Sarasota Florida’s Beach Town with an Inclusion Mindset

The beach is probably the last place that comes to mind when planning a wheelchair accessible family vacation, but, in Florida, it shouldn’t be. Overall, Florida has been growing in inclusion in tourism as they add mobi mats and beach wheelchairs to popular beaches, and as more places are becoming Autism certified and working to incorporate varying needs into their business and tourism models.

We all know that ADA is far from meaning accessible. Which is why I’m placing Sarasota above our other wheelchair accessible Florida favorites. Sarasota doesn’t just meet ADA in most public spaces, they’ve taken the next steps to make sure that all people are welcome and included. Here’s what we loved, and why we think Sarasota should be your next wheelchair friendly family beach trip!

1. Ease of Getting There and Around

This is the first time we’ve traveled somewhere as a family and flown into a small airport. Because we travel on a budget, we typically fly into the closest big-city airport to save significantly. We were able to find flights directly into Sarasota for less than any neighboring airport. While we could’ve saved money on our rental car by picking up in Tampa (another nearby flight option), the cost difference balanced out to be almost exactly the difference in flight cost.