Accessibility Man: Testing the waters during a vacation in Mexico

We recently went on a vacation to Huatulco, Mexico.

To start off the trip, we had excellent service to help us with my accessibility needs. We got off the plane and the staff immediately helped me down the steps where my own wheelchair was waiting for me.

Staff pushed me through customs and baggage claim and waited with us for our pre-arranged ride to the condo. It was a very good airport experience.

When we got to the van, our driver, Oscar, was a very accommodating person. He introduced himself and told us about the Huatulco area while driving us.

The walkways around the condo area were mostly made of stone or bricks. Though they were in good condition, they were very bumpy to push a wheelchair over.

The curbs were very high, at least twice as high as Kincardine’s curbs. There were wheelchair cutouts at the corners to help with accessibility.

Most of the streets had a barrier of grass and trees separating the traffic lanes so we could not cross unless at a corner. We ended up having to backtrack to get where we were going but that was fine.

We booked all our excursions through Oscar Tours. The staff members went out of their way to make the activities accessible for me so that I could have exactly the same experience as everyone else.

They took me on an All-Terrain Vehicle (others had to walk) to see the turtles on the beach. They helped me to the beach for swimming, they pushed me around the Pochutla market (not an easy task due to the crowded streets and the hills!) and they helped me get around during a tour of Santa Maria.

Overall, the trip to Huatulco was a very positive experience for me and my family.

For people with disabilities looking to travel here, I would strongly recommend it (with advance planning).

The people were friendly, the weather was hot, and the accommodations went above and beyond my expectations.