Concerned about steep steps & RS group tour pace in hilly areas on RS Greece tour.

Well I (obviously) can't be sure of your wife's limitations. I took the tour a few years ago and IMHO it is the most strenuous RS tour. That being said, most of the more difficult treks were purely optional..... such as going to the top of Monemvasia or during some free time on the Mani Peninsula. Again, not being able to judge your wife's level of pain, there were some hills in Delphi and other places which were part of the general tour, but nothing that would be really extreme (again, IMHO.) Often those hills occurred on free time (for example, after seeing some of the main sights at Delphi, we were turned loose, some went up to the theater, no one really went down to the ruins on the other side of the road and some just hung around and took pics of the wonderful scenery.... so your choice about activity level.) I was surprised at how easy the Acropolis was with low angled switchbacks as opposed to hiking straight up hordes of steps. With my group, the pace was pretty doable, the guide was aware some people might get winded, but it seems that few actually did. So, in short, I think it was okay. I have 2 artificial hips, but don't have lots of pain from them but certainly did feel it on the "optional hikes." I will add, one woman tripped the day the tour started and began our adventures in a wheelchair. Within a couple of days she was going most of the places the group went, albeit on crutches.

This was our favorite of the 7 RS tours we have taken. But, it was strenuous. There was a woman in her 80's on our tour and she sat out a few sites, but not most. The optional hike in Monemvasia was very difficult and from what you are describing a no go for your spouse. The 80 year old woman fell at Delphi and this illustrates an issue-while the climbs may be a bit challenging there are multiple opportunities to trip and fall as the paving is largely what it has been for centuries. As for handicapped accommodations- I don't recall any but we were not looking. Best to call the tour office on that one and with better advice on the tour in general. If you decide to do it I'd encourage booking in the early spring or late fall. The intense summer heat can add several degrees of difficulty to any day in Greece.

You walk up to the Acropolis on wide paths theoigh greenery, a parkli,e area. . There are some stone steps to enter the site. I encourage her to try to go as it is a phenominal experience.

I took this tour in October 2015. There are a lot of steps and hills. Greece is hilly. I’m surprised that more posters haven’t responded to your question. The Acropolis hill has steps and rocky uneven surfaces. Two people on my tour dropped out before reaching the top. The moving pace is fairly slow due to the amount of people headed in the same direction.

The tour outside of Athens includes many steps and rocky walks on hills (up or down). Hotels were on hillsides with walking down to town centers in most places. (You may not stay at the same places we did.) For examples: In Nafplio, the hotel was on a hillside and rooms were terraced down so steps down to some rooms and steps up to breakfast room, and more steps down to the town center. Monemvasia hotel was on a fairly steep hillside, no steps but a trek up after sightseeing. On Monemvasia island, the guide took us through a narrow rocky stepped path between buildings which was fascinating but could be a problem for your wife. The walk to the upper city is optional of course. It is a path, not steps, but steep. A bus stop for a church tour and coffee tasting was also on a hillside where the bus stopped below and we walked up along the road.

If she has trouble walking inclines even when not steps, then consider carefully if this is a tour you want to do.

Private message me if you want more info.

As others have already noted there are lots of steps or inclined trails.

The pace is not a military forced march, but as you know from your other RS trips, you rarely just drive to a view point, jump off the bus, snap a photo and drive on.

I believe there is an elevator at the Acropolis for those who need it.

In order to use the elevator (which is an glassed-in box that goes up the sheer side of the Acropolis -- rather like those materials lifts that are on the side of office buildings under construction). In order to use it, you need to make advance arrangements, AND have a Doctor's note ... Greek friends of mine say it usually accommodates people who are in wheelchairs or on Crutches. I don't think that general "aches & pains" qualify. There's an e-mail to contact AND it would be vital to call again the day before you go, AND the morning of ... because sometimes people find that there is no operator on hand despite advance arrangement. This thread from Trip Advisor dates back to 2009, but is the most thorough on use of the elevator https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g189400-i194-k3129719-Wheelchair_access_at_the_acropolis-Athens_Attica.html

I have been on 9 RS Tours, the most recent being the Greece tour in June 2017, just this year. There is a lot of walking, a considerable amount involving hills and steps, more than on other tours I think. This includes in the basic tour itinerary, and often with most exciting opportunities during free time. Paths and steps can be uneven, sometimes slick. The marble on the Acropolis can be especially slick, I remember being extra careful there. I myself fell on some ordinary concrete steps, near the entry at Olympia, I think that was where, and I had considerable rib pain through much of the trip, although it didn’t cause me to hold back or skip anything, other than the tough hike up to the top of Monemvasia. I would suggest you call the RS office, and talk to someone on staff who has been on that tour, and talk through the itinerary, day by day. You might ask for Cynthia if you can, she is based in Edmonds, and was along on our tour. She is the one who shared this extreme and very unusual anecdote with me, from a past Greece Tour: There were 2 quite frail elderly women on the tour, a real concern. The first evening, they had difficulty walking to the restaurant for the welcome dinner. In the morning, she arranged for a taxi to take them to the base of the Acropolis. One of the ladies looked up and said: “All my life I’ve dreamed of seeing the Acropolis. Well, now I’ve seen it.” And she returned to the hotel then, and to the States the next morning. I believe the second lady continued through the tour, slowly.

Wife and I did the tour in 2012 and loved it. Agree with others that it was the most physically active in regards to walking of the 7 RS tours we have done. The Peloponnese peninsula is beautiful but there is very little that is "flat." We were walking up or down a hillside at most stops and hotel stays. That said, the pace of tours with a local guide was not strenuous in my opinion. One suggestion would be to plan for more relaxing "down time" during your free time to let the hips and knees rest before the next organized stop. Or plan for alternative transportation, such as a taxi ride to the Palamidi Fortress in Nafplio instead of walking up the 1000 steps! Highly recommend the tour for the sights and the history. None of us are getting any younger so I would go for it while you can!

On our tour, we stopped several times on the way up to the Acropolis for explanations, so it wasn't difficult. A couple of the days were strenuous - Mystras (lots of uneven up and down) and Epidavros (just lots of walking on unpaved ground, though level). The pace wasn't fast and people were very helpful with those who were having difficulty on the uneven bits. Also the hotel in Nafplio (2 nights) was on the side of a hill, with 3-4 levels and no elevator, and the dining room at the top, the town at the bottom.

If you decide to go, I suggest March or April. I went this year on the April 24 tour. The temps in the 80s in early May made the strenuous days more so.

Thanks so much everyone! All of your comments are very helpful, and I will take each into consideration. You have confirmed my concern, and provided a much better understanding of what to expect! It sounds like a terrific trip, and we will noodle on this. (If determined too strenuous for my wife, I just may have to do this with a hairy leg friend some day!!!