The story behind GoTripAble

Built out of frustration.
Built on lived experience.

GoTripAble was created by one person, with one non-negotiable goal: to make it possible for travellers with complex, hidden, or non-conventional disabilities to actually find holidays that work for them.

Jacqueline Manning, founder of GoTripAble

Degree-educated teacher, sixth form college, lived experience of hip disability and chronic pain

I'm in my 40s and I was born with hip deformities. Growing up, I had repeated surgeries to try to correct them, which left me with a hypoplastic hip and early-onset osteoarthritis. By the time I was 24, I needed a complex hip replacement. Because my hip was never "normal" to begin with, the replacement isn't perfect either. But I have less pain than I used to, and for that I'm grateful.

What I'm left with is a combination of things that don't fit neatly into any category: a leg length difference, an underdeveloped femur, muscle wasting, nerve damage, scar tissue, and my right foot rotates outwards. I'm ambulant and I don't use a wheelchair, but I don't always look disabled either. I have very real limitations, particularly around uneven terrain, stairs, stepping stones, getting in and out of boats, and anything that requires sitting on the floor or sustained standing. Distance and stamina are a constant calculation.

For years, trying to plan a holiday was genuinely exhausting. I'd search for "accessible" destinations and get results designed almost entirely for wheelchair users. And when terrain was mentioned at all, it was patchy at best: a note about cobbled streets here, a vague "easy trail" there. But "easy" and "accessible" are not the same thing. I'd arrive somewhere rated highly and still struggle, because the specific things that affect me, steep gradients, uneven surfaces, a lack of places to sit and rest, were never actually described.

I'm also a mum of two. So on top of my own needs, I'm thinking about prams, child-friendly facilities, baby changing, and places that work for little legs as well as limited ones. That combination of my own physical limitations plus travelling with young children made planning feel almost impossible using the information that was out there.

Most people's needs don't fit neatly into boxes. You might not be a wheelchair user, but still find most "accessible" holidays aren't designed for you. You might have an invisible condition, or a combination of things, or be travelling with someone whose needs are different from yours. GoTripAble is built for all of that.

So I built GoTripAble. I solved my own problem, and I hope it solves yours too. Every rating, every terrain note, every toilet frequency score — it's there because I genuinely needed it myself.

GoTripAble is not a corporate product. It's a one-person passion project that grew out of real lived experience. The conditions we cover include fibromyalgia, IBS, chronic fatigue, heat intolerance, MS, osteoarthritis, anxiety, autism, and more — all there because real people with real needs asked for them.

🎯 The mission

GoTripAble helps people with disabilities, chronic illness and additional needs improve their quality of life through practical advice, accessible travel, everyday shortcuts and trusted resources. That's the heart of everything we do — and accessible travel is where it started, because that was the gap I felt most acutely in my own life.

Within that, our travel mission is specific: to give every traveller with a health condition, disability, or additional need the information they need to choose a holiday with confidence.

I believe that "accessible travel information" has been too narrow for too long. A wheelchair accessibility rating tells you almost nothing if you have fibromyalgia, IBS, chronic fatigue, heat intolerance, or a complex orthopaedic condition. The things that matter — how hilly is it really? How far between toilets? How hot does it get in August? Is there anywhere to sit and rest? — are almost never answered by mainstream travel sites.

GoTripAble rates destinations across terrain, stamina, heat, toilet access, food options, navigation ease, and facilities, then lets you filter by your specific conditions. Because your needs are specific, and you deserve specific answers.

✨ What makes GoTripAble different

GoTripAble does not sell holidays

GoTripAble is not a travel agency. It does not sell flights, accommodation or holiday packages. It helps travellers check whether a destination is likely to suit their real-life needs before booking — including hills, heat, toilets, pram access, sensory load and walking distances. The information is research-based and is intended to inform your planning, not replace direct checks with venues.

⚠️ Important: GoTripAble is a guide based on research and real experience — not a medical service or professional accessibility audit. Always verify details directly with venues and assess suitability for your own specific needs before booking.

Check a destination against your needs

No card required to start. GoTripAble does not sell holidays.