Lonely Planet's "Travelling with a Disability" Guide Now Available

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By special arrangement, ENAT is pleased to offer this free digital Accessible Travel Guide produced by Lonely Planet's Accessible Travel Editor, Martin Heng.

Lonely Planet Access Guide CoverBy special arrangement, ENAT is pleased to offer this free digital Accessible Travel Guide produced by Lonely Planet's Accessible Travel Editor, Martin Heng. This is the first joint project undertaken by Lonely Planet and ENAT since signing a Memorandum of Understanding last year.

Download Lonely Planet's Accessible Travel Guide (First Edition) in PDF format (2.8 MB). 
Lonely Planet Accessible Tourism Online Resources

98 pages.

When you’re travelling with a disability or access issues, it’s important to know that your needs can be met in the destination you are travelling to. This means planning your trip well: unlike for most able-bodied people, it’s much more difficult to act spontaneously and hope for the best. Unfortunately, most people with access issues – through disability, age or injury – have difficulty finding any information, let alone reliable information.

This database of online resources doesn’t pretend to fill that information gap. However, it’s a good start and should help not only with initial planning, but also with finding suitable venues and facilities once you’ve reached your destination.

This database is by no means exhaustive, so here’s where you come in: if you know of a useful website in your country or locality, please let us know at travelforall@lonelyplanet.com.au.

Likewise, if you run a business that caters specifically for people who have special needs, let us know if you would like to be added to this list.

As websites go down and web addresses change frequently, we intend to revisit and republish this resource every six months to make sure all links remain live and to add new ones.  All headings in the document are hyperlinked: click on them to be directed to the relevant website.

The list is broken down into different sections.

  • Country-by-country resources, arranged alphabetically. Among these are websites from governments, local authorities, NGOs and private businesses. Some, marked with  , are searchable databases of venues and facilities; others, marked with  , are also associated with a mobile app. Both of these categories will be particularly useful when in-destination.
  • Personal travel blogs. There is a wealth of information to be found in these personal blogs, written by those who enjoy travel despite a wide variety of limitations.
  • General resources is broken down into two subsections: useful websites for non-destination-specific planning purposes; and websites dedicated to promoting inclusive tourism. The latter will be of great interest to those who are working in the field, but also contain valuable information, links and resources for travellers with access requirements.
  • Specialist travel agents and tour operators, listed alphabetically by country. Most of these cater for a variety of access requirements; some are inbound and some are outbound travel agents/tour operators.
  • Specialist adventure sports organisations. This is the least comprehensive section – we’d love to add to it if you can lend us your collective wisdom.

Disclaimer

Lonely Planet prides itself on having its authors visit every region, establishment and activity we review. This is not the case with regard to the content of this document. We have gathered this information from personal and professional contacts, as well as from scouring the internet. As such, we cannot vouch for the quality or currency of the information in any website, although we do offer an informed opinion in some cases.

We especially absolve Lonely Planet of any responsibility for the quality of service provided by the listed travel agents and tour operators. The only seal of approval that currently exists is membership of ENAT and/or being a Pantou listed supplier, and even then we still strongly advise you to make your own enquiries as only you know best what your requirements are and only you know what questions to ask to make sure they will be met.


ENAT picto-logoUnder the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Lonely Planet and ENAT in July 2015, the two organisations have committed to work together to promote accessible tourism for the benefit of visitors, tourism and travel suppliers and destinations around the world. 

ENAT is pleased to offer this Accessible Travel Guide, free of charge, in collaboration with Lonely Planet and we hereby record our grateful thanks to Martin Heng for his exceptional contribution to our common objective: Making travel and tourism accessible for all.