Written by Zach Wichter for USA Today, March 30, 2025
Paul Choquette loves going to Switzerland.
“They’ve done a very good job of taking an old country and turning it into a place that is accessible,” he told USA TODAY. Choquette, 60, became paralyzed as a result of a car accident in his childhood and relies on a wheelchair to get around.
He said he greatly enjoys traveling and that peoples’ accessibility needs should not hold them back from exploring the world. In fact, he said, seeing how accommodations are made in other places can be part of the fun.
“Sometimes the way you go about doing things is different because the environment is different, you have to adapt to the environment,” he said. “That’s one of the wonderful things about travel, you get to try doing things differently.”
Choquette acknowledged that it can be a little more complicated for people with disabilities to travel, especially on long international trips. But, he said, they and their companions can take advantage of a growing number of resources to have a great time just about anywhere. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Here are four things he and other disabled travelers and experts suggest doing to optimize an accessible trip.
1. Plan ahead
All travel requires some level of planning, but for those with special accessibility needs, doing some groundwork in advance goes a long way to making the whole trip go off smoothly.
“There’s tremendous anxiety around accessible travel,” Miriam Eljas Goldman, founder of accessibleGO, an online booking platform that specializes in adaptive travel experiences, told USA TODAY. “I would say planning is critical. You don’t just book and hope for the best. You want to make sure you’ve looked into all the aspects.”
Eljas Goldman said her company works with clients to make sure their trips have all the necessary accommodations. The company will even do things like call the hotel and request photographic proof of how high the bed is to make sure a wheelchair user will be able to self-transfer if required.
“You must get things verified; otherwise, you might have a problem,” she said.
Matthew Brandley is a wheelchair user and said he makes sure there are accessible accommodations for him wherever he goes.
“Anything that my wife and I do, if we go on our own, anywhere we go to has to be wheelchair accessible,” Brandley, 60, told USA TODAY. “When my wife and I go to the beach, when we stay at a house with her mom and dad and the extended family, it has to be accessible.”
2. Speak up
During transit and at a destination, Choquette said disabled travelers are their own best advocates.
“You need to communicate your needs to everyone,” he said. “The global ‘we’ of people who have disabilities, we’re all different. You can’t anticipate people know what you need or how to assist you.”
He added that for able-bodied travel companions, it’s also important not to overstep when it comes to advocacy.
“Unfortunately what happens is, if you are with somebody who is standing, the people you’re trying to communicate with are going to communicate with them first, as opposed to you,” he said, explaining how he often finds people will speak to others in his group who aren’t in wheelchairs first. “It’s one of those things where you need to ensure that you and the person that you’re with are all on the same wavelength in terms of who is going to take the lead in certain situations. I don’t travel with a caregiver. I travel with my wife. My wife is not a caregiver.”
However, he acknowledged that every situation and relationship is different.
“If you have a caregiver, it is a little bit different dynamic, but it’s the same kind of thing. It’s sharing responsibilities,” he said. “That caregiver is still there to promote your independence, to allow you to take part in an activity.”
And Eljas Goldman said companions need to follow the disabled traveler’s lead.
“Never dismiss anything as not being possible,” she said.
3. Find community
International travel can be especially complicated because the available resources may be different abroad. But reaching out to other travelers and locals with disabilities can help make for a smoother experience.
“Having a network like that is very helpful in sharing information,” Choquette said. “It can be very difficult if you’re trying to go to a country with a foreign language; sometimes the websites aren’t English, and sometimes it can be hard to find the spot you click to get the English language version of the website.”
Eljas Goldman added that accessibleGO has an online forum to help travelers with different accessibility needs connect.
“We feel that the power of the community is where this really comes into play,” she said. “Someone might post: I’m going to Rome, can somebody recommend some accessible attractions where I know I won’t have a problem?”
She said that can be a great way to start planning the trip or to find emergency resources if something goes awry at the destination.
“Getting information from locals, people who have actually been in the same situation or have the shared experience, that’s the most valuable thing,” Eljas Goldman said. “Nothing is more frustrating to somebody with a disability than getting this generic feel-good piece” when they actually need specific details to address their situation.
4. Have fun
For caregivers and travelers alike, Choquette and Brandley said it’s important to remember that there can be hiccups on a trip and complications with accessibility but that those things shouldn’t cast a pall over the experience.
“The situation that you’re in, it may not be optimal, but it’s temporary, and it’s part of the adventure,” Choquette said.
“Don’t let your disability get you down. There’s too much out there to enjoy,” Brandley added.