Holiday barrier-free camping
ABOUT | US
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Why are we starting this project?
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We're a family of four who don't want to be deterred from traveling because of my wife's C5 spinal cord injury. We had the idea of founding just-camping.com to give other disabled people the possibility of camping with a wheelchair, walker, etc. as a form of independent vacation and to enable the resulting freedom of travel .
We've been to many countries and got to know many hotels, but we still have to keep asking questions. Are there stairs to key areas of the hotel? It has also happened that we only got to our barrier-free room on the 1st floor through the hay barn, a long way around the hotel. Or that we booked a room at the reception and found out in the room that the door to the bathroom was too narrow and a bathtub was installed instead of a shower. When asked if we might have been given the wrong room by mistake, we were told that the room was wheelchair accessible, but we hadn't requested a wheelchair accessible bathroom.
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That's not to say those vacations were bad. But if you know what "work" in the form of time and nerves was put into the search for a wheelchair-accessible hotel, then these results are meager.
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The search for a hotel is what annoys us the most! We would like to go on vacation exactly THERE. THERE, however, there are no wheelchair-accessible hotels, guesthouses or the like. If things go well, we'll get a far too expensive room within a radius of 20 km. But even if the hotel is "only" 20 km away, we have the problem of transport. Public transport doesn't always work either, and taxis are becoming too expensive for day-to-day use. Not to speak of round trips a la "here today and there tomorrow".
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Now we are facing a new challenge. We have children - two to be exact. You might still be able to accommodate a child somehow – if the hotel cooperates. For insurance reasons, you cannot simply put an extra bed in a barrier-free double room, even if it were large enough. And have you ever noticed that as a wheelchair user you only get double rooms. With two children, the holiday is even more exciting. Finding an accessible room with two extra beds is almost impossible. We have not yet discovered a barrier-free room with a connecting door to another room. However, if you were to factor in the cost of the second room, you could get dizzy.
By the way, we are not demanding when it comes to our hotel selection. A room for two adults and two children with a wheelchair-accessible bathroom, ie wheelchair-accessible sink and a walk-in shower in which you can put a plastic chair if you don't have a built-in seat. We don't need much.
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And when you arrive? Then the hotel is at the A***** in the world or it isn't as nice on site or just not as you imagined. The holiday can be thrown in the bin because your plane is only going home in two weeks. These small, unpredictable factors play such an immensely important role for wheelchair users that it is simply not possible to plan everything exactly in advance.
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But why do without the impressions of other countries, the accumulated experiences and the enjoyment of "leaning your soul"? Never in my life!
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Camping is the solution to our problem and maybe also the right way for you to be able to react easily to unplanned eventualities and thus really enjoy your holiday.
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Benefits of camping with a disability
90% of all campsites are barrier-free and you can find them very quickly in the ADAC campsite guide (choose country, choose region, open pages and see if there is a wheelchair symbol. Done!). The barrier-free bathrooms in the washhouses can usually only be accessed with your own key, making it a "private bathroom".
You go on holiday WHERE you want and not just WHERE you can.
Every day you have the freedom to decide whether you like a place or not.
The weather is bad? Follow the sun!
You get to know the country and people more intensively, since you don't just have to spend your vacation in a tourist area.
You don't need public transport, you have your car with you.
It does not get boring. Large campsites offer fun and entertainment for the whole family and those looking for peace and quiet will also find their tranquil spot.
Wheelchair users are "clocked" in certain areas, you don't have to change this clock because of specified meal times, for example.
