Grandma at 80+ and Collapsable Wheelchair on Tour?

You really need to review this with RS tours. I'm sure you can bring a wheelchair but no guarantee the hotels you will be staying at have an elevator. And you'll be carrying her bags, yours and the wheelchair-not easy. Although Europe has come a long way regarding disabled access it is nowhere like the US. Older buildings are not able to be renovated in may cases. You can find restaurants that are accesable, only to find the toilets are a fight of stairs up or down. As far as I know RS tours does not sell "add on's". On these tours you trade the structure and guidance of a RS tour, including the guide, for independence. Which means you are on your own. You might want to research tours catering to disabled folks as that is not a focus of RS tours. And, keep in mind, Medicare has no coverage outside of the US, so buy travel insurance that includes medical coverage.

Alan gave good advice above. Based on your description, in my opinion, the RS tour will be physically too much for your grandmother, and will be a LOT of work for you and your mother especially trying to push her in a chair while carrying her luggage and your own. Even if you can take a wheelchair (the only way to get the answer to this is to call the RS tour office), your grandmother will have to navigate bus stairs, hotel stairs, entrances to museums that aren't accessible etc. Other than airports, much of historic Europe is not disabled friendly - in some historic areas, zero curb cuts for wheelchairs and very rough ground (cobblestones). This is from the description for the 15 day My Way tour:

Our tours are physically active! It's an essential part of the Rick
Steves tour experience. On My Way: Europe in 14 Days — among other
things — you'll need to happily… Carry/roll your luggage over uneven
pavement (several blocks possible) and up stairways to reach your
hotel; then up several flights of stairs to reach your room. Sleep
with street noise and no (or weak) air conditioning. Be able to
navigate towns and cities on your own. Be responsible for your own
daily sightseeing, admissions, meals (except breakfasts), and
non-group transportation.

To answer your other questions, there is no "ala carte" tour option on the My Way tours. The guide will give you some orientation (likely in the form of a local map and a short verbal overview) but nothing in detail and as the statement above says, you're on your own for everything except breakfast.

If your grandmother has her heart set on Paris, and you're set to meet her wishes, then just go to Paris, nowhere else. Google "Paris in wheelchair" to get some ideas about others that have done this (here's an example). You can use the RS guides to help you plan, but he typically does not note anything about mobility access, so you'll have to research this on your own. Best of luck.

I want to thank you both for your replies. You've confirmed what I already knew.

I watched the video about the activity which helped. I also read a lot of forums with our ideas in mind.

Grandma can do bathrooms, bus steps, hotel stairs and similar things if she isn't walking everywhere else. She is not wheelchair bound. We are just thinking how to alleviate some of the strenuous parts.

We talked about and may decide to just do Paris....

We may decide to do the whole package (not My Way) and just ask the guide at the time and sit some things out....I also read the specific tours that are part of the full package with it in mind that we might have to sit out some.

It's just whether RS will LET US.

I honestly don't think a RS tour would work. I think you'd be best to do this on your own and focus on Paris or Paris and one other city. You can book an accessible hotel, use the bus or a taxi rather than the metro (lots of stairs), and go at your own pace. It will be a lot less expensive than the tour, so use the savings to book a private guide when you need one. Get the RS Paris book which will give you a good orientation. You could use the hop on hop off bus for the first two days to get a good orientation and get you between sights. Don't be intimidated by the language gap. Learn a few simple niceties and you will manage fine. If you need help with some of the specifics of planning, search this site and ask questions if you don't find the info that you are looking for.

Check out these options for a trip to Paris:

http://www.sagetraveling.com/paris-accessible-guided-tours

May I suggest you also look at Road Scholar.

While their tours are geared towards "older" folks, they do have multigenerational tours aimed at families Their tours are usually slower paced and describe all physical exertion.

As stated, RS tours are fast paced and phsyically demanding. All of their Paris tours included riding the metro which means a bunch of stairs. Plus hills. And stairs in museums.

In the U.S. most public places have to be wheelchair friendly. That's not the case in much of Europe. It can be done but it will take planning.

If you google it, there have been some wheelchair bound people who have traveled the world and written about it. While your grandmother doesn't need a wheelchair all the time, some of these blogs might give you ideas on how to tackle the issue.

Now as for "see," "visit" and "view." See and View are basically the same thing...you see them as you drive by on the coach. Visit means you actually visit.

JeniferB

We have taken 7 RS tours. I was looking back on some of our pictures with your Grandmother in mind.

It appears to me that there would be many days that your Grandmother would have to sit out. Not just the tours in the towns, but on the bus travel days there is often a stop to see a sight where you have to walk long ways, up inclines of steps. On some of those it sounds like your Grandmother would have to stay with the bus. The My Way would give you all more flexibility, because she wouldn't be stressed about over tiring herself or holding the group up. I'm just thinking about how tired we are on some days and we are a lot younger than she is, and we are pretty fit.

Paris might be a good option, with taxis and buses to help out and there certainly is plenty to do and see in Paris.
Whatever you decide I hope you all have a great trip!

Jenifer, I think the RS tours are way too active, if, as you say, a wheelchair is essential for Grandma. Think metro, stairs in museums and hotels, walking for up to 8 miles a day... And the walking is not a gentle stroll, usually. And it's not just what Grandma can do, it's how it will affect you and Mom, and the 22 other members of the tour. When we did the Paris tour, our rooms were on the upper floors of the hotel, and the elevator was too small for 2 American-sized adults and their minimal luggage. Lots of walking, lots of stairs, climbing up to Sacre Coeur, getting onto and off of the Seine riverboat cruise... Even the restaurant where we had our "last supper" was up a narrow staircase.

What if you just hired local guides for some of the "don't miss" parts of Paris, and did the rest on your own?

You may want to consider a portable cane chair for grandma too. Just be careful because some museums ban such things. You need to research ahead of time. Emails to the respective museums help in securing accommodation. Keep an electronic copy of the communication to show to the museum staff.
The metro has many stairs so avoid that.
I'm sure Grandma would love a boat trip along the Seine etc.
You may want to consider hiring a driver too.

Packing advice: You and Mom should take backpack style packs. Let Grandma take a roller bag. One of you can push Grandma while wearing a pack and the other pull Grandmas bag while wearing a pack. It works well especially if your personal items are cross body style bags.

I'm a big fan of RS tours but I would discourage you from doing "the whole package" (by which I assume you mean a standard RS tour) and sitting out parts. You'll be sitting out most of the tour. These tours are for active and fit folks. Even though they attract an older demographic your grandma would not make it from what I'm reading. We are both in our 60's, work out 5-6 days per week, walk up to 5 miles a day. We have done 7 RS tours and there has not been one where we don't find ourselves pretty tired by the end of a day of touring. Frankly, you'd be wasting your money.

Hello Again Everyone,
Thank you for your replies! I am certainly doing a LOT of research for this trip and while most of what I've read isn't new, I'm grateful for the reinforcement of what I already thought.
I think we will be circling back to our original plan of either a boat cruise or a single-city stay in Paris. We can consider this thread closed.
Thanks again for all the advice and time you took to give it.
Jenifer

Someone upthread suggested Road Scholar but I will tell you that the tours I have been on with them (4 in Europe and 4 in the US) would not have been appropriate for an individual in a wheelchair. So sorry.

I think your plan to consider Paris would be a good one.

For the future if you consider doing a My Way with your Mom....you ask about orientation. I would probably post a separate topic here asking about the orientation aspect on the My Way tours. There may also be some Trip Reports that address that.

As a person who only speaks English, I can tell you that on the fully guided tours the guides are terrific about an orientation walk, map if necessary, and making sure folks have plans for their free time. I have the Rick Steves phrase book I carry with me (as well as maps, lol) and I have managed with polite phrases only in Italy, France (particularly Paris), Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It is less hard than you think it will be. In most tourist areas many of the service people in restaurants, cafes and at attractions speak English enough to be understood.