Access Compass guide
Holidays & accessible travel: check before you book
For trips where you travel or stay together as a family. This is different from a short break or respite service, where care or support is arranged so an unpaid carer can have a break.
Published by Access Compass · How we research and check guides
Who it's for: everyone, Families, Parents & carers, Children & young people, Adults
✓ Verified Last checked 20 Jul 2026. Always confirm details with the service before relying on them.
Step by step
-
Use the right route
Use this guide for a family holiday, accessible stay or leisure trip. If a disabled child or adult will attend supported care or an activity without their usual unpaid carer, use the short-break or respite guide instead. A holiday club can be a short break; a family holiday is not automatically one just because it includes an overnight stay.
-
Write down what must work
List the exact features, equipment and support you need: routes and gradients, doorway and transfer space, bed and bathroom setup, fixed or mobile hoists, shower equipment, power for medical devices, sensory conditions, communication access, assistance dogs, parking and evacuation. Separate essentials from preferences.
-
Use directories for discovery, not as a guarantee
RoamPal Guide provides independently checked destination and stay ideas. AccessAble provides detailed surveyed access information, Euan's Guide adds disabled people's experiences, and Tourism for All lists accessible tourism businesses. Each source answers a different question. Follow through to the venue or operator and confirm the exact property, room or unit yourself.
-
Ask for the property's own Accessibility Guide
Current VisitEngland guidance favours factual features and a detailed Accessibility Guide rather than a broad label such as 'wheelchair friendly'. Ask for measurements, photographs and the location of equipment. If the answer is important to safety or whether the stay is usable, get the confirmation in writing and attach it to the booking.
-
Check the whole journey
Plan assistance, accessible parking or transfers, charging and medication, toilets and rest stops, equipment transport or hire, food and personal-care arrangements, and a fallback if a lift, hoist, room or transport connection is unavailable.
-
Confirm costs, companions and cancellation terms
Ask what the quoted price includes, whether an essential companion place is free or discounted, what evidence is accepted, whether equipment costs extra, and what happens if access needs cannot be met. Travel insurance and cancellation cover are separate decisions; check their terms before paying.
-
Recheck shortly before travel
Opening times, staffing, equipment and transport arrangements can change. Reconfirm any essential access feature with the operator before a long or costly journey. Use reviews as useful lived experience, not proof that the same setup will work for you now.