Traveling with 85 yr old mom

Hi Sara, I have no personal experience to offer you but there is an Accessible Europe section in the RS Plan Your Trip page. Seems to have website's and good suggestions for wheelchair trips, guides and locations. It may help you answer some of your questions. Good luck with your trip planning. Sherry

Yep. I read the whole accessible Europe section.

You might also look at www.travelinwheels.com for good information about accessible travel. Not sure if there is anything specific to the area where you will be traveling, but you might look.

Sara,, I do not think it is crazy at all to make your mother happy,, bluntly, she will not be with you forever , I know , I lost my mother 6 years ago,, and wish I had been able to travel with her.. What I do really question is the going on a group tour,, unless this tour is the type that is really willing to cater to an older less mobile customer base. Frankly, you will be holding the group up a bit, and worse, it will be harder on you and your mom when you need to move based on someone elses timeline. Is there anyway you could NOT go with a group. Rent a car, just go at your own pace, if mom is tired or having a bad day you could rest at hotel etc..
I would also in that case perhaps try and pare down list. Venice is hard with a wheelchair, really hard, alot of those arched bridges you see over the canals are stepped, not ramped. I guess you could visit Venice for the day, take water taxi to St Marcs square,, look around a bit, but longer stay would mean alot of pushing for you, and alot of dead ends( where you encounter steps) .

I agree with Pat that unless there is a specific reason your mother would like to go with this particular bus group, friends from church or this tour is tailored for people her age with her issues, you might be better off traveling on your own at your own pace, renting a car. There could be too many times when your only choice is to stay on the bus with the driver.

Sara, there is some very good, sensible advice here already. I add my voice to that. On another note: have you checked into insurance that will pay for health issues and also repatriation if necessary - that is, sending the patient home. You could check out insuremytrip.com which, I believe, compares insurance plans and companies. I, myself, plan to get it from American Express, as in the past. The main thing to consider is getting it several weeks in advance, to cover existing conditions. You pay by the month and cancel when you get back home. Best wishes!

Others have posted excellent advice about pace, choice of tour, insurance, etc. I just want to add my "you are not crazy!" My mother (then early 70s) and her sister and I spent time in Paris a couple of years ago, and it was great. I would not trade that time for anything. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and in fact am planning to, next year. Go. Plan carefully, buy insurance, etc., etc., but GO. I bet you will not regret it - and she will have a blast.

I found Assisi to be one of the most difficult places to walk around in Italy. I am a chubby but strong gal in her mid 30's with low back troubles. A month prior to my trip, I get on a treadmill and walk steep terraine and climb all the stairs I can find so I can be used to what I experience in Europe. Having said that, walking around Assisi is not easy. You will work off that pasta and black truffles meal you ate at la palotta (best restaurant in Assisi). Every street has a steep incline (or decline, depends whether you are coming or going) or the street is so steep, the sidewalk turns into steps. Won't be bad for your mom, it will be bad for the person who has to push that chair. I walked around, produced sweat (it was December), was out of breath a lot but was not envious of all those pushing people around in wheelchairs (lots of wheelchair people pilgriming when I was there). I know there is a bus that hits certain parts of town but I am not sure they are like our city buses here in the states which cater to power chairs and scooters. I work with the elderly population and promote them to get out and travel but you have to know if areas of interest are easily accessible. On my trip, I would say the least accessible was Assisi, followed by Siena, then Venice. Good luck but research so you don't destroy your back.

You'll need a sense of humor. A great book is Incontinent on the Continent, by a woman traveling with her aged mother.

Hi Sara, I am the founder of TravelinWheels and the mother of a traveler with disabilities. You are not crazy at all! However, you will want to have some things in place so that you can all enjoy the trip. I do agree with everyone that insurance is an imperative. Repatriation costs are ridiculous. If you go to my website, as someone else already mentioned, we have an article on Venice accessibility. There is also a wonderful tour group in Rome that has a special wheelchair for touring the ruins. I'm assuming you already booked your bus tour. I would look at the pace of the tour to make sure it isn't too much for her. If you haven't booked a tour already, I would recommend using an accessible travel agent who specializes in this type of travel. I do know of some that could assist you. You also didn't mention whether you are using a manual or power chair. A manual folding chair will be your best bet; it can fit in more places. I'm happy to answer more questions at [email protected].

Sara, I took my mother on one last trip, and it is a wonderful memory (although she wanted an Alaska cruise, which logistically was easier). Such travel takes lots of planning, and probably a fair amount of flexibility on both of your parts. You'll probably need to investigate each city in light of her particular interests. If she wants to see the Vatican, they list a tour for disabled visitors: (http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-Info/MV_Info_Mappa.html). I think there was a left-side entrance to San Marco without stairs. Assisi is hilly, but maybe she could be driven to plaza in front of the basillicas of St Francis and St Clare. Padua is flat, but I think there was brick-type paving. Never been to Medjugorje. Given her destinations, is pilgrimage what she is seeking? If so, would Lourdes be of interest to her? The care for the less-able there was so touching. Regardless, the Knights of Malta, who take groups of the disabled to Lourdes, might be a source of information about accessibility in Europe. One last thing: Medicare doesn't provide coverage outside of the US, so she'll need travel health insurance. And I'd get a separate medical evacuation policy that allows YOU (rather than a clerk in the US) to decide if she should be evacuated back home for medical reasons. I maintain a medical evacuation policy through MedjetAssist, and I've gotten single-trip coverage when I've traveled with disabled family members. Hoping that things can work out in a way that meets the needs of both your mom and you.