Puerto Rico with a Wheelchair
A Reader Seeks a Wheelchair-Accessible Transportation in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is becoming well-known for its accessible beach. Finding accessible transportation there is possible, and wheelchair users have given positive reports.
Puerto Rico
A vacation in Puerto Rico sounds pleasant. A reader has written in asking for help in finding a wheelchair-accessible mode of transportation there.
First Person Account of Travelling in Puerto Rico with a Wheelchair
The website access-able has a section for "Tales" where Beverly Nelson has posted an account of her trip to Puerto Rico as a wheelchair user. Beverly mentioned that the tour company Rico Sun Tours provided some of her transportation in an adapted van. Reading her story it does sound like she was not particularly comfortable, but that the company did their best to make things work.
Ms. Nelson also mentioned the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and said they had been very good at helping her find wheelchair-accessible destinations. Upon checking the Travelers With Disabilities section of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company's website, one learns that all the public transit in Puerto Rico is required to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act.
What the Bulletin Boards Say
There's no substitute for the real-life experience of someone who has already "been there, done that".
A few of the accessibility-oriented bulletin boards had comments about Puerto Rico, including:
- Gimp on the Go - Sept. 2006 - recommends Puerto Rico for its accessibility, including accessible transportation
- Gimp on the Go - Oct. 2003 - likes Puerto Rico but prefers Virgin Islands; Nov. 2003 - gives details of renting a van from Avis and bringing a ramp from home, and on another trip renting an accessible van with mandatory driver from Wheelchair Getaways for transport between hotel and airport, found both ways satisfactory
- Trip Advisor - Puerto Rico forum can be searched using the search box and the search term "wheelchair" (without the quote marks), to give a number of threads from people who have been to Puerto Rico.
There are many other bulletin boards and forums on the internet. Please note that the ones mentioned above are not being specifically endorsed here; they are just a starting point for a more comprehensive search.
By posting a question on the forum or bulletin board of your choice, you will generally get a good response if the bulletin board is at all active.
Dr. Scott Rains has written many articles here on Suite101, on the topic of Travel With Disabilities. For general advice, his personal website, the Rolling Rains Report , is a very good resource.
Disabilities Topic on Suite101.com
Finally, the Disabilities writer for Suite101.com, Megan Drummond, has recently written an article about accessible vacations with further resources.
Thank you for asking the question. Anyone who wants to make suggestions, please feel free to start a discussion in response to this article.
