Where *else* do you vacation?

[yoopermom]

That treats people with disabilities well, esp. fatigue/fibro? Looking at tripping with DF, who has severe fibro, is in his early 50s, really likes nature/history, but just can't tolerate going all day/not being able to take breaks as need be. He and his wife have done some cruising, which has gone okay, but we'd like to do something as an extended family. Would be in March, if that makes a difference. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Terri the Yoopermom

 

[SueM in MN]

Bumping this up.
Most of the places I can think of are not really good for a March vacation (my mind is frozen up here in Minnesota in March). The only thing I can think of is a Mall of America trip, but there is very little nature or history there. Does anyone else have any ideas?

 

[chris1gill]

One one HAWAII


We went last February and had SUCH a good time... I'm in a powerchair & had no trouble at all finding things to do, email me directly for any suggestions about going. We went to Maui & liked it so much we're planning on going back in February, only this time we're going to Maui & Kauai...

 

[SueM in MN]

Last night when I was going thru some magazines before recycling them, I found an article in AAA magazine about wheelchair travel. It didn't have a lot of useful information, but there was a website listed for the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality. It looked like it might be a useful resource.

 

[scroot]

DW and I have discovered that the national parks can be good. With evidence of disability one can get a "golden access" pass good for free admission at any "for fee" national park, forrest, or monument. In some parks this also allows you to drive where others can't. Grand Canyon and Yosemite have both worked well for us.

 

[JudithM]

How does one get a golden access pass? Thank you!

 

[Rollwithit]

Golden Access passes can be obtained at any of the National Parks. We've had ours for 20 years. We asked right at the park entrance and were directed to that park's Visitor's Center. We just show it to the ranger whenever we enter a park. It's about the size of a business card.

 

[scroot]

We asked at the entrance and we directed to a visitors center as well. DW is special needs are obvious is the disability is not apparent you might need a note from your doctor. I believe DW had to show a photo I.D. and sign a list. The whole process took about 2 minutes.

 

[SueM in MN]

Here's a link to information about National Park entrance passes.

 

[LvsTnk]

I would love to go to the National Parks with the kids! Not too concerned about the fee but getting DS's special needs stroller around. Any info on were we go for a first trip tha he could be easily pushed?

 

[Rollwithit]

We've found Yellowstone National Park to be quite wheelchair friendly. Not only do they have some accessible trails, a lot of the geyser areas have wooden boardwalks surrounding them that are easy to get around on.

Then you could wander up into Montana and hit Glacier National Park - they also have some accessible areas.

 

[scroot]

The rim trail at Grand Canyon is nice and flat and accessible. At Grand Canyon they will also give you a pass to drive where others can not. We also found the lodges there to be accessible (even though we stay in near by Williams). Yosemite was also fairly accessible the bathroom situation wasn't the best but it was workable for us. There were some flat trails and other places we could drive to. I think they are trying hard to bring the parks up to ADA compliance while keeping many areas of them wild.