I Travel With My Mom Who Uses a Wheelchair — Here Are 13 Helpful Items We Always Pack to Make Trips Smoother (2024)

When my mother’s Parkinson’s Disease began worsening a few years ago, I knew that our family vacations would never be the same. To ensure that my mom could still join our road trips (and continue flying to New York so I could help care for her in my apartment), I set out in search of accessible travel products that would make our mobility-friendly trips safer, easier, more comfortable and, at the end of the day, possible.

My mom uses a wheelchair in addition to walkers on trips, so with a little trial and error, we’ve found what works best for her. Because every disability is different, and because even people living with the same disability may experience it differently, I also rounded up a handful of products that my fellow travel writer friends and colleagues have used and recommended.

Traveling with a disability is hard enough; read on for 13 travel products and mobility aids we swear by that can make your next trip smoother, safer, and more accessible.

Compact Folding Travel Walker

My mother uses a higher-end Drive Medical Rollator Walker around the house and to appointments at home because it is sturdy, wheels around easily, has a comfortable seat and a large storage compartment. However, it’s a bit too bulky to fit in the car when the entire family goes on a road trip, so we usually bring a more compact folding walker that can slide between the front and middle rows. Though we have never needed to fold her walker down small enough to fit into checked luggage, I like how this folding walker can break down small enough (20 inches by 16.5 inches by 3.9 inches) to fit inside a suitcase.

Lenpestia Walker Bag

Whether it’s a quick road trip near my mother’s home or an extended stay visiting me in New York, we always pack a walker bag to attach over her walker so she has easy access to her phone, water bottle, magazine, and medication. We’ve tried lots of bags and none are perfect, but we like the Lenpestia walker bag because it’s large and has lots of compartments for easy organization. We also use the Uncle Yang walker bag, which we like because it has a larger water bottle compartment and a zippered top section. Just be aware that this one is a bit smaller and droops down on the sides.

LiftAid Gait Belt

It’s unsafe for my mother to walk alone, even with a walker, so she always wears a gait belt, which clips around her waist like any other belt. While she’s walking, I hold on to the belt behind her so that if she stumbles, I can hold her up and prevent a fall. Pro tip: keep your hand away from the actual buckle when using the gait belt because you don’t want to unclip it inadvertently. This version has a weight capacity of up to 300 pounds and is machine-washable.

Xero Women's Cassie Hemp Comfortable Ballet Flat

Comfort and practicality are the two most important qualities we look for in a travel shoe for my mom. She swears by these New Balance velcro shoes in black since they’re easy to get on and off and the black blends in better than white as well as these more stylish, lightweight Cassie shoes by Xero. These slip-ons are also very easy to get on, and the wider toe box and minimal footwear design help strengthen foot muscles that usually get ignored when wearing highly structured shoes.

CallToU Wireless Caregiver Pager

Because my mother can’t get up to walk around (and because she sometimes struggles to move around in her wheelchair), we use this CallToU buzzer system at home so she can let us know if she is hungry, needs to use the bathroom, or simply wants someone to bring her a book to read. We also bring this buzzer along when we travel so that she can easily call for help in the rental cottages, bed and breakfasts, and traditional hotels that we’ve stayed in together. In some cases, our family spreads across several adjacent hotel rooms, so we might put the wall charger in the room next to the one that my mother is buzzing from, and the signal is strong enough that the device still rings next door.

Travel Lanyard + Hidden Disability Medical Awareness Card

When my mother flies to visit me, especially when I’m not with her, we rely on a sturdy neck lanyard to safely store her ID and boarding pass. We use the lanyard with a pouch to store items inside, but some travelers use the lanyard as a way to announce a non-visible disability. The sunflower is an international symbol of hidden disabilities ranging from cognitive and neurodevelopmental to physical, auditory, sensory, and visual. The sunflower symbol is not yet as widely recognized in the U.S. as it is in other countries, but it’s increasing in awareness, so many travelers like to wear a sunflower lanyard, which lets others know that they may require additional help, understanding, or simply more time. If you prefer to skip the sunflowers, a plain lanyard with a pouch or pocket is still handy to hold identification documents, and you could also opt for one that specifically says “hidden disability.”

Essential Medical Supply Toilet Support Bars

My family loves these toilet support bars so much that we have a set at my mom’s house, another at my house, and a third set for travel. Though we certainly could have just used my mom’s set for trips, we found it much more convenient to keep a separate set specifically for travel. This way, we could set it aside when packing for a road trip and not risk forgetting it, which had happened in the past. It certainly may not be practical to bring these on an airplane, but they’ve been immensely helpful during road trips because even the most accessible hotel room usually has only one support bar on the wall next to the toilet, and it’s much easier for my mom to get up and sit down if she can hold bars on both sides of the toilet.

Pepe Folding Cane

My mother now requires more support than a cane can provide, but travelers who can get by with a cane would do well with this foldable option from Pepe. One of my travel writing colleagues specifically recommends this one. She says that her husband, who has multiple sclerosis, finds his normal cane to be a bit unwieldy when traveling and prefers this one because it folds up and fits into the side pocket of his backpack. She describes it as being easy to grab, shake into place when walking through security, and then fold back into place to store again.

Hydro Flask Water Bottle

We randomly discovered that this kid’s water bottle worked wonders for my mother, and it’s been her go-to bottle for two years. We actually have four of them that she uses at home, on day trips, and while traveling. Not only is the bottle insulated (so it keeps beverages cold in the summer and hot in the winter), but it is leak-proof, drop-proof, and it has a grippy exterior and convenient carrying handle. Due to Parkinson’s, my mom has a hard time drinking from a cup (because her hands shake) and from long straws (because she has difficulty sucking liquids up a long straw), so the short, built-in straw has solved both of those problems. We absolutely love this water bottle, and it’s so small that I sometimes borrow it to throw in my hip pouch while running errands.

Renpho Massage Gun

For anyone relying on physical therapy to help manage chronic pain or muscular issues, it can be extremely challenging (and painful) to miss out on these sessions when traveling. In these cases, a small massage gun could prove helpful. I like the Renpho Thermacool Massage gun because, in addition to adjusting vibration intensity, you can also include heat or cold. However, if you or your loved one may need some help reaching harder-to-reach places like the lower back, the Renpho Reach Massage Gun may be a better choice because it has a detachable extension handle.

Voxon Door Alarms, 2-Pack

Door alarms like these can be very helpful if you have an older parent who is prone to wandering. A colleague of mine used these to help prevent her father from wandering out of his home and also brought them along while traveling to tape onto hotel doors. If your parent tries to wander away, the buzzer will ring to notify you. While I have no direct experience with this, I know that some children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) elope, meaning they may run or wander off to get to something they want (like a toy in a store) or to escape a situation that’s causing them anxiety. The Autism Speaks organization suggests using battery-operated alarms on doors (among other things) to help prevent autism wandering.

Mossime Pill Organizer

Anyone who requires numerous doses of medication each day can appreciate the convenience of a medication organizer. Many are on the market, and the exact kind that will work best for you or your loved one depends on how much medication they require and how frequently they take it. I like this organizer because it has compartments for morning, noon, evening, and bedtime medication, which are very common times that seniors take their medication. Previously, my mother took medication five times per day, which posed a challenge since nearly all the pill organizers on the market only have 3 to 4 medication compartments per day. As such, we wound up buying a 7-day pill organizer with 7 compartments per day. It was more than we needed, but it did the job. Because there were no specific times written on the slots, we handwrote the times my mom required pills with a permanent marker.

If you plan to travel with medication or any medically necessary equipment (including IV bags, syringes, or pumps), be sure to review the TSA’s Disabilities and Medical Conditions page along with theirTraveling with Medication video.

Springrose Adaptive Front Closure Bra

Adaptive clothing has often been an afterthought, and for my mother, bras have been one of the most challenging items to get on. She struggles to reach her hands over her head and also to reach behind her back to hook the bra. I love the Springrose adaptive bras because they have been designed specifically for people with arthritis, MS, shoulder injuries, or stroke. Though you can pull their bras over your head and shoulders, you can also step into them. To secure the bra, you simply pull a tab in the front instead of having to reach around and struggle with a small metal latch. My mom has since transitioned to tank tops with built-in bras, but I wish we had known about the Springrose bras during the years she struggled with bra extenders. They’d undoubtedly be a game-changer for travel.

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