Accessible holiday activities

Although the safari world is not exactly shouting about the fact that they welcome everyone on game drives, many are making serious attempts to be more accessible, from open-plan, ground floor rooms in lodges to door-to-door transfers and massages after arduous game drives. We have specialist safaris on offer in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, which cater for wheelchair users, although facilities for people with sensory or cognitive disabilities are not as high up there on the agenda yet. However, it is definitely a start. It is also worth speaking with our safari suppliers who are experts in tailor made itineraries. They know their destinations like the backs of their hands, as well as their guides, accommodations and activity providers. They can find out if a balloon ride over the Masai Mara might work for you, if the bush is manageable in a wheelchair on a walking safari or if a one to one guide is available to lead you across the plains if you are visibly impaired. An open canoe safari on the Zambezi might have seemed beyond your dreams but who’s to say something like that isn’t possible?

Many people assume that multi activity holidays involve such a degree of challenge and physical exertion that they aren’t suitable for people with disabilities, but in Croatia at least that’s far from the case. Activities such as kayaking, river rafting and swimming can usually be adapted to take into account the needs of travellers with limited mobility, cognitive disabilities or reduced vision and hearing, though you may want to bring along a companion. Amid the glorious setting of Plitvice Lakes National Park, holiday companies are well used to organising itineraries to suit travellers with different abilities.