Disability Friendly Beach Resorts, Wheel Chair Accessible Beaches

Florida has miles of beach coastline, but try Fernandina Beach, a small resort community on Amelia Island, the state’s first resort area, between the Amelia River and the Atlantic Ocean. Fernandina Beach recently added accessible features throughout the city, including playgrounds, beaches and marinas (www.fbfl.us).

Also in Florida, Vicki Thorp of Accessible Travel in Denver, Colo., recommends Miami’s South Beach for its paved walkway alongside the sand and beach wheelchairs (available on a first-come first-serve basis). Off the beach, the Miami area is welcoming and accessible. 

The Puerto Rico Mar Sin Barreras (Sea Without Barriers) facility at Luquillo Beach is designed for wheelchair access. Ramps lead from the parking lot to a platform in the ocean where visitors don’t even have to get out of their wheelchairs to experience the water. In addition to the accessible beach, bathrooms, a recreation area, aquatic wheelchairs and specially trained lifeguards are all on site.

For a Caribbean getaway, check out the Beaches Family Resorts in Jamaica and Turks and Caicos, which have nannies available and are wheelchair accessible. The Secret Harbour Resort on St. Thomas has an accessible restaurant, restrooms and accommodations. Next door to the resort is Carl Moore’s dive/scuba shop which offers accessible snorkel and scuba classes for anyone who can hold a snorkel unassisted.

• Thanks to beach wheelchairs, it has become possible for those who use a wheelchair to enjoy the beach firsthand.
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The Bay Islands Beach Resort on the Honduran island of Roatán, exceeds ADA standards. All the beach level rooms are accessible, and there’s a hard boardwalk that connects the buildings in the resort so you don’t have to manage a wheelchair across the sand. In addition to having the basic accessibility, the resort has a spacious 44 acres and has a dive staff that’s trained to work with divers with physical disabilities so everyone can explore the deep (or maybe just snorkel). One concern, says sales manager Bob Beaumont, is that the airport isn’t yet equipped to handle heavy motorized wheelchairs, so you might want to stick with a manual chair for this trip. 

Beach Tips

Many beaches have wheelchairs available, but if you live by the beach and want to buy one of your own, check out Landeez (www.landeez.com). When ordering a beach wheelchair, explain your child’s specific needs so you get the appropriate chair.

When you’re heading to an island resort, Thorpe recommends planning backup transportation, whether that means bringing a manual wheelchair in addition to a motorized one, or coming with a list of backup accessible taxi companies to call just in case.

If you’re heading to a beach not included here, the Access-Able.com travel Web site (www.access-able.com/summer_fun) has a list of different beach locations and accessible options at each of them.