Traveling on crutches - specifically swinging from my crutches in Belarus. ©KettiWilhelm2015

Cripple’s Guide to International Travel: Backpacking 10 Countries on Crutches

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This was my experience traveling on crutches: two months, 10 countries, one new set of arm muscles, and many lessons learned.


I did something this summer I never thought I would do – and that I had never really thought about anyone doing. I traveled through 10 countries on crutches, with a broken leg and a school backpack.

On this trip, I sat next to a smuggler on a bus leaving Belarus, wore through four pairs of rubber crutch tips, and tried to elevate my leg in a variety of creative ways on 13 flights, lots of busses, a train in Spain, a tram in Milan, and about a thousand subway rides in New York City.

Along the way, I learned a few things about traveling in general:

The less you pack, the less you need. The people who push wheelchairs are, without question, the friendliest people in any airport. It’s okay not to see everything, not to do everything, and not to walk everywhere – the trip will not be ruined, whether you’re crippled or not.

And a few things about traveling while broken:

Broken legs are an excellent way to avoid lines, get people to bring you things, make friends, get hit on (do my crutches make me less threatening?), and moonlight as a spy (everyone assumes you’re local when you’re on crutches, even in New York).

Ketti Wilhelm leaping around on her crutches at a music festival outside of Minsk, Belarus. ©KettiWilhelm2015
Leaping around on my crutches at a music festival in Belarus.

To squeeze even more wisdom out of my eight weeks on the road, I devised a ranking system how ideal a place is for traveling on crutches, based on five factors for each location:

  1. Size – Can I hobble around easily and see the cool stuff?
  2. Quality of public or private transportation – Do I know someone with a car? Does it suck if I don’t?
  3. Obstacles and terrain – How much stuff is in my way? (Cobblestones, hills, surprises, people.)
  4. Weather – Am I sweating all day? Is it cold enough I wish I could wear pants with my boot?
  5. Do I like this place?

I now give you The World’s Best Places (out of 11 places) To Travel On Crutches, beginning at the bottom:

11. China

After ten months living in China and noticing how this country makes no effort to make life easier for people who are not completely mobile, I got to test my theory. Turns out I was right, and being crippled in China sucks.

My odyssey began here, when I got thrown over over backwards by a strong set of legs while playing the Brazilian dance-fighting martial of capoeira (ca-PWHERE-uh), which I started doing when I first arrived in China. When I showed up at the basically unstaffed emergency room, in the back of a friend’s car, my capoeira group had to find me a stretcher, and then personally wheel me around the outside of the hospital to access the radiology department, where some punk in basketball shorts and flip-flops had to pause the TV show on his cell phone to give me an x-ray.

China also has no elevators anywhere, is full of broken sidewalks in most neighborhoods, and uses the slickest, highest-shine marble for sidewalks in fancy areas, such as the open plazas outside of malls.

Trying to learn Mandarin from poetry written with a wet mop in a public square in Jinan, China. ©KettiWilhelm2014
Poetry written on the sidewalk with a wet mop in Quancheng Square, in Jinan, China.

10. Belarus, Land of Bureaucracy and Sour Cream.

Belarus loses this contest almost exclusively because of its Soviet loves of record-keeping and people-tracking, and the location of its police station in Minsk. My friends and I visited the police station four times in our first two days in the city, attempting to register as official tourists for ten-days in the country, even though we had obtained visas at their embassy in Beijing before arriving. The police station being on the fourth floor of a building with no elevator became slightly less frustrating when my friend offered to fireman’s carry me all the way up, all four times. If you don’t have such a friend, don’t go to Belarus without all your limbs and all your patience.

On the street in downtown Minsk, which was not the best place for traveling on crutches. ©KettiWilhelm2015
People watching in downtown Minsk.

On the upside, you can rent a wheelchair for 90,000 Belarusian Rubles a week (about $5), and the cuisine – a tasty selection of meat, dairy, and potatoes bathed in sour cream – has lots of calcium to heal broken bones.

On the downside, lots of the sidewalks seem to be relics of the Stalin era, so the wheelchair doesn’t ride too smoothly. Every single doorway has a ledge along the ground (height of anywhere between 1 inch and two feet) to keep out high water and cripples.

9. Istanbul, Turkey

Busy downtown Istanbul: taxes, sculptures, and the Blue Mosque in the background. Istanbul being so hectic made it a difficult place to visit on crutches. ©KettiWilhelm2015
Istanbul, with the Blue Mosque in the background.

The street was almost literally uphill both directions from the front door of my hostel. I was only here for a 24-hour layover, but the city is squeezed into two peninsulas, with more hills than San Francisco (but apparently fewer homeless people). That being said, the mosques were beautiful, people were jumping at the chance to chat with me, and the streets smelled like perfume, dried fruit, and spices. I’ll definitely return some day on two legs. 

8. New York City, Brooklyn, and their Subway.

New York far exceeded my expectations. This is a walking city. It’s a great training ground for all future travels, as nowhere in the world required so much of my own effort to get around.

During one of my many subway trips a businessman asked me where I was from, explaining his confusion as follows, “She’s on the subway on crutches. That demonstrates a high degree of confidence – probably a New Yorker. But she was talking to the crazy homeless guy – probably not a New Yorker.”

Upside: No hills.

Downsides: A different part of my body was numb every day from being a newbie at getting around with my arms. Renting a wheelchair costs $100 a day. (No, I did not.)

Conclusion: It’s not so much that New York is a good place to go on crutches, but it’s a place you can go on crutches, and after half expecting to be pushed down in the street or re-broken by a cab, I found New Yorkers surprisingly patient, often friendly, sometimes helpful, and never violent.

7. Sevilla, Spain

Upsides: Sangria and the world’s best damn Drunk-History Walking and Hobbling Tour, led by my friend and fellow roving journalist, Austin.

The cathedral of Sevilla, Spain, lit up and glowing at night. ©KettiWilhelm2015
Sevilla’s cathedral.

Downsides: Crushing heat that makes moving on crutches feel like doing CrossFit in a sauna. Cobblestones that broke my crutch tips (for the second time). And the least attentive pedestrians I have ever encountered. It’s possible that it’s just too hot in August for anyone to expend the energy to get out of the way, but it’s also possible that everyone in Spain is blind.

7. Finland

Finland is the climatic opposite of Spain. What it lacks in sangria, it makes up in adorability, cool breezes, and gentle sunshine. I’m told that until roughly the week I arrived, this summer in Helsinki was the coldest and wettest since 1962, so I can’t guarantee Finland will have nice weather for crutching next summer, but I can guarantee Sevilla will make you suffer every year.

Being in Scandinavia, Finland is more expensive than everywhere else I went, but their public transportation is effective as well as entertaining, and the center of Helsinki is decently compact. The truth is, I stayed with friends here who showed me the best possible hospitality and took me on road trips to the towns of Porvoo and Turku, so I am biased.

A map of the northern European Baltic countries I visited on crutches.

5. Tallinn, Estonia

A row of medieval buildings in Tallinn, Estonia – a city I found too hilly for visiting on crutches. ©KettiWilhelm2015
Somewhere in the old part of Tallinn, probably on a hill.

The smallest Baltic capital wins big points for its puniness, but definitely loses some for its cobblestones, which were hell on my crutch tips. And I do mean puny. I’d been off the ferry from Finland less than 24 hours when I already felt I’d basically experienced the place, even at a cripple’s pace. But Tallinn grew on me after the first day. The hills are steep throughout this medieval and, in many places, painfully touristy little old town, but they gave my already rock-hard left calf muscle an extra workout. No points up or down.

4. Riga, Latvia

Less touristy than Tallinn and much flatter. A winning combination.

A sculpture of a boy sitting on top of a roof in central Riga, Latvia. ©KettiWilhelm2015
Riga loves to put sculptures of cats, people, and other stuff on top of its buildings.
Pedestrians and elegant buildings on a curved street in downtown Riga, Latvia.  ©KettiWilhelm2015
Downtown Riga.

3. Vilnius, Lithuania

Vilnius is the first city that broke my crutch tips. But it’s smaller than Riga and approximately equal in cuteness, and they have the best beers in the region. Lithuania being my first Baltic country, I was feeling full of energy and ready to prove myself, so I completed a two and half hour walking tour of the old town. This made me feel like I deserved a gold medal, so I have fond memories of this casually funky little city. (At 155 square miles, it’s not really little, but the interesting, old, and English-speaking part is compact.)

A church in Vilnius, Lithuania, that I visited while traveling on crutches. ©KettiWilhelm2015
A church in Vilnius whose name I forgot.

2. Milan and the Alps, Italy

Land of pasta and cheese. It’s hard to argue with pasta and cheese.

The cheese counter at a small, local grocer in the Italian Alps that I visited on crutches. ©KettiWilhelm2015
My new favorite grocery store, in the Italian Alps.

It’s also hard to climb around on the roof of Italy’s biggest cathedral on crutches, but I still did it.

Milan's Duomo, which I hiked all over the roof of on crutches, on a sunny day. ©KettiWilhelm2015
The Milan Cathedral (or Duomo).

1. Montana, USA

Where people see me on my crutches and apologize for being on the same sidewalk. They push their loved ones out of my way to give me a wider birth, even though there are rarely more than three people anywhere. An outdoorsmen gave me a giant plastic bag from his Subaru to protect my cast at a rainy wedding. The weather is temperate, and while the public transportation is non-existent and everything is always at least 10 miles away, these are the people who fixed me.

Montana's Glacier National Park: I've decided my home state is the best place for traveling on crutches. ©KettiWilhelm2015
The edge of Glacier National Park.

P.S.

I know, this post wasn’t very useful if you are truly planning a trip with a broken body part. If you are planning on especially traveling on crutches, I would honestly recommend the Baltics. I was lucky to have already planned to be in that region of tiny countries and small, easy-to-navigate cities before breaking my leg. If you have (non-medical) travel questions for me, please leave a comment below! Or come find me.

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11 Comments

    1. Hello Ketti, hope you doing well, what a story….

      How did you manage anxiety? I mean, only to think going from one place to another, navigate a city, is already stressfull. What came into mind and how did you overcome overthinking?

      Similar situation here but finding this story encouraging.

      Thanks, best regards

      1. Hi Andre,

        Glad you found the story encouraging! 🙂 That’s lovely to hear. Honestly, I found myself forced to really, truly slow down, and that forced the anxiety down. Instead of even attempting to see everything, I focused on getting up and moving through each day, with the goal to do one activity, and to sit and observe and talk with people. (And it was easy to strike up conversations, as people often assumed I was local because of the crutches, and would ask what happened, and offer to help with things.)

        It ended up being a really fun and fulfilling trip. (I suppose I should write more about it!) Anyway, I hope that’s helpful and that you have a great trip wherever you end up going! If you’re interested, please do keep in touch and let me know how it goes.

        Cheers,
        Ketti

  1. This was a fun read! I mean, not fun because I honestly can’t imagine travelling in crutches.. Im a wimp and I am hurting each time you describe cobblestoned streets and no elevators, but it looked like you still made some pretty awesome trips despite the broken leg. Hats off !

    1. Haha I’m glad you enjoyed it, Maria! Surprisingly, it really was a wonderful trip. It gave me an excuse to slow down, plus people wanted to chat with me everywhere I went, since it’s not so common to see a foreigner on crutches. Great conversation starter!

      -Ketti

  2. This was a funny read. When i see my pictures on worldee from Norway (i was traveling witch crutches) It was best holiday ever :))))

    1. I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kerr! It’s true, I guess by forcing us to actually slow down, crutches make for a surprisingly pleasant travel experience!

      -Ketti

  3. Hey Ketti!

    Thank you for creating this page! I just found out I tore my ACL, meniscus, and partially tore my MCL. I have a 1.5 month trip planned with my long distance boyfriend to Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Scotland, and Paris. I also live in New York and agree it is NOT a city for crutches…but that’s for post-op me to worry about 🙂 Would love to connect more about how to navigate/ask for services to make travel easier! Thank you again for sharing your experience!

    Best,
    Kayce

    1. Hi Kayce!

      Wow, blast from the past – I’m happy to hear you’re still getting some use out of this post from so many years ago! 🙂 And I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I’ve been traveling myself a lot lately.

      And I’m even more sorry to hear about your knee! I hope you’re better after a month? I assume you’ve already had your surgery?

      As for advice on how to ask for services, honestly, the “nice” thing about traveling with crutches is that people are pretty extremely helpful, so the services kind of come to you without having to ask too much. But do you have any specific questions? Feel free to reply here or email me, or DM me on Instagram. Whatever you prefer.

      And I’m newly based up in Boston, so we’re neighbors. But there’s a decent chance I’ll be moving down to NY at some point, so keep in touch – and enjoy your trip!!

      Cheers,
      Ketti