Travelling with a Visual Impairment: Make the most of your trip

The image shows: A man holding a large backpack at a train station. There is a train stopped at the platform.

The summer holidays have arrived and many of you will have trips planned or be thinking about going abroad. Beyond the heat, the stress of travelling and now the crisis in the travel industry, visually impaired people face further obstacles, and this month we look at how you can get the most out of your travel experience.

We always emphasise the fact that perfect sight is not necessary for enjoying all the things life has to offer. In fact, visual impairment can sometimes give access to a mode of experience unavailable to fully sighted people. Travelling is no different. So much of the beauty of travelling is non-visual – in food, noise, smells, weather, and terrain.

If you’re looking for inspiration, look no further than James Holman, known as the “Blind Traveller” and Tony Giles a.k.a. Tony the Traveller. Holman’s adventures have been chronicled in Jason Robert’s book, A Sense of the World. Holman was a blind man who became “history’s greatest traveller” in the 19th century. Amongst the achievements and adventures in his life are fighting the slave trade, surviving frozen captivity in Siberia and inspiring Charles Darwin.

Tony the Traveller is blind and partially deaf. Hailing from southwest England, he has crossed every continent, visited 140 countries and all 50 American states – all independently. He has also published 3 e-books all about travelling the world as a blind man. Whilst you might not be looking to voyage across the world and just fancy a break in the sun, there’s a lot we can learn from Tony.

It’s essential to know about the place you’re visiting, so make sure you do your research. If you’re unable to read a brochure, make use of the internet and text to speech software. Tony recommends wikitravel.com. Make sure you ask the right questions: does the place you’re visiting have audio guides or a method to navigate the space? Are there accessible facilities and restaurants? Do the staff speak English? Is there public transport nearby? And how easy is it to use? Will you have to get taxis? These are just some of the things to consider in advance, and the best way to get answers is by contacting your hotel or venue directly.

Tony says that the most accessible places he visited are larger cities in the USA such as New York, Washington DC, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta and Austin, Texas; Toronto in Canada, and Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth in Australia. He says that whilst many cities in mainland Europe have tactile lines on the ground to navigate streets and train stations, he thinks attitudes there, particularly in Italy and Eastern Europe are less open-minded. If you’re nervous about solo travelling then maybe stay close to home or travel with a friend or family member.

One other key thing to remember is making sure your luggage is easy to locate. This could involve using an electronic tag or tactile labels. And, as for any traveller, visually impaired or not, you should always carry your medical identification and insurance card (if you have one) in case of an accident or emergency.

A final bit of advice is to focus on the positives. Travelling can be daunting at first, but instead of worrying about what could go wrong, remember why you’re travelling and what you hope to get out of it. Embrace the adventure and enjoy the moment!