travel experiences

This section is for members to highlight  positive travelling experiences that are worthy of note e.g. you are  staying overnight in Brisbane and request a room equipped for a  disabled person and the room is EXCELLENT or a particular destination or group is EXTRA supportive of people's needs!  We are sure this section will grow over time and be useful to those who are considering a break or holiday.

As written below, caravan parks often have accessible cabins and these are a useful option when travelling around Australia.  Sometimes you need to ask, if you are booking ahead, as for some reason Parks often do not advertise their accessible cabins or forget to update their websites when they have added accessible options.

Try out this website for help booking accessible accommodation and maybe sign up for their newsletters.

https://www.accessibleaccommodation.com

A non-slip shower mat is always useful in your luggage (plus a towel to wrap up the wet mat if needed).

If you need a wheelie walker, consider purchasing a really light weight, collapsible one for your car when travelling (or even for at home to keep in the car).

A folding walking stick can also be easier to transport around.

There are also collapsible toilet surrounds and shower chairs and stools.

No longer finding caravan travel an easy option, we looked at other ways to trip around.  We found that driving and pre-booking accommodation at reasonable driving distances and with a planned itinerary, the way to go for us!  We found Caravan Parks with cabins a very reasonable option and in many cases the disability cabins were equipped well for us - ramps, large bathrooms with shower seats and no glass walls or baths to worry about.  From memory we have stayed at one in Seventeen Seventy and one in Dubbo plus others.  AirBnB was another good option - it is easy to check on whether there are stairs to cope with and there are always photos of the bathroom so you can check it out.  First thing we do when we get to our accommodation is roll up the rugs - no tripping while tripping for us!

We travel down to Brisbane relatively frequently for meetings, social events and medical appointments.  As John’s P.D. progresses, we find that we are planning a  night stay in Brisbane more often.  As a fall could be catastrophic, the problem is, of course, to ensure safety in a strange environment.  We requested a room with disability features at The Grand Chancellor Hotel on Leichhardt Street. The room had excellent facilities - wide doors to the bathroom, non-slip floor, no floor level variations to trip over, grab rails, open shower with shower seat. 

An extra feature of this hotel is its proximity to hospitals and specialists’rooms.

We  would certainly recommend this facility,  just ensure that you specify the room with the disability features when booking.