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Regardless of whether you are new to travelling in a wheelchair or a bonafide, yet physically challenged voyager, these crucial tips will make travelling experience much easier.”
There is no denying that travelling as a wheelchair user does come with plenty of obstacles. Not only do you have to keep watch over your luggage to prevent it from getting lost after a long, tiresome flight. With that; you also need to be very cautious about your wheelchair.
In short, you can never predict what new situation may come up while travelling. That’s why it is always important for any wheelchair user to properly plan and stay ahead of the game.
But that doesn’t mean you cannot immerse yourself in different cultures and enjoy interacting with different folks across the world.
Being a wheelchair user who has travelled to numerous parts of the globe, I have picked quite a few useful travelling tips along with way. Here are some useful ones for any wheelchair user who wishes to make their next expedition much easier.
- ALWAYS Get Proper Medical Advice from Your Doctor before Going
I always consult with my personal clinician (Doctor Leslie Thompson) about how to take care of my health while travelling if some complications arise. Plus, I also enquire about my mandatory health check-ups and vaccination.
You should do the same. And believe me when I say this, if your trusted consultant doesn’t advise you to travel, then heed their advice. The last thing you want to do is put your travelling companion along with your dear ones worrying about you all throughout.
- Get Proper Travel Insurance To Cover For Your Physical Disability
With that, you should also get travel insurance. With what I understand, the Australia govt (and many governments around the world) will not compensate for your medical bills or any other expenses if something goes wrong. That’s why you should get proper travel insurance to cover for your physical disability.
- Make Sure You Understand Your Civil Rights Upheld By The Law
Often wheelchair users are provided with a specific set of civil rights upheld by the law of the land to safeguard them from any form of unjust behaviour. Be it in the marketplace, airline, hotel, touring hot-spot, restaurant or even by local taxis- you (like everyone) have equal access to every available amenity in most countries across the globe.
That’s why I recommend properly comprehending what your civil rights include. Example- if you are travelling from Australia to the USA, then be sure you go through the Americans With Disability Act along with their Air Carrier Access Act.
Keep a printed copy with you at all times. This will allow you to stand up for yourself if things go awry and even report those abominable violations to the country’s Department of Justice.
- Always Request Your Airline For Bulkhead Seating
Being a wheelchair user, whenever I book my flight from the Melbourne International Airport (colloquially known as Tullamarine Airport), I specifically requested for bulkhead seating. It mainly entails the front row of an economy class flight which is a bit more spacious than any normal seat. And that makes moving around easy at the time of boarding.
Usually, they cost a bit more in comparison to other seats (no points for guessing why), but they are available to wheelchair users free of cost (yay us). However, at times, the armrest of these bulkhead seats doesn’t lift.
So, if you need raised armrests for you to transfer over to it, inform the airline at the time of making your flight reservation. They will sort out which bulking seat will be best-suited to your condition.
- Look To Reach The Airport As Early As You Can
You should always try and reach your airport at least a couple of hours early for an International flight and an hour before for Domestic flights. But being a wheelchair user, I always suggest you add an extra hour to that- just in case!
You don’t want to be caught up in a situation where you and your travelling buddy are scampering at full speed to your gate with only minutes to spare. Speaking out of experience, I can assure you that the situation can quickly turn from endearingly-ecstatic to creepily-not-so-okay!
There was this one time when my entire planning was ripped apart because my aunt Stella cleaned by wheelchair using a furniture polish the night before my flight to Germany. When the airport security officer wiped my wheelchair and did tests after that, they found traces of some explosive materials on it. Fortunately, for me and partner Shelly, the situation was quickly resolved. And that was the day I swore to never let any furniture polish get on my wheelchair ever again prior to jetting off.
My point is, last-minute obstacles can always happen. And so it is always better to reach your airport with ample time to spare in case any 11th-hour inconvenience arises.
- Always Be Sure To Inquire About The Voltage At Your Chosen Destination
This is very important. For any wheelchair user planning an International flight, it is always useful to enquire about the voltage at your chosen destination prior to going. I believe in the USA, it is 110-volts, but for other countries, it is 220+ Volts.
Powered wheelchair users – (like myself) will need to charge it at some point on reaching their travelled country. For which you will need to carry a converter and an adapter.
I, unfortunately, never had good luck using converters- simply because my wheelchair battery was strong and couldn’t properly convert. Being unaware of this, when I plugged it to an outlet in Manchester (some years back) it caused sparks to fly and resulted in the entire hotel losing power for 10-full minutes.
So, to prevent such a catastrophe from taking place, I would recommend procuring a wheelchair charger of 220-240 volts beforehand. You can easily get it at any local wheelchair repair store in Clyde, and although the cost may seem a bit more to the other chargers, believe me when I say, it will make your experience way better for all your future trips.
- Try To Book Your Transportation In Advance
To help wheelchair users travel to and from the airport (along with their suburb to suburb transfers), many countries provide quality wheelchair taxi services. Australia is one such country which has this option for most of its cities.
You should check online for quality wheelchair hire service providers to take care of your travelling itineraries. However, if you reside in Melbourne, then I suggest you go with Casey Wheelchair Maxi Taxis.
They offer quality, on-demand and punctual wheelchair taxi hire in Hallam, Beaconsfield, Clyde, Lyndhurst and many other suburbs across the Melbourne metropolitan. Their fares are reasonable, they have cordial and helpful drivers to assist you to get on and off their taxis and importantly they always ensure you reach your destination on-time.
So, coming to my point about booking a reliable travelling mode in-advance, I would recommend this company for all wheelchair users in Melbourne.
Summing Up –
For those of you who are told to believe that the world is a more complicated place than anyone can realise – I, absolutely support it. The world is indeed a complicated place. But, with all the bad, there is also a lot of good.
So, What I Would Say Is Always Have A Bit Of Faith. Yes, things can do wrong or you may face difficulty which you didn’t expect to happen. In such situations, always keep the local PD number on speed-dial or seek help from the local people.
We humans always look out for each other and if you need help, you will find good people stepping up to lend you a helping hand. It is why you should let go of your fears along with your dependency to a wheelchair, and look to explore the world.
As one of my most favourite quotes by Saint Augustine would point out – “The world we live in is a book. And those who don’t explore it read only a mere page…”
So keep these crucial travelling tips in mind. And, of course, remember the name Casey Wheelchair Maxi Taxis whenever you need comfortable and safe wheelchair taxi hire services anywhere in Melbourne!
