Tuesday 29 September

How Do You Make Wheelchair Travel Hassle-Free in Planes, Trains & Automobiles?

Book Snapshot

What is It? Barrier-Free Travel is a book that breaks down exactly how to travel when you or your companion needs a wheelchair or other assistive device.
Who is It Good For? Barrier-Free Travel is great for any physically handicapped person planning a trip or their relatives and traveling companions. The book is also perfect for someone who thinks that a wheelchair or other assistive device will stop them from making a trip.
Where Can I Get One? Buy the book Barrier-Free Travel on Amazon.com.

It's simple—just read Barrier-Free Travel: A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Wheelers and Slow Walkers by Candy B. Harrington. This is the third edition of this book and it is such a valuable resource and we wish more people knew about it.

The author, Candy Harrington, sets herself apart with Barrier-Free Travel as she really dug down and did the research so that all of the aspects of wheelchair travel or going on trips with assistive devices are covered. For example, in the book, we hear the story of a young girl with a wheelchair who had saved up for the Christmas holiday with her meager income, asked Greyhound for an accessible bus in advance and when it came time to leave found out her bus could not accommodate her. The girl's mother wanted to know if there was any recourse for this girl's ruined holidays. As it turns out, you need to give Greyhound 48 hour's notice, but that doesn't guarantee that you will, in fact, have a seat—and they only need refund your initial payment if they provide an inaccessible bus. Besides clueing you in to the pitfalls, Harrington's book also includes other stories about what is out there to help with wheelchair travel and what can be accommodated throughout the book.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Harrington mixes in real-world situations to her writing and points when and where you might run into trouble and how best to avoid it. By not just handing down the practical advice that anyone could conceive by being, well, sensible, this book actually delivers on giving you real advice on how to navigate wheelchair travel options along with other accessibility issues, including:

Air Travel. Airlines have a number of rules they must adhere to so find out if you have to pay for a checked-in assistive device and know the rules for bringing on ventilators, service animals or pressurized oxygen tanks on flights.
Trains & Buses. The author lets you know how to find trains that you can comfortably travel on both here and in Europe while also explaining the in’s and out’s of bus travel.
Cruise Lines. Learn the answers to your questions about roll-on gangway access, the availability of pool lifts, parking at individual docks and information about rock climbing walls or dialysis needs on certain cruise lines.
Your Rights. Harrington is also well-versed in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how the law is in fact translated into everyday life. Recourse for each type of travel industry and who over sees them is given so you know where you can appeal your situation if needed.
Any Type of Trip or Travel Option. Harrington also tackles travel agents, online booking and researching, camping or outdoor trips, traveling on a budget and dozen of the nuanced issues you may not know about or have considered when planning a trip for traveling with a wheelchair.