My 90/91 year old parents want to take the family to Rome. Having been there several times, I know that it isn't exactly ADA compliant!
Does anyone have any suggestions/experience for tour operators that specialize in providing services to the "walker" set? In addition, there will be a small child and some young teens travelling with us.
Any info would be greatly appreciated. Travelling in April.
Thanx.
If you're looking for a group, guided tour for the whole trip, Road Scholar (www.roadscholar.org) is a good tour company that can offer a calmer pace. Also check out some of our local guide listings in our Rome or Italy guidebook; private, local guides can tailor a city tour to fit your interests, your pace, and give you one-on-one attention.
Just to expand on Casey's idea about Road Scholar, while I have not been to Rome with them I did do their programs in London and in Wales. Both of those were listed as Active tours which is their mid-level classification for activity level and the basis there is the ability to walk 2 miles. On the London tour there was much more walking than 2 miles (I would guess 5-6 miles on most days) which some people could not keep up with. On the Wales program there was walking over rough ground plus some stair climbing in castles. There was one participant who should have been using a walker but was not and wound up sitting out of a number of activities or holding up the group with her pace. In both programs I felt some participants had overestimated their abilities while Road Scholar had under estimated the activity level.
They do have some Intergenerational programs and those would be the ones that it would be appropriate to bring children on. I did look and see they have an Intergenerational Italy, but it is rated as Moderately challenging and even tho I don't know your parents I would say this would be too much for them.
Others might have a different view, but this has been my experience with Road Scholar.
I will also say I have been on 2 Rick Steves tours which are more active still and the participants had a much better handle on their physical abilities.
Unless you can find a tour that specializes in mobility impaired people, you are better off on your own when at least you can adapt to your group. And with this mix, it is reasonable to split up for some things as well.
I took my then 80 year old mother with some mobility issues to Florence and Rome and it was a tough trip. We did spent a lot of time at sidewalk cafes so she could rest and ate in a lot of outdoor venues with good views so she could enjoy being there without always having to walk. Every rest room in Italy appears to be either up or down a narrow steep set of stairs; this makes traveling with someone with mobility issues a challenge.
I would consider renting a car service to tour -- I have seen many groups of Asians using such services so they do exist or at least planning on taking a cab between sites e.g. from Colosseum to Pantheon or Vatican. With elderly people with canes, you may be able to go to the heads of lines some places; museums were very kind to my mother. On buses be prepared to have to request the seats for the elderly to be made available. Teenagers the world over seem to feel that plopping their butts in the handicapped designated seats while elderly people struggling to keep on their feet stand is appropriate; I had to request the seats for her.
What a wonderful gift! There are a number of sites w tourist info for the disabled. I would suggest googling it. Here's one that I came up with on a quick search: http://www.sagetraveling.com/Rome-Disabled-Access
I seem to recall the Vatican does have accessible entrances and loaner wheelchairs. I suggest you check the websites for St. Peter's and the vatican museums.
I'd also check with one of the higher-end day-tour companies, such as Context Rome, to see if they have any offerings or could customize something.
Finally, depending on their mobility... The walkers or canes with built-in seats can be a significant blessing, even if they don't usually need them. And I'd strongly suggest wheelchair transfers in all airports, even if they don't like the idea; when I listened and didn't arrange wheelchair transfers, I regretted it.
My 86 and 91 year old parents still insist on spending summers (4-6 months) in their old family home in a rather remote area of Italy. Luckily some family member has always been available to stay with them but it is a project getting them there and back. Getting wheelchair transport in the airport is essential even if they don't like the idea but they are treated very well and things have gone smoothly. Last week they had to travel from southern Italy to Bologna for a grandtr's graduation. The hotel provided a wheel chair for my father. Although he can walk short distances, it saves on energy.
For the flight over they are sure to stay hydrated, take their aspirin and exercise their legs every hour and get up and move around a couple of times to prevent blood clots in legs. Talk to the doctor before you leave for any specific considerations for them.
Also, for my parents, they really look forward to the rest time in the afternoon to recharge. In Rome, use cabs for them to get around.
For airport to hotel, i once used RomeCabs and they were great. Also, when traveling with a diverse family group, it sometimes make sense to divide up at times. Everybody does not have to do everything in my opinion.
Have a great trip.You will be making MEMORIES!
Not exactly an answer to your questions about tour operators, but I thought maybe helpful none the less.
http://www.slowtrav.com/Italy/accessible/rome/wheelchair.htm
Not exactly an answer to your questions about tour operators, but I thought maybe helpful none the less.
http://www.slowtrav.com/Italy/accessible/rome/wheelchair.htm
