Just in time for Labor Day
I actually love planning trips. I like reading about the hidden gems, learning about the culinary novelties, and discovering the highlights of the area.
That said, sometimes there just isn’t time. We did a lot of travel this summer. It was spectacular, but I didn’t have enough time to do laundry between trips, no less plan for the next trip.
One of our summer highlights ended up being the trip we didn’t have time to plan. Here’s what we did, and how you can get away on a wheelchair friendly trip without making a plan!
Hop on a Tour
Take that literally. I don’t mean book a three hour museum tour. This is the hop-on/hop-off see-the-city-in-a-day tour.
We’d used Old Town Trolley in both Nashville and St. Augustine, so we were familiar with both their accessible lift system, and their comprehensive tours of cities. When we were in Nashville, I remember thinking how much time I had put into planning our itinerary, only to have our tour guide share all the same things… and so much more.
With that knowledge in my pocket, I decided to head to Boston, start with the Trolley Tour, and plan nothing else. I knew they would cover what to see and where to eat, and be able to answer any questions on fun extras. The only thing I booked in addition to our tour was our first night in a hotel. (I would actually recommend you book your entire stay, since so many places are booking full, but this worked out for us.)
We used the first day to get an overview of the city, and the second day we utilized the hop-on/hop-off to save on driving/parking or public transportation (city parking is limited).
Our plan… or lack thereof… worked out even better than I hoped. We saw the sights, did the museums, and ate the best cannoli. (Did you know cannoli is plural?? It’s cannolo if you’re only having one… but nobody can do that… so nobody says it!)
I can vouch for Old Town Trolley Tours because I’m familiar with them. They always have trolleys with lifts in the rotation. It’s easiest to let them know in advance when you’re starting, so they can have the lift available. Sometimes there are stops that are not accessible because of the curb set-up, but they have maps of accessible stops to make it easy to navigate. Typically, the stops are close enough together that you can just hop-on at the next stop.
The only downside is these tours are limited to Boston, Key West, D.C., St. Augustine, San Diego, Savannah, and Nashville. I know other cities offer different types of hop-on/hop-off tours (think duck tours), but I have no idea what they offer for accessibility… which brings you back to planning…
Take Someone Else’s Plan
Mapping a wheelchair-friendly family itinerary just takes so much time! When we do a write-up from a place we visit, I try to create exactly the type of resource I would’ve loved to have had in planning – itinerary included!
Why not choose a location that has already been mapped by a disability travel blogger, and just follow in their footsteps? Chances are high that they spent the hours in research before planning their own itinerary, so it’s already made up of all the best stuff – and sifted for accessibility!
Arizona
If this is close enough for a weekend getaway, you’ve probably already explored, but here’s a great accessible itinerary for the Grand Canyon!
Colorado
Have you checked out Exploryst? I guess it’s still helpful to have an idea of what you want to do, but you can search by activity type, and all of the accessibility research is already done for you. Or skip to some of our favorites.
California
While I love all we found in San Francisco and Yosemite, Access Northern California has extensive ideas for the northern half of the state!
Florida
Clearwater, St. Augustine, and St. Petersburg had a lot of accessible options, if you’re in the Florida area.
Michigan
Last call for cold states! Labor Day is the perfect time for a visit to Mackinac Island before it starts to cool off for fall.
New York
NYC is always a good idea for a quick trip, but a little farther north you can get away in nature at the Catskills. Don’t forget Niagara Falls is part of New York! They have impressive accessibility at the falls, through the park, and in town. The Finger Lakes are also a favorite place for a long weekend.
Pennsylvania
We found so much on our recent trip to Altoona. Lancaster County is always a good idea. Philadelphia will always be my favorite. If you’re local to Philly, these day trips are also a great idea!
Virginia
Squeeze one last beach trip in at Virginia Beach, or hit the mountains in Shenandoah.
None of these are near you? Good news: I’m not the only disability travel blogger! While I’m one of the only travel moms focusing on traveling with kids with disabilities, other grown-ups have navigated the disability piece and built great itineraries. Curb Free With Cory Lee has covered a bajillion places – on literally every continent. Sick Girl Travels also highlights some fun places we haven’t made it to, yet.
We’re actually going back to D.C. (another city that is always a good idea) to take Dad to the Spy Museum. If you’ve never done D.C., this is one where you can still let Old Town Trolley plan your trip! Hotels for Labor Day weekend are looking pretty cheap. Meet you there??