Don't accept limitations, travel freely!
Everybody has specific needs. Especially when travelling, it can be more challenging to cater for them. You go out of your comfort zone, and you might find yourself in unexpected situations. However, everybody should have the possibility to participate in DiscoverEU, on an equal basis and without discrimination.
To help you get started, the European Youth Portal is sharing accessible travel tips and practical advice for young people with specific access needs. In this article, you can find some advice on accessible travelling in the European Union. Interrail also created a guide with all the services offered by the European railways for participants with special needs.
European Disability Card
The European Disability Card is a card that furthers access to culture, sports, and leisure for people with disabilities. It's an official card issued by the government (free of charge), and it's mutually recognized between 8 European countries:
Free Lonely Planet Resources
Accessible Travel Phrasebook: All travellers will get the most out of their trip by being able to speak a few words of the local language, but for people with a disability it’s often vital to be able to explain their particular needs. Since standard phrasebooks are unlikely to contain the language you need to talk about needs around disability, Lonely Planet has gathered some disability-specific words and phrases and translated them into many global languages. Although things are slowly changing for the better, there are still plenty of barriers to travel for people with a disability – language doesn’t have to be one of them.
Accessible Travel Online Resource: The first barrier to travel, for many people who have accessibility issues or a disability, is a lack of information combined with a fear of the unknown. Lonely Planet put together a collection of online resources that will go some way towards filling the information gap and alleviating such fears, either by providing information directly or by introducing you to a host of people who haven’t let their disability get in the way of their love of travel.
Accessible Festival Guides:
- Accessible Brighton: A Festival Guide, the first in the current series of UK festival guides. (67 pages)
- Accessible Edinburgh: A Festival Guide, the second in the current series of UK festival guides. (158 pages)
- Accessible Glasgow: A Festival Guide, the third in the current series of UK festival guides. (80 pages)
Accessible Cities in the Spotlight
- Breda, the Netherlands
- Lyon, France
- Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Luxembourg, Luxembourg
- Viborg, Denmark
- Évreux, France
- Gdynia, Poland
- Kaposvár, Hungary
- Vigo, Spain