diomedes

Hi there -

I need ideas for a week long vacation in Europe in late September (preferably not more than 2 flights from Munich) that will not involve that much walking. A few members of our party can't walk more than a few blocks in a day.

Two thoughts that occured to me:

1.Driving tours where you actually can see a lot from the car or where you can drive right up to destinations (we took a trip to Yosemite Park recently that worked out well in this regard - you could drive right up to most vistas).

2.A beach house or other such arrangement where the place we would stay was in and of itself the complete vacation and where one need not actually move from.

But that's just my first thoughts - I'm open to any and all ideas in Europe.

Thanks!

ira

Hi D,

How about a motor tour of Bavaria and Austria?

Underhill

How about a cruise on the Danube or Rhine rivers?

bettyk

I think Scotland might be what you want. There is so much beautiful scenery that a driving tour should work well.

There are many Scotland experts here who could probably also recommend a good base along the coast where you could do some day trips as well, altho I'm not sure if the weather would be good enough for that in late September.

hetismij

Do you intend to hire a car for the driving tour? You can indeed see alot by driving to places. Maybe you could combine the driving with renting a house as a base so you can really explore your destination. Either stay in Bavaria or maybe somewhere like the Auvergne in France. Or try the Netherlands and explore the countryside away from Amsterdam, nice and flat, lots of interesting small towns and villages. Base yourselves in Apeldoorn or somehwere like that.

Gretchen

I think the cruise might do it. We took a barge trip in Burgundy that could fit this if needed. The sightseeing on the land was done with a little mini-bus. And you are all together for meals or visiting in the lounge when you want.

DeniceRG

We did a Danube River cruise last December, and there was alot of walking! You visit small cities, and the tours given were all walking tours for the most part.

I loved river cruising, but would not really suggest a Danube one, unless the non-walkers want to stay on board during port visits.

kaneda

Any large town in Europe is not car friendly and needs a lot of walking to see the sights. Coach tours are good and see a lot of countryside and towns and often there are breaks/destinations every few hours so you don't spend too much time on the vehicle.

The trouble with cruises is that you don't really see that much unless you leave the ship.

Lots of beach holidays around Europe. It depends on what area and what you want.

I have been on tours where people have used wheel chairs and seen quite a lot with a little help. They can be hired in many countries. There was someone on the now defunct BBC Holiday boards who was working on listing all disabled friendly places all around Europe and other places.

Underhill

While there is walking in the towns that cruises visit, one needn't go with a group. It's quite nice to wander around on your own, stopping for a rest periodically. Also, the ship personnel can call a taxi to take you into the town centers and then back to the ship when you're ready to stop. Two of the towns we visited, Regensburg and Passau, had centers that were quite compact--not a lot of walking needed to see the principal sights.

diomedes

These are some great suggestions. I'm going to do some research into river cruising.

As for beach holidays - does anyone have some suggestions for staying on the coast in Italy or Spain - I'm thinking something not 100% touristy - a house on the beach or something like that.

nona1

A river cruise might be the best bet. IT seems a waste to come all the way to Europe just to sit on a beach all/most the time - I'm sure they've been on beaches before.

How far is a 'few blocks' anyway? It doesn't sound as though anyone is completely imobile, just tires quickly? I wouldn't rule out basing yourself somewhere in the countryside and taking coach tours etc around. Most main cities have a hop on hop off bus tour that you could simply choose not to hop off, to give you a view of the sights. Then you could do a day at a beach resort? You could try to find places where you can have a 'base' for the day and the more mobile could explore a little on foot, while the less mobile settle themselves in. Then combine those with bus tour days.
I can think of lots of places you could go to in the UK to fit these conditions, and I'm sure most countries would also be suitable.

Can you pick a country and then we can make some more definite suggestions on what to do there?