Taking my visually impaired mum to Europe.
 

Hey all!

Im 24, I've never been to Europe, so i've decided to take the leap and take my mum next July/August, She did the lot when she was younger but hasn't been for years, now in her early fifties, I hope to take her back there, the only concern I have is that she is virtually blind. Although she is unable to see, I know she'll absolutely love it all the same, she loves lying by the pool, beautiful beaches, food, wine, shopping, markets etc..How could you not enjoy it!

My worries are that although she's quite agile, id like to avoid places with unruly, rocky pathways..lots of steps, etc... The easier it is to commute around the better. I am hoping to rely mostly on taxi's..however a kilometre or two here and there is not a problem. Also places which aren't filled with pissed 20 year old travellers, yet not too quiet, romantic haha needs to have a great vibe.

Here are the destinations I'm looking at visiting.

Capri
Positano
Lake Como
Sorrento
Ravello
Sardinia

Hvar

Santorini
Mykonos

Paris
St Tropez
Nice
Marsielle
Bordeux
Cote d’Azur
Giverny (Normandy)

I'd love to hear all your thoughts on places, where I should/shouldn't visit. Tips?

Cheers guys!

Ollie.

You understand that July/August is very hot in most of the places that you list? If you and your Mum are OK with that, then fine.

Capri and especially Positano are hilly with lots of steps, Sorrento similar. Obviously Paris would be OK, but you might struggle with the pool and beach. The weather in Normandy, even in the summer, can uncertain.

The South of France would probably fit the bill, but Nice would be my preferred base, not Marseille. Bordeaux doesn't have beaches on the sea, just a little along the river.

My choice overall would be Northern Mallorca, either Puerto Pollenca or Alcudia. They have all your list.

Ollie, your mother is very fortunate to have such a thoughtful and generous child! It seems to me that you have done a great job of focusing your options on some of the places that you have good reason to believe that you AND your mother might enjoy. Kudos!

To help, I think we need to know a bit more:

How long will your trip be?

Are you looking for one place where you will stay for that entire time, or are you thinking of (or willing to consider) changing locations once or more in that time frame?

Are you fully committed to traveling during July or August, and if not, what are your options?

You have tagged your post "Italy" but are also asking questions about locations in several other European countries, so maybe you want contact the editors and ask them to add some country tags to your post so that people who know about those countries will notice your post.

It isn't clear from your post if you have discussed this with your mother and gotten any input from her about what she thinks of this idea.

If your mother's sight is as limited as you indicate, Capri and Positano would be extremely difficult for her. Ravello is a very small flat town on a mountain top that overlooks the sea. It takes more than 30 minutes to reach the seaside by bus or taxi. However, in the summertime, it has a famous music festival, and perhaps that would add a wonderful layer of enjoyment for your mother. It is somewhat less crowded than the other places you mentioned, which might be a plus.

Sorrento is flat in many areas, but it is crowded. Still, you might be able to find a good hotel with a pool and if your mother would actually enjoy lively bustle, then it might work.

There are many modern resorts in Sardegna with fantastic beaches and entirely flat paved pathways, plus saunas, swimming pools, etc. That actually might be your best bet if you mother is worried about crowds and uneven surfaces.

I think Lago di Como might be too difficult as a landscape and although some of the hotels have pools, the atmosphere is not quite as sun-worshipping as the Mediterranean destinations.

Overall Italy would present you with very significant transportation challenges and walking hazards. If you opt for the difficulties of getting to Ravello or Sardegna, you would still be faced with finding the right kind of lodgings where the pool was crowded with boisterous kids. (You might look to renting an apartment in Ravello, if you can find one with a pool that doesn't have a zillion stairs.) Taxis is many of these places start their rates at 50e per hour and public transportation is mobbed. The costs of the right hotel with the right amenities or an apartment in August could be very, very expensive.

For places marginally cheaper with flat surfaces and long beaches, you could also consider the Italian Riviera, with a focus on the towns of San Terenzo, Sestri Levante, Rapallo and possibily even La Spezia.

But overall, France probably has more modern amenities and towns with fewer stairs than Italy or the other countries you mention.

Hi, my mother was blind with slight peripheral vision and we went every where following her.... She just stuck out her white sitck and set off.

Mine would have hated taxis and much preffered public transport (but hey she is European).

Of those mentioned she would have liked

Capri NO (nothing to see and plenty to fall over)
Positano no idea
Lake Como I doubt it (views what views)
Sorrento no idea
Ravello no idea
Sardinia Not impressed

Hvar, Well we got her to Brac which she liked so I guess so but hilly and stoney

Santorini no idea
Mykonos NO

Paris YES
St Tropez NO
Nice YES
Marsielle NO
Bordeux No
Cote d’Azur NO
Giverny (Normandy) YES (but not when crowded so go early or go late and the smells are great).

Hope that helps, I think my mum liked smaller places with markets and you could do that as part of a total Normandy trip with Paris. Rouen, St Malo, etc etc

Sardegna is a very large island, larger than any county in the UK, and one place in Sardegna is much different from another. Without mentioning specific towns, it's impossible to generalize about Sardegna. A statement like, "I didn't like Sardegna" makes little sense.

Just telling you what mum said :-)

We did a Med cruise 14 months ago and several times sat next to a man with virtually no sight. He loved being by the pool, usually listening to music or books. The ship was the Celebrity Reflection.

The ports included Mykonos, Santorini, Istanbul, Naples, Ephesus, Athens and Rome (start and end). From Naples we went to Sorrento for the day--the center is flat and paved. Our acquaintance, as did we, chose to stay on board in some ports. ime, Ephesus due to a very uneven downhill walk and Santorini due to crowds on narrow lanes could be very difficult.

Just a consideration, cruises aren't everyone's cuppa' but major advantages include only packing and unpacking once, not having to worry about ground transport and having pools, hot tubs, spas available every day. Our late May weather was near perfect. Major downside is very limited time in ports--in the case of our cruise the only overnight was in Istanbul.

@ bilboburgler - thanks for sharing stories of your awesome, inspirational mother!

Stating your budget for transportation, hotels etc would help as well.

Thanks everybody for your informative replies!!

Rubicund, yeah I realise it will be summer that's why I'm thinking late july - aug. I've decided Capri/Positano are now out of the question, I had a feeling it may be too much, although we just spent 2 weeks in Koh Samui, Thailand walking the unruly streets, so I'm in two minds i guess. will definitely check Mallorca out..Thankyou!

Kja, thank you! she's been a fabulous mum too! I'm thinking a minimum of 4 weeks, prefer to go in july/aug cos it bloody cold here in Melbourne..haha happy to move around, spend about a week in each location.

Sandralist, thanks for your advice, has helped a lot..thinking now Sardinia seems to be an ideal place.

DenitNM, my budget per night accom $200-$300 haven't really budgeted for transport as i have no idea what the cost is..but all up I'm thinking approx $5000 for all flights for two, from Melbourne, Australia. $10000 for accom $5000 spending. for four weeks travel.

If I'm going to do Europe I wanna do it well, do what i want, eat what i want, buy what i want. etc.. so I realise its not going to be a cheap holiday.

Here's a good book for you
http://www.amazon.com/Year-Sundays-T...ear+of+Sundays

It's a true story of a man who took his blind wife and their 16 yr. old cat on a year long journey in Europe.

I was especially touched to find out that The Louvre has a room for blind people to feel sculptures. It's a lovely story and may give you some tips for places your mum can enjoy.

You might find this useful

http://www.accessibleurope.com/accessibleresorts.html

http://www.disabledholidaydirectory....sardinia-l525/

Although your mother doesn't use a wheelchair, much of the information that is helpful to wheelchair users is also useful to your mother, because she won't want to deal with lots of stairs or uneven surfaces.

You can also check out a website like this for resort hotels in Sardinia that have modern infrustucture and access to sandy beaches

http://www.charmingsardinia.com/sardinia/spa-resorts

Do you think your mother might enjoy some mountain destinations in Austria or Switzerland? Many of them have quite good paved paths, loads of things like spa treatments and loads of music concerts in summertime. If you are traveling for 4 weeks, staying on the beach all the time might get too hot. Places like Merano, or Baden Baden, or Graz might be fun

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/bath-time

Ollie, you are a wonderful child. I hope you two have the best time in Europe.