Hands On Travel aims to bring the essence of travel to you through our wide range of specialty travel programs, all done in the beauty of sign language. Choose amongst our guided tours, customized tours, and other specialty travel services such as itinerary assistance. Our dedicated focus on you from your first contact with us until the day your trip ends will make sure that your trip goes exactly the way you want it to. One thing is guaranteed: your satisfaction.

We believe that travel should not only be to see new places, but to really understand them. Our guides, whom all know sign language and have a profound knowledge of the place they are guiding you in, will bring to life all the stories behind the buildings, piazzas, museums, and people you encounter during your travels.

What makes us unique? We provide guiding services exclusively in sign language. That means we do not use interpreters at all. All communication will happen directly and naturally, between the guide and the participants. That, in addition to our small group sizes, ensure intimate involvement for everyone. This level of attention and care are what our clientele appreciates about us the most.

In an increasingly touristy world, there are more and more "packaged experiences" available. It is our aim to go away from the mainstream, and to take our groups where other tourists do not go... in other words, to see real people, understand their culture and their real way of living!

Hands On Travel (HOT) and the Gallaudet University Alumni Association (GUAA) is proud to collaborate in order to promote deaf travel opportunities well into the future.

We both have one common goal—to provide deaf people with the opportunity to engage in “smart travel”—traveling with a purpose. More and more deaf people are demanding sophisticated travel, where they can really feel involved with the place they are seeing. How does this involvement occur? By providing guides that communicate directly in sign language, eliminating the need for interpreters. By traveling in small groups which ensure maximum participation and involvement. By learning while traveling, since the guides are all knowledgeable about the focus of their tour—say, art history, literature, history, culture, food/wine, and so forth. What’s more, they have the passion to share what they know with others.

Gallaudet plays a big role in HOT’s work, as many of our guides and participants are Gallaudet faculty, staff, alumni, and parents. Therefore, to encourage this continuing involvement, HOT will give a $25 discount to all GUAA members who sign up for specific GUAA-endorsed tours provided by HOT, in addition to donating an additional $25 to the GUAA in the names of those alumni. We look forward to maintaining a long and productive collaboration, aimed towards smart travel.