SCI Forum Reports
Traveling with SCI
April 7, 1998
"I was born with my disability and know how hard it is to travel and get accessible accommodations," said Meg Paulsen, owner and operator of Ability Travel Consulting. Paulsen was born with spina bifida and uses a manual wheelchair. As a travel consultant, she finds accessible transportation and accommodations for travelers with disabilities.
Paulsen showed a short employee training video produced by Alaska Airlines which emphasized that each traveler with a disability is unique, and each has different preferences and needs regarding seating, wheelchair access between connecting flights, assembly and storage of wheelchair equipment, and so on. "Alaska Airlines was one of the first airlines to focus on disabled travelers," said Paulsen. She advises people always to examine their wheelchair equipment as soon as it is returned to them, and bring any damage to the attention of airline personnel right away. She also recommends asking at the gate if there is room in the first class section, since airline attendants are usually happy to give those seats to passengers with disabilities when available. Although accessibility on planes is likely to improve in the future, flying is currently a very inaccessible travel option, Paulsen said.
By contrast, "travel by train is one of the most accessible ways to go if you have a short distance to travel," she said. "It takes longer, but costs less." Amtrak offers discounts for disabled travelers (with documentation of disability) and has accessible coach cars, sleeping cars, and bathrooms. Meals can be ordered from the menu and brought to your car at no extra cost. "It's enjoyable...and you're not as confined as you are on an airplane. If I had to go to California and had the time, I'd take the train," she said. Amtrak publishes a Guide to Amtrak Service for Travelers with Disabilities. For information, call Amtrak's 24-hour phone number, 800-872-7245. Amtrak's website ( www.amtrak.com ) provides travel, fare, schedule, and booking information. Travelers requiring disability accommodation should call Amtrak's toll free number rather than use the website booking system.
Because cruise companies are "old hands at serving seniors, who have special needs, " cruise ships are a pleasant, accessible, and relaxing travel choice for people with disabilities, Paulsen said. All public areas are accessible on most cruise ships, except some sun and observation decks in older ships, and "the staff on cruise ships are very helpful," she said. Celebrity Cruises is her cruiseline preference because of their special efforts to accommodate travelers with disabilities, such as getting a hospital bed on board, as they did for one of her clients. Their ships offer roll-in showers, shower chairs, roll-down clothing racks, and other accessibility features to travelers with disabilities.
U.S. hotels must follow the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines and consequently they usually have good accessibility, "except for older, historic hotels," said Paulsen. "All the big hotels are very accessible. But it still pays to check." As part of her consulting business, Paulsen requests very specific information from hotels and other vendors so she knows such details as doorway width, bed height, bathroom size, whether the restaurants provide Braille menus, etc. She gathers information about clients' exact requirements, and matches client needs with vendor accommodations. Paulsen can also arrange rental and delivery of special equipment not usually available in hotels, such as lifts for transfers, and tries to get discounts on these items for clients.
Paulsen maintains a variety of information on travel resources for people with disabilities, including guides to Disneyland ("you get to go to the head of lines"), outdoor guides to state parks around the country, and information on disabled travel groups in Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. She recommended the Fodor travel book entitled Great American Vacations for Travelers with Disabilities and distributed copies of the magazine Open World for Accessible and Mature Travel, published by the Society for the Advancement of Travel for the Handicapped (212-447-0027; 347 Fifth Avenue, Suite 610, New York, NY 10016). Her advice about European travel was "take someone with you," because negotiating cobblestone streets and other features of old cities is very difficult on one's own.
Paulsen can be reached at Ability Travel Consulting, 425-348-9115.
Other resources:
Wilderness Inquiry (1313 Fifth St., Box 84, Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546; 800-728-0719; www.wildernessinquiry.org ) offers canoe, raft, sea kayak, dogsled, and horsepack tours of wilderness areas in North America for people of all ages and abilities.
Accessible Journeys (35 West Sellers Ave., Ridley Park, PA 19078; 800-846-4537; www.disabilitytravel.com ) offers accessible holidays and vacations exclusively for slow walkers, wheelchair travelers, and their families and friends.