Aerial view of Tel Aviv
Photo by: Jonathan Fain (Stock Exchange)

Happy New Year from Disabled Travelers!

Today we’ll be finishing up a great run through Israel, a destination that combines the best of the west and the Middle East. We’ve touched on wheelchair travel throughout the country, disabled organizations, and accessible attractions in Jerusalem. Now we’ll finish up by looking at great places to visit in Tel Aviv, the hub of modern Israel. Unlike many towns and villages in the countryside that date back hundreds or thousands of years, Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 and has a distinctly modern feel, perched on Israel’s beautiful Mediterranean coast.

Any trip into Tel Aviv is most likely to begin at Ben Gurion Airport, which sits convenient to both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Airports in Israel don’t generally have their own standalone websites, but the Israel Airport Authority has a main site including an index of common questions about accessibility. It’s a one-stop shop for information on air travel around the country. My write-up on accessible cruise ships for the country is still forthcoming, but as it happens, there is a travel agent specifically for this situation: America-Israel Travel, which also runs tours throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean. Possibly worth a look, at least for their travel tips!.

Once you’re there, Tel Aviv is a great city for disabled travel. Wheelchair accessible attractions feature some of the best in Israeli culture, including museums, parks, and monuments. Shalom Tower was the city’s first skyscraper and is inexorably intertwined with its modern history, playing host to exhibitions all about the city. For the arts and theater, The Suzanne Dellal Centre for Theatre and Dance is designed to have maximum disability access, including spacious pathways, elevators, and restroom facilities. The National Museum of the Jewish Diaspora is another good pick; and of course, you can’t miss out on The Tel Aviv Museum of Arts.

The official website for the city’s beautiful Yarkon Park is, unfortunately, not available in English, but I’ve been assured the paths are flat and level, offering great accessibility for wheelchair users and those who prefer a more leisurely pace. Israel Travels is a tour operator that offers pages on featured trips and destinations, as well as several useful books and guides for travel in Israel. While Israel Travel’s offerings aren’t specifically from the handicapped traveler perspective, Access Israel, which I mentioned last time, has its own access guide for Tel Aviv. No matter what your plans include, check there first for the best in Israeli travel with a disability.

Well, that’ll be that for Israel, at least for a while. Where we’ll go next through this blog, even I’m not quite sure – but you can bet we’ll be going there with the best in disabled travel resources at our side. Until then, keep adventuring, and be sure to get in touch if you have questions or comments. You’ll be hearin’ from me!

Si

Photo by: Paul Segal (Stock Exchange)

Happy almost New Year! In our last visit together, we learned all about disability access in Israel, and had a whirlwind tour of some of the accessible travel options around the country. This time we’ll be zooming in and talking specifically about wheelchair accessible attractions, mainly in Jerusalem, one of the world’s holiest sites. Let’s go explore …

Last time, I pointed out the range of disabled travel experiences shared at The Jerusalem Post’s Israel Travel Guide. This is an awesome resource, but it only scratches the surface of some of the great, proactive things being done for disabled travelers in Israel: not just for mobility impaired access, but also the hard-of-hearing and those with visual impairments. According to YNet News, efforts are being made to expand accessibility in Jerusalem’s Old City, including expansion of wheelchair accessible pathways, vocal signs, visual transcriptions, and other helpful accommodations.

The list of places to be improved include a number of iconic historical and cultural sites, though thankfully, many others have already had disability access options in place for years. At the Tower of David Museum, most areas already boast full accessibility, with special parking also available nearby. Jerusalem Archaeological Park is still lacking in any info for disabled travelers that I could find, but there are wheelchair accessible areas around the Western Wall – the ancient remains from the Second Temple period also known as the Wailing Wall. And luckily, there is a growing number of tour guides available to help visitors with special needs navigate the Old City.

This guide to the Jewish Quarter includes information on independent tour guides and the Larry and Leonore Zusman Visitors Center for People With Special Needs, a handicapped organization that helps to maintain the signage, trails, and other features related to accessible travel. A few more general guides on travel in the Holy Land include Travelujah, which includes articles and contact info for group tours, and Sacred Destinations, which focuses on cathedrals, temples, and various other holy sites, and has great info on Jerusalem and other places worldwide. Though not focused specifically on disability access, this website includes awesome illustrations, history, and all kinds of other resources you can use if famous places of worship are on your travel agenda.

Outside of the Old City, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy Israel’s culture and history. Jerusalem Botanical Gardens has wheelchair accessible pathways and roll-in restroom facilities. The Herzl Museum, devoted to one of the architects of the modern Israeli state, is accessible and often includes exhibits that the deaf and blind can enjoy. The Israel Museum has railings and accessible elevators. Handicapped travelers can also enjoy the Jerusalem Mall, which currently lacks an official website. Last, but certainly not least, is the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, a huge complex especially designed to be accessible to all visitors.

Next time we’ll be moving on from ancient Jerusalem into Tel Aviv, one of Israel’s modern marvels. From there, I’ll be sharing some general disabled travel resources I know you’ll love no matter where your travels take you. Until then, adventure on!

Si

The Dead Sea on a clear day
Photo by: phunphoto (Stock Exchange)

Happy holidays all!

With Christmas and Hanukkah just behind us now, I was thinking about where to go next year – hey, I’m not here writing a travel blog for nothing! – and I thought “what better feature than a piece on Jerusalem?” Even in these difficult times, millions of people visit Jerusalem every year, including Christians, Jews, and Muslims who consider the ancient city’s many religious sites to be sacred. I was curious to see what kind of accessible travel options and accessible hotels could be found for handicapped travelers hoping to make that journey, so here we go!

Finding the wheelchair accessible Israel can be a challenge, but things are getting better every day. Israel recently elected its first wheelchair-bound member of the Knesset, the country’s parliament. Using the right tour operator will go a long way toward a rich, full experience if your goal is to see the country’s oldest, and somewhat less accessible, landmarks. Once again, Accessible Journeys comes to the rescue with a great itinerary that includes Jerusalem, the Old City, Bethlehem, and the Red Sea.

The Jerusalem Post is also highly useful with its occasional access guides, such as this informative article on wheelchair accessible sites in the country’s north. Be aware the The Post’s Jerusalem travel guide website, which is found here, has a wide selection of articles that all include information on accessibility at famous locales. Just check out the search function for more. It’s a terrific, journalistic source – and goes a long way to show just how much great Israeli media you can access in English.

For even more first-hand accounts from handicapped travelers, take a look at the index of disabled travel reports at Access Israel. Right now, there are about a dozen “featured trips” with detailed information and photographs. Accessible Israel is a nonprofit handicapped organization much in the vein of those in Europe and the U.S., and also provides resources for planning trips, finding accessible transportation and accommodations, and much more. All of this information is available in English, and you can even contact members of the group for answers to your specific queries. For even more tips, visit the Access in Israel Project, a dedicated access guide for the country.

It’s delightful to be able to report that Israel has so many great opportunities for travelers of all abilities, and things only seem to be improving. The only tricky thing I see so far is actually getting there – most flights to the second-largest city, Tel Aviv, originate out of New York, but policies for disabled travelers are unclear at Isair Airlines, and a touch sparse elsewhere. Other options include El-Al Airlines, which offers wheelchairs and passenger escorts for mobility impaired access, and Arkia, which has some tour information.

I’ll be checking out ways to get to the region by sea in a future post. In our very next installment, I plan to focus on wheelchair accessible attractions in Jerusalem and then move on to Tel Aviv, Israel’s two major population centers. Until then, keep adventuring!

Si