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For the Spring 2024 issue, Accessible Journeys leans into luxury travel with a happy sigh. Who doesn’t love a little luxury? And we all deserve it. Even if our mobility or budgets are limited, as long as we keep our minds flexible, we can all have a bit more luxury. And in recent years, luxury travel options for people with disabilities have exploded.
Guest Editor Tarryn Tomlinson pilots us through this edition, where we venture to the idyllic Maldives, heal with therapy horses in the British Virgin Islands, and safari in Kruger National Park at Ximuwu—a luxury lodge built with accessibility in mind. Tarryn sets the tone by asking the provocative question, “Why do we only need to think about what is possible for us as opposed to what we want for ourselves?”
The answer is that we don’t need to limit our thinking or desires to what is possible. At Accessible Journeys, we know that anything is possible. That’s why we continue to feature contributors who not only find the possible but push its boundaries, making everything a little more possible for a lot more people. We are grateful to them all.
We asked our contributors to define luxury travel and were inspired by their replies. Kristin Secor’s take on luxury travel is the luxury of having accessibility. Being on the frontline, she knows that global accessibility still has a long way to go, adding, “Finding your dream destination that is accessible and can meet your needs, that is luxury because it doesn’t exist everywhere.” Jessica Jordan Ping echoes that sentiment, saying, “A luxury vacation has to make me feel included.” Elisa Richards defines luxury travel as the opportunity for open unscheduled time. In Authenticity, nature and silence, the hard-of-hearing advocate calls her silence meditative, giving her, “the choice to completely turn off the noise and allow my other senses to step in.”
Besides the critical components of accessibility, inclusivity and open time, we hear more definitions of luxury travel in other pieces, showing that luxury is within reach for all of us—and it starts with our perspective.
To address the obvious concern, luxury travel doesn’t need to have a high price tag, which is great news for those of us concerned about budgets. We’re lucky to have saving tips that you’ll want to bookmark from Jennifer Allen in Chasing the luxury of travel. Jennifer also shares some accessible luxury travel recommendations from families.
As always, our publication goes beyond travel tales, offering high-value information from people with lived experience. Christine E. Staple Ebanks shares her list of best practices to protect a special needs child during travel. Don’t wait to put her sage advice into practice—get informed now by reading Lost and found.
Dance icon Musa Motha is sure to thrill our readers, as he thrilled hordes of fans on Britain’s Got Talent, and beyond. For Musa, luxury travel involves meeting inspiring people. For Limbit’s founder Erica Cole, luxury is experiencing local culture and having the chance to scuba dive.
Our final note is one sung by many of our writers, and which Jessica Jordan Ping echoes: “If I can help at least one disabled person to say, “I am important, I matter, I have inherent value,” then I’ve done my job for today . . . Give yourself the space and the grace to look at who you are and what you want.”
Dear reader, you matter. And we wish you luxury: in time and space, in heart and mind, in peace and wellness. And definitely in accessible travel. Be sure to tell us all about it and send photos!