Please excuse me if this message shows up twice; I just tried to post from AOL and was shut down.

We are thinking about taking an organized tour to one country, to be determined, in Europe. Our travels have always been done independently but this seems to be a good way to see a new country without worrying about details.

Here's the problem: I get carsick. While I will take Dramamine for the two international flights, the drug makes me very tired and groggy and I don't want to take it on a daily basis. It would be like experiencing the entire trip severly jet-lagged. Other remedies have not worked well for me.

I'm o.k. in the front seat of a car, looking straight ahead. Isn't it true that participants in tour groups have to rotate their seats?

Aside from driving ourselves, any suggestions? This seems like an annoying, minor detail but it is enough to ruin any of my travels.
Thank you.

Oh Marshal, I do feel for you! I , too, get very carsick and find that usually, any ride on a bus is hell.
The worst trip was from Heathrow Airport to our hotel, when we traveled using ABC tours, years ago. Those big buses with the seasick kind of rocking motion, did me in. I wanted to get out and walk the rest of the way to the hotel.
I have never taken a tour but this would certainly be a reason not to
When you say other remedies, does that include those patches? They worked for a friend on a ship.
I wish I could think something else but I just wanted to top this for you and tell you I feel bad that you too get carsick~

Your best bet would be one of the "small group" tours that use 12-15 passenger vans. But even then you are going to be at the mercy of another driver and the terraine plus the swaying vehicle. So I don't thinl a tour is a good idea for you.

How do you do on trains? Maybe one of the "non-tour" tours where you get flights, hotels, transfers, and train travel between major cities but are primarily on your own. Don't know which tour companies now offer these but Maupin Tours used to do these sorts of self guided trips.

My partner gets motion sickness when she is on a bus too. We have taken several tours and she has found that acupressure wrist bands really help. My sister has used them too and also found them helpful.

I also get very carsick and have found that the pressure point wrist bands really work!! I can rise in the back of a car for hours without feeling ill when I wear them. Usually I wouldn't last 5 minutes!

I get sick on cummuter buses in Dublin. If its a short hop I am fine but if I have to go to my other half's place in rush hour, I usually get off a few stops before and walk the rest of the way because I feel green. I thought I outgrew it but its getting worse over the past few years! I would get a Dr. Note stating you must sit uop front if you take the big bus. A smaller one may be better for you but the dramamine will ruin the trip if you are doped out on it.

MarshaL;

Don't do this to yourself. With a small bit of effort and research, you can do as much independently. Check out Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree and maybe Virtual Tourist for more info. It's not a minor detail, if it ruins your days travelling you'll just end up getting stressed out and maybe even spoiling the trip for others. Unless it's Eastern Europe, the train services should cover the country fairly comprehensively.

There is no requirement to roatate seats on tours necessarily...but you probably wouldn't make a lot of "friends" byu hogging the front seat every day (they would definitely be asking themselves, "What is she doing on a tour like this if she gets car sick?&quot.
How do you do on trains...probably just like the plane I suppose....but I would avoid the tour bus idea...looks like you are stuck with being in the car's front seat....could be worse.

MarshaL

Occasionally I lurk on the tour travel boards (e.g. trafalgartours.com, insightvacations.com) and the topic of seat rotation comes up quite a lot. It seems to be a topic that incites quite a lot of passionate responses. I can only relay to you what I've read: people requesting exclusive use of the front seat for reasons of motion sickness are not unusual, and no, they don't always get their request honoured. Worse, they are not seen as making a reasonable request.

Without knowing the country you plan to visit, it is hard to advise on transportation options. But were I in your shoes, I'd go for independent travel so that I could exercise control over my transport options. Good luck.

I too am subject to motion sickness - in boats as well as planes and in cars if in the back seat for long - or in limos at all (they just sway all over the road). I have done several day tours by bus - where you don;t have to switch seats and found that I'm OK as long as I sit right inthe front (i always get there very early) and am not on the bus for 2 long at one time.

But I did one very long day bus trips with limited stops and after about 4 hours was feeling very ill - I was able to control it with dramimine - but then slept for the rest of the trip. this was eventhough I sat in the front seat.

So, you may be able to spend a couple of hours on a bus - but I wouldn't plan anything more than that without medication. Why not drive yourselves - and then you have no problems?

My neighbor is a doctor & swears by ginger. It can be the raw stuff or powdered. He suggests having a small piece of the ginger & chew on it. You might try it at home to see if it helps.

I have the same problem, and took 2 bus tours (1996, 1998). I simply explained to the group during a break, after being together a few days, that I got sick if riding all the way in the back. A compromise was easily reached whereby I sat in a row in the area behind the middle exit/lavatory, and excluded myself from a front seat. Everyone just rotated around me - even my husband some days!
Actually after a while, people tended to be drawn together in small groups, and kind of 'hung out' in clumps and settled into the same rows, and no one seemed to object.

I really just needed to not sit in the far back, where the bus stretched ahead of me and seemed to 'veer' back and forth, where the engine was louder. Otherwise, don't stare out your side window too long but do direct your eyes toward the front or across the aisle to the other windows from time to time. And never try to read while riding.

I heard from others that Bonine acts like Dramamine without making you drowsy. Haven't tried this one yet.

I was on a 6-day bus tour, and Ginger pills worked perfect for me, the only negative was that I had to take them often, every 3-4 hours 1 or 2 pills.

Anther advise: DO NOT take the window seat, take the aisle seat and look straight ahead. Also don't read on the bus. Suck on sour candy.

Have you tried all the different types of over the counter travel sickness medications? I have tried several (some of which knocked me out for several hours!) and found one which doesn't make me at all sleepy; there's no point giving you the brand name as it'll probably be different in America, but if you ask your pharmacist they should be able to advise on an non-drowsy type.

I find ginger is also very good as a treatment, but I've never tried it as a prevention.

I know a lot of people are trying to be helpful with suggestions (ginger, wrist bands etc.), but if you have severe motion sickness the only things that really help are Dramimine (and you do sleep)and compazine (Rx - many MDs won;t give this just for motion sickness - as its real use is to control vomiting in seriouly ill patients). So its best just to plan to avoid situtations that make you ill if at all possible.

Just got finished with a bout of vertigo and was presribed meclizine(generic for antivert). I THINK the doc also said this was good for motion sickness also. It takes care of my dizziness almost immediately. Might want to ask your doc or pharmacist.

Meclizine is a prescription name for Bonine which is sold over-the-counter.

I have motion sickness problems too. The wrist bands did nothing for me, but the patch (transdermscop) is wonderful. It is by prescription only. Whoever came up with this should win the Nobel prize for medicine.

I find ginger good for calming an upset stomach and not just for motion sickness. Most Ginger Ale in the grocery store contains no ginger so you might have to look in a specialty shop (or buy ginger snap cookies instead).

Good luck

I have the exact same problem. That's why I always offer to drive. Took a trip to Ireland a few years ago with a tour and used the patch. Worked great but the only problem is that it makes you very dry so bring a bottle of water. Also, after wearing it a few days, I found I was dizzy. Not sure if it was the patch or just the rocking of the bus. Felt like I had been on a ship for a few days and had "sea legs". I skipped one of the all day tours and had a patch "holiday" and felt much better for it.