Disabled traveler planning first-time trip trip to Europe; travel with tour group to alone?

You comment about Europe not adhering to the American Disability Act is accurate. Unfortunately many attractions were built before building standards for uniformity of steps, hand rails, etc. were adopted. Anne Frank house is a good example of narrow halls and stairs. And often times there is rough ground to cover. For you a group tour might be best especially if they are aware of your limitations and have the ability to accommodate your needs. Perhaps there are travel resources in the disability community that could better assist you. What are your exact limitations?

PhantomRose,

what i noticed was that there wasn't a lot of help for those that have physical issues. Some places will have lifts and such, but sometimes they are out of the way.

this is my opinion and how i think, but i would say you're not alone. Our great WWII vets aren't spring chickens anymore and are probably in the same boat as you with regards to physical mobility. Since some of them have traveled the same roads you want to travel I'm sure it can be done. So, what i would do for your tours is to contact the various operators you are interested in and see how they would handle you and your impairments. Limited mobility is subjective and I'm sure you know your limitations better than us and would be able to explain it better to the various operators.

As far as planning a trip, its in my opinion no different than planning for one in the USA. If you havent done so then you have some work for you.

What i would do is to get some travel books and look for ones that deal with mobility issues. Again, I'm sure you're not the first and won't be the last.

What planning comes down to is the basics and then you fill in the details as to what you like to do or not, but in general you will need the basics.

Transportation. you will need to go from home to over there where ever that is. Then there is the transportation between points. A comment is that trains are really nice over there and go a lot of places. Worse case you use a bus or taxi or if you can drive, rent a car. When booking flight, its best to do it way ahead of time to save $$ and take advantage of less expensive fairs. Some of the trains work the same way. Look at seat61.com seat61 a lot of answers and if you cant find any ask here too.

Lodging. if you're in a wheel chair that could be an issue, but again, you will have to find places that cater or can assist you in whatever limitations you have. Note that over there they consider Floor 0 (zero) as the ground floor and you maybe able to find accommodations on the ground. Also, my first stay in Amsterdam i had a room in what we would call the "basement". its normal but not what i was expecting.

Food. If you want to eat outside of the lodging then you will need to walk or however you get around. If you dont mind eating in your lodging that could make it easier. If you want to get out and try different places, then that could be an issue but it will depend on how limited you are.

some comments.

There is a lot of cobblestone over there so if you cant walk on it or have issues, its just something you will need to be prepared for and have to deal with on a daily basis.

Some trains have a couple steps up and some are at the same level of the platform. So far most of the bathrooms on the trains have had fairly large doors and way more room than one on a plane.

If you can afford a private or semi private tour it maybe a good deal since they will cater to you and your interested. Sometimes you can share the cost of the tour with another couple or person too and will reduce the price.

Happy trails and good luck.

Hi Phantom, I found an article by Rick Steves that may be helpful to you -- https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning/travelers-with-disabilities.

Also, here is a site about tour operators that offer accessible travel & tours - http://www.disabledtravelers.com/tour_operators.htm.

Hope you have a great trip!

Rose,
You may want to check with a small group touring company called Backroads Touring UK. (Not the US-based active travel company Backroads.) They do battlefield tours that include some meals and lodging in northern France and as they're a smaller company I think they also offered customized tours. Again, you'd want to let them know your specific needs to see how flexible they are. Best wishes!

i have done some group tours in Europe that included folks in their 70s and 80s some with mobility issues. if you are on a bus tour, you can pretty much ignore the above information about trains. most bus based tours seem to have the assumption that if you can manage the steps on and off the bus, your touring partner is free to push you in a wheel chair.....I remember specifically the day we were in the some historic house that Wilson did negotiations in during world war 1......a couple of our group members were in wheel chairs. is a robust family member available to go with you?

This is from (www.imagetours.com) & is one of the reasons that I'm really looking into planning my own European trip. I know I can't comfortably keep up with these rules with wearing myself out & in the end not enjoying the trip & they seem pretty inflexible.

Physical Condition Guidelines.
These tours are a good fit for travelers who are able to comfortably walk a ½ mile in 15 minutes (without shortness of breath or physical discomfort).
If you are not keeping up with the rest of the group, the tour manager will ask you to stay near the motor coach and forfeit any sightseeing that requires walking as a group. In case you are separated from the group during sightseeing time, it will be your own responsibility to position yourself at the designated meeting point, at the agreed time. If you have to take a taxi to do so, it will be at your own expense.
Staying on the motor coach during stops is not an option. When parked, all passengers must disembark, allowing the driver to lock the motor coach and take a break.
Tour and hotel personnel will not be available to lift or otherwise physically assist tour participants at any time. If you require any type of assistance, you must bring a capable travel companion who can comfortably help you keep up with the pace of the tour.
With an average of 40 participants per tour, the tour manager's principal responsibility is to ensure the overall enjoyment of the tour by the group. The tour manager may ask you to leave the tour if you are unable to keep up with the pace of the other tour participants to the extent that it impedes your safety or the other tour members' enjoyment of the tour; and all resulting costs will be your responsibility.

Depending on the extent of your visual impairments, having someone else around to help read transportation schedules and menus, cross the street, etc. might be beneficial. Hope your trip is good however and wherever you go!

Rather than trying to do everything yourself or joining a general-purpose tour, you might want to travel with a group that specializes in tours for the disabled. I'm used to traveling independently in Europe and have traveled twice with disabled family members. I don't think either of them could have done it on their own – although everyone's level of independence is obviously quite unique.

I'd suggest searching the Internet. On a quick search, I found the following site that lists various tour operators:
http://www.disabledtravelers.com/tour_operators.htm
If you decide to take this route, I'd suggest using a vendor that has an office in the US or some other English-speaking country, just for ease a of communication should issues arise.

I have been on one trip to Europe with a visually impaired college professor, and he had his wife and kids to assist. Although he had tunnel vision, he enjoyed the trip more than anyone.

A dive trip to Cozumel had a 16 year old, 250 lb. boy paralyzed from the waist down. He was wheelchair bound, but his father was there. I'll have to admit he was a burden on the rest of our tour--requiring heavy lifting to get him into the water where he was "weightless."

You should talk to your tour company for their guidance. Often handicapped people will take someone that's familiar with them to assist in overcoming their specific needs.

I think it would be better to try and plan this trip on your own, but with a companion helper. Do you have a friend or family member that would want to come along with you? Sharing hotel rooms that offer twin beds would be a savings for you. This way you could plan to only see what you wanted to see, taking the time that you need to explore and be comfortable at the same time. We can help you plan a trip to see the sites you want to see.

From the looks of your tentative itinerary, it looks like you want to visit 4 places, Amsterdam, Normandy, Berlin and Munich.

For Normandy, I would plan on visiting Bayeux, so check out the local tours, email them and ask if their tours will fit your needs. Many of them use mini-vans and only have 6-8 people on the tour.

If this is too many cities, I would drop Munich and concentrate on Berlin since you want to visit WW2 sites. You could visit Sachsenhausen or Ravensbruck rather than Dachau. Both can be reached by public transportation as well as with local tours. For Berlin, I would contact this company, as they can plan a tour for you taking into consideration your needs. http://www.theberlinexpert.com/

This means you only need to buy train tickets to 3 places and if you get them ahead of time, they are reasonably priced. Staying in more modern, budget hotels like Motel One, Ibis, Mercure, etc. means you have elevators and won't need stairs.