Active on vacation – with the right travel offers and the right assistive devices

Everyone likes to travel. A vacation promises relaxation, action and adventure or simply a break from everyday life. Even if people with disabilities must consider more than people without disabilities when planning a trip, a vacation according to one's own interests is no longer an unreachable goal. The travel industry has a lot to offer these days. Whether on land or water, near home or a distant country, active or relaxing vacations, alone or in a group, in a hotel or closer to the locals, on the beach, in a city or in the mountains – the range of accessible travel is enormous.

Active vacations often sound like insurmountable barriers at first. But that is not always the case. Various travel agencies make adventure vacations for people with disabilities possible – SailWise (Stichting Watersport Gehandicapten Nederland), for example. The company offers completely accessible water sports vacations for people with a wide range of disabilities. "We organize a real active vacation. With us, people with disabilities can go on a sailing vacation or spend time on the water sports island Robinson Crusoe, where they can also go canoeing and water skiing, for example," explains Michiel Meijers, manager of SailWise.

The sailing trips with SailWise are group trips. People sign up individually and are then assigned to a group. There are groups for people with physical disabilities, for people with a visual impairment, for people with a learning disability and also for people with a brain impairment. "It is also important to us that everyone comes to a group where they feel comfortable," Meijers adds.

In addition to accessible boats, SailWise also has accessible vacation rentals and group accommodations to offer. "Accessibility is a matter of course for us. And even if you need, for example, a care bed or a lift, these things are there. At SailWise, participants don't have to worry about anything like that. We take care of it," says Meijers. In addition, the Dutch company also provides care and everyday assistance when needed. There should be no additional organizational effort for the participants.

The SailWise manager also tells us, "We want to make water sports vacations possible and attainable for everyone – regardless of disability. Often, people with disabilities have to organize a lot extra for vacations and pay extra. That's not the case with SailWise. We want to make our offer not only physically accessible, but also financially accessible. A person with a disability also has a right to a vacation that can be paid for."

When asked why people should choose a water sports vacation, Meijers sees it like this: "Water sports have a very big added value – for people with and without disabilities. It frees you, you fight against the elements, it gives you a sense of freedom, you can let go, forget your worries, relax and become calm. Moreover, you are challenged to seek out your own limits and thus develop yourself further. It is also our goal to show people what they are capable of and to convince them of what they can achieve. Besides, in sailing, everyone is the same. Maybe one person needs help getting on the boat and another person doesn't, but in sailing there is no difference between people with and without disabilities. In a regatta, for example, we all fight together."

Elke Paatz, an accredited sports scientist and contact person for inclusive (adaptive) sailing on behalf of the German Sailing Federation (German: Deutscher Segler Verband) DSV, also confirmed this in an interview, saying, "Almost every physical limitation can be offset by making adaptations to the boats. Even someone with severe paraplegia can learn to sail a boat independently! The disability is no longer an issue once you get in the boat, take off, and sail away." (You can read the full interview with Elke Paatz here).

At this year's REHACARE it will again be 'all hands on deck' at the SailWise booth. There they will not only show videos of how inclusive water sports work, but there will also be some former participants on site who can tell interested people about their personal experiences with water sports vacations. In addition, there will be a small sailboat at the booth.

By the way, you can read even more about water sports in the following article: Sports for people with disabilities: active on land and water.

You can also take a vacation on the water with "Huckleberry Finn". "Huckleberry Finn" is the houseboat for inclusive encounters and experiences and the first inclusion houseboat in Germany. The certified sailing instructor and ocean sailor Arnold Schnittger has already undertaken many sailing trips with his son Nico, who has lived with a severe disability since birth. At some point he also wanted to give other children and people with disabilities access to water sports and its healing experiences. Thus, the project "Huckleberry Finn" was born. With his association Nicos Farm e.V. and in cooperation with the association Allianz pflegende Angehörige e.V. (Alliance of Caregiving Family Members), Schnittger created a place for inclusive encounters away from everyday life and detached from normality. On the houseboat there is time for relaxation, recreation and unique experiences for everyone.

Traveling by cruise ship is also very popular. Accessible cabins, lettering in Braille, induction loops and the option of converting the telephone and alarm clock ringing into light signals and vibration impulses, as well as the "accessibility team", are just some of the features that make a cruise with AIDA Cruises very attractive for people with disabilities. But people with disabilities can also travel without barriers with Costa Cruises, TUI Cruises and Celebrity Cruises, for example. In this article, Volker and Iris Westermann as well as Jenny Bießmann talk about their experiences with the different cruise ships and report how accessible the conditions are on deck, in the cabins and during shore excursions. If you are also interested in cruises, you should read this article: Accessible travel from booking to dream destination: ship ahoy.

Whether with a motor home, a caravan, a camper or a converted minibus – those who have vehicle and accommodation compactly with them in the form of a motor home can travel independently and self-determined. In addition, the time-consuming search for suitable hotels or apartments is no longer necessary. Another advantage is that any assistive devices needed are always within easy reach, as they can be carried in the camper. And there are now many accessible campsites in Europe. So it's no wonder that camping vacations with a motor home are a popular way of traveling for people with disabilities.

But it's not just local adaptations that make travel possible for people with disabilities. There are also many assistive devices that make travel easier or even possible in the first place. Andrea Mocellin of Revolve Mobility, for example, invented Revolve Air: a wheelchair with foldable wheels and a foldable frame. "Revolve air approaches the wheelchair in a new revolutionary way that makes it the world’s first active wheelchair that fits the standards of a universal cabin luggage size restriction. Saving 60 per cent of its space when both wheels and frame are folded," Mocellin explains. This should give all active wheelchair users a whole new level of independence when traveling. Because the Revolve Air does not have to be checked in as bulky luggage at the airport hours before the flight, there is no need to worry about damaging the valuable and necessary aid in the luggage compartment, the long wait at baggage claim is over, and there is no need for a large trunk to stow the wheelchair in their own vehicles and cabs. (You can read the whole interview with Andrea Mocellin here).

Mobility aids give people with disabilities a lot of freedom. But they must not be too bulky to transport for a trip. That is why there are now various solutions. In addition to the Revolve Air already presented, the electric wheelchairs from ergoflix are also foldable. In an interview, managing director Dennis Stadler revealed to us the advantages of such a wheelchair and how it enables flexibility and activity. Another foldable mobility aid is the ATTO scooter from MovingLife. Marcel Zwart, Sales Manager EMEAI (Europe, Middle East, Africa and India) tells us, "ATTO is easily transportable in any type of vehicle, on land, sea or by air. Some of our users travel frequently by plane and for them ATTO was a huge game-changer. It is permitted on flights, so they actually board the plane with it and store it in the overhead compartment." (You can read the full interview here).

The video demonstrates the unfolding and folding of the ATTO scooter:

Of course, there are many more assistive devices that help people with disabilities travel. Many of them will be presented at this year's REHACARE. If you want to know what to expect at the trade fair, take a look at our Trend topic Travel.