I’ve been a lot of versions of myself over the years. I’ve always had a few chronic health problems, but for awhile I was in great shape, running, and weight training. It was a really wonderful time in my life that ended when additional chronic health issues cropped up. I had to learn how to live with all of these new problems, and that struggle affected my ability to travel. I also broke my foot by tripping on a dog toy, sustaining an injury that will never heal properly and will always make my dominant foot unreliable. During my recovery from that broken foot, I decided I needed to get out and do more adventures, even if they were of a different scale than previously in my younger, healthier version of me.
After a year of New England adventuring, we decided to take my dream vacation to Iceland. I started researching what to see, and every suggestion seemed to involve hiking all day, diving, walking on ice, climbing, or otherwise using my body in a way it would rebel against within an hour, much less twelve days. Would I even be able to see any of these beautiful sights? I did have a few days of panic that maybe I’d made a huge mistake. I needed to dig deeper.
The first thing I did, and what I would suggest to anyone who has accessibility restrictions, is to join the social media travel groups for the country you’re visiting. I found some really great groups for places like Iceland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Denmark, Japan to name a few. Locals, expert visitors, and travel guides in the groups can answer questions. I have gotten a lot of trip ideas from these groups, and saw some photos that prompted me to change our plans based on terrain difficulty.
The other idea I suggest is looking on You Tube for walking tours and driving tours of the places you want to visit. As I was charting what waterfalls we wanted to see on our drive in Iceland, I added Skógafoss as a definite must see. It has a staircase to the top where you can see down, and continue to walk to other falls along a trail. Sounds lovely! Well, we watched a walking tour of it, and that staircase is narrow, has no handrails, and it is steep. I felt dizzy watching this guy walk up the stairs, and my footwork is wobbly, so it was really great to know going in that the bottom of the falls would suffice for my visit.
Be sure to look at the websites of the places you want to visit, too, and email them and your lodgings to ask for clarification on their accessibility if needed. Countries differ on their versions of accessibility. We took a lava tunnel tour that was labeled easy and accessible, and I had to turn back thanks to my foot and ankles and the rocky terrain. Places are marked as accessible for most online, but you go there, and it is a narrow, curving stairway with no railing.
Another tip is to check out your destination’s accessibility reciprocity. Some places allow you to use your accessible placard for parking, so you can bring your card and whatever other documents the country requires, and you can park in the handicapped places just like you would at home.
I’m planning our trip to Bulgaria, and I’m eager to see if what I’m learning about the places we want to visit matches the reality of the locations. I know that this trip will be a little more challenging physically than the Iceland trip, but I’m hopeful that I’m creating an itinerary we can tackle. Do you have any accessibility tips or input on Bulgaria? Comment and let me know!