[holland]

Hi,

I'm a newbie here, so let me first introduce myself a little. My husband is a C5/6 complete (since 1988, long before I met him) and together we have 4-year-old twin boys. We live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

I ran into this great forum while searching for accessible holiday rentals in California, USA. We are planning a 3-weeks' trip to California in April/May and it turns out to be so hard to find really wheelchair accessible holiday homes.
Some websites (like VBRO) make use of the wheelchair logo, but it seems this only means you are able to _enter_ the house in a wheelchair while the bathroom usually has a tub or an unaccessible shower. Also the space around the bed often turns out to be a problem.

Is there a website that does give an overview of really wheelchair accessible holiday homes in CA?

Or is there anybody here on the forum who knows accessible holiday homes in CA?

We'll fly into LAX and ideally we would like to stay in 3 different holiday homes on 3 different locations for a week each.
The only "must" is Legoland in Carlsbad (yes we have 2 Lego addicts ;-)). The first 2 weeks we will travel together with another family with 2 kids, so then we need a 8-p house, the last week it will only be the four of us.

Another question is about accessible car rentals. In the past we used to rent a "normal" (full size) car, but now we have 2 kids and more luggage this will probably not fit anymore. A normal MPV is usually to high at the front which makes it impossible for my husband to make the transfer from his wheelchair into the car (passenger seat).
We found Wheelchair Getaways on the Internet, but a 3-weeks' rental from them is a bit too costy for our budget.

Are there "normal" rental companies (like Hertz, Alamo, Budget, ...) that also offer wheelchair accessible vans in CA? It is not necessary for my husband to drive himself.

Any suggestions or do's and don'ts are very welcome! Thank you!

[Califanna]

holland, on Mar 3 2009, 02:22 AM, said:

Hi,

I'm a newbie here, so let me first introduce myself a little. My husband is a C5/6 complete (since 1988, long before I met him) and together we have 4-year-old twin boys. We live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

I ran into this great forum while searching for accessible holiday rentals in California, USA. We are planning a 3-weeks' trip to California in April/May and it turns out to be so hard to find really wheelchair accessible holiday homes.
Some websites (like VBRO) make use of the wheelchair logo, but it seems this only means you are able to _enter_ the house in a wheelchair while the bathroom usually has a tub or an unaccessible shower. Also the space around the bed often turns out to be a problem.

Is there a website that does give an overview of really wheelchair accessible holiday homes in CA?

Or is there anybody here on the forum who knows accessible holiday homes in CA?

We'll fly into LAX and ideally we would like to stay in 3 different holiday homes on 3 different locations for a week each.
The only "must" is Legoland in Carlsbad (yes we have 2 Lego addicts ;-)). The first 2 weeks we will travel together with another family with 2 kids, so then we need a 8-p house, the last week it will only be the four of us.

Another question is about accessible car rentals. In the past we used to rent a "normal" (full size) car, but now we have 2 kids and more luggage this will probably not fit anymore. A normal MPV is usually to high at the front which makes it impossible for my husband to make the transfer from his wheelchair into the car (passenger seat).
We found Wheelchair Getaways on the Internet, but a 3-weeks' rental from them is a bit too costy for our budget.

Are there "normal" rental companies (like Hertz, Alamo, Budget, ...) that also offer wheelchair accessible vans in CA? It is not necessary for my husband to drive himself.

Any suggestions or do's and don'ts are very welcome! Thank you!

I live in Santa Barbara, but I have used this company for friends who visit and want an accessible vehicle. The Aero Mobility company is located in Santa Ana. They will go to LAX to pick you up with the van. www.aeromobility.net They sell and modify vehicles and rent the vehicles on the side. Melissa can help you with your needs. She will deal with you if you are renting for that long of a period; 3 weeks.

As for the homes, have you tried www.matchinghouses.com. I use this site to find accessible homes. If that site doesn't work for you, I also use www.vacationrentals.com. But that site is for everyone, but you can find something that might work for your needs.

Disney Resorts is offering some primo deals. The best hotel for accessiblity is the Grand Californian. We stay there because it is walking distance to the park and the shopping/restaurant area. It is a little pricey, but right now they have reduced their packages way down. The accessible room can have a connecting living room, which leads to the second bedroom. I have two kids so it works for me.

Good Luck.
Califanna

[holland]

Hi Califanna,

Thanks for you quick reply!

I'll certainly contact Melissa from Aero Mobility, their website looks promising!

Matchinghouses is also an interesting website. However, I have to get used to the idea of swapping houses with total strangers... But certainly it also offers advantages over a "normal" vacation house. Maybe for a future vacation.
Vacation rentals and VBRO are the websites we currently use to look for suitable vacation homes, but as written before it is so difficult to get the necessary accessibility information from their websites.

Thanks again and in case you or others have more accessible California information please let me know!