Accessible holidays in Norfolk for older and disabled visitors

Holiday cottages in Norfolk range from converted barns and flint farmhouses to bungalows near the coast. Older buildings can mean narrow doors, steps and a bath where you hoped for a shower. Choose the base before you plan any days out, and choose it for whoever in your party finds it hardest to get about.

This guide is one of our guides to holidays with an older relative who needs care, part of companionship care. If you are still deciding which part of the country to visit, holidays for older people with limited mobility in the UK compares several regions, Norfolk among them.

The old access ratings, and what to ask for nowSection titled The%20old%20access%20ratings%2C%20and%20what%20to%20ask%20for%20now

For many years the tourist boards ran the National Accessible Scheme, which graded places to stay for mobility, hearing and sight. VisitBritain closed the scheme, and it ended on 31 July 2025. You may still see the old logo on a listing, but it is no longer being awarded, so ask for the property's accessibility guide instead.

An accessibility guide is a written description of the property with photographs and measurements, so you can judge for yourself whether it will work. If an owner cannot tell you the width of the bathroom door or the height of the bed, ask them to measure before you pay a deposit.

Visit Norfolk, the county's tourist board, has an accessibility page where you can filter places to stay and things to do by the access features you need, such as level entry, a lift or an accessible bathroom. Tourism for All UK, a charity, has information on accessible places to stay and visit across the country. Check with the owner that your relative's needs can be met.

Driving lets the car carry the wheelchair and the luggage, and gives you a way to get about once you arrive, which matters in a county where places are spread out. Plan a stop every couple of hours. Bring the Blue Badge if your relative has one, because the scheme works across the UK, but car park rules are set locally. North Norfolk District Council's car park leaflet, updated April 2026, says Blue Badge holders pay the usual fee in its car parks and are given 30 minutes extra beyond the ticket. Other Norfolk councils set their own rules, so check the council for the area where you are staying.

If the drive is too much, trains run to Norwich and on from there to towns including Cromer, Sheringham and Great Yarmouth. Passenger Assist, the national rail scheme, arranges help getting on and off trains, ramps and help with bags, and you can book it up to two hours before you travel. Book well ahead in summer.

Norwich Airport has flights from a small number of places. Its special assistance page asks you to request help through your airline or travel agent at least 48 hours before you fly, and says wheelchairs can be borrowed free at the airport, subject to availability.

Each place below has something that makes it easier for somebody with limited mobility, and something to plan around. One place a day, with a quiet afternoon at the cottage, leaves your relative with energy for the rest of the week.

Our page of places to visit in Norfolk with a companionship carer has more about each of these, with photographs.

Checking a place that is not on this listSection titled Checking%20a%20place%20that%20is%20not%20on%20this%20list

Read the venue's own access page first and ring if anything is unclear. AccessAble publishes detailed access guides to venues across the UK, and Euan's Guide collects reviews written by disabled visitors.

Beaches with ramps and beach wheelchairsSection titled Beaches%20with%20ramps%20and%20beach%20wheelchairs

Visit North Norfolk's page on accessible beaches describes how to reach the sand at several resorts, including ramps at Cromer and Sheringham, a paved slope at West Runton, a boardwalk at Holkham and a tarmac path at Wells-next-the-Sea. It also lists where beach wheelchairs, which have wide wheels that roll over sand, can be hired. North Norfolk District Council says one can be hired from the box office at Cromer Pier, and that booking ahead is essential. Ring before the day, and check the tide and the weather.

For a longer stay, or a parent who needs an adult changing bench and a hoist, the Changing Places map shows every Changing Places toilet in the country, so you can see which are near the beaches you have in mind.

The Broads by boat and boardwalkSection titled The%20Broads%20by%20boat%20and%20boardwalk

The Broads are a national park of rivers and shallow lakes to the north east of Norwich. Visit the Broads, the area's tourism site, has a page of accessible visits. It lists boat trips that can take a wheelchair, including a solar-powered boat from Hoveton and trips from Wroxham, and level boardwalks at Barton Broad and Filby Broad where you can look over the water without going afloat. Contact the boat operator before you go to check the wheelchair space and the boarding arrangements on your date.

You can bring a carer your relative already knows, take a live-in carer who stays in the cottage for the week, or book visits from a carer who lives near the holiday address for the parts of the day when help matters most, such as the morning wash.

As a guide to what carers on PrimeCarers charge, with our fee included: visits cost £15 to £20 an hour for company, or £18 to £25 an hour if personal care is needed too, and live-in care costs from £1,050 to £1,400 or more a week. Agencies charge around £28 to £35 an hour for a visit. Can you take a carer on holiday with you? goes through the costs in full, and taking a live-in carer on holiday covers the live-in arrangement.

For a carer who comes away with you, agree the price for the trip, the hours each day, their breaks, and their travel, room and meals with the carer in writing before you book anything. A bank holiday in your dates is charged at 1.5 times the carer's normal rate, the same as at home. If the carer will drive your relative around Norfolk, agree beforehand in writing whether mileage or travel time is paid, because neither applies unless it was agreed in advance.

To look for help near the holiday address, search for carers near where you are staying and compare their rates, using the postcode of the cottage or hotel. Message the carers who might suit, explain the dates and the help your relative needs, and agree the visits with the carer before you travel. Start early, because a carer in a holiday area may already be busy with regular clients during the weeks you are there. The holiday guide has more on visits near where you are staying.

Every carer on PrimeCarers has had the same checks: an ID check, a right to work check, an enhanced DBS check (or PVG in Scotland, Access NI in Northern Ireland) issued within the last 2 years, and an online interview. We do not check qualifications, training or references. References a carer has collected from past families and employers appear on their profile alongside reviews, and neither is verified by us, so ask the carer about the skills your relative needs. Carers are self-employed, and the arrangement is between you and the carer. Separately from these checks, for visits booked through PrimeCarers we arrange insurance cover where the carer does not have their own, depending on the policy terms, eligibility and exclusions, so check that it covers the work you agree, including work away from home.

Notice and cancellation work as they do at home. Either side gives 48 hours' notice for hourly care, or 7 days for live-in care once the carer has worked 168 hours. A visit you cancel is payable in full unless the reason is an unplanned hospital stay, illness, or a reason the carer agrees to.

If you would like a carer from near home to travel with your relative, tell us about the trip below. Carers are found near your relative's home, and you can then talk to them about coming away.

Pack more medication than the trip needs, in its original boxes, with a written list of what your relative takes and when, and a copy of their repeat prescription. If they need a GP while you are away, a practice near the holiday address can see them. The NHS says you can register with a GP surgery as a temporary patient for up to 3 months when you are away from home.

For urgent advice, call NHS 111 or use it online, and it will tell you which service to go to. For smaller injuries such as a sprain or a cut, there is a nurse-led minor injuries unit at Cromer Hospital, run by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, where you can turn up without a GP referral. In an emergency, call 999.

1. 1

   Before you leave

   Pack extra medication in its original boxes, a written list of it, the repeat prescription and the GP's phone number. Note the address and postcode of where you are staying.
2. 2

   When you arrive

   Find the nearest pharmacy and its opening hours, and the nearest minor injuries unit. Save both in your phone.
3. 3

   If your relative feels unwell

   Call NHS 111 or use it online. It will tell you whether to see a pharmacist, a GP, a minor injuries unit or the emergency department.
4. 4

   If they need a GP during the stay

   Ring a surgery near the holiday address and ask to be seen as a temporary patient.
5. 5

   If it is an emergency

   Call 999. Give the postcode of where you are staying and read out the conditions and medicines on your list.

New surroundings, a long journey and broken sleep can leave anyone tired and out of sorts, and for somebody with dementia a change of place can bring on confusion. Keep the first day free, keep mealtimes close to the usual times, and have a quieter plan ready for any day that starts badly. If your relative has dementia, dementia-friendly holidays goes through what to plan for.