Some tips for traveling with a disability - enabled.in

Some tips for traveling with a disability

If you are planning on traveling with your family then you must keep some safety travel tips in your mind. Some important and safety travel tips that a traveler must keep in mind while traveling to India are:

1. Before incoming to a tourist destination in India, a traveler must be aware of the all local laws and customs prevailing in that region. This will help the traveler to enjoy a confusion free vacation.

2. To enjoy a irritate free vacation in India, it is important to always keep in touch with your contacts back home and in India and regularly informed them about your location and activities.

3. Never disclose any important personal matters and travel plans to any stranger while holidaying in India.

4. To avoid incident of pick pocketing, always keep your wallet inside the jacket pocket or side trouser pocket. Don’t carry large amount of cash with you.

5. Always keep the attested Photostat copies of your travel documents with you while put away the originals in some safe place.

6. While traveling in India, try to hire cabs or taxis from probable travel operators or personnel such as Tourism-of-India Tour Operator. It will help you to avoid any problematic situation.

7. Don’t seek advice of the taxi drivers for accommodation. It will be better if you search best hotels on the internet for your comfortable staying.

8. Try to carry proper medications and drink only bottled mineral water to avoid various water-borne diseases and don’t take spicy foods while vacationing in India.

9. Try to learn some local words. In north India Hindi is the primary language, Southern India has a separate language for each State. Lot of people in India speaks English, especially in popular tourist places.

10. Most important thing is choosing hotels for your staying. Make sure that the accommodation you choose is in a peaceful location and offers the type of facilities.

1- First thing drinking water create is a huge problem during whole India journey, so keep some water disinfecting solutions handy to keep yourself health.

2- Check with your doctor for vacation he might recommend you get before you go to India.

3- Take some comfortable and conservative clothing made with natural cotton or linen that are able to stand to the heat and dust of Indian climate.

4- Do not put all of your money in one spot, spread it around your clothing, hidden pouches, socks or even shoes to keep some in case of unfortunate robbery.

5-Try to avoid street taxis and hire only cars that are recommended to you by your travel agent or hotel you are staying.

Travelling to a dream destination is always refreshing matter of life. Years before it can only be dreamed by the humans who were physically sound. But today, in most countries travel by people with disabilities, also known as “disabled travel” or “accessible travel,” is on the rise. The travel industry is waking up to disabled travelers’ special needs. Meanwhile, the sheer abundance of information on accessible travel is astounding much of it generated by disabled travelers themselves.

Disabled Travel Advice was formed to offer a unique reference point on extensive advice on travel for the disabled. It was set up to help travellers with a disability access services which should make their experience of travelling much more pleasant.
Every country with Disabilities Act guarantees that disabled travelers should receive equal treatment under the law. While this would be the case in a perfect world, it doesn’t work out that way in real life. Disabled travelers frequently face inadequate facilities, prejudice, misinformation, general hassles and higher prices than other travellers. The following tips will help disabled travelers and their companions anticipate some of the snags of accessible travel.

Travel Tips

  1. Call ahead. Mention your needs at the time of reservation, and call the provider 24 to 48 hours before your arrival to confirm that proper accommodations have been made
  2. Be specific and clear when describing a disability. Not all service providers know the “lingo” of accessible travel, or the medical terms for certain conditions. Don’t downplay the severity of the disability.
  3. Be specific and clear when describing the trip to your doctor. A doctor can often prescribe measures for coping with an unusually long flight, limited medical facilities at your destination, the unavailability of prescription drugs, and other pitfalls of traveling.
  4. Take a doctor’s note and phone number. Travel with a statement from your doctor, preferably on letterhead, covering your condition, medications, potential complications and other pertinent information.
  5. Bring extra medication. Many experts advise that you travel with two complete packages of essential medication in case of emergency. Store all medications and other necessary medical supplies in your carry-on bag.
  6. Investigate physician availability where you will be traveling. Your doctor, health care provider, insurance company or local embassy can provide the names and contact numbers of physicians at your destination.
  7. Carry medical alert information
  8. Consider using a specialist travel agent.
  9. Allow plenty of time before your flight to check in, get through security and transfer to your gate. Arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight more if you’re traveling at a peak time.
  10. Check in with your flight attendant before your plane lands to make a plan for exit.
  11. Avoid connecting flights. Although wheelchairs are the last items to be checked into the luggage compartments, and thus first to be pulled off, flying direct can save you unnecessary time and hassle. One exception: If you have trouble maneuvering into airplane lavatories, long flights may become uncomfortable so a series of shorter flights might be a better option. If you do choose to connect, be sure to allow plenty of time between flights to get from one gate to the next.
  12. Don’t forget about transportation to and from the airport. If you have a wheelchair, make arrangements in advance to have an accessible vehicle pick you up in your destination city
  13. Bring spare parts and tools. Wheelchairs can take tremendous abuse while traveling; assemble a small kit of spare parts and tools for emergency repairs. You may also be required to dismantle a wheelchair for certain flights or activities; make sure you and your traveling companions know how to do this.
  14. Know your rights. Before going through airport security, be aware of the TSA’s rules for travelers with disabilities and medical conditions. The Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division has a comprehensive guide to the rights of disabled air travelers.

Travelling by Sea Travelling by sea, can often be difficult for those who are disabled, but newer, more modern boats are beginning to make journeys more accessible. Angina and breathlessness can be worse at high altitude and sometimes in aircraft. If warned in advance the airlines may provide additional oxygen.

  1. Ferry companies and cruise operators will often insist that a disabled passenger be accompanied by an able bodied companion for the journey, depending on the nature and extent of the disability. One reason for this is that in the event of rough seas, a disabled passenger may encounter difficulties.
  2. Some cruise companies may ask that you are medically fit to travel, and provide proof of this, before travelling.
  3. On most cruises disabled cabins are available, but it is advisable to book these early as there are only a limited number of cabins suitable for disabled travellers.
  4. Cabins for the disabled, especially on more modern ships, are usually placed with better access to all public areas and lifts. They are designed with wider doorways, hand bars, low level controls, low door peep holes and specially designed spacious bathrooms. It is worth checking that balcony suites have ramps onto the verandah, that outside decks can be reached without assistance and that lifts are wide enough for your wheelchair.
  5. You may be requested to arrive approximately one hour before your time of departure, although this does not mean you will automatically board earlier than other cruise passengers. The main reason for the request is so that the loading crew is able to spend time evaluating your needs.
  6. For visually disabled, on board cruise ships Braille facilities are fairly standard, with lift buttons, deck numbers and cabin numbers in Braille. You should also be able to request a menu in Braille.
  7. For deaf and hearing impaired passengers many cruises have special equipment such as lights that indicate someone has knocked the cabin door or that the smoke alarm has been activated, along with a telephone amplifier.

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