Accessible Cape Town

Booking accessible accommodation in and around Cape Town is easier than it used to be, but if you have a severe disability or specific needs be cautious! Many hotels and guest houses which claim to be 'wheelchair friendly' are actually not.

These 'wheelchair friendly' hotels or guest houses may have a ground floor room, but the bathroom will often not be suitably equipped and there may be steps or other barriers to the dining room or lounge. Whenever you book a place to stay, make sure you state your exact requirements and get definite answers on the state of their bathrooms and other facilities. Ask for photos if possible.

Interestingly, a recent survey of the hotels listed on the Cape Town Tourism website as 'wheelchair friendly' has shown that the majority are certainly not. Some of those who claimed to be accessible to wheelchair users even had steps to the main entrance and no other level access to the building!

Currently the most reliable source of information on accessible hotels in South Africa is www.disabledtravel.co.za. Just click on 'Western Cape'.

Craig Grimes has recently launched a Cape Town section on his innovative site www.accessible.travel, the world's first online booking system for disabled travellers. This currently has detailed access information and photos for four hotels in the centre of Cape Town. More will be added soon.

If your access needs are not so critical and you're after a really special place to stay, the best guide to go for is Greenwood Guides. Friendly owners, beautiful buildings and extraordinary scenery are what tickle the fancy of this guide publisher, who sends out a team of inspectors each year to check that the places listed are up to scratch and to search out new and exciting ones. Make sure you check up on accessibility issues before confirming a booking.

If travelling further afield, make sure you check out www.able-travel.com, a new site run by Gordon Rattray, who has just completed a mammoth guide to African safaris for travellers with disabilities. The guide is published by Bradt and will be available soon - watch this space.

An easy way of avoiding the accommodation question is to book an organised tour with a specialist tour operator. Just make sure to explain your exact requirements to the tour operator when making the booking!

And if all else fails, feel free to contact me at monica[@]accessiblecapetown.com and I'll do what I can to help.