Barrier-free

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Barrier-free holidays at the Swiss Youth Hostels – find our barrier-free and partially barrier-free youth hostels here

We proactively promote barrier-free accommodations in Switzerland and offer the following disability-friendly services. Travelling through Switzerland, gaining various new experiences or simply staying at the nearest lake for a few days – the desire to travel is in all of us. For the Swiss Youth Hostels, it is a matter close to our hearts that people with disabilities are able to participate in social life as they choose. Accessible holidays call for tourist offers that are suitable for the disabled. That is why we are committed to barrier-free accommodations in Switzerland and offer disability-friendly services. We take into account the needs of persons with limitations when building new facilities or remodelling existing ones by making or planning for structural adjustments.

     

Our barrier-free hostels

Barrier-free hostels

Here you will find our 25 youth hostels, which have the appropriate infrastructure, as well as detailed information about the hostels and the barrier-free arrival. Local barrier-free information can be found on the respective hostel detail page.

Partially barrier-free hostels

Here you will find our 7 Youth Hostels, which have the appropriate infrastructure, as well as detailed information about the hostels and the barrier-free arrival. Local barrier-free information can be found on the respective hostel detail page.

Holidays for everyone with the Swiss Youth Hostels

What sets us apart:

  • Barrier-free rooms with appropriate ramp slope, lift and suitable door width

  • Barrier-free bathrooms in the respective rooms or in the corridor, with a suitable door width, toilet seat height, accessible washbasin, shower seat and grab bars. 

  • We offer free handicapped parking (show parking card for handicapped people)

  • Guide dogs and therapy dogs are allowed and stay free of charge (please bring your own dog accessories)

  • You can book barrier-free beds/rooms online with us. 
    For group requests contact the hostel directly or send an email to: incoming@youthhostel.ch 

  • On each hostel page, you will find additional information about accessibility on site or barrier-free arrival

  • In our youth hostels, our experienced staff will be happy to support you. They are familiar with the needs and requirements of our guests with disabilities, and are used to taking care of them.  

Detailed information on barrier-free stays (wheelchair-accessible infrastructure etc.) in the individual youth hostels can be found under the menu item «Barrier-free» for the respective hostels.

You can find more on the topic of accessibility in our blog posts

More information on accessibility thanks to the OK:GO initiative

OK:GO promotes the availability of information on the accessibility of tourism offers in Switzerland. Project manager Julia chose the newly renovated Rapperswil-Jona Youth Hostel for a photo shoot of the initiative. But the spotlight is on Sara and her twins.

Barrier-free – where holidays become accessible for all

It is important to us that all guests feel comfortable at our facilities. In the following interview, Kurt Schempp (responsible for accessibility at the Swiss Youth Hostels) reports on how the SYH promote inclusion as well as the benefits of the ginto app.

Our partner SwitzerlandMobility provides information about 78 barrier-free trails throughout Switzerland

The barrier-free trails are wheelchair accessible, but are also suitable for families with prams. They are described in detail and help people with limited mobility find out in advance about the conditions on site (barrier-free arrival and return, terrain conditions, slopes or barrier-free infrastructure)

  

More information

Suitable barrier-free means that the facility guarantees the requirements for barrier-free access in all areas – i.e. from arrival, to access, to the bathrooms. These areas can be used by standard wheelchair users without any barriers. However, individual public ancillary rooms (e.g. seminar room, roof terrace) may be difficult to access.

The classification partially suitable barrier-free can have various reasons. The assessment is based on a consideration of the following points:

• Individual barriers such as low thresholds that are nevertheless easily manageable for many wheelchair users.
• Important public rooms that are inaccessible for wheelchair users.
• Limited space in the rooms.
• All hostels with this classification have at least one specially adapted bathroom (shower and WC) for people with a mobility handicap.

The ginto app

The Swiss Youth Hostels face the issue of barrier-free holidays every day. But holidays are much more than just accommodation. What else is there to discover around the youth hostels and preferably avoiding big hurdles. The ginto app gives you just that information, so you know exactly what to expect on site and whether it’s too much for you.

Questions and answers about barrier-free

To the FAQ

Our partners on the subject of barrier-free

  • Logo Denk an mich DAM
  • Logo Barrierefreie Schweiz freigestellt
  • Eidgenössisches Büro für die Gleichstellung von Menschen mit Behinderung
  • Schweizerische Fachstelle für behindertengerechtes Bauen