Holidays Guide

Planning a holiday can be difficult. There are however a wide range of organisations that can make the process easier. Holidays are available both in the UK and abroad to suit a variety of interests and can be planned around individual needs and requirements. Factors to consider include access, transport, insurance and support needs. When organising a holiday it is important to plan well in advance and to double-check arrangements before starting your holiday. This section aims to enable you to plan ahead for holiday beaks to ensure that the holiday is as enjoyable as possible.

Holiday Advice and Information
Specialist Holiday Providers
Accessibility Standards
Holiday Insurance
Other Sources of Information
Contacts

Holiday Advice and Information

Darlington Association on Disability (DAD) provides a wide variety of information on holidays. The Information Service can assist with finding suitable accommodation, travel arrangements, insurance companies and sources of personal support. In certain circumstances DAD can also seek funding for holiday breaks.

RADAR (Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation) produces a number of publications and holiday factsheets for disabled people. Topics include hiring equipment, organising personal support, accessibility, flying and cruises. Radar also produces ‘Holidays in Britain and Ireland 2005 - A guide for disabled people’. The current 2005 edition includes detailed information on around 1500 places to stay in all parts of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. These include hotels, guest houses, self-catering cottages and flats, holiday parks, activity centres, camp sites and centres where specialist service and care are provided. The guide also gives information on advice services, voluntary and commercial organisations and transport. Choosing your holiday accommodation is made easier by individual listings stating, for example, the size of entrance doors, ground floor bedrooms, lifts and whether there are specially designed bathroom facilities, The Guide costs £13 but a reference copy is available at Darlington Association on Disability .RADAR also has an online version of the guide that can be used interactively.

Tourism for All is a national charity supported by the UK's national tourist boards, the travel industry and a number of trusts and voluntary sector organisations. Tourism for All provides information about transport, accommodation, visitor attractions, activity holidays and respite care establishments, both in the UK and overseas. It publishes a range of publications and information sheets covering most of the UK and some overseas destinations. Tourism for All has a composite database of all UK accommodation (hotels, B&Bs and self-catering) inspected under the 1993 access scheme, which gives a useful indication of the accessibility of establishments for wheelchair users. This information is produced in a series of regional information guides. Tourism for All has a membership scheme. For an annual subscription members can benefit from a booking service and can sometimes receive discounts on holiday accommodation. Tourism for All also has an overseas information guide but is not able to verify accessibility for accommodation listed.

Tripscope is a travel advice and transport information service for disabled people. Established as a registered charity, Tripscope's information covers all aspects of travel and transport, locally and further afield in the UK. Tripscope can also give advice on travel to and from the UK.

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Specialist Holiday Providers

There are a number of organisations that organise holiday beaks for disabled people. This can be quite an expensive way to take a holiday so it is important to consider all available options before booking. Many charities that support people with specific impairments, for example the MS Society, RNIB and others, can provide holiday information to their members and other enquirers. There are too many to list in this guide but details can be obtained from Darlington Association on Disability. The following are a sample of organisations and companies who offer specialist services.

Access Travel (Lancs) Ltd specialises in holiday packages for disabled people. Accommodation is always fully accessible, and the company can organise equipment, adapted vehicles and personal care for some of its destinations.

Can Be Done Ltd specialises in wheelchair accessible holidays to a widening choice of destinations. Destinations include the UK, Europe, India, Fiji, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Middle East. The company can tailor-make an itinerary to suit your requirements and can also organise self-drive holidays with adapted vehicles, offering standard or adapted vehicles.

Chalfont Line offers a range of holidays in Britain and Europe for disabled people and their families travelling individually and on escorted tours. The company's own accessible coaches are used for most of the escorted tours and packages of personal care can be arranged.

MENCAP Holiday Service publishes ‘The MENCAP Holiday Guide’ listing accommodation where people with learning difficulties are welcome, either unaccompanied, with families or in groups. MENCAP also organises a programme of holidays for unaccompanied children and adults throughout the UK.

Vitalise (formerly Winged Fellowship Trust) is a national disability charity providing breaks for disabled adults, children and their carers at five accessible UK Centres in Cornwall, Nottingham, Southport, Essex and Southampton. Volunteers provide assistance for guests as required, and have 24 hour nursing supervision.

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Accessibility Standards

The Disability Discrimination Act has led to a growth in the range of holiday accommodation and services that are accessible for disabled people. Travel Agencies should be able to advise on travel arrangements and the accessibility of accommodation. Local Tourist Information Centres and specialist tour operators should provide a similar service.

The ‘National Accessible Accommodation Standard’ is used to indicate levels of accessibility for tourist accommodation, including hotels, guesthouses, inns, bed and breakfast accommodation, farmhouses and lodges. The Standard has three separate sections - Standards for the Mobility Impaired Guest, the Hearing Impaired Guest and the Visually Impaired Guest. Operators can apply to be assessed under any one, two or all three sections, depending on the facilities they are able to provide. In this way an establishment that is physically unsuitable for guests with limited mobility might wish to concentrate on providing improved accessibility for people with a sensory impairment. Under each section there are three categories depending on how accessible the accommodation is.

Tourist attractions that subscribe to National Code of Practice for Visitor Attractions will have considered the requirements of disabled people and made suitable provision where it applies. The ‘National Accessible Scheme’ is a free information pack available from Visit Britain, the national tourist authority. In Scotland, attractions that are accessible or have some accessible facilities may display one of three wheelchair symbols. These correspond to three categories of accessibility.

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Holiday Insurance

It is essential to have adequate insurance cover that meets individual requirements. It is important to check before taking out insurance cover that the policy does not exclude people with ‘any pre-existing medical condition’ and that the policy includes loss or damage to equipment required because of an individual's impairment. RADAR produces a list of insurance companies that can supply holiday insurance cover to disabled people. A list of holiday insurance companies can also be obtained from Darlington Association on Disability.

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Other Sources of Information

Other sections of the Darlington Association on Disability Information Guide may contain further information relevant to holidays.

The Money Matters section gives details of assistance towards financial contributions for holidays.

The Mobility section provides more detailed information on transport and Shopmobility schemes.

The Equipment section gives information on the purchase or hire of items of equipment for holidays.

There are a number of local and national organisations providing broad information and advice resources. Please refer to this guide's Introduction for contact details.

Contact Darlington Association on Disability's Information Service for assistance with searching for information about any subject in this guide or for support in dealing with your information requests.

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Contacts

Access Travel (Lancs) Ltd
6 The Hillock
Astley
Lancashire M29 7GW
Telephone : 01942 888844
Fax : 01942 891811
Minicom :
E-mail : info@access-travel.co.uk
Website : www.access-travel.co.uk

Can Be Done Ltd
11 Woodcock Hill
Harrow HA3 0XP
Telephone : 02089 072400
Fax :
Minicom :
E-mail : holidays@canbedone.co.uk
Website : www.canbedone.co.uk

Chalfont Line Ltd
4 Providence Road
West Drayton
Middlesex UB7 8HJ
Telephone : 01895 459540
Fax : 01895 459549
Minicom :
E-mail : info@chalfont-line.co.uk
Website : www.chalfont-line.co.uk

MENCAP Holiday Service
Optimum House
Clipper Quay
Salfords Quays
Manchester M5 2XP
Telephone : 0161 888 1200
Fax :
Minicom :
E-mail : information@mencap.org.uk
Website : www.mencap.org.uk

RADAR
12 City Forum
250 City Road
London EC1V 8AF
Telephone : 020 7250 3222
Fax : 020 7250 0212
Minicom : 020 7250 4119
E-mail : radar@radar.org.uk
Website : www.radar.org.uk

Tourism for All
The Hawkins Suite
Enham Place
Enham Alamein
Andover SP11 6JS
Telephone : 0845 124 9974
Fax : 0845 124 9972
Minicom : 0845 124 9976
E-mail : admin@holidaycare.org
Website : www.tourismforall.co.uk

Tourist Information Centres
Website : www.touristinformationcentres.com

Tripscope
The Vassall Centre
Gill Avenue
Bristol BS16 2QQ
Telephone : 02085 807021
Helpline : 08457 585641
Fax : 020 8580 7022
Minicom :
Email : enquiries@tripscope.org.uk
Website : www.tripscope.org.uk

VisitBritain
Thames Tower
Blacks Road
London W6 9EL
Tel: 020 8846 9000
Fax: 020 8563 0302
Minicom :
E-mail :
Website : www.visitbritain.com

Vitalise
12 City Forum
250 City Road
London EC1V 8AF
Telephone : 0845 345 1972
Fax : 0845 345 1978
Minicom :
E-mail : contact through website
Website : www.vitalise.org.uk

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