Valentino May be the Most Accessible Beach Ever


accessible-beach-Valentino

Opening this past June, the Valentino Beach Club has what may be the most wheelchair accessible beach ever.

The Calabria, Italy, resort installed private raised platforms that all connect to a Seatrac system. The solar-powered Seatrac allows wheelchair users to take a dip in the ocean on a smooth seated track system — no beach chair necessary.

“We wanted to create a structure that was accessible to everyone. We thought of it all, from the elderly person with movement difficulties to people with severe disabilities, Valentino is designed to give people with disabilities a pleasant holiday,” says Fabio Corigiliano, president of Zarapoti Social Cooperative, the nonprofit that dreamed up the accessible beach. “We studied the initiative with industry professionals, we traveled to learn about other similar beaches and we can say with pride and satisfaction that there nothing in Italy like this beach.”

In fact, Corigiliano may be understating what his organization has pulled off.

“I think that this might be the most accessible beach I have ever seen,” says blogger and New Mobility travel writer Cory Lee, who has traveled to almost every continent. “Beaches have a reputation for not being the most wheelchair friendly places in the world, but thanks to accessible beaches such as these, hopefully that will change in the near future.”

For more information visit Valentino Beach Club’s Facebook page and Twitter:

Unfortunately, right now Seatrac is only available on a handful of beaches in Greece and Italy, and does not seem to have a website.


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