How do I take someone that is disabled on vacation?

Question

I want to take my mom with me to New York a week before christmas, the only thing is she can't walk very far, she uses a scooter. I really want to take her but I don't know how to travel with her. She is 71 years old, diabetic; but I really want to do something with her and I know she and I would love this trip. Can anyone tell me what steps to take so we can go on this trip?

Answer 1

Make arrangements ahead of time with the airline and hotel. The hotel can give you suggestions on what you will need to do for sightseeing. There are tours that will cater to disabilities. The hardest thing will be taking a scooter. You may be better off to make arrangments to rent on in your destination city.

Answer 2

Make sure any travel, hotels, etc. you let them know that someone is disabled and they will assist you as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. (ADA) You can even make special arragements to travel on greyhound with a scooter. My mother was in the same shape and we seldom had problems. It also helps to obtain an ADA card from your local area. Look into para-medical transportaion. It's a little nerve racking at first but it doesn't have to be a problem at all. Good Luck

Answer 3

You probably can't take the scooter on the plan, (check with the airport on that one) but you can get complimentary ones at the airport and you can get assistance in and out of planes if you plan for it ahead of time. Then you would either rent a scooter while you're in NY or maybe you can ship hers separately. If you're going to use a travel agent make sure she knows about your Mom's disability and is planning around it. They can "red flag" the arraingments to make sure you are on the same flight as her, to assist, and to get the airlines to help as much as they can. My grandmother used those kinds of services when she was still able to fly.