Glen Evans has taken 30 trips with the same travel company, but he can still pinpoint a moment that is his favourite.
During a trip to Las Vegas, he served as best man for a couple on the same tour who got married on a whim.
Evans, who is based in Lincolnshire, UK, said that unlike most weddings, the bride and groom were visually impaired.
For 25 years, Evans has traveled with a tour company called Traveleyes, which organizes tours for the blind and visually impaired. Tours also include an equal number of passengers who can watch. In exchange for discounts of sometimes up to 40%, travelers like Evans help their companions by describing the details of the trip, from planned activities to helping them order food.
“We rented a small church, and I helped the bride choose a wedding dress. It was the best experience,” Evans said.
From volunteering to traveling
Trips on Travel Eyes Similar to those on any other travel website. Travelers can go whitewater rafting in Costa Rica, take a safari in Eswatini, and hike up a volcano in Spain. Some excursions include activities such as bungee jumping, skydiving, skiing, snorkeling and pizza making.
For Evans, who has long volunteered with the blind, traveling with them was a natural next step. He said he met company founder Ammar Latif through his work in the blind community, and described joining TravelEyes' first tour as a sighted guest as an obvious decision. CNBC Travel.
Latif went blind when he was 18 as a result of a genetic condition, and founded Traveleyes in 2004, when he was 36.
He said Evans and his partner Caroline now regularly join Traveleyes tours and have visited Canada, Sri Lanka and South Africa with the company.
Latif and Evan, in San Francisco.
Source: Glenn Evans
Sometimes, trips come with sensory experiences that other travelers don't usually have. Evans said he and his fellow Traveleyes travelers were allowed to feed lions on safari, an experience he said he will never forget.
Visually impaired travelers, or “VIPS” as they are called at TravelEyes, can also touch the relics from Inca artifacts in Peru to Terracotta Warriors near Xi'an, China.
But Evans said his favorite part of a Traveleyes trip isn't the activities or discount, but the friendships that are made.
“The best part is in the evening, when we sit down to have a drink and talk. You get to know people you wouldn't have a chance to meet in your daily life. It's given me a lot of happiness.” He said.
Different levels of detail
Evans said he and Carolyn are in touch with many of their fellow travelers. He said they once threw a seven-course dinner party for 12 of their Traveleyes friends who had traveled from all over the UK. Evans and Caroline picked them up from the train station and stayed overnight.
Evans now has a wealth of experience in what it takes to guide blind travelers on holiday, whether it's on a hike through nature reserves or a day of big city sightseeing. He's learned that people want different things from their travels.
Visually impaired skiers often ski with a guide or assistant and wear vests to alert other skiers of their condition.
Miki Ansin | Photo archive | Getty Images
“Some people want to know every detail about where we are, and others don't really care about any of the details,” he said.
Some people prefer to chat about the latest football game, Evans said.
“If we were walking around church, I would say to the person: 'Do you want more information or less information – or do you just want to talk about Arsenal?'
Equal relationship
Latif, founder of Traveleyes, said he founded the company after being rejected by traditional tour operators. They told him he could only join with a carer, and even then he would not be able to take part in activities such as cycling, skiing or hiking, despite being fit and independent.
He said the relationship between his company's travelers – those who can see and those who cannot – is built on equality.
“We are all on equal footing. We are all having a wonderful holiday,” he said. “Sighted people don't have to be caregivers. Yes, they will guide and be eyes and describe things, and in return, they get a discount, but they're also on holiday. It's very important that sighted travelers enjoy it, because at the end of the day, if they're not there, they're not there.” We can offer a holiday for blind travellers.”
Evans helps a visually impaired traveler paragliding on a trip to Tunisia organized by TravelEyes.
Source: Glenn Evans
Traveleyes guests don't need to have any previous experience with blind people, Latif said.
“There is a video “On YouTube I did how to guide, and our tour directors also do guiding training,” he said. “But every VIP likes to be guided in a different way. It's all about communication. “It can be nerve-racking at first, but within half an hour, you forget about your blindness.”
Sighted travelers are expected to describe what they see, but they do not act as caregivers, Latif said. “Travelers who book flights can be independent – they have their bags packed, they can get dressed, and they can be responsible for themselves.”
Latif said traveling with the blind also allows others to see the world in a different way.
Latif and Evans take a mud bath during a trip to Türkiye.
Source: Ammar Latif
“We live in a world where people are always taking photos and moving around. But when you're in front of something amazing, you have to interact with it, by bringing it to life for VIPs, so you actually end up with more vivid and vivid memories of your holiday experiences,” he said.
He said this experience can also inspire people in their own lives and future journeys.
“Sighted travelers also feel really inspired because they see that VIPs can't see, but they're halfway around the world without their friends and family, and it makes them see their lives in a different way.”
