RealDodo

I think this may yet be one of the most challenging queries to be posted here. We are a party of 5 swinging seniors (50-60 years old, male/female). One of us is wheelchair-bound but can walk short distances. The rest are fairly fit.

We are putting together plans of touring Italy beginning early October. After spending 2 days in Rome to recover from our long flight, we intend to rent a van and drive around Italy for 2 weeks. I know big cars are a pain in Italy, but with 5 pieces of luggage and 1 foldable wheelchair, it's still the only way to go.

Since we have all been to Italy in recent years, we prefer to skip cities like Florence and Venice, where our car would be totally useless. Our top of mind is southern Italy and small interesting towns along the way.

Most of us have never been to Naples, Capri, Pompeii or Sicily. From this forum, I gather that places along the Amalfi Coast can be reached by boat.

Can any of you please give advice as to a suitable itinerary for mature people like us, taking into account the mobility issues of our companion? Can you offer suggestions on accommodations that have ground floor rooms or hotels with elevators/lifts?

We are flying in and out of Rome since we have individual agendas to make. If we can, we plan to drop off the car somewhere in the Tuscany region since our disabled companion is getting off there.

I'd be very grateful to have some advice from seasoned travelers like you.

ira

Hi RD,

You definitely don't want to drive in Naples.

I agree with a week touring Tuscany.

Other places to consider are Umbria, Le Marche, the Adriatic Coast down into the heel of Italy.

Mimar

The towns in the Amalfi coast are built on hillsides. Ditto Capri. These places are difficult enough for the able-bodied. I can't imagine with a wheelchair. Pompeii is fairly flat but with ruts from chariot wheels in the roads.

Here's a resource: www.slowtrav.com/europe/disabled_travel.htm, with references to more stuff.

Good luck!

RealDodo

Thank you both for your inputs. I have reconsidered and the new itinerary looks like this:

Rome - Florence for 5 nights as base for exploring Tuscany

Florence - Assisi for 3 night to explore Umbria

Assisi - Sorrento for 5 nights to visit Pompeii, Naples, Capri and Ischia

Do you think this is doable? Any suggestions?

Eloise

Do bear in mind that the hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria are called that for a reason. Some are more accessible than others.

For a list of Umbrian towns with notes on their accessibility, see

http://tinyurl.com/p4zol

travel52

My husband and I have been to Italy 3 times. Our most recent trip was in May. I have severe arthritis, and while not wheelchair bound, I need to plan wisely. On our 1st trip to Italy we stayed in Sorrento and drove to Pompeii. I was pleased to see a wheelchair sign on one entrance. We bought our tickets and went through the gate with the wheelchair symbol. That was as far as I could comfortably get. The walking was going to be impossible, as the stones were huge and uneven with big gaps. We explained as best we could with our little Italian, and I was refunded my entrance fee. I sat in a shaded area for a couple of hours and people watched while my son and husband toured, which was fine with me. My husband and son loved Pompeii and I would have been miserable even if I had attempted it.

As far as hilltowns, I found Pienza, San Gimignano and Volterra were the easiest....and great towns to visit! I have heard Orvieto is fairly flat also. but we haven't made it there yet. Siena is a tough one for me. I can't quite pinpoint why. I realize the hills are pretty steep and there are cobblestones, but there is just something about it that does me in. On our 1st visit to Siena, we didn't realize we could take a cab into the center. We did so after that and for five euros it was very worth it. I also love Florence. It is fairly compact and I always find a place to sit and rest. The joke in our family is that I can turn anything into a chair ! Italy is very worth the trouble, but it takes a lot of planning with a disability. Even if you have a room with elevator access, many times there will be some stairs from the elevator to the room! And one more thing....I am 55, so that means I'm a senior?? Hadn't thought of myself in those terms yet ! Yikes!

nessundorma

I understand how eager many in your party will be not to let mobility issues prevent you from seeing some of the most famed sites of Italy.

But I must warn you that unless you choose carefully, you could find yourselves faced with insuperable obstacles and difficulties in many parts of Italy. Much of this volcanic country is built into and on extremely steep hills, navigable only by stone staircases.

Fortunately, there are some very lovely, lovely and historic places in Italy that are flat.

Florence (Firenze) is one. Verona is another. So is Mantova. Many of the marvelous towns of the province of Emilia-Romagna are flat: Ravenna, Bologna, Ferrara.

In Umbria, Bevagna is flat, so you might want to make that your base. Norcia is also flat. Interestingly, the mighty hilltown of Perugia is quite flat once you get to the top, and the top is accessible by escalator.

In some hilltowns, you may find that if you put the wheelchair and two members of your party into a taxi at the bottom of a hill, the rest of you can walk up easily from a parking lot at the bottom and meet at the top.

I understand that handicapped stickers are honored in Italy, and it may gain you good access to driving to more accessible parking spots.

I understand that Rick Steves has published a guide to "accessible" Italy. You can also be helped by the message board of the Slow Travel website. They can especially guide you on the details in cities like Firenze, Roma and Venezia about which sites have stairs and which do not.

But I encourage you to plan a trip that fundamentally steers clear of the vertiginous cliffs of the Amalfi coast in favor the flatter parts of Italy, such as the Veneto and Emilia-Romagna. They are chock full of treasures, delicious food and get fewer tourists anyway, which also is pleasant.

Good luck!

RealDodo

Many, many thanks for the sound advice. You have been very helpful indeed. The wheelchair-bound traveler, my brother, suffers also from severe osteoarthritis aggravated by his heavy weight - over 300 lbs. You can imagine my anxiety, being one of those who will have to push his wheelchair in those steep and hilly places. Would be a real work-out so I'd better listen up. Cheers.