travel with seniors - basque country and france

I don't think she could do 3 hours on her feet (Rick's tours)

It is not a non stop 3 hr march. However where there are stops to view some point/item of interest,you may be standing and may not have access to a place to sit

She walks but slowly and isn't always steady.

The pace of walking does not require Olympic athlete conditioning, but a typical 2.5-3 mph pace is what one needs to be able to do. The being unsteady is a great concern as most areas are not going to be shopping mall type floors.

Have you done any domestic travel to see what she really can do and compare that to the tour description?

Falling and breaking a hip, leg, arm is a scary thought.

It seems to me that small towns, villages and countryside would be very difficult for someone who is unsteady. Uneven walkways, cobblestones, potholes . . . While RS tours don't speedwalk, they do go at a normal pace and if someone is slow and requires an arm, that's two people who are often lagging behind the rest of the group. When the group stops, there could be a few minutes for some folks to sit down, but if you are still walking to catch up, you won't have those few minutes of rest. Then there's the luggage problem. On most RS tours, there are places where you have to carry your bags for 5-10 minutes from the bus to the hotel. If one of you is helping your mother walk, how do you manage 3 bags? Lastly, if there are parts of the tour that your mother is simply unable to do, will you be happy skipping them and staying with her? Will she be happy staying behind alone and letting you do without her?

You should call the RS office and discuss this with them. They should be able to give you enough information to decide which, if any, tours would be suitable.