Foreign Travel for the Visually Impaired

While we’re seeing lots of TV programmes about people enjoying themselves in the sun or on adventure holidays, what is there for us VIs? There is an increasing number of accessible and specialist hotels and holidays in the UK (see the RNIB website for an overview of what’s available), there is very little available that gives us the chance to use our passports and explore the world.

Traveleyes ( https://www.traveleyes-international.com/ ) run holidays where there is a main Tour Leader and a mixture of VIs and sighted tourists. Each day, they are paired up so that one of the sighted people can guide a VI, though without being a support worker, e.g. acting as the VI’s eyes, describing a temple, museum, scenery or wherever they are visiting at the time. When outside the organised itinerary, they will share their choices of what to do, or even occasionally swap partners if that works out better. The trips can range from short city breaks to a couple of weeks visiting China or traveling the length of Argentina. Flights are included in the price, the group meeting up at a specified airport and travelling out together.

Jubilee Sailing Trust ( https://jst.org.uk ) holidays take place aboard a 60m, three-masted wooden ship, designed to be sailed by a mixture of Disabled and Able-bodied Crew. Summer cruises focus on trips in European waters or around the British Isles. For winter, Tenacious heads for the Canaries and thence to the Caribbean. Alongside a small permanent crew, including a nurse, Tenacious can carry 50+ crew: the bridge has talking and large LED compasses, while there is Braille and other tactile signage, with other adaptions like providing lifts for wheelchair users, all making life easier for VIs around the ship. The crew are split into four watches who take turns at manning the bridge and assisting in the mess or the galley. The sails are raised and lowered by rope from the deck but are furled manually on the yards: it is optional, but being clipped-on, there is no reason why a VI shouldn’t go aloft to help.

Seable ( https://seable.co.uk ) are the only one of the three to offer tailored holidays for individuals as well as group or family tours. They focus on European destinations such as Sicily or Rome, but also do trips to Thailand and several other South-East Asian countries. The trips have a tour manager and use a number of local guides working with the party and arrange an itinerary that is accessible to a group with Vis in it. These may typically include visits to cities and museums. The tailor-made trips use a single guide with a car, dedicated to a tailored itinerary. Like Traveleyes, the company’s group trips include flights, traveling together from a specified airport: tailored travellers, however, are responsible for organising their own flights.

All of the companies require that you have travel insurance: the free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) providing limited health cover, although this scheme may be scrapped on 1^st January 2021. Similarly, check with your GP about vaccinations and other possible health issues well in advance of travelling. Trips outside Europe may also require visas and have special passport requirements. However, the travel company will provide advice on these. Travel assistance is normally available at many railway stations if you book in advance, while a few airports also provide some help, though this can be limited and varies from place to place: please make enquiries as part of organising your travelling arrangements.

Please Note: I have done a number of trips with both Traveleyes and JST and enjoyed travelling with both companies. However, I have no personal experience of Seable.