I promised Mom (she is turning 80) to help scope out her upcoming trip to Italy and cruise of the Eastern Med. She and a couple of her BFFs are looking to travel in October for about 3 weeks. They are interested in visiting Venice, Florence & Rome and doing the cruise. However, like some of us already, they have some physical limitations they need to take into consideration. Here are their issues:

* bum knees, bum hips
* can't walk all day, but can walk in small stints
* can do a little stair climbing, no hiking suitcases up 4 flights

No walkers, scooters or anything serious, but they are not 22 anymore. Here is what they would like in way of hotels and proximity to public transportation:
*2,3, or 4 star hotels
* close proximity to good bus line
* concerns metro/subway will involve stair climbing
* need hotels with lift/elevator
* They speak a little Italian, Mom is fluent French/Hungarian/Yiddish

They are seeking a step up from budget hotels ($200 equiv/nt for 2 people twin room).

Here is their itnerary so far, does this make sense?
Days 1-3 Arrive in Venice, stay in St. Marks/Castello area, sightsee, do Murano glass stuff
Days 4-6 Train to Florence, visit Uffizi (any special accommodations for elderly/impaired people), do art sights,
Day 7 - Take train from Florence to Civitavecchia seaport, depart on Cruise
Day 8-18 Cruise Italy & Greece on either Celebrity Solstice or Variety Cruise Lines (anyone have comments? advice? preferences?)
Day 19-23 Tour Roman Jewish sights (anyone have a guide they can recommend?)
Day 24 Fly home!

Please reply with areas of Venice, Florence and Rome in which to seek hotels and any other travel advice, thanks!

I have heard that Rick Steves books devote some time to accessibility issues in Italy, and you might check that out.

That said, Venezia is very, very hard to sightsee with "bum knees, bum hips." The town is full of canals that are criss-crossed by small but steep bridges. Apart from the large boats that ply the Canale Grande, the only other transportation option is gondalas, starting at 80e per hour last I checked.

Roma is also difficult because of many stairs, few escalators or lifts and uneven walking surfaces, but at least their are taxis. Buses are not always easy to negotiate: they are slow, unpunctual, hard to learn the routes, hard to know when to get off.

Good for your mom and her friends!

Venice: Walking in Venice will often entail crossing smaller canals. The bridges are usually about 8 steps up, quickly followed by 8 down. However if they limit themselves to the area around St. Marks, they can see alot in the square and cover quite a bit of ground wandering around the narrow streets without having to deal much with bridges.

Getting on and off a vaporetto should not be a problem, although they will probably want to go to the inside and sit. The vaporetto to Murano however will require climbing down a few steps to the cabin and then back up to get off. There are also a few small bridges in Murano. If they go to Burano, they will be on a larger boat entered via a ramp and it should pose no problem. Burano should be beautiful in October.

They might want to skip the Jewish Ghetto area in Venice, since it is a good walk from the vaporetto stop, and once there, the museum and old synagogue involve climbing several flights of stairs. IMO they are not as interesting as the Museum/Synagogue in Rome or the Synagogue in Florence.

Florence should pose no problem, but do not count on public transportation. Choose a hotel that is central to the sights and all should be OK. If they are up to a longer walk, a visit to the Florence Synagogue is special. Guided tours are offered in English. They could go by taxi too.

The Jewish Ghetto in Rome is an interesting, lively place. I would start with a visit to the Musea Ebraico di Roma (Jewish Museum). Guided tours in English are included in the price of admission. It is a fine museum - don't miss the film of the History of Jews in Rome, it is fascinating. When we were there a few months ago, the movie alternated in English and Italian with sub-titles, so either way, no problem. The museum book shop has several items that would be useful as guides to the ghetto area ranging from simple pamphlets to books. Also, there a number of kosher restaurants in the nearby ghetto area. You can see some of these as well as scenes in the ghetto at: www.flickr.com/photos/basingstoke2/sets
Click on the set "Rome, Synagogue and Jewish Ghetto"

This may warrant further research, but most of the cheaper hotels in Venice do not have elevators. We were pretty tired at the ends of our days in Venice - it is not only the walking and bridges, but the fact that mostly you cannot avoid walking around in places that are crowded - unless you head to far Castello, which is a fair walk in itself.

In Venice, there are two or three bridges between San Marco and the Rialto, I think three or four bridges between San marco and the Academe bridge. However, the aged population does seem to manage. There's also a shortage of places to rest ones legs, so it can be pretty tiring.

It's also pretty lovely.

I stayed at Hotel Kennedy once in Rome and liked it. The staff were very helpful and there is an elevator. I just looked at their site and they have an internet promotion for 79Euro for a double room. Normally a double room in October is 129 Euro.

The hotel is near Termini so convenient to sights. I thought the area was safe and walked around there alone but some people are concerned about the Termini area.

http://www.hotelkennedy.net/

I've also found that many old buildings do have elevators, often tucked away and usually for staff use, but also available for people with mobility problems.

Z, funny you should mention Rick Steves. Mom & I looked into one of his guided tours. The requirements include schlepping your luggage up 3 flights of stairs, the ability to walk 3-4 miles without a break. We definitely got the impression his tours are geared toward the super athlete who can trot up the stairs without difficulty. Doesn't seem even slightly challenged people could fulfill the requirements.

Thanks for the info so far, please keep hotel and location recs coming, will be doing lots of research.

You may want to check out the hotel Palazzo Guardi. We stayed there in January and were very pleased. The hotel is in the Dorsoduro area, a block from the Academia.
Pros- I checked the price for mid October on Otel.com and the rooms start at $159, a nice breakfast is included.
The rooms are newly refurbished and are lovely with padded damask walls, murano glass chandeliers, etc. Very nice ensuite baths as well.
It is about a two hundred yard walk to the Academia vaporetto stop. That will get them to St. Marks quickly without having to use any bridges.
There are some very nice restaurants with decent prices nearby.
Staff speak English and are very pleasant and helpful.
If you google the hotel name, you will see photos of the rooms on the website. The photos are not exagerated - the rooms do look as pictured.
The hotel has rooms that can accomodate more than two people.
For the price, I don't know if you can find better.

Cons - The hotel is on the 3rd floor of the building. There is an elevator to the lobby door, but it is tiny and slow. It can fit no more than two people (who had better be friends) or one person and a suitcase. The staff however will help with suitcases if asked.
The hotel has a main building and an annex. In the main building only rooms 4&5 have windows, but those rooms have a delightful view out over the San Travaso Canal. If booking, ask for those. I believe the annex rooms do have windows, and I hear they are very nice as well, but I did not see them as the annex was closed for the winter.
The main entrance to the hotel is in a narrow alley. It is perfectly safe though and in a good area.

"You go girl" comes to mind. I had some breathing problems on past trips and often found myself saying "I couldn't have done that when I was sick" quite often overseas. That being said, America is not the only place with people with bum anythings, but we DO make more accommodations for them. Here's my take:


Days 1-3 Arrive in Venice, stay in St. Marks/Castello area, sightsee, do Murano glass stuff
Agree a little more with Basingstoke but the high water in Venice hits St. Marks area more than other Venice areas. Walking on the narrow scaffolding could be a problem. They might want to stay on higher ground in Venice and at a hotel with lift or on the first floor.

Days 4-6 Train to Florence, visit Uffizi (any special accommodations for elderly/impaired people), do art sights,
They'll need to get help lifting luggage onto the trains. I THINK the train stations in Venice and Florence are laid out so they won't have to do stairs between platforms. Anyone know? Expect there is an elevator in Uffizi to manage big pieces of art-they might want to contact them ahead.

Day 7 - Take train from Florence to Civitavecchia seaport, depart on Cruise
I can't speak to this-have never been to Cvitavecchia

Day 8-18 Cruise Italy & Greece on either Celebrity Solstice or Variety Cruise Lines (anyone have comments? advice? preferences?)
It has been years since we've cruised but people had major problems with the tenders going to ports in rough waters. Has that changed?

Day 19-23 Tour Roman Jewish sights (anyone have a guide they can recommend?)
We were just in that area and found walking fairly easy. Don't know guide.

Day 24 Fly home!
About airports. They are so big-call ahead and get one of those little jitneys to take them to their gates.

Get trip evacuation insurance.

Undecided on the Ghetto in Venice. It is off the beaten path, and it isn't a great deal to look at. At first the only reason we knew we were in the Ghetto was a big picture of Menachem Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, in the Chabad House.

On the other hand, the approach we took (through a tiny doorway, down a long passage to the plaza) was fantastic, and the history is amazing.

If they want to do a tour of important Jewish sites in Italy, they shouldn't miss this one, but it won't be too easy on the knees.

My sister has psoriatic arthritis and was very tired and sore by the time we walked to Jewish Quarter in Venice.

Maybe save strength for something that is more important or closer to vaporetto stops.