Finding The Right Travel Buddy

Being a c4/c5 quadriplegic, I require a lot of help.  I need everything from getting help to get in/out of my wheelchair and bed, changing clothes, bathroom, showers and set up for food.  I require pretty much 24/7 care.  When I was newly injured I could never imagine that I could still travel.  I had a friend in a wheelchair that always travelled and asked how she did it. This gave me courage to give travelling a try. Once I took my first trip to Mexico in 2006, I realized I had a passion for travelling and didn’t want to let my disability stop me.  Travelling itself can be quite challenging depending where you fly and finding the right person to travel with can make or break your trip.  Here are some tips that I have learned from my past trips to make a great fun trip.

Availability

First, I have to decide roughly when I want to go on my trip.  I am more flexible with my schedule than most people as I am not working right now.  I ask a few friends to see if they can travel with me and if we can adjust the days to support their schedule.  I understand lots of employers only allow a certain amount of vacation time to their employees.  So, I have a pool of friends that I can ask.

Easy Going

I always like to travel with someone that is easy going.  Since we will be “stuck” with each other during the whole trip, it is better to be around someone that can handle stress better.  Things can go wrong anytime during the trip, like not getting an accessible hotel, having taxis that are late, language barriers etc.  Someone who is chill, adaptable, open-minded, and a problem solver is my idea of a travel buddy.

Strong And Reliable

Since I like to travel to any city including third world destinations, I am never too sure about accessibility.  I tend to travel in my manual wheelchair so that I won’t be as limited to where we can go and visit in each city.  I always bring someone who is able to lift me and push me everywhere during the vacation.  The stronger my travel buddy is, the more we can do.  That way we can go on regular taxis, trains, buses, camels, boats etc.  Also, since I can not help with transfers and can not bring or find a mechanical lift on vacation, I need someone who is able to fully lift me out of my wheelchair.

On The Great Wall Of China with 2 friends, 2011

Costs

Of course, costs are covered for those that travel with me and take care of me.  I don’t expect anyone to help me 24/7 and pay for everything themselves.  Every trip and every situation is different.  For example, all-inclusive vacations can be cheap so those trips and be compensated more, while trips across the globe can be compensated on a sliding scale.  Sponsored trips and activities really help with the costs of trips and are greatly appreciated.  I always discuss this before going anywhere to avoid problems during the trip.

Trust

I always bring someone that I can trust.  Since I need a lot of help, I need to bring someone that will take good care of me and won’t flake out or that will not want to help me during the trip.  Someone that will respect my needs and care and willing to do it with ease.  It can be difficult to bring someone along who you cant trust with your wallet, your belongings and your disability.  I had one bad experience in all my travels and am more choosy in who I trust to bring along with me.

Overall, travelling is a great experience and I highly recommend everyone to do this while they are still young.  I have found it easier to bring the right travel buddy the more I do it.  Yes, it is unfortunate that I always need someone to help me out on a trip, but with these 5 tips on finding the right travel buddy, I hope it encourages anyone with high-need care to go out and find the right travel buddy to experience what this world has to offer.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions or if you want to be my travel buddy.