A recent misconception about travel agencies is that you can find more information online and book it for a cheaper price. While that may be true with airline tickets since the complete cut of the travel agent commissions after 9/11, the same cannot be said for booking hotels, cruises, and extensive trips to foreign countries.
Not only can travel agents usually find the same or cheaper prices than you can online, they offer decades of knowledge in their regions of expertise and they make a portion of your sale in commission from the property and activity companies, which would otherwise be additional markup revenue to the properties. Although travel agencies do have to charge extra to book airline tickets for their time spent and lack of commissions made, they often do not charge extra for booking large-commission trips, hotels, and cruises because of the commissions they do make here.
The same is true but to a greater extent for travel agents that book adaptive travel. The knowledge they share far outweighs the amount of time you would spend researching. You can still do the research yourself if you have time, but if you don’t, an agent’s services are even more invaluable. In addition, often times agencies will offer group trips to make the package cheaper by booking in bulk. If you’re new to travel, a large group may seem overwhelming, but traveling in numbers can give you confidence, additional assistance, and will guarantee the activity and lodging companies are more than ready for your special needs.
Below is a list of agents—and their regions of expertise—that have been studying the adaptive travel niche for many years and can guarantee people with disabilities accessible lodging, amenities, activity companies, and transportation services for leisure and business travel for. Not using their wisdom would be a waste!
· Access Africa (UK)—specializing in complete African travel packages
· Access Aloha Travel (HI)—specializing in Hawaiian vacations
· Access Canadian Adventures—specializing in hunting and recreation vacations in Canada
· Accessible Journeys (PA)—specializing in group vacations, cruises, and luxury travel
· Accessible Kiwi Tours (NZ)—specializing in New Zealand mobility-focused tours and travel
· Accessible Travel and Leisure (UK)—the complete travel agency specializing in many regions, based out of the UK
· Cancún Accessible—specializing in Cancun, Mexico, lodging and transportation
· Deaf Passages Travel—specializing in cruising for deaf passengers—specializing in Ecuador vacations
· Egypt Has It All (Egypt)—specializing in Egypt travel, tours, and pyramid site visits
· Endeavor Safaris (South Africa)—specializing in African travel and safaris
· Great Escapes (OH)—specializing in cruises and traveling with a power chair
· Horizontes—specializing in Costa Rica travel vacations
· Samarthya Travel—specializing in India vacations
· Suntastic Tours (FL)—specializing in personal concierge travel in Orlando, FL and more
· Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality—specializing in training and referring travel agents and industry professionals in adaptive travel.
· Undiscovered Brittain (PA)—specializing in UK and Ireland travel.
Read more: For more accessible travel resources, see Resources for Traveling with a Disability.
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