Skip to main content

Advanced Planning

Advanced planning is always essential. Planning a trip is always a hectic time, with so many things to organize at once, it is easy to forget something.

Here at Flying With Disability  we have compiled a quick checklist of things to take into account when planning your trip regarding your health.

Consult your doctor about:

  • Your need for immunizations
  • To ensure that you have all the prescriptions you will need for the duration of your trip (and some spare for emergencies)
  • All the medical equipment you might need, and any spare parts you might need in an emergency.
  • Recommendations for any non-prescription medications you might need such as pain killers, sun lotion, laxatives, spare glasses etc.
  • How to get medical assistance when you are away. Contact addresses for nearby hospitals etc., emergency telephone numbers and quality of health care in the country you are visiting.
Consult your travel agent about:

  • What special assistance you can expect from the hotel, tour group, transportation company etc. you intend to use while you are way.
  • What sort of accommodations will be needed throughout your trip, be it, car rental or organizing seating on planes, coaches, cruises etc.
  • Whether any special dietary needs will be sufficiently met at hotels/restaurants at your chosen destination.
  • Whether the hotel you intend to stay at has toilets suited to disabled travellers.
  • If you are renting a car, we strongly recommend that you call ahead and check that a hands control car will be available.
Try and make sure you reserve the type of car you need as soon as you know your date of arrival to prevent disappointment..

You will inevitably also need to carry a placard indicating that you are disabled. Your travel agent/car hire company should be able to provide information on finding out how to get a temporary placard for the country you will be visiting before you leave.

As a general rule, try and book as much as possible before you leave, so that you can make sure that they accommodate your various needs, or so that they can make the relevant preparations to accommodate your requirements.

In short, advanced preparation can save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. It is far easier to deal with any problems from home, than in a foreign country where you may have to deal with language barriers.

Wheelchair users should make sure that their chair is in full working order and have a maintenance check in advance of the trip. Likewise, ensure that you have basic tools and parts for the assembly and repair of your wheelchair, in the event that something goes wrong.

Do not assume that you will readily be able to access wheelchair parts in other countries to fit your own type of chair.

Planning Ahead - More Information ...

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

How to make a balloon fly

How does a hot-air balloon work (in theory)? In a word: buoyancy . Hot-air balloons float in the sky for pretty much the same reason that boats float on the sea. A boat floats because it's supported by the water beneath it: the weight of the boat (pulling downward) is exactly counterbalanced by the pressure of the water beneath it (pushing upward). A boat doesn't float perfectly on the water surface but sinks partly into the water according to how heavy it is. The bigger the boat, the bigger the area of water beneath it, the greater the force of the water pressure pushing upward on it, and the more weight it can carry. Here's another way to look at it: generally speaking, an object will float if it's less dense than water (in other words, lighter than an equal volume of water) and sink if it's more dense (heavier than an equal volume of water). Imagine a block of lead the size of your arm dropped into a bathtub filled with water. An "armful of lea...
Read more

What is the Difference Between a Jet & a Plane?

One of the most common types of airplanes in use today is the jet, which has largely replaced traditional aircraft powered by propellers. Although propeller planes are still used in some instances, jets dominate commercial and private air travel due to their greater speed, ability to fly at higher altitudes and mechanical reliability. General Airplane History While efforts toward powered flight date back to the earliest inventors, the first successful flight of a fixed-wing aircraft was performed famously by the Wright brothers in 1903. Their plane, known as the Wright Flyer I, was made of wood and used a gasoline engine to spin a pair of wooden propellers. Over the next several years, the Wright brothers continued to refine the design that would provide the basis for aircraft over the coming decades. World War I provided a major incentive for the design and construction of better airplanes. Planes were originally used purely for surveying the enemy's positions. This l...
Read more

How to Become an Airplane Pilot

Who are you, and why are you writing this? I am a licensed private pilot, and I am writing this article as a guide for prospective pilots. I have enjoyed my flying very much, and want to encourage others to embark on the grand adventure of aviation. I began my flying in 1990, and since then, I have accumlated just over 700 hours of flying time. The most frequent measure of a pilot's experience is the number of "flying hours." he or she has accumulated. My 700 hours is still relatively low. For comparison, my instructor has over 4,000 flying hours. Many airline pilots have 20,000 hours or more. I want to fly airplanes. What do I need to do? To operate an aircraft in the United States, you must be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which since 9/11 is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There are several levels of pilot's license; the most basic is the Private Pilot license. This license permits the holder to pilot an a...
Read more