Holidays for blind & partially sighted travellers

What do hiking in the Spanish Pyrenees, tours of Japan and ski trips in the mountains of India have in common? They’re all available in our range of blind and partially sighted holidays, with itineraries carefully designed to bring destinations to life while providing support wherever you need it.

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Holidays for blind & partially sighted travellers

Sightseeing is not reserved exclusively for those with good eyesight. There are many more ways to ‘see’ a landscape, a historic building, a plate of food in a restaurant, than with just your eyes. In the UK alone there are some two million people living with some form of sight loss, and around 360,000 people that are registered blind. And many of them want not only to travel the world, but to do it on their own terms without necessarily having to rely on friends or family.

Travelling as a blind or partially sighted person can be daunting, especially if you intend to take a holiday on your own. But if you’ve been living with sight loss for some time, then with the right level of support you’re just as competent as anyone else. With all of our blind and partially sighted holidays, so long as the operators have sufficient notice of your requirements and you’re prepared to be a little flexible, then your freedom and independence needn’t be hindered by visual impairment.

Exploring India, Japan or South Africa can be incredible sensory experiences even if you can see very little, or nothing at all. You can also take a more active approach if you prefer, with yoga or hiking holidays. Some trips may require you to travel with a sighted companion, while others are designed expressly with accessibility in mind and ensure there is support for you from arrival and throughout your stay if you’re going solo. As you’ll find with our trips, if you want to discover the world on your own terms, there’s no reason that being visually impaired need hold you back.

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Practicalities

Blindness and partial sight is perhaps one of the most challenging forms of disability to travel with, but with careful organisation and the ability to adapt, every aspect of a trip can be managed well. For the sake of independence you will probably want to bring a cane with you, but bringing along a service animal can potentially add another layer of complication, one you’ll need to make sure is fully discussed with the operator before departure.

Centre based trips can be ideal for blind and partially sighted travellers as you don’t need to get to grips with a series of different accommodations, and they will often have been designed or adapted for accessibility. A good example is in Catalonia where at a rural sport fitness hotel you have door touchpads with Braille, a level footpath for walking and staff that are specially trained in providing fulfilling activities for guests with a variety of disabilities, from horse riding to rowing. It’s worth keeping in mind that in places such as India or Japan the toilet arrangements in your accommodations may take some getting used to!

Travel Team

If you'd like to chat about Accessible Travel or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.

01273 823 700

Calling us from outside the UK?

rosy@responsibletravel.com

01273 823 700

Calling us from outside the UK?

rosy@responsibletravel.com

Our travel team is always happy to discuss your particular requirements when it comes to accessibility. If we know early in the process exactly what you need then through communication with suppliers we can make appropriate holiday recommendations, and ensure that every aspect of your trip will meet your needs, from accommodation to meals and support.

Tactile travel

Our trips are a long way from just audio guides. In Japan you can walk a section of Mount Fuji; breathe in the aromatic air of the temples; wander the appetising food stalls of Osaka to taste delicacies such as savoury pancakes and octopus dumplings; and even take part in a traditional tea ceremony. In Portugal you can take part in daily yoga sessions, dine on tasty Ayurvedic cuisine, treat yourself to massage and acupuncture sessions, and enjoy a soak in a mud bath.

Driving tours of South Africa, taking in safaris in Kruger National Park, Cape Town’s Table Mountain and Robben Island, and the wines of the Franschhoek Valley, can be customised for people with limited or no visibility with personal driver-guides. And in India you will discover heritage areas with the aid of 3D printed models of monuments, and take advantage of special access permissions in key sites for a more tactile and sensory approach than most visitors receive.

More about Accessible Travel

Accessible holidays guide

This accessible holiday guide aims to show you the world can still be your oyster, no matter what your special need - it's also a call to action to the travel industry to cater better for those with various disabilities and needs.

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Wheelchair accessible holidays have seen huge advances in recent years, and while the tourism industry as a whole is still a long way from perfection on this, we’re thrilled to see more and more exciting destinations and experiences opening up for wheelchair travellers.

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Our fantastic and diverse range of limited mobility holidays will encourage you to get out and see the world one step at a time, because not everyone is content to just stay close to their accommodation the whole time

Holidays for deaf & hard of hearing travellers

Many of the accessible holidays that you’ll see on our site can be adapted for travellers that are deaf or hard of hearing, with operators always happy to go the extra mile - your hearing may be impaired, your enjoyment of the holiday won’t be.

Holidays for people with cognitive issues

Travelling with cognitive issues needn’t limit your options if the trip is well organised before departure - our cognitive issues holidays are able to accommodate a wide variety of conditions, blending practicality with inspirational activities.

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Accessible holiday activities are definitely on the up, and not just holidays purposefully created for people with special needs - mean really full-on stuff, like watersports, gorilla trekking, horse riding and more.

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Accessible tourism is about tourism for all, no matter your needs - here are some tips on how best to teach tourism operators about your disabled access holiday requirements, as well as any other requirements that you might have.

Disabled access holiday advice

Our disabled access holiday advice comes from some of our most celebrated travellers with various special needs - the overall advice is get out there and have fun, not just opt for the boring option because they are catering for your needs.

Responsible accessible tourism holidays

Responsible accessible tourism holidays are a weird concept, because in many ways, every responsible tourism holiday should address equal access - this section of our guide is a call to action to tourism organisations of all stripes.