Traveleyes offers riding bareback, sailing and skiing for visually impaired …

Catherine Eade for MailOnline

Published:
06:25 EST, 4 September 2014

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Updated:
10:09 EST, 5 September 2014

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A blind man has set up a travel company specifically to help visually impaired people dreaming of going on adventurous holidays.

Amar Latif has travelled to more than 60 countries over the last ten years to put together a portfolio of interesting holidays for partially-sighted people – despite losing his own sight to a genetic condition.

Mr Latif, who is from Leeds, is offering sailing trips to Greece, walking in Bulgaria’s Rila mountains and even ski trips to France through his unique holiday company, Traveleyes.

Horse riding in Jamaica: Amar Latif, who is blind, set up TravelEyes ten years ago and goes on fact-finding missions around the world to check out new and interesting places for blind and partially sighted people

The sky’s the limit: Amar enjoyed skiing in France so much he made sure his company offered a skiing holiday with ‘ski buddies’ assisting partially sighted and blind people

‘The key to exciting travel experiences is a running commentary provided by sighted travellers,’ he explains.

‘When we choose destinations, we don’t choose them for their accessible nature, we choose them for whether they are interesting for both blind and sighted people.

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‘Then we go out there to see how we can make it accessible. The destination has to be interesting for blind and sighted people as half of our customers are sighted.’

Latif visits every destination himself before offering it to blind or partially sighted travellers, with help from sighted assistants.

An inspiration: The Yorkshireman tried sailing in Greece, left, which he subsequently offered as a holiday for his clients. Right: Latif in New York. ‘Sighted travellers fill in the pictures. It’s a partnership,’ he explains

He jokes that ‘taking along a set of eyes’ in the form of sighted travellers is mutually beneficial as sighted clients get discounts.

Latif acts as a tour manager during the trips to ensure his customers get the most out of holidays.

One recent fact-finding trip took him to the Greek island of Lefkas for a sailing experience where next month 26 clients will discover what it has to offer after signing up for the holiday on his recommendation.

‘The sailing was amazing,’ he said. ‘Going from island to island, with beautifully calm seas, we stopped at islands where only a handful of people live.

‘I could feel where the wind was coming from and had the sun on my back, which was wonderful.’

The Yorkshireman has lost count of countries visited, putting it at ‘between 60 and 100’ and the number of trips at around 400.

Alright jumbo? Amar tries a ride on an elephant in south India. His work has taken him to Zambia, Italy, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Australia, India, the United States and Mexico among other places

Traveleyes goes to Machu Pichu: After a decade of travelling, Latif is is keen to visit more places and has added Cornwall and Bath to his wish list

Despite losing his own sight to a genetic condition, Mr Latif makes adventure holidays a possibility through his unique company

Latif has had to renew his passport three times as the pages are filled with visa papers and stamps.

His work has taken him to Zambia, Italy, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Australia, India, the United States and Mexico.

But, after much deliberating, he says Cuba is the perfect holiday destination.

‘The salsa music, the sunshine, travelling in the 1950s cars, the rum, the cigar factories – and the relaxing atmosphere,’ he said.

‘These are visual places but our sighted travellers fill in the pictures – it’s a partnership.’

Closer to home, trips to the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway have proved popular with clients from Italy, Australia and Canada.

And, after a decade of travelling, he is is keen to visit more places and has added Cornwall and Bath to his wish list.

As a blind traveller, it’s not all plain sailing. During conversations, people occasionally ignore him and address his assistant but Latif says he uses humour to defuse awkward situations.

‘I like to change people’s views on blindness,’ he says. ‘When people meet a disabled person for the first time, there can be uncertainty. I like to explain, rather than complain. And humour can be disarming.’