We will be traveling with my brother-in-law who has limited capability to walk and climb for very long. What do you recommend : 1. ordering a motorized wheel chair
2. Hiring a driver
or the trip will be too difficult for him?
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
Get one of those canes that fold out into a small stool. It will give him a place to sit and rest in long line. Also- do take the handicapped placard if you plan to drive. They are recongized internationally.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Betty (the OP) has posted below that they will be travelling on a riverboat to Budapest & Prague so I think suggestions about car rentals are not to the point. As suggested by a responder to her other post, she should seek advice from the river cruise company as to how her brother-in-law can be helped. Of course, I am only presuming that she (Betty) is asking advice for one-day stops in the 2 mentioned cities. We are all working with limited input here.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8947 posts
Of course people in many countries in Europe get around just fine in wheelchairs. Pretty much every city will have listings on their websites. People who are not handicapped, nor familiar with traveling with wheelchairs, probably don't notice all the available things.
Check this website for information on wheelchair travel in Prague, Madrid and Frankfurt. When looking up hotels, they also must say if they are accesable or not.
http://www.wheeladventure.com/WA_Destinations/WA_EuropeDn/WA_PragueDn/index.htm
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
Betty, when I went to Scotland with my mom and dad a few years ago, my dad who was in his late 70's hurt his foot just before going and so couldn't walk long distances and walked pretty slowly. We did rent a car and I think that made a big difference for him. We didn't do some of the things that had longer stairs. We did take advantage of driving him closer to entrances. He didn't have a handicapped tag for the car and so that wasn't an option for us. I believe that if you have one of those tags that hang from the window that you can use them. But I would recommend that you check further before planning on that as it was a hotly debated at one point on this site. I would second the recommendation that you look for the websites that address this issue. The Ricksteves section is brief but seems informative. http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/graffiti5.html
Pam
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Here's Betty's other post, that Norma refers to:
Betty: It would help us give you advice more tailored to your situation, if you would Edit the original post in this thread to include the part about the riverboat. You can edit your post by clicking the Edit button under your name (if you're signed in).