Whenever we have good weather in the UK, it’s always a time for celebration. We just don’t have consistent weather patterns, where summer is yep warm and sunny and the other seasons stick to type too. However, summertime still signifies a time to get away, forget the worries of life and go on holiday. The question is how easy is this if you are visually impaired and want to go on your own?
There are sources of assistance and opportunity available which help to make holidays possible. This is, of course, not deliberately ignoring other organisations that provide support for holidays, but to keep things concise, I’ll highlight just the two here.
Perceivably, independent travel and holiday making, can be seen as being an extremely difficult if not impossible pursuit. Just think, you want to go to a destination of your choice, but due to the practicalities involved, a huge barrier is placed in front of you. There are organisations that can help here and although the holiday is determined by what they offer, it still gives you the chance to travel and take a break almost independently. One of the most successful in this field is Traveleyes: www.traveleyes.co.uk
They have a wide selection of holiday opportunities and really do open up the chance to travel. Visually impaired and sighted travellers are encouraged to book and to those who have already accessed this service say that it’s a brilliant experience. For visually impaired holidaymakers, you are matched with sighted companions so that the prospect of independent travel becomes a reality. For more information, contact travel eyes via the weblink above.
If you want an option nearer to home and not necessarily based on being in a group, then give Vision hotels a try. There are three main hotels based across the UK which offer holiday opportunities for visually impaired guests, friends and families. The hotels are the Cliffden in Teignmouth Devon, The Lorriston in Western-super-mare Somerset and the Windermere Manor in the Lake District Cumbria. All offer specialised accommodation, excursions, guide dog facilities and access to local amenities. Although not exclusive to visually impaired guests, the hotels are specifically aimed at providing holiday opportunities and more information and contact details can be found at: www.visionhotels.co.uk
As mentioned above, there are other organisation that provide supported or independent holiday opportunities, but by highlighting the aforementioned options, it is possible to see that holidays are not beyond the realms of possibility.