Holidays

personal best

Japan, Thailand and San Francisco USA, Germany, the Netherlands

personal hardest but still worth it

Mexico City (unless you are well heeled), Urban Thailand, rural Spain

Other must go spots that will need prior research = South of France, Barrio Gothic in Barcelona, rural Almeria in South of Spain.

Funny the places we fancy travelling too, I've nver fancied going to America, but Canada I could see myself visiting.

Japan looks so totally alien, I don't think I'd cope. My ex hiusband went there for a couple of weeks to work and said that it was the nearest he could think of to being in a sci-fi film, where the people are similar but more technologically advanced than us.

I dont' think I'd cope with the need for all the tech, it was bad enough when I had to speak to a customer service agent in Singapore or Korea, wherever it was, she didn't like my phone number as it was a landline and kept shouting me, 'Use mobile phone!' She couldn't get it through her head that I didn't have one and nor did I have any signal.

Thanks Martin! I like the ‘fewer enforced interactions’ great advice about villas 

This is really helpful, thank you. Holidays ARE stressful- completely understand. Istanbul is a great one! A beautiful mix of old and new! Great choice! 

Thank you Iain, Japan sounds brilliant and so happy you have found a place you feel comfortable to return to! I’ll pop it on my list

NAS94620 said:

What are the go to helpful things that help when you travel

Japan is my current favourite destination with 5 visits so far.

Big plusses are it is clean, safe, the people are helpful and it is wonderfully exotic without being harmful (well other than a dish I tried called salted, pickled squid guts that was saltier than salt itself, but I should have gotten an idea from the name that it was going to be difficult).

The downside from an autistic perspective is the riot of information in getting about. I was able to focus on the English language signage which is on pretty much all transport systems and is effective, but unfortunately some of the underground stations in Tokyo are the size of Watford and you can take 30 mins to walk from one exit to another and there are just so many exits to choose from.

Planning is important and getting a bit lost needs to be factored in, but with a mix of a decent map, internet access on your phone and the helpful locals, you will get about if you can control the anxiety.

Lots of restaurants off the beaten track only have Japanese language menus but there are numerous apps where you can use the camera on your phone to scan the menu and it does a real time translation to English for you. No excuse for not being adventurous.

Taxis rarely need you to even touch the door handles - all seem to be automated and are very well maintained / clean.

There is a wealth of culture spanning thousands of years and a very polite, welcoming people.

Oh and there is no tipping for anything - it is seen as rude to do it which is a bonus after being the likes of the USA.

I don't really go on holidays I feel I need a holiday to recover from the one I just had, I'm not widely travelled either, but if I had to choose somewhere to visit again it would be Istanbul. It's massive, ancient and overwhelming, but everybody feels like that there, I don't know if I'd say it was autism friendly, but I found it a very welcoming place and the people very kind. Be aware if visiting there that when you ask for a G&T they don't use measures like we do and you're likely to end up with a glass of gin with a tonic top, the food is fantastic and there's so much history tht even I found it hard to take in.

Other than that my best holidays have been spent in the wilds of Scotland, on the West Coast and Skye, there's plenty of places to get away from people, but not midges!

As a family, me autistic as is one child, the other ADHD, wife neurotypical, we have found apartment or villa holidays to be much less stressful than hotel-based holidays. More space, easier to deal with food/eating issues, fewer enforced interactions with other people and generally more relaxed.

What a helpful start to this topic! Thank you 

I did a recent trip to Billund, in Denmark. It was the first time I used my sunflower lanyard in the airport and venue I went to visit (The Lego House). The airport (Heathrow) was OK, although I didn't get any help or get through security any quicker (probably because the queues were actually very short anyway). They did have a quiet room in Heathrow, with really comfy sofa's and some loungers where you could nap for a little bit, and the lights would dim and it was lovely and quiet... it was a huge help. I travelled with BA, and added "special assistance". What this meant for me was being able to choose a seat for free and get priority boarding for free... and that again was a huge help. BA staff were very helpful too. 

The hotel I stayed in was all self service which was easy enough, and was perfect for me. And the venue (Lego House) I visited also recognised the sunflower lanyard scheme, and they were very helpful. 

My tips for travelling would be:

• Get yourself a sunflower lanyard if you haven't got one already (https://hdsunflower.com/uk/) - on their website it also shows what shops/venues/airports etc recognise the scheme. Usually if they recognise the scheme, it means their staff are trained to look out and offer support to those wearing the lanyard. 
• Look at the venues accessibility policy. Usually you can find this on their website, in the menu (sometimes under "plan your visit" sections) or if you scroll down to the bottom and click "Accessibility". 
• Make sure you add on special assistance when you book your flights. Usually you add this when you book the ticket, and you chose the category that best matches your needs. You can contact the special assistance team with the airline to preselect your seat for free. I have copied a link to EasyJet (as an example) for their non-visible disabilities special assistance: https://www.easyjet.com/en/help/boarding-and-flying/hidden-disabilities 
• Some venues, especially airports or large venues, have a guide on "AccessAble", showing everything from steps, to how long it takes to get certain areas, what the toilets are like, the brightness of rooms etc, and I've used this before to prepare myself and what to expect at the venue. https://www.accessable.co.uk/ 
• Finally, a lot of venues accept the "Access Card", which is a scheme that confirm what your support needs are, adds a symbol to a card which you can then show at certain venues. This will sometimes help get a carer in for free or use concession rates, skip queues etc. https://www.accesscard.online/ 

There might be lots of other things, but the best bet is to check the venues you are planning to visit and look at their accessibility options.