There are several resources out there that are dedicated to disability travel planning and accommodations. Anyone that has a disability or that is planning to travel with someone that has a disability must make their arrangements with a little more care than other travelers.

Disability travel becomes much easier when you offer yourself the chance to gather up information that is necessary to help arm you for what you might face. If you have little to no experience with the particular difficulties that you might experience, it is often best to contact a travel agency that handles the needs of the disabled and let them take the reigns for you.

Starting with the airport, make sure you understand their rules and regulations regarding special needs individuals. Some airlines will have you check your wheelchair and then offer you one that belongs to the airport.

Removing your shoes and doing other security related tasks can be extremely difficult. Let the security people know that you have difficulties performing certain tasks and ask before you go what their standard procedures are for those who can not complete security checks. Of course, this can significantly shorten the time you have to get from one terminal to the next in the event of a connecting flight. Scheduling three hours or more between connecting flights can help make up for the slow airline response to wheelchair needs.

You will also find it helpful to know how far your room is from other destinations that may be on the same grounds, like restaurants, casinos, or pools. If you have to take an excessively long path to get from one area to another you should request a different room with easier and faster access to all the routes and amenities before you arrive.

Make sure that your hotel knows that you will have special needs before you book the room. Most hotels will try to be accommodating, but others literally do not have the access you will need. Make sure that you will be able to use the shower or bathtub, have easy access to the elevators, and will be able to receive assistance with your bags and any other needs you might have.

Leave ample time for your disabled travel needs. The world is far from set up to make disability travel as simple and efficient as it should be, but it doesn’t have to be a disaster either. Time and information are your two best friends when planning a trip.

The biggest problem with accessible travel is that it actually isn’t all that accessible. Restaurants and restrooms are simply not set up to allow for the maneuverability of a wheelchair.

There are many special needs bathrooms that are literally too small to allow a wheelchair to be manipulated 360 degrees to allow for full access to the toilet, door, and the sink. Airports, train stations, and bus depots have created excessive difficulties when it comes to maintaining reasonable access ramps and doorways that are reasonable to navigate. All of these are impediments to fully enjoyable travel for the disabled.

Often those who need a little extra assistance while traveling are denied timely access to that assistance. Airports and other forms of public transportation need better education amongst the staff  when providing assistance to the disabled. The location of access ramps, elevators, and assistance buttons are generally inconvenient enough that it can’t really be considered accessible.

Moreover, the able bodied employees of the travel industry often do not think in terms of relative safety as it applies to the disabled. Leaving someone sitting in a wheelchair, tucked nicely and discreetly out of the way, can attract unscrupulous individuals who like to prey on those less able than them.

Also, all employees should be required to spend a day learning about the needs of their disabled customers. My wheelchair doesn’t give me the right to spend less on my travel expenses and yet I am not considered for equal, fair, and even sometimes humane treatment. It is easier to push those who need extra assistance into a corner and wait for someone who “specializes” in their needs rather than taking the time to ensure that the corner I am pushed into is a safe and reasonable.

Traveling by car, plane, bus, or train should be an experience that is safe, courteous, and perhaps even right on the edge of pleasant. Yet due to underdevelopment of staff personnel and the poorly planned design of many of today’s accessible travel facilities there is little hope for independent travel.

Access should be easy enough to get to that those with all kinds of disabilities should be able to travel without the need for extra assistance that they would not normally require. Management of travel facilities can play a huge role in creating the safe and user friendly environment that is required not only by law, but by the state of consciousness.