After a brain injury, planning a holiday might require even more care and you might need to look for locations that can accommodate your needs. Holiday organisers are increasingly considering the needs and wants of people with disabilities, broadening your options of possible holiday destinations.
Things to research in advance
Whether you are planning on having a short weekend away or a long holiday abroad, there are a number of things you should research in advance to help with making sure your holiday runs as smoothly as possible.
Before booking your trip, find out whether there are any health requirements or recommendations for the countries you plan to visit. Check what healthcare services are available at your destination and whether your travel provider offers assistance for passengers with additional needs. If you have any concerns about how your brain injury may affect your travel, discuss these with your GP or specialist before making arrangements.
Check in advance whether the places you are travelling to and from have accessible facilities such as toilets and if so, where they are located. Some cities within the UK have this information available on their websites. Changing Places has a map of accessible toilets across the UK. You may need to have a Radar key to unlock some of these toilets. Most local authorities sell Radar keys or you can buy them online.
If you take medication, check whether there are any restrictions on bringing your medication into the country to which you are travelling.
The NHS’ Fit for Travel website gives information on healthcare travel specifications for different countries and can be a helpful resource to refer to.
If you are not sure whether it is safe for you to fly because of your brain injury, check with your GP or neurologist. Headway cannot advise on the safety of flying after brain injury as there is no set rule on this and will depend on personal circumstances.
Check in advance that your insurance policy will cover your brain injury, as well as any aids or equipment that you may need to take with you. Standard travel insurance often will not cover brain injury; however, there are specialist insurance companies that do.
If you frequently go on holiday by plane, find out whether you can obtain a Frequent Traveller’s Medical Card (sometimes called a Fremec card) as this will give the airline a record of your needs so that you do not have to inform them of these each time you travel.
Contact your holiday accommodation in advance to discuss any needs you may have such as accessibility or dietary requirements. You could even ask about noise levels or how busy the accommodation gets if, for instance, you have sensitivity to noise or stimulus.
If you are planning on driving in another country, check for any changes in driving conditions and whether you need an international driving permit. You can find more information about this on the UK government’s website. Remember that a brain injury can affect driving skills, and you should always inform your licensing authority of a brain injury after it has occurred.
Planning your holiday
Consider keeping a folder with holiday documents in so that you can keep a record of important paperwork and track the progress of your travel arrangements.
Consider using a holiday planning app to help you with making arrangements.
If you have fatigue, try to space activities out and leave time in between to rest. You could also keep days before and after travelling free so that you can rest.
Write down important dates on a calendar if you have memory problems.
There are many travel comparison websites that can help visitors with browsing through accessible holiday packages.
The UK government’s Foreign Travel Advice website allows you to look up general information about some countries which can help you to make a decision about your travel destination.
Giving advance notice
If you will need help to board your vehicle of transport (i.e. coach, train, plane or ship), inform the relevant company in advance. Most companies require notice of at least 48 hours before departure.
If you are travelling on a ship with a carer, let the shipping company know in advance as your carer might be able to travel for free.
If you use a wheelchair, find out from your travel provider or transport company whether arrangements will need to be made to travel with it, as you may be required to put your wheelchair in storage during transport and have alternative arrangements made to assist you with getting on/off the vehicle.
Ask your travel provider or transport company whether you will need extra time with boarding, and if so make sure you arrive with plenty of extra time to board.
Consider applying for a Headway Brain Injury Identity Card to help with getting support in public places such as airports or shops.
Packing for your holiday
Ensure that you have a good supply of any required medication, aids and equipment to last you for your stay. If possible and permitted by your GP, take extras with you in case you are delayed from returning but make sure that this complies with any restrictions on medication types/amounts in the country you are visiting.
Label medications clearly, or where possible, keep them in their original packaging.
Remember to take your Headway Brain Injury Identity Card with you. The ID card can help to ensure that you receive an appropriate response and support if you need help with explaining the effects of your brain injury.
If you do not have a Headway ID card, the UK government suggests taking along a ‘travelling letter’ outlining the most common effects of your brain injury.
Consider packing a camera (or your mobile phone charger if you have a camera phone) so that you can take photos of your holiday! This might be particularly important if you have memory problems and may forget your precious holiday memories.
Keep a notebook or page in a safe place containing emergency contact details and any other important details such as your travel insurance providers’ emergency number and your policy number.
Other considerations
If you find it difficult to cope in busy, noisy or crowded environments, contact any attractions you are planning on visiting to find out when they are most quiet.
Be aware that it is generally advisable to avoid drinking alcohol after brain injury due to reduced tolerance. There are plenty of non-alcoholic beverages now available, including ‘mocktails’ that you could try.
Be aware that travelling can sometimes be a stressful process and there may occasionally be delays. Consider checking out our tips for coping with anger if you have problems with managing anger and feel you may have an anger episode while travelling.
Financial support
There are a number of schemes that offer discounts on travel within the UK. For instance, a Disabled Person’s Railcard gives up to a third off rail tickets.
You may be able to get a bus pass offering free bus travel, this would be issued by your local council.
Depending on your circumstances, some organisations may offer financial assistance to help towards holiday costs.
You may be able to get a bus pass offering free bus travel, this would be issued by your local council.
Depending on your circumstances, some organisations may offer financial assistance to help towards holiday costs. Under Section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Act 1970, anyone with a disability or family with a disabled member has the right to approach their local social services department concerning assistance in making holiday arrangements. Unfortunately, in practice, holidays are often a low priority for social services due to budget restrictions - but it is always worth asking.
Olly's story
“Whenever I’m abroad, I always talk about my brain injury and raise awareness of it.
“I appreciate a lot of people will be scared or nervous of solo-travelling and every person’s injury is different.
“But you know how to manage your symptoms and it’s about giving yourself that self-confidence to go. And to not be afraid to ask for help when you are travelling; ask for directions, help with your bags, whatever it may be."
Find out more of Olly's story and his top travel tips.
Travel insurance
It is always important to shop around to get the best possible cover for your situation and be sure that any policy you do take out meets your needs. Remember, if you do not declare everything about your medical history, the company may refuse to pay out even if you make a claim.
Why is travel insurance so important?
View video transcript Hide video transcript
Good to be here. Thanks for the opportunity to speak about this.
I specialise in cases which involve injuries suffered abroad, so I see lots of very sad situations, both where people have travel insurance and where they don't have travel insurance.
I wanted to talk to you about travel insurance with the holiday period approaching.
To start with some interesting statistics, the Office for National Statistics reports that UK residents made 71 million trips abroad in 2022, and a 2024 Forbes Advisor poll found that 42% of Brits don't have any form of travel insurance when they travel abroad.
So, taking those two stats together, that means approximately 30 million uninsured trips are made by UK residents each year, which is obviously a huge amount. As I said, I see lots of situations where people are injured abroad when uninsured.
Let's start to speak generally about preparations for a trip. I think the first question you need to ask yourself is: do you already have existing cover?
Sometimes cover is included with bank accounts, for instance. So if you do have cover, check that it remains valid for this specific trip. Is the policy still active? Does it cover the geographical location that you're travelling to?
Some policies might restrict cover to Europe, for instance, and therefore if you're travelling to the Americas you won't have cover. Make sure that it includes cancellation cover.
Obviously, if you don't have insurance, my advice is get it. Take the policy out as soon as possible following the booking of your trip, to make sure that if you can't go away you're not going to lose out.
The next thing to check would be whether there are any exclusions that would mean you're not covered for specific activities that you'd be undertaking during your trip.
Two things that immediately spring to mind are winter sports, so skiing holidays, or water sports.
Have you declared all pre-existing medical conditions? Now, this is really vital that it's done accurately. My advice would be to be as open as possible with your insurer about this.
If it comes to light that there was a pre-existing condition that wasn't declared, this could potentially invalidate a policy, meaning that you wouldn't be covered.
Does the policy cover medical treatment and repatriation? Big underscore under there. You want treatment and repatriation.
It's really important to understand that the GHIC card alone does not provide comprehensive cover. It may allow you access to local state healthcare, but there will likely still be a cost, perhaps a significant one, and it does not cover medical repatriation.
Also, take a copy of the policy with you. Make sure your family or holiday companions know who you're insured with and have access to the policy and the emergency contact information.
I've seen many cases, unfortunately, where people have suffered serious injury abroad and they've either had insurance, which is very helpful most of the time, or they've not had insurance, which can cause serious issues, which I'll talk about.
If you suffer a severe brain injury abroad, you may not have the capacity to look after yourself, and it's really important that you think about that scenario.
That's why, as I've said, you need others you're travelling with to know who you're insured with and have that emergency contact information so they're able to help you if the worst happens.
I advise you to contact your insurer immediately and ask for help, and continue to liaise with them throughout.
If you're uninsured and need significant medical care, this could mean very significant cost, likely in the tens of thousands of pounds.
It would also likely mean that your stay, and those you're travelling with, would need to be extended. They'll therefore need further accommodation, and there'll be further expenses and living expenses. There would also be flights home which will have been cancelled and need rebooking.
If you require repatriation, that can also be extremely expensive, again in the tens of thousands of pounds.
So overall, for the average person, if a serious injury is sustained abroad without adequate travel insurance cover, it could mean severe financial consequences which will then be felt for years to come.
For some, it could even mean financial ruin. So that's how important it is to have adequate insurance cover.
You often see in the news GoFundMe pages asking people to help repatriate people, which is very sad to see.
So first of all, I want to say you should absolutely continue to go on holiday if you're able to, but it's vital that you have adequate insurance.
Seek help when taking out insurance, be that from family, friends, potentially your case manager, carer or even your professional deputy.
Make sure the insurer is fully aware of your medical condition and your medical situation as well. That's even more important when you're travelling with a brain injury, and it may well be that you need a bespoke insurance policy to provide adequate cover for you.
If you don't have travel insurance, get travel insurance. Get it as soon as possible following the booking of your trip.
If you already have travel insurance, check that it's applicable to the trip you're about to do, and then make sure that your insurance provides adequate cover for things you're expecting to do, in particular medical expenses cover and repatriation cover, if you are to be injured abroad.
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