Companion ticket

A companion ticket, also called a carer ticket or essential companion ticket, admits the person accompanying a disabled visitor free of charge or at a heavy discount. The reasoning is straightforward. The companion is not attending for their own enjoyment; they are there because the visitor cannot make the visit without support, whether that means pushing a chair, interpreting, managing medication, or being present in case of a seizure. Charging full price for that person turns an ordinary ticket into a disability surcharge on a household that already pays more to travel.

Coverage is wide but far from universal. Most national museums, major galleries, theatres, cinemas, zoos and visitor attractions in the UK and much of Europe operate a scheme of some kind, and many transport operators offer companion concessions on fares. The terms vary in ways worth reading: some admit one companion, some two; some apply only to the standard ticket and not to special exhibitions; some require the access ticket type to be booked rather than a standard ticket with a note added afterwards.

Proof requirements differ by country and by venue, and this is where the friction sits. In the UK, commonly accepted evidence includes a Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance award letter, an Attendance Allowance letter, a Blue Badge, a CredAbility Access Card, or a CEA Card for cinemas specifically. Elsewhere, a national disability card, a registration certificate or a medical letter is asked for. Venues are generally not entitled to ask for diagnostic detail, and the better ones ask only for the specific document their scheme names.

The practical advice is to book the access ticket type from the start rather than buying a standard ticket and asking at the door. Timed-entry venues frequently hold a small allocation of accessible slots, and a standard booking cannot always be converted on arrival. If you carry an Access Card or its national equivalent, it usually saves explaining a diagnosis to a stranger at a counter, which is part of why those schemes exist. Take the document with you even when the booking was made online.

We record companion entry as an attribute rather than as a courtesy, because it changes the cost of a visit substantially over a week of travel. Where a venue’s published policy names the accepted proof, we record that too. What we do not do is rate a venue well for offering free companion entry while its entrance has two steps, since a concession on the price is not a substitute for being able to get through the door.