Need help - planning last minute trip for my elderly mother

I don't have the answers for you, but I do have a word of advice. If I had referred to my fit and active mother as elderly when she was in her 70s, she would have disowned me.

Good luck with your planning. I hope you both have a wonderful trip.

Hi abmgus1, Welcome to the forum.

Your timing to get great deals on airfares and hotel reservations could not be better because, at the moment, there are fantastic bargains on both.
To start with your airfares: Go to www.Skyscanner.com and begin looking first at roundtrip tickets to Dublin. From Los Angeles, (code: LAX) Aer Lingus has nonstop flights to Dublin (DUB) You can then check for “Multi-City” tickets with your outgoing ticket being LAX to DUB, and your return flight being Madrid ( MAD) to LAX. Compare prices as there are great deals at the moment. It may be substantially less expensive to return to Dublin from Madrid and then fly back home after a final overnight in Dublin. You never know how the math works until you check Skyscanner. For the best fares by month— enter “ Flexible Dates” and you’ll see which dates offer the least expensive fares.

You’ll likely want to take the train from Amsterdam to Paris. www.TheTrainline.com is my go-to website to initially get an idea of what train tix prices are available. You can buy train tix directly from the source as well.
As with airfares and accommodation reservations, the earlier you book your train tix— the less expensive they are. You can book now for dates into June. For your Paris to Madrid leg— check airfares on Skyscanner and then check train fares on The Trainline.
It’s an extremely long and expensive train ride— 9 hours even on high-speed trains— so you may want to fly. Paris Orly airport ( ORY) is the most convenient airport to reach from central Paris, so look for flights from that airport to Madrid. Madrid only has Madrid Barajas Airport ( MAD) making the choice easy.

For accommodations, check www.Booking.com for hotels and apartments. Under the filter option, you can specify that you only want hotels or apartments or both, and only ones with elevators, air conditioning or ones that offer breakfast, etc. The choices are all there for you to winnow down the properties. I find apartments can be more roomy, more relaxing and, for stays of 4-5 nights in one city, they often can save you money on restaurants.
For Dublin, the “StayCity Aparthotels” have eight convenient locations in the city center near most of Dublin’s attractions.

As for Mom being “fit and active” just keep in mind she doesn’t move as quickly as she did when she had to chase you on the sidewalk when you got away from her while just 5 years old! When I took my parents to London they were sound asleep when we were still going out to see still more attractions.

Have a great trip!

Book multi-city tickets so you don’t have to back track. Check airfare from the US to Ireland (Shannon and Dublin) and Madrid and check airfare from Ireland and Madrid to CA: https://www.google.com/travel/flights.
Fly between Paris and Madrid don’t take the train. Too many transfers are involved since the train is not direct. There are cheap nonstop flights though.

What activities are good for the elderly?

What are her interests? Gardens, museums, shopping? Consider food tours and half-day guided tours. Ask her what she'd like to see. Any long-held dreams? Ask her what leaps to mind when she thinks of Paris, Dublin, Madrid, Amsterdam?

Oh, and my being fit, active, right in the head, and 77, I agree with jeanm, lol.

Oh boy, this is a difficult post to answer to. Aside from the fact that the OP is looking at a trip in the next few months, there is so many questions on how she wants to travel. ( I will try not to comment on the fact that I’m a 70’ish traveller and do ALL the booking for daughter and I and ignore the comments on right in the mind…)
Why fly to Ireland, are you staying there indefinitely? If Amsterdam and Paris are musts for family , why not fly directly there? How long do you plan to be away, that’s a factor in planning. If you truly want your mom to have a great trip with you, defer to her thoughts, needs and budget. Ps- activities for the fit elderly — museums with tours, lots of wine breaks, delicious meals, early bedtime, fabulous walks down major streets and a nice little boutique to bring home a lovely dressy souvenir. The time spent with you will be all she will need. I just spent 5 days in Paris with my daughter celebrating my 70th, was amazing !

I'm in my early 70's and right in the mind(you are never going to live down that comment!) and I book hotels with elevators to avoid climbing a lot of steps, especially with luggage. (I save my knees for places where steps are a necessity). You need to get her to pack light so the two of you won't have lots and/or large luggage to handle. I also realized last year while on a wonderful tour to New Zealand and Australia that numerous fast-paced days with 3 different activities/day may soon be too taxing, so don't schedule too many things on the same day until you see how much energy she has. And FYI, last week I did a 3.5 mile hike with a friend who is a decade younger and fit and she said she was worn out afterwards, but I didn't feel that way. So don't be so sure that your being so much younger than your Mom will make a huge difference. How many days are you allowing for 4 countries? If you're only spending 2 or 3 days in one place, the constant relocations will be very tiring.

EDITED: It will also be helpful to take taxis from airports and train stations to your lodgings so you aren't taking luggage on subways and buses and trying to find the address of your lodgings yourself when you have luggage.

Be sure to book flights only with the airline. I use book.com for hotels and then check their reviews on tripadvisor. You do have to read reviews carefully as some reviews are just silly. "Place was great, good price,clean,etc but internet was slow so won't go back again". and don't tell mom yoh refer to her as elderly! Good luck and enjoy what should be a trip of a lifetime for both of you.

You have received a lot of good advice above. It would really help to know the length of your trip, where you will fly from (which affects flight time and jet lag), and how many nights you plan in each location. Four major destinations that are fairly far apart can be a lot, unless you have 3-4 weeks, because each move eats up a lot of time.

I use the Rick Steves guidebooks and booking.com to identify possible places to stay, and I also search or ask on the forum to see whether people have stayed there.

Have you and your mother talked about what activities she would like to prioritize? How much does she think she can do in a day?At almost 73 and 75, our travel style is not that different than when we were in our 40s, 50s, and 60s. A typical day might include a half-day in 1 major museum or split between 2 smaller museums, a 2-hour Rick Steves walking tour from his guidebook or Audio Europe app (or a similar walking tour offered by a tourist information office or other group), visits to some churches or or other sites along the walking tour, and a stroll through a park or garden. Some cities like Amsterdam and Paris have short river cruises, that can be a good way to relax and recover energy.

We need to go a bit slower on our first day or so than we used to, to recover our energy after the flight,. We now walk 6 to 8 miles most days, instead of 8 to 10, and we take one or two more short breaks. Even 5-10 minutes on a park bench seems to reenergize us. We like to leave some time toward the end of each stop to catch up on anything we might have missed, or just relax a bit before the stress of moving to our next location.

Like some others on the forum, we tend to schedule fewer locations for more nights in each location than we did on our first trip to Europe.

Good luck with your planning.

Hello abmgus1

Well, being in the 70's is no longer considered elderly. Many persons in their 70's travel alone or with another old person.

Why are you doing all the planning? Let your mother help plan. I think that you said something about her paying nd that she is on top of things .

booking.com is. a very good site to use for hotels and I think someone already suggested booking.com. Learn how to use booking. Teach your mother how to use it and let her do it with your help. Have fun.

Buy some guide books. How about some Rick Steve's guide books. Watch some YouTube videos.

I find research and planning. a lot of the fun but I begin. a year early. This is late if you are going this May or June.

I usually only travel in September or October. but I think Europe would be less crowded in May. It is going to be very crowded in June because schools have closed for summer and families will be going on summer vacation.

"Can people tell me what activities are good for elderly? She is fit and active and right in the head :) So she can do a lot. Still she is in her 70's and it will be just me and her. So winging it is not an option."

I should tell you that I have just turned 80 and have been going on one cruise a year for the last several years including the last three in Europe. And I have an arthritic knee which has caused me some grief at times. I travel alone and am on a strict budget.

I love museums. I love churches and houses of worship. I love people watching. I love seeing tourist sites. I love waking around although my walking is sometimes to often limited. I spend three or four days in the city from where my cruise leaves before sailing. And I read up on these cities before I go. I get suggestions about where to go, what to see and what to do,.

I love to think of myself as old or senior but not elderly even if the government uses elderly to describe my age group.

You have family in Amsterdam and Madrid. Ask them to suggest hotels. Ask them to suggest places to eat or things to do. You are probably going to be visiting them. Maybe they are going to cook for you or take you out to eat, Maybe they are going to show you around.

I travelled with my mom until she was in her early 80's. She was healthy, active, fit, etc., she would walk 2 or 3 miles every day.

Make sure the hotels are very centrally located and that the hotels have elevators. You also need to "budget" the daily walking because the energy to walk endlessly won't be there. When out and about, try avoiding going uphill too much or up too many stairs, both drain energy. You cannot stay in a hotel without an elevator.

Fly between Paris and Madrid don’t take the train. Too many transfers are involved since the train is not direct.

One transfer is required at Barcelona Sants. Paris to Barcelona, then Barcelona to Madrid.

We "Boomers" prefer "Senior" as a descriptive. You've already received some good advice on transportation. In my 30s I had an older roommate on an Alumni Trip. She was an Early Bird. She loved to go to early morning street markets and I was the one to sleep in. It might be a good idea for both of you to get a Health Checkup just so there will be fewer surprises. It might be just me, but unless you have to go to Ireland now, I would skip it for this trip, as it adds a layer of more complicated transfers. Also, it is the Emerald Isle because it has more Rain. Are you planning to stay with Relatives in Amsterdam or Madrid? If not, it might work for you to stay in a serviced guest apartment with a weekly rate. This would save you some money and give you more privacy, and sometimes your own small kitchen. I liked Hosted B&Bs or small Hotel because you can share a breakfast table with people from all over the world. If you are riding Trains, be sure you can haul your own luggage up escalators or long ramps and up steps of a train. As for activities I like Museums and Art Galleries. Some have cafes and usually nicer bathrooms. Going to the Theater for Plays or Musical Events. If you go to Paris, go to the Flea Markets and a day trip to Versailles. Have Mom do some research online for things she feels that you both may enjoy. Bon Voyage!

Thanks for the tips guys.

Keep them coming.

I'll be sure to not call my Mom elderly :)