Seniors in Israel
 

I'm taking my parents to Israel this summer. They are in their 70's and have limited walking abilities. I'm looking for places for them to visit in the Golan Heights and Jerusalem. Any advice?
Thanks,

I was in Israel last summer and spent time in Jerusalem. While it is truly a wonderful walking city I could suggest the following...you can take a cab to the Dung gate to enter the Kotel. There are steps that you have to go up in order to go through security but there must be an entrance for people with limited walking access. You can also cab it through the Jaffa Gate and enter the old city at other points. The Jewish Quarter is very small so it is an easy walking tour. Our first day we did a tour of the Tower of David and it was a wonderful way to learn the history of Jerusalem and the Old City. It requires a bit of walkign and stairs but you could modify. We also did a walking tour of the four quarters but you could do book a walking tour of one or two of the quarters. Sitting at a cafe on Ben Yehuda at night is good for people watching. You can also do the double decker bus tour for an overview of Jerusalem and hop off and on at various sites. The Israel Museum is extensive but they can take in as much as they want. They can also visit the Shrine of the Book or walk around the model of the Old City and Temple that has been installed at the Israel Museum. It is very hot in Jerusalem during the day so have water with you and wear hats. We did most of our touring early and did a swim in the afternoon. But in July the evenings in Jerusalem were a little cool - needing a long sleeve light weight shirt or light sweater. It was even cooler at night in the north.
I did get to Tzfat and that is a lovely town but the war broke out the following day so we had to reroute our trip...but if you are renting a car in the Golan you can drive around the Kinneret and also drive to different sites in the area that do not require hiking. if they like wineries you could visit a winery...we are going back this summer and plan to spend a lot of our time in the Golan and then at the beach not too far from Haifa. We can't wait to go back!

You might start here:
http://www.aisrael.org/Eng/Index.asp?CategoryID=58

I searched for Israel, disability and Israel, mobility-impaired.

Because much of Jerusalem is cobbled, it is a challenge for people with difficulties with walking or balance, and even when the ground is new and level, as at the Israel Museum, the distances are not short.

Sylvia

If you have time, both the Dead Sea and Eliat have lovely hotels and good atmosphere. A vacation within the vacation is always good. I think there is now a cable car to get to Masada. If so, it is a must.

I took my mother who's 90 to Jerusalem - old city my mother has a wheel chair and I was able to pull the car up to the dung gate and take her to the Kotel with her wheel chair no problem. Some of the places in the old city have steps and that makes it hard, but she was able to get out of the wheel chair and also walk a bit.