And other Disability Travel Discounts
There aren’t many completely free vacation options based on disabilities, but there are loads of discounts and ways to travel for less. Most of these are specific to the U.S., because that’s where my experience is. There are some disability travel grants available, and a few options for families with kids with disabilities to get away for free.
Here’s all I know on free and discounted trips for the disabled traveler!
Give Kids the World Village
Give Kids the World Village is one of the only ways I know of that a disabled person can have a completely free vacation, and it’s only offered to kids and their families. Eligibility varies by disability, but it’s one of the few wish-granting programs that is open to children who are severely impacted by a disability, as opposed to only terminally ill patients. The village includes a theme park, a kids’ spa, mini golf, and loads of other things to keep you busy for your one week stay. This is probably the free vacation for special needs families that covers the widest audience.
Cherry Blossom Vacations
Cherry Blossom Vacations gifts vacation home stays to adoptive, foster, and families of children with a disability. When a family vacations in a Cherry Blossom vacation home, they will experience a time of fun, rest, and relaxation that can be difficult to find in the stress of everyday life.
While they currently have more applicants than homes, so there may be a wait, it’s an easy application process for a completely free vacation home stay.
Travel Grants
This is brand new, and really cool. Cory Lee has set up the Curb Free Foundation to give travel grants to people with disabilities. There are no age restrictions for this one. It’s aimed at full time wheelchair users. The grants are given out on an ongoing basis, so it’s easy to apply. Not sure if these will be completely free vacations for the disabled, but this looks like it will be a great opportunity for wheelchair users looking to travel more!
Bernie’s Pura Vida Fund grants children with disabilities the opportunity to explore and enjoy the wonders of Costa Rica.
Wish Granting Agencies
Make-A-Wish is often limited to children with terminal illnesses, but not always. The requirements vary by state, so it’s worth looking into your local chapter to see if your disability qualifies you for a free trip!
If Make-A-Wish won’t work for you, there are actually loads of other wish-granting agencies for children, with fewer restrictions. Sunshine Foundation is another big one. Start with your state’s wish-granting agencies. If you don’t qualify for those, check out the national agencies. Almost every agency will require that you haven’t received a wish from another agency, previously.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so use it wisely! We haven’t used our opportunity yet because the last time we asked our son what he would wish for if he could do any one thing, he picked bowling. We just took him bowling and called it a day!
Wonders Within Reach
This one is still in the making, but we’re partnering with The Flying Mum through her Clothing for a Cause campaign to build a foundation for grant money for families with disabilities to get away. Stay tuned for future giveaways!
Disability Camps
There are general camps for families with disabilities that are usually absurdly expensive (we saved money by skipping camp and spending a month in Europe, instead!), but there are also disability specific camps that are often free. Try a google search of your specific disability +camp. These vary widely, but you could find something perfect for you. We aren’t able to afford the Camp Spifida under my middle son’s diagnosis, but my oldest son’s nephrotic syndrome can get the whole family a free week of camp. A free camp for kids with disabilities makes a great vacation option.
Disability Discounts
These aren’t completely free vacations, but you can find steep discounts all around the world! Before paying for any attraction, always search their website for disability discounts (This includes big name theme parks like Disneyland Paris).
Our biggest go-tos are:
This gets us free admission to any National Park in the U.S. It also gives discounts on lodges and camping.
If you have a permanent disability and qualify for Medicaid, you’ll receive an ACCESS card, or your state’s equivalent. This gets you discounted admission to attractions all over the country. Admission with the card ranges from $0-$3. Depending on where you’re traveling, you’ll want to confirm that your ACCESS card qualifies you for the discount. We’ve used ours in PA, NY, VT, NJ, DE, DC, ME, MA, OH, MI, FL, TN, and CA.
When we were in North Carolina, they distinguished between an access card and an EBT. Because we don’t receive food benefits, only medical assistance, we weren’t able to use the discount in NC.
Disabled Veterans
If your disability is because of a war injury, you’re eligible for discounts pretty much everywhere. This is the most comprehensive list I’ve found. It includes rental cars, hotels, airfare, and loads of attractions around the nation.
Other Ways to Travel for Less
We like to travel, so we’ve been creative in finding ways to travel more for less.
We pay $175 for a HomeExchange membership, and travel all year. We ended up paying less than $3 per night last year, for all the nights we stayed. The idea is that you exchange homes, but it doesn’t have to be a direct exchange. You can learn more, here.
I’m not the expert on this, but the linked article is helpful. We sign up for credit cards with massive sign-on bonuses. We put all our regular spending onto that card for three months, to meet the minimum spend, and then we earn 8 nights in a hotel, or 100,000 airline miles, or something like that.
Budget for travel and while traveling makes a difference. Here are some general life hacks that help spread our dollar a little further.