Hong Kong can be a nightmare for travelers with disabilities. City sidewalks -- especially in Central and Kowloon -- can be so jam-packed that getting around on crutches or in a wheelchair is exceedingly difficult. Moreover, to cross busy thoroughfares it's often necessary to climb stairs to a pedestrian bridge or use an underground tunnel. Also, most shops are a step or two up from the street, due to flooding during rainstorms.

As for transportation, taxis are probably the most convenient mode of transportation, especially since they can load and unload passengers with disabilities in restricted zones under certain conditions and do not charge extra for carrying wheelchairs and crutches. Otherwise, the MTR (subway) has wheelchair access (elevators, ramps, or other aids) at major stations, as well as tactile pathways leading to platforms and exits for the visually impaired. Ferries are accessible to wheelchair users on the lower deck, and approximately 30% of buses are wheelchair accessible. More information is available from the Transport Department, Floor 41, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai (tel. 852/2804 2660; www.info.gov.hk/td/index.html), which publishes a booklet called A Guide to Public Transport for People with Disabilities, which can also be downloaded online. Other good sources include the Social Welfare Department's website, www.cyberable.net, for information on public transportation and reserved car parking, as well as an accessibility guide for the disabled; and the Hong Kong Council of Social Services' access guide for disabled visitors, with information on hotels, consulates, museums, restaurants, shopping malls, performing venues and more through its website, www.hkcss.org.hk.

Organizations that offer assistance to disabled travelers include MossRehab (www.mossresourcenet.org), which provides a library of accessible-travel resources online; SATH (Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality) (tel. 212/447-7284; www.sath.org; annual membership fees: $45 adults, $30 seniors and students), which offers a wealth of travel resources for all types of disabilities and informed recommendations on destinations, access guides, travel agents, tour operators, vehicle rentals, and companion services; and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) (tel. 800/232-5463; www.afb.org), a referral resource for the blind or visually impaired that includes information on traveling with Seeing Eye dogs.