 |
|
|
 Health & Beauty | February 2007 
Accessible Vacations Open Up the World
 Paul Rendine - Disability Advocates of Delmarva
We're talking about how to more easily travel and enjoy it, even though you or a family member may be coping with a disability. We discussed ideas on how to properly plan your trip in advance in order to make it as worry free and enjoyable as possible, along with some very affordable and accessible bus tours in the Midwest, along with how people with visual impairment who use canes can acquire a more easily foldable cane that makes storage of that cane much easier and accessible to its user while flying on the commercial airlines.
More importantly, we'd also like you to understand that underlying these travel discussions is the fact that there is almost no place that you can't travel to with appropriate prior planning in advance in place.
Today, we're continuing our discussion on travel tips for people with disabilities by detailing how a mobility-impaired individual can secure a more affordable scooter rental to be used on their next Caribbean cruise, for example, along with how one who is also mobility-impaired can reserve an accessible land tour on their next vacation tour to Cancun, Mexico, too.
Again, most of these travel tips also come from a quarterly magazine called Emerging Horizons, a publication that addresses travel information with suggestions that are usable for all people with disabilities and their families.
If you are mobility-impaired, but not to the point of being a wheelchair user 24/7, and you have always thought about taking a cruise, then you can cheer up. Why? Because, now, at least for Caribbean cruises, you can rent an affordable scooter at the port city where most Caribbean cruises originate - Miami. If you do decide to book a Caribbean cruise that leaves from the Port of Miami, and your physical condition really requires a scooter, you can now arrange to rent one from the Randle Medical Supply Co. in Miami.
According to comments in Emerging Horizons magazine, they have "received rave reviews on this company from a number of readers. Apparently, they not only beat the big guys on price, but they also offer excellent customer service, too. They can deliver rental scooters, power wheelchairs, and even oxygen and portable liquid concentrators to most cruise ships that dock at the Port of Miami, Port Everglades and other Florida ports. Hotel deliveries and airport meeting services are also available." You can contact Randle Medical at 1-305-405-6333 to inquire about their rental fees, equipment available and other services..
Let's say that, for this year's vacation, you'd like to go a bit farther abroad. How does a cruise ship trip to Cancun or Mexico sound? Once you arrive at your port, call in Cancun on your disability accessible cruise ship; there is now a Cancun-based tour operator that specializes in accessible land tours through Cancun and to its nearby archaeological sites. You can check Cancun Accessible out on the Web at cancunaccessible.com.
All tours are conducted in ramped vehicles equipped with wheelchair tie-downs, so passengers can stay in their own wheelchairs during the tours. The company offers tours to Chichen Itza, Xcaret, Xelha and Tulum. Because some of these archaeological sites are large and require a lot of walking, in addition to wheelchair users, slow walkers are also offered the option of renting a scooter for the tour.
Tour prices range from $108 to $139 and include all admissions. Some tours even include meals and shows. Tours also leave early in the morning. Moreover, some tours are also only conducted on specific days so they may not be ideal for every cruise ship passenger. However, in this event, more personalized tours are also available with advance notice. Finally, for a noteworthy vacation spot such as Cancun, Mexico, it is quite encouraging that even people with disabilities now have an accessible tour option that they can also partake of in a vacation location that was, seemingly, only usable by fully able-bodied people. The world really is opening up more to people with disabilities.
So, there you have it. If you are a person with a disability - in most cases, regardless of what that disability might be - you can take your vacation, or even a business trip, to parts of the world you might have previously believed were not accessible to you.
Again, more and more of the world is being opened up to people with disabilities today. So don't be afraid to experience more of the world by expanding both your imagination and your possible travel destinations. Accessibility and accommodation for people with disabilities is becoming easier than you might have imagined. There is a big, wide, and accessible world for you out there. Now is the time to start exploring it.
So take the plunge, do your advance planning and have a great vacation or a successful business trip.
Paul Rendine is chairman of the Disability Advocates of Delmarva Inc. group. Call him at 410-860-1137 or send email to paulrendine@comcast.net. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us