Wheelchair Accessible Travel: A Personal Pack Up + Go Experience
“He’ll never be able to walk independently. As he grows up, and through adulthood, he’ll be a full-time wheelchair user.”
Just two sentences were delivered about our 15-month-old baby, and our lives instantly shifted. Not “ended,” not “collapsed,” but we were abruptly set on a new path… one that required smooth surfaces and barrier-free entry!
Written by Jennifer Allen
Navigating Travel with a Wheelchair
Wheelchair travel isn’t new, but it was foreign to me. Building our itineraries around accessibility felt impossible, at first, and will always add another layer to the planning process.
Instead of just picking a place and going, we need to find wheelchair-accessible accommodations (if you’re not used to accessible travel, you would be amazed at how difficult this can be), barrier-free activities, and accessible restaurants. Then we need to map an accessible route. This includes researching which buses or trains have wheelchair access, which walking routes may include stairs, and if the destination has handicap parking or wheelchair-friendly taxis or car shares.
Families with disabilities need to know that wheelchair travel isn’t impossible… but that doesn’t mean it’s not more laborious.
Even with all of that planning, we’ve rarely had a trip go off without a hitch. There’s often something I missed or something that’s changed. No one thinks to update the website when the elevator is down.
Accessible Travel with Pack Up + Go
Based on our past experiences with accessible travel and travel planners, I assumed Pack Up + Go was something that wasn’t an option for us. It’s difficult enough for me to plan our family trips, how could I expect someone with no wheelchair experience to step into that role?
When Pack Up + Go shared their heart for inclusion and told me that they would be excited to learn through the process of planning another accessible trip (it turns out this wasn’t their first rodeo), I still assumed they would fail and that I would just figure out how to recover the trip as we went.
Delightfully, I was completely wrong.
After picking between a Plane/Train Trip, a Road Trip, a Staycation, or an Outdoors Road Trip, we completed a quick, but thorough, Pre-Trip Survey to help plan our trip. We put in our previous trips, so we wouldn't get any repeats, and all our upcoming trips. We also had the ability to put anything else in. We were able to put in our schedule of medical needs, bedtimes, dietary needs, accessibility needs, allergies, and anything else that we work around in our own travel planning. Writing it all down did make me feel a little high-maintenance, but Pack Up + Go was absolutely brilliant with everything. They communicated throughout, to make sure they got it right. Where they may have lacked experience, they made up for it with communication and attention to detail.
All of the hours of research, phone calls, and mapping accessibility that we usually do before a trip was taken care of by Pack Up + Go. We had accessible accommodations, destinations, and dining. Our itinerary included accessible transportation and accessible walking routes. It also included accessibility details and tips for each attraction - like which entrances to use. Our itinerary walked us through every step of the trip, with detailed notes on what to expect and how to navigate. As long as we were following the plan, we had 0 barriers.
This was a first for us. We experienced a travel planner as a true ally in accessible travel. I’m sure our trip planners learned through the process, and that itself will make them more aware of the disability community, moving forward.
Your Impact on Accessibility
Our success with Pack Up + Go was a good reminder that accessibility isn’t just about ramps and elevators - it’s about people.
Some of the most “accessible” trips we’ve had have been in the least accessible cities.
When we were in NYC and hopped off the metro to find that there was no working elevator, a man rushing off to work in his suit and tie stopped and volunteered to help carry the wheelchair up the stairs.
When we went to board a city bus and learned that we needed to get our tickets from downstairs in the station, a bus attendant volunteered to go get them for us.
After a stranger helped me get my kids to the top of the steps on a nature trail, he went back into the visitor center and left a note on ways to improve trail accessibility.
Your actions matter. Improve your own awareness by following disabled travelers on social media (@wonders_within_reach and @therollingexplorer are great places to start). Amplify their voices as you’re made aware of issues that need to be shared. When you visit a place that isn’t accessible, leave a review and encourage them to improve in that area. Think about it - if a wheelchair user can’t get in, we need someone who can get to the comment box to leave the review!
Traveling with Pack Up + Go has given me a renewed sense of hope. If one company is able to have this kind of impact on accessibility and disability travel - what could we accomplish if we all kept inclusion in mind?
Hear more from Jennifer Allen on Envelope to Exploration:
Interested in learning more about how Pack Up + Go is planning wheelchair-accessible getaways?
Check out this page for more information!
Do you have any tips + tricks about accessible travel?
Leave a comment below! 👇