It is important to talk to your travel agent about the means of travel that will accommodate your physical needs (train, plane, cruise ship, tour group), special accommodations you may need at any point in your trip (car rental, transportation within the airport, help with a wheelchair, special seating, special meals) and travel insurance.

You may also want to arrange the timing of your trip so you will not become overtired while you are traveling.

Before the trip, it may be a good idea to pay a visit to your doctor to check your general physical condition, need for immunization, prescriptions for the time you are travelling, non-prescription medications, medical equipment you should take on the trip and how to get medical assistance when you are away from home.

You will also need a small repair kit, comprising some basic tools and extra parts, a lifesaver during emergencies like a flat tyre.

Contact the hotel and tell them that you need to talk to someone who can give you some details about their rooms equipped for guests with disabilities. The person whom you speak with must have been in these rooms before to give you an accurate picture.

Once you determine that the hotel will suit your needs, you should reserve the room with a credit card to ensure that the room will be held for your arrival. It may also be a good idea to reconfirm your reservations a day or two before your arrival.

Most hotels offer free shuttle to their guests. However, many of these shuttles are not accessible and they are often not required to be. As hotels are obliged to provide high standards of service, you can ask the hotel to provide an alternate accessible transportation at no charge.

Before you book your flight, ask a lot of questions i.e. the location of seats with movable aisle armrests, the locations and dimensions of storage facilities for mobility aids, and the availability of an onboard lavatory.

Reconfirm your airline flights 24-48 hours before any departure. Take painstaking steps to notify your airline that you are travelling by wheelchair. Remember, when reconfirming your flight, ask the airline for "maximum assistance" at all airport terminals and inform the reservation clerk if you need boarding assistance i.e. using an aisle chair to get to your seat. (An aisle chair is a narrow straight back chair with wheels underneath. It is designed to fit down the aisle of an airplane and is used to assist passengers that cannot walk.)

Some of the new planes have lift up arms on some of the aisles. You can request to be seated there if they are available. It makes transferring easier.

Advise the gate agent that you would like to pre-board the aircraft. This means that you board before the rest of the passengers. Your technical aids (folding wheelchair, walker etc) will gain priority space in the onboard closet if you pre-board the aircraft.

If you cannot gain space in the onboard closet, when you get to the airport, ask the ticket personnel to "gate check" your wheelchair and obtain a luggage claim receipt for your wheelchair. When you "gate check" your wheelchair, it allows you to roll your wheelchair directly to the cabin entrance of the plane where you will either walk to your seat or transfer into an aisle chair for assistance to your seat.

Before handling your wheelchair over to the airline staff, remove your bag supports and portable seat cushions and carry these into the plane as these do not travel well when attached to your wheelchair and are likely to be lost. If your wheelchair folds, collapse the wheelchair together and use a small strap or a piece of tape to hold the sides together. This process makes for a compact wheelchair that is less likely to be damaged with airport handling.

Consider your toilet options and plan ahead. Accessible lavatories on aircraft are quite small and generally speaking, you will need to be able to transfer independently in order to use one. Not all airline staff are trained to assist you in the lavatory.

Before landing, remind the flight attendant that you will need your wheelchair brought to the gate so they can radio ahead to make the arrangements. This can help speed things up.

Be sure that you can manage on your own if you are travelling solo, otherwise it may be a wiser idea to travel with a friend or relative who can provide assistance.

If you are renting a car and require hand controls, find out where they are available before you leave home. Your rented car should display a placard indicating that you are disabled. Find out how to get a temporary placard for the state or country of your destination before you leave.