Traveling with MS

Traveling with MS

In recent years, we’ve helped support travelers with MS to enjoy our safaris, small ship cruises, self drive and activity vacations in destinations as diverse as Rwanda, Japan, Croatia and the Galapagos Islands.

For many people living with multiple sclerosis the condition is no barrier to taking a vacation; it just requires a greater degree of planning. Our accessible vacations are designed to meet the needs of travelers with a range of conditions and are premised on the belief that seeing the world should be open to everyone.

That’s a view shared by Jason Winter, an advocate for traveling with MS, and board member of Spain for All, which supports the Spanish Tourist Board’s aim to eliminate discrimination in the tourism industry. He was diagnosed with MS in 2022, yet continues to travel regularly, with Japan, Argentina and New York in his sights.

"I don't like the idea of people thinking they can't travel anymore because a health condition comes along, or thinking that because they’ve been born with a condition they can never travel,” says Jason. “That's what spurs me on to help and get involved where I can."

Jason has taken a number of accessible vacations in the past to countries such as Spain and Italy. "What I've enjoyed about them is that people understand if you say, 'I need a bit more time' or 'I can't do this today'. The human element of all of this is important. I met a lady on an Italy trip who hadn't travelled for seven years, and by the end of the vacation she'd booked her next one. She felt safe enough to travel again, and that was lovely to see.”

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Planning vacations with MS

Multiple sclerosis affects people in many different ways, but for our own travelers most questions tend to revolve around mobility, tiredness and temperature.

“Even day-to-day life requires more planning, and it’s necessary when you travel as well. You have to consider so many things,” says Jason, who advises making it as difficult as possible for things to go wrong, such as putting some medication in your hand luggage as well as your main luggage and crucially also leaving some back at home, so you don’t have to think about it straightaway when you get back. If your medication requires a fridge, double check that your hotel can provide one in your room. “It's about thinking through different scenarios."

Jason also recommends factoring in rest days, particularly on arrival if you have a long journey to reach your destination, and also thinking carefully about how the climate is going to affect what you can do. "If it gets really hot, that can affect your condition quite a lot. You're thinking about energy conservation, leaving reasonable gaps between activities and staying hydrated. And if you're too tired for an excursion, that's fine. Don't worry. You have to prioritise yourself.”

Some people living with MS may encounter mobility challenges, which can mean fewer opportunities to be spontaneous. But as Jason points out, having to plan things carefully doesn’t mean you can no longer enjoy yourself. “I can't just go on a random trek on a whim or walk around a city freely like I once did, but it's okay. That's gone. So I think: what can I do instead? How do I do it? And then I evolve it from there."

And things won’t always go right. That’s the reality of life, and travel, and while that can mean you need to adapt, planning for different eventualities before you go means that you can cope with most problems and go on with enjoying your trip.

Our own friendly and hugely experienced Travel Team are happy to discuss your requirements in detail, and make reliable recommendations based on them. After which our vacation partners will work with you to ensure you can travel in confidence, and crucially they are always there in the background, too, ready to offer support if you need it.

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Getting support for traveling with MS

One of the biggest barriers for people living with MS in taking a vacation is simply a lack of confidence: that they can do what they want to do. But as Jason points out, “you're not the first person with MS or a health condition to travel, and there are no wrong questions, so never be afraid to ask for help.”

"The tourism industry needs to be braver when it comes to accessibility,” adds Jason. “People with disabilities still want to travel. It's harder to arrange and you have different ways of thinking about it, but there's so much opportunity there; it’s a big audience. So don't be scared to ask questions about what people need. Personally, I’d rather someone ask me than avoid the conversation."

The MS Society itself provides a number of support resources for anyone hoping to take a trip, with advice on everything from arranging suitable insurance to traveling by plane.

Contact our Travel Team to talk about what you’d like to do or where you’d like to go, and what considerations you have, and we’ll be pleased to help you get the information you need.

Recommended vacations & destinations for travelers with MS

Our own experiences show that there are no limits to where people can go and what they can do on vacation. We’ve helped travelers with MS to enjoy activity vacations in Catalonia and Croatia; small ship cruising in the Galapagos Islands; whale watching in the Azores; touring Japan by train; dog sledding in Norway; safaris in Rwanda and South Africa, self drive vacations in Patagonia and volunteering with orangutans in Borneo.

Tailor made vacations can be a good fit for travelers with MS, as the itinerary can be structured around you. So for example, if you want to factor in a couple of rest days through the trip, or you want to keep active excursions to the mornings leaving afternoons to relax, you can do that.

Small group tours follow fixed itineraries and dates, but if you want a trip where you have that experience but can still take a time-out when you need it, look for vacations that are based in one place rather than moving around a lot. That means you can always take a day off if you need to.

We can always give you reliable information on what to expect from the weather in a destination at different times of year, as well as getting you the accommodation details you need to have confidence it will offer you a comfortable stay.

"Even with having a condition, I can still enjoy the things from travel I enjoyed before,” says Jason. “The little moments like being in an Italian back street and there’s a local couple dancing to music. The sounds you hear, the people you meet and the things you see, that’s what’s really important."