Activity level/physical condition needed to travel

First of all, the one with the issues needs to be brutally honest with him/herself and the others!!! If pain rules out all stairs/steps and going up and down hills, that's one thing; it you're talking about simply needing extra time/support to maneuver steps, that's another. In that case, simple changes like taking taxis and buses over subways could make a huge difference in the quality of the trip. Be very vigilant about seeking out accommodations with elevators. I'm not aware of a resource that's as specific as what you're looking for, but that certainly doesn't mean it's not out there somewhere. Now, if you have some places in mind we can give you info on them - for example: Siena has some very steep hills but could be managed with patience, Paris is pretty flat but there are always at least a couple of steps into every building - and typically no choice but to climb the stairs if you want to go to the next level - and you can walk yourself silly looking for the elevators (it's easier to just take the stairs). And forget the Paris metro! Please come back with some specifics on your planned trip and what kind of mobility problems you face.

That is going to be a tough one. The difficulty of moving around varies greatly even within the same city. Parts of Rome is flat and some is hilly. London and Paris tend to be relatively flat but all of the cities can involve a lot of walking over some very rough surfaces. And there are a lot of steps almost everywhere. You might use Goggle map, street level, to get a view of the streets.

Rick Steves published a book a few years ago called "Easy Access Europe" that had helpful advice for those with mobility problems. I believe it's out of print, but you might be able to find a used copy. It would be a good place to start. My mom has some mobility issues as well, but continues to travel to Europe. Understanding your own "can do's" and "can't do's" helps determine where and how to go.

I'd suggest checking the internet, since there are some websites focusing on disabled travelers. One is http://www.disabledtravelers.com/, and it has lists of travel agents that specialize in travel for those w disabilities. I've gone to Ireland with someone with some disabilities and it worked really well. We stayed out of the biggest cities, traveled by car, and enjoyed wonderful scenery and easy walks around small towns. And while it is not the RS way, cruises can be a great way to travel when someone has mobility issues.

My moms friend had a physical condtion that limited somewhat what she could do,, and she tired more easily some days.. the BEST thing you can all do is be honest, and the person with the problem has to be the type that has no problem saying" I'm going to sit this one out and just wander around some shops this afternoon while you hike the trails, or see the ruins" etc etc. That ways the others can enjoy sites without feeling the whole group has to cater to her( which people do nicely at first , but they can get resentful). Luckily my moms friend was very cool that way.

Jeanne, Have you tried out the Graffiti Wall section on Accessible Europe? You might want to peruse it. http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/graffiti5.html Pam

There are very few places that, in their entirety, need to be ruled out because of physical problems. However, you may need to eliminate certain sights (like those that only have stairs); you may need to take it much more slowly and accept that you will see less; you may need to use buses and taxis more and subways less or not at all; and you may choose to forgo certain places because the hassle to enjoyment ratio is not in your favor. I'd start by posting what you are thinking of seeing, and then people can let you know specifics. One place worth special mention is Venice. The ONLY ways to get around are on water buses (vaporetti) requiring some agility to get on and off (particularly the smaller ones used on certain routes), or by walking; no motorized vehicles are permitted on land. And since Venice is a bunch of small islands connected by bridges, each with stairs, a person who has great difficulty with stairs would be miserable. However, someone who could manage stairs but just needed to take it more slowly would be fine. As already said, you will need to make SURE your hotels have an elevator, and also make sure a cab can drive right up to the door. It's common in Europe for hotels to be on pedestrian-only streets, and I've been let off 1-2 blocks away from my hotel when that was the closest a cab could get. Most European cities are largely flat, or have avoidable hills. Off the top of my head, the biggest exception I can think of is Lisbon (very hilly), and Barcelona also has hills and inclined streets. But Amsterdam, Bruges, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Florence, and Madrid (just to get you started) are all flat in the areas where most tourists are going. And even though Rome is famously build on seven hills, you can take buses or taxis and don't actually have to climb them.

Ditto Harold (Venice!!!) and Pat (forget to mention the 'gracious' immobile person). I own, and have read many times, the RS book on accessible Europe. From my recollection, it's main focus is wheelchair travelers but also includes 'slow walkers'. The scope (cities listed) is extremely limited! You may find it beneficial, but mostly in a 'coping stratagies' kind of way. My mother-in-law has arthritis that makes repetetive stair/step climbing painful, and she's missed two precious days of European vacation because The Following Day was a bad day. She was over-excited about sight-seeing and paid a painful price by sitting in hotel rooms while the rest of us toured Normandy and Paris :-( She could have scaled back a bit and been OK. The Paris metro involved one person to help her up/down the stairs and me behind them, serving as The Blocker. Now if she 'merely' had balance-type issues it would have been a different story. Slow vs painful are different animals... Do you have any locations in mind yet? 'We've' probably been there and can help steer you to some great places!

Eileen brings up some good points about stamina. All that walking and climbing adds up, so avoid it when possible. You can easily walk 2 miles in an airport. It may not seem so bad because it's all flat, but it adds up. For someone with mobility/stamina issues, they should use assistance when they can. Use assistance in the airport, rent a wheelchair in a large museum, etc. There will be other places where you have no choice but to use the stairs, so use an elevator when possible. All of you could benefit by building up your walking stamina, so maybe you could all start doing that together now. Take it slow and gradual. Make sure the one with problems takes part. For one thing, that will give you all an idea of just how bad it is, and how well he/she copes with it.

There are tours and tour companies that specialize in handling this problem. Here are a couple articles which recommend a few of these companies: http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/five-value-tour-operators.html?id=12325 http://www.reidsguides.com/t_tu/t_tu_seniors.html The advantages are door to door service at sites and transport of wheel chairs and such.

I travel frequently with the same group of friends and over the years one or other of us has had mobility problems due to an operation, an injured ankle, a hip replacement or some such. The "ailing" person must always be the one to say "I can't do this, friends. I'll meet you at the café down the street". This is only right and proper and the mobility- impaired member of the group must be made aware of this before you set out.

The idea to 'practice' now is perfect. Take short (local) trips and see what happens. See if you can tolerate walking through a museum for an hour or two. Try using the stairs to enter a large municipal building, then walking around for a while. If you can, use local public transportation to see how 'the issues' impact boarding buses, trams, trains, etc. Do any of you use walkers (even rollators), canes, etc? Consider purchasing the canes that 'fold out' into three legged seats if needed. That can really help when waiting in lines, or when you just need a rest and the park benches are full! Based on my personal travels you might have problems to deal with in Bath, or Dover in England, most of Scotland, parts of Ireland, Austria, and Norway. You would probably be able to cope with London (depends on tolerance for stairs- if you can handle 1 or 2 short flights, ok), Cardiff, and some other cities in the UK.

Thank you all for your replies, they certainly confirm the thoughts I already had based on previous trips to Europe. Your suggestions give use some things to consider and I will be checking out the websites that were mentioned. We definitely need to focus in on where we want to travel and do some research on those destinations. Luckily none of us are in the walker /cane category and can stand and walk for several hours at a time, it is only steps and very steep hills that may be a problem. When we have a better idea of where we want to go I can post with questions about those areas. thanks again and I wish you all great travels.

Since you just clarified that steps were one of the specific problems, I want to emend what I said about Amsterdam. Yes, the city itself is flat. But there are stairs EVERYWHERE, they're aren't always elevators or escalators, and the stairs are VERY steep (more like ladders in many cases). I was just there in April 2012. My mother has a phobia about steep stairs, and I started to take the trip through her eyes. It would have been miserable. You can find hotels without stairs if you search hard enough (and pay enough), but many explicitly state on their websites that due to historic building code restrictions, they cannot install an elevator. And I remember a small store with sheet music on the ground floor and CD's on the first floor - and only a small, narrow spiral staircase connecting them! The rest of Holland was similar - flat cities, but steep stairs everywhere, often with little accommodation for those who couldn't use them. So, if stairs are a problem, you may, alas, need to strike this country from your list (along with Venice - as I said, bridges with stairs are everywhere). You will also need to forget about taking the Metro or Underground in any city. Some stations will have escalators or elevators, but these are very inconsistent; most stations have stairs only. So, this in turn means you can't get around town as fast as others, since you'll be stuck in traffic on buses or taxis, or will have to walk. You'll have to allow more time between sights; not a problem, as long as you schedule this when planning your days.

Have you considered a river cruise? We did one last year and it was much less strenuous, but there are lots of itineraries. Most of the river boats seem to have about 150 people that they split into smaller groups for shore excursions.

We spent three days in Amsterdam and the only stairs we encountered were at the Anne Frank House. Our hotel, The Toren, had an elevator.

To add to Harold's comments, many cafes, restaurants and bars within Amsterdam's canal zone have steep stairs leading to the restrooms in the basement.

I traveled for a month with my mother, who has had two hip replacements and has fibromyalgia and has bad hip/knee pain, and my grandmother, who is nearly 80 and has also had a hip replacement. Neither are good at stairs, going up or down. Europe was hard for them. Some places more than others. Almost every city is "doable" but you have to know which ones are better about access. For instance, in Germany, in MOST cities, public transit provides an elevator in every stop, making it easy to use. This is NOT the case in Paris. This isn't to say you shouldn't go to Paris, but in Paris I would avoid the Metro and take buses or taxis to get around. I would in general look maybe into driving trips? That is trips where driving makes sense. A lot of the big European cities involve a lot of stairs and walking for sightseeing areas. This is not nearly as much the case in the country. Consider the Romantic Road in Germany or parts of France in the country, where driving is easy and parking plentiful.

From my experience in Antwerp and Ghent the extreme steepness of stairs in Amsterdam, even in modern buildings, is also true in Flemish-speaking Belgian. Not so much in Brussels.

Stairs either up or down to restrooms are to be found everywhere in Europe, not just Amsterdam