More and more travel destinations are geared towards wheelchair users – including offers for adrenaline junkies and adventurers. We’ve rounded up some of the best wheelchair accessible adventure activities and accommodations around the world where you can leave all constraints behind and enjoy the fun of a lifetime.
Trekking in the Amazon, Ecuador
The Amazon may be wild and partly unexplored, but there are also eco-lodges here that are specially tailored to the needs of wheelchair users – nothing stands in the way of your wildlife observation tour. If you are looking for a comfortable place to stay, head to Huasquila Amazon Lodge . This eco-friendly property offers specially designed rainforest-friendly wheelchairs and tours that are included in the cost of the accommodation.
Sit ski in Whistler, Canada
Winter programs at Whistler include skiing and snowboarding
The Whistler Adaptive Sports Program runs year round and offers winter and summer programs for athletes and amateurs with disabilities. In the summer, you can practice water sports with lessons and training sessions for kayaking, canoeing and rowing on Alta Lake. The winter programs include sit-down skiing, snowboarding and alpine ski racing. Hit the slopes and then stop off at the wheelchair-accessible ski lodge Aava Hotel .
White water rafting in Utah, USA
Accessible white water rafting on the Colorado River
Over the past few years, Utah’s National Parks Service has done a great deal to ensure that the state’s enchanting scenery can be visited and admired by everyone. Start your trip with a relaxing activity and follow the trails in Zion National Park Canyon – specifically the Riverwalk Trail, which meanders along the Virgin River and has lots of easy-to-navigate, smooth surfaces and plenty of shade. For a real adrenaline rush, take a wheelchair-accessible whitewater rafting trip on the Colorado River – this tour has become particularly popular with those who love rapids. Stay close by at the stunning Red Cliffs Lodge , which offers wheelchair accessible rooms.
Zip lines in the New Forest, UK
For adventurous families, head to the New Forest National Park in the south of England. This is where you will find the Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity Center , where over 40 different outdoor activities are run by UK Youth, a charity that aims to make outdoor activities accessible to everyone. Despite stiff competition among the 40 activities, the specially adapted zip line is by far the most popular. It allows wheelchair users to glide across the Avon Tyrrell Lakes. In addition, there are also inclusion weekends where children with mobility problems are helped to explore the New Forest. At the end of a busy day, head back to the Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity Center cottages to unwind.
Diving in the Red Sea, Egypt
Explore reefs in Egypt
The east coast of Egypt offers some of the most famous diving spots in the world – from the Blue Hole near Dahab to the shipwrecks in the reef Shaʿb Abu Nuhas. These enchanting coral ecosystems can be admired by everyone as they offer numerous entry points for wheelchair users. The Mövenpick Resort El Quseir is located in the resort of Marsa Alamund and works with numerous tour operators who offer accessible activities. Or stay at the Oonas Dive Club (located north in Sharm el-Sheikh), a hotel with an on-site diving center that offers boat and diving tours for all guests.