A destination available to all
Traveling in Spain can be easy for people with motor, visual, mental or hearing disabilities. Here is important accessibility information for planning your trip and some tools and tips that will be useful for enjoying 100% accessible holidays.
A wheelchair, a pair of crutches or the need for a guide dog don’t have to be obstacles to enjoying one of the most enriching and expansive leisure experiences: travel. In Spain, almost all infrastructure and most tourism-related services meet accessibility requirements. From the most basic adapted transport that guarantees mobility, travel options include accessible activities, museum visits and sightseeing without barriers, as well as accommodations and restaurants capable of meeting the needs of people with disabilities.
If you are traveling to Spain by plane, you won’t have any problems at all. All airports in Spain provide the option of assistance service for people with reduced mobility or mental, hearing, or visual disabilities, free of charge. On the AENA website you can view the form to request support (available in Spanish and English), in addition to the meeting points and specifications for each airport. An assistant will accompany you from the moment you arrive at the terminal, helping with check-in processes, security controls, boarding, disembarking, and luggage collection.
On medium- and long-distance trains, you can also request an assistance service that Renfe (the country’s main rail operator) provides through the Atendo program. Although you will find that many Spanish railway stations have been adapted to meet universal accessibility criteria (ramps, visual and auditory reinforcements, elevators, etc.), you also have the option to request personal accompaniment. On international journeys, you can use the Atendo service if you are traveling from or to countries belonging to the International Union of Railways (UIC). See the Renfe website (also available in English) to access all the information and contact details.
For short distances and especially in large cities, public transport (mainly by metro, bus, taxi and, in some cases, tram) is generally adapted for travelers with disabilities. For example, in Madrid around 70% of Metro stations are accessible (you can check the list on the Metro website), as are around 90% of Barcelona‘s metro stations. Also, local buses in both cities are 100% accessible (check the website for the buses in Madrid and Barcelona and consider the fact that each bus usually has places for one or two wheelchairs). If you are travelling to other cities with more recently constructed metro networks, such as Valencia (Region of Valencia), Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands), Seville (Andalusia), Malaga (Andalusia) and Bilbao (Basque Country), accessibility is also guaranteed.
