Key takeaways:
Cory Lee has spinal muscular atrophy and uses a wheelchair.
Owner of the popular travel blog, Curb Free with Cory Lee, he has traveled widely across America and to more than 40 countries.
He offers travel tips to help wheelchair users navigate everything from transportation and hotel stays to finding the perfect adaptive experiences.
Working at a school meant Cory Lee’s mother had the summers off. So every summer, they would take trips. Because the family lived in Georgia, they stuck to driving distances along the East Coast.
And then, when Cory was 15, something magical happened. The family traveled to the Bahamas.
“That was the first time I traveled internationally, and it gave me a chance to experience a different culture, try new foods, and meet new people and learn about their lives,” says Cory, who now runs Curb Free with Cory Lee, a popular blog that’s been featured on numerous travel sites. “It also got me thinking about all the other fantastic destinations in the world. It really sparked something inside of me.”
The Bahamas trip was also the first time the family navigated international travel with Cory’s wheelchair. He was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (type 2) when he was 2 years old. But that didn’t stop his mother from wanting him to see the world.
“My mom put in a lot of labor to make sure those trips happened,” Cory says. As he and his mom learned early on, a wheelchair user still has to plan ahead in a way that someone who takes accessibility for granted doesn’t.
Cory, who’s now 32, has been nearly everywhere — including every continent, more than 40 countries, and 39 states in the U.S. He’s learned a lot along the way and is eager to share with fellow travel enthusiasts.
There has never been a better time for accessible travel
In 2013, Cory was planning a college graduation trip to Australia. “I got online one night and pretty quickly noticed there was a severe lack of accessible travel information,” he says. “It immediately gave me the idea to try to do something to improve that situation.”
That was the beginning of Curb Free with Cory Lee. In the decade since, there is far more information on the web about traveling with a wheelchair. It’s easier to research, see pictures, ask questions, read reviews — all the things a person looking for accessible options must do.
Not only that, but also many cities are making transportation, accommodations, and exhibits more navigable for wheelchair users.
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“Europe in general has great accessibility, because you can more easily get from one country to another,” he says. Scandinavia, in particular, excels at designing accessible spaces, he says.
But Cory rates Barcelona, Spain as the most accessible city in the world. “Every mode of transportation and all the beaches are completely accessible. Every time I’m in Spain, I’m really surprised at the efforts they take to make things accessible,” he says.
No matter where you’re headed, here are Cory’s top five travel tips.
1. Secure your transportation first
People without accessibility needs often figure out transportation from the airport once they’ve arrived. They know they can likely grab a cab or an Uber, hop on a bus, or navigate a subway or metro system. It’s why transportation from the airport is often the last thing they think about.
For Cory, it’s the first. “If I get to a new city and I haven’t booked accessible transportation, I’ll be stuck at the airport.” He knows this, because early on, he would find himself waiting 3 or 4 hours for an accessible taxi if there wasn’t some accessible mode of public transportation that ran between the airport and his destination.
Luckily, information is easier to find now than 20 years ago, including Facebook groups that are dedicated to travel, like Accessible Travel Club. “I can ask other wheelchair users what accessibility is like at a destination and get some firsthand perspective and knowledge.”
2. Never assume a hotel’s accessible room is accessible for you
Often, hotel websites have scant information about what their accessible rooms are like. That’s why Cory always calls and asks a series of questions about how accessible the room really is.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a 1990 federal civil rights law that includes certain guidelines for businesses serving the public. When it comes to hospitality environments, the guidelines include things like height of light switches and widths of doorways.
But as Cory has found, the requirements are the bare minimum for accessibility.
“For a lot of people with disabilities, they don’t even work,” he says. The doorways and showers are sometimes far too narrow. And the bed often doesn’t have space under it for Hoyer lift, a piece of equipment some people in wheelchairs need to transfer safely into a bed.
“The ADA came into law the year I was born, and it hasn’t been updated in a serious way in the last 30 years,” he says. But until more updates happen, Cory does the research to make sure any given room will suit his needs — and reports on his blog about it.
3. Flying is always nerve-wracking, so minimize your stress
Cory flies out of Atlanta, which means he usually flies with Delta. He’s lucky that he’s in a city where a major airline has a hub because he’s more likely to be able to get direct flights.
That matters. A lot.
Every time Cory changes planes, he has to be physically lifted by the crew into the seat. “I’ve almost been dropped many times,” he says.
Not only that, but there is always a chance his wheelchair will get damaged. The more times it has to be removed from a cargo hold and put on another plane’s cargo hold, the more likely damage is. “It’s why I try to find the easiest, most direct flight route for any trip,” he says.
Cory also recommends reviewing the Bill of Rights for air travelers with disabilities under the Air Carrier Access Act. “There’s important information in those guidelines that anyone with a disability should be familiar with,” he says. “Print it out and have it with you on a flight day.”
4. Seek out adaptive experiences
Once Cory has figured out the more boring stuff, he can dive into the fun part of travel planning — the attractions and sights he wants to visit. He’s always on the lookout for unique accessibility options.
“I especially love adaptive experiences,” he says, noting that hot air ballooning and ziplining are some favorites. With more organizations around the world focusing on adaptive sports and recreation, the number of adaptive experiences has dramatically risen.
For example, he recently went to Vermont and worked with Vermont Adaptive, which offers activities like snow skiing, biking, and kayaking. “It was the first time I’d ever gone biking, and it was the most incredible experience,” he says.
5. Start small and build
“Traveling as a wheelchair user will always come with obstacles, but the more you travel, the easier it gets,” he says. If international travel feels overwhelming, start small and local with a road trip. Then, maybe try a short flight.
“Even with those smaller, local trips, you will learn a lot about what goes into traveling with a wheelchair,” he says. “On every trip, you will learn something new that will give you more confidence.”
And then one day, you might find yourself high above the world in a hot air balloon or trekking across the Sahara desert on a camel, just like Cory did in Morocco. The world can truly be your oyster, no matter what your abilities are.
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