improve their transportation and lodgings. Cities with newer construction are typically the easiest to navigate, but even historical places are making efforts to add ramps or modify bathrooms for wheelchair use.
As long as you do your research and prepare and plan ahead of time, you should be able to have a successful trip to almost any destination.
Author: Annie Beth Donahue is a professional writer with a health and disability focus. You can find her at www.anniebethdonahue.com
