Travel tips for people with early stage dementia

by Marilyn Truscott, Alzheimer Society of Hamilton and Halton, Ontario, Canada

  1. If you're traveling internationally, check on your passport expiry date MONTHS in advance. Make sure you know the deadline for the expiry date for the country you are traveling to as this date can vary.
  2. Travel with a companion if at all possible, or team up with a buddy.
  3. Take a list of the problems you must check for, e.g. lock the hotel door, take your keys, put things in safe, etc., and post on the back of the hotel door or an obvious place. Use a similar reminder system to what you use at home. Decide how you can best assure you won't lose things and plan what reminders and safeguards you will need away from home. Plan how you would handle it if you lost or misplaced something and what you would do in an emergency. Discuss these plans with your family to get the best plan in place for yourself.
  4. In your hotel room, put keys, money, wallet, etc. in the same obvious place all the time (e.g. on the main table). If you are using the safe, use a simple combination and write it on a card to keep in a safe place in your wallet at all times. It may work better for some to use a hotel safe where you sign-out and use a key system: be sure to keep the key in a safe place (as in point 5).
  5. Use a waist carry-pouch or a bag with a shoulder strap for urgent items (some money or wallet, passport, plane tickets). Keep everything in your purse or pouch in the same place, always. Put the shoulder bag strap across the chest and one shoulder and keep the bag attached to you when you are sitting in lounges, restaurants and even in washrooms. Keep valuables and credit cards in a money belt inside your clothing.
  6. Keep medications in your carry-on bag, and copies of the list of medications and doctor's phone number in your carry-on bag, in your wallet and your suitcase. Keep a letter from your doctor about your medical condition(s) in your carry-on.
  7. When you go out of your hotel to tour, take along a copy of your passport, and a card with the name, address and phone number of your hotel and your room number, your home phone contact person, and phone number and address of the local embassy or consulate.
  8. When on planes, buses, trains, etc., count the number of pieces of luggage you have, and note them on a card, or write them on your arm. Be very conscious of the number. Put carry-on items, bag, coat, etc. in the nearest overhead storage area to your seat. Make sure all carry-on items have luggage tags.
  9. Use distinctive tags and markers for all your luggage, for example use colourful ribbons, cloth tags or tapes that are meaningful and recognizable to you. Put a large paper with your name and address in every piece of luggage where it would be seen immediately if the luggage were opened. Make a list of what your luggage looks like and what exactly is inside; keep a copy of this list in every piece of carry-on luggage, suitcases, and purse in case luggage is lost or delayed and you have to describe it or make a claim. If possible, take a photo of the suitcases you will be using and attach it to the list of contents. Give a copy of this list to someone at home to keep. When you are re-packing to go home, check things off so you know you've got everything.
  10. When leaving a hotel room for the last time, check every closet, drawers, under the beds, backs of doors, bathroom cupboards. Check again. Check your packing list off one last time.
  11. Make photocopies of all your important identification documents, passport, birth certificate, health card, bank cards, etc., and keep copies along with the luggage lists. Write the phone numbers on the lists of who to call if identification cards or bank cards are lost. Give a copy of these lists to someone at home to keep.
  12. Try to allow a lot of time for planning the trip and arranging all the details above. Get someone to help you with this planning if needed.
  13. If you travel alone, ask the airline for "meet and greet" assistance. If required by the airline, provide them with a letter from your doctor outlining your need for help. If you do not need "meet and greet", make sure to note down clearly what your gate number is, how to get there, what time you need to be at the gate. If you tell the airline about your condition or specific difficulties, they can put it in your file and you will automatically get help as needed. Ideally, get assistance in large airports where there are multiple terminals and complex departure gate systems. It can be very confusing and stressful to navigate through multiple terminals and use shuttle buses.
  14. Make sure to get trip interruption/delay insurance. If your flight is cancelled, ask the airline to make arrangements for you as you will need to rest (this is a very good reason to have your medical history in your airline file). Make sure your travel agent allows generous air connection times to reduce the risk of missing flights and getting panicky.
  15. Get help from people who are wearing official looking uniforms (Security, Airport workers, etc.) if you have any problems. Go to any airline counter for help.
  16. If you feel overwhelmed, tearful, agitated or confused, ask for the nearest first-aid or medical station. That will be a calm and quiet area for you to recover, and to get help if needed.
  17. On a long trip, in your carry-on bag take a small travel bag of absolute essentials in case your flight is delayed or luggage delayed. Take the items you need to make you feel comforted and comfortable (light-weight change of underwear, nightwear, shirt, socks, basic cosmetics, toothbrush, etc.). This is why you ALWAYS carry your medications with you.
  18. Keep a small notepad and pen handy to note instructions and any information you will need to remember: directions to train, bus or plane departure gates, number of gate, time to be there allowing leeway to find the place.
  19. Wear a "safe return", "wandering person registry", "Medic-alert" bracelet or similar identification, in case you have a problem and become too confused to speak clearly.
  20. Stay with groups of people for safety. Take tours with groups. Ask people in the tour group to be your buddy and watch out for you, and best of all let the tour guides know you may need help and they MUST check that you're following along with the group at all times.
  21. Know where the fire escape door and the escape routes are in your hotel, cruise ship, etc. Check it out and practice this a few times. Plan what you would do in this kind of emergency. Note it on a card you can keep at the door. If possible stay on the lowest floors of hotels. If you are staying alone and you tend at all to get disoriented or lost, let the hotel staff know to have security check on you if there is a fire or smoke emergency.
  22. Make prior arrangements that you will check in on arrival and check periodically with someone at home with an all's well.
  23. There are arrangements you should make at home before you leave. Your travel agent can give you a list of the arrangements people usually make for short or long trips., for example:
    • Get someone to take care of pets, mail, newspapers, check water pipes and furnace, watering plants.
    • You can get the Post Office to hold your mail, and ask the newspaper to suspend delivery while you're away.

Other resources:

back to top

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges with gratitude the assistance with these Travel Tips from: the Alzheimer Society of Ontario (ASO); Lynn Moore, President of ASO; Alzheimer Society of Canada (ASC); Barbara Snelgrove, Manager of Support Services and Education (ASC); and Ellen Agger, Webmaster (ASC). Thanks to my husband Bill for his help editing. Thanks to Lynn Jackson, Christine Bryden, Jeanne Lee and Carole Mullikens for sharing their experiences with using "meet and greet" systems at airports, and to Norma Selbie for sharing her purse and pocket organization.

Packing lists

My packing list is below as an example. You can use this as a template or make up your own to suit your own specific needs. Simply make extra copies, and fill in the details of what you need for each trip (winter needs will be different from summer/sun holidays!).

Have fun traveling!

Example packing list

TRAVEL TO: __________________________ DATE: ____________________

PURSE

CARRY ON BAG

SUITCASE:

Personal Wear:

Women:

Men:

Shoes:

Pants:

Tops:

Dress Clothes:

Women:

Men:

Outerwear:

COSMETICS, ACTIVITIES, MISCELLANEOUS, ETC.:

Where next?

back to top

I have dementia