Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn & Ushuaia in a wheelchair
Dec 18th, 2015, 09:52 PM
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Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn & Ushuaia in a wheelchair
Hi all,
My husband and I are in our late 20s and have a cruise planned to Argentina & Chile for March 2017. We don't usually travel via cruise, except maybe to the Caribbean, but since it will be our first time to these countries and I am interested in seeing the Chilean Fjords we figured it might be the easiest way for a first visit.
I am in a small, manual wheelchair and cannot walk at all. Cobblestones and uneven pavement are no problem, but steep hills can be exhausting and more than 2-3 stairs is a no-go unless there are people around willing to help. Most of our travels have been to Europe, where I have easily been able to tackle places that most would consider not very wheelchair accessible - such as Rome, small Tuscan hill towns, Seville, Athens, the Greek Islands (though Santorini was impossible because of stairs), and others.
There are websites about accessible travel, but I usually find them subjective and difficult to relate to as disabilities vary in severity and I am pretty mobile compared to many wheelchair users. I can transfer easily, my husband can carry me here and there when need be, my chair is very small (20 lbs) and folds to fit in small cars etc. I am really just looking for anyone that can offer practical information based on their first hand knowledge of these areas.
Buenos Aires - Our ship is docked here for the first two days of our cruise. Depending on how accessible the city is, we may arrive a couple of days early to spend more time and explore. I have heard that BA is very similar to Paris and most of the photos I have seen show the city as being flat and paved. Is this pretty accurate? My impression is that it would be similar to Paris, Milan, Barcelona, etc. Metropolitan, modern and overall relatively wheelchair friendly. I know a lot of the buses are accessible now too, though I haven't done enough research to know whether we would likely be traveling around the city via bus anyway. Are there any areas that stand out as being difficult or that have a lot of stairs? Do a lot of shops/restaurants have stairs at their entrances? Is there a specific area that you would recommend we stay based on my circumstances?
Puerto Madryn - I VERY much want to visit the rookery in Punta Tombo. My concern is whether this involves walking on gravel or sand, which I assume it does from what I have seen in photos. Gravel that isn't very deep (if that makes sense?) is not usually a problem, but if its a couple of layers deep then I tend to sink and get stuck. Same with sand. Dirt and grass, even if uneven, are no problem. I have been known to go off roading ;-) I have done a quick search for tours* that might be accessible, but so far no luck. Maybe we can find a private tour to take us, but I want to make sure that once we get there I would actually be able to get close enough to reasonably see the penguins.
If the rookery isn't possible then we'd also be interested in visiting Playa El Doradillo to see the whales. Probably by boat as otherwise I'm assuming we'd have to view from the beach, which is difficult because of sand.
Ushuaia -I don't even know where to begin here. I think the Tierra del Fuego National Park looks beautiful, but is likely unrealistic for me. Of course, the cruise offers no accessible excursions in the majority, if any, of the ports, so we are on our own with finding activities. Any suggestions?* Interested in seeing the natural beauty and/or wildlife.
*We don't particularly like tours, not large group tours anyway. If we opt for a tour we usually do private when possible, as we like to take our time and stay for as long as we want, eat when we want, etc. Plus tour buses are almost never wheelchair accessible. Even the ones that claim to be usually end up having broken lifts on the buses, which sometimes fail while I am ON the bus and its just a huge mess so we try to avoid this.
Looking forward to the responses since I have found this forum SO helpful in the past.
Thank you!
My husband and I are in our late 20s and have a cruise planned to Argentina & Chile for March 2017. We don't usually travel via cruise, except maybe to the Caribbean, but since it will be our first time to these countries and I am interested in seeing the Chilean Fjords we figured it might be the easiest way for a first visit.
I am in a small, manual wheelchair and cannot walk at all. Cobblestones and uneven pavement are no problem, but steep hills can be exhausting and more than 2-3 stairs is a no-go unless there are people around willing to help. Most of our travels have been to Europe, where I have easily been able to tackle places that most would consider not very wheelchair accessible - such as Rome, small Tuscan hill towns, Seville, Athens, the Greek Islands (though Santorini was impossible because of stairs), and others.
There are websites about accessible travel, but I usually find them subjective and difficult to relate to as disabilities vary in severity and I am pretty mobile compared to many wheelchair users. I can transfer easily, my husband can carry me here and there when need be, my chair is very small (20 lbs) and folds to fit in small cars etc. I am really just looking for anyone that can offer practical information based on their first hand knowledge of these areas.
Buenos Aires - Our ship is docked here for the first two days of our cruise. Depending on how accessible the city is, we may arrive a couple of days early to spend more time and explore. I have heard that BA is very similar to Paris and most of the photos I have seen show the city as being flat and paved. Is this pretty accurate? My impression is that it would be similar to Paris, Milan, Barcelona, etc. Metropolitan, modern and overall relatively wheelchair friendly. I know a lot of the buses are accessible now too, though I haven't done enough research to know whether we would likely be traveling around the city via bus anyway. Are there any areas that stand out as being difficult or that have a lot of stairs? Do a lot of shops/restaurants have stairs at their entrances? Is there a specific area that you would recommend we stay based on my circumstances?
Puerto Madryn - I VERY much want to visit the rookery in Punta Tombo. My concern is whether this involves walking on gravel or sand, which I assume it does from what I have seen in photos. Gravel that isn't very deep (if that makes sense?) is not usually a problem, but if its a couple of layers deep then I tend to sink and get stuck. Same with sand. Dirt and grass, even if uneven, are no problem. I have been known to go off roading ;-) I have done a quick search for tours* that might be accessible, but so far no luck. Maybe we can find a private tour to take us, but I want to make sure that once we get there I would actually be able to get close enough to reasonably see the penguins.
If the rookery isn't possible then we'd also be interested in visiting Playa El Doradillo to see the whales. Probably by boat as otherwise I'm assuming we'd have to view from the beach, which is difficult because of sand.
Ushuaia -I don't even know where to begin here. I think the Tierra del Fuego National Park looks beautiful, but is likely unrealistic for me. Of course, the cruise offers no accessible excursions in the majority, if any, of the ports, so we are on our own with finding activities. Any suggestions?* Interested in seeing the natural beauty and/or wildlife.
*We don't particularly like tours, not large group tours anyway. If we opt for a tour we usually do private when possible, as we like to take our time and stay for as long as we want, eat when we want, etc. Plus tour buses are almost never wheelchair accessible. Even the ones that claim to be usually end up having broken lifts on the buses, which sometimes fail while I am ON the bus and its just a huge mess so we try to avoid this.
Looking forward to the responses since I have found this forum SO helpful in the past.
Thank you!
Dec 19th, 2015, 09:04 AM
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The city is flat and paved, sidewalks can be bad in areas but they have fairly good wheelchair accessible curbs, buildings etc.
It is pretty flat, San Telmo might be the most difficult with cobblestone streets .. Recoleta and Palermo are in pretty good shape.
Most / maybe all museums have elevators for wheelchairs etc.
Not sure about the big yellow tour bus .. I will see if there is something on their website about that.
it might be difficult at first compared what you are used to ... in the US ? ... but I saw enough handicapped people over the years and there must be allowances made for them to be able to get around well.
It is pretty flat, San Telmo might be the most difficult with cobblestone streets .. Recoleta and Palermo are in pretty good shape.
Most / maybe all museums have elevators for wheelchairs etc.
Not sure about the big yellow tour bus .. I will see if there is something on their website about that.
it might be difficult at first compared what you are used to ... in the US ? ... but I saw enough handicapped people over the years and there must be allowances made for them to be able to get around well.
Dec 19th, 2015, 09:06 AM
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http://static5.businessinsider.com/i...ires-tango.jpg
typical San Telmo sidewalks/street
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Jun%C3%ADn.jpg
typcal Recoleta sidewalks/street
so you can get an idea of what it looks like : )
typical San Telmo sidewalks/street
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Jun%C3%ADn.jpg
typcal Recoleta sidewalks/street
so you can get an idea of what it looks like : )
Dec 22nd, 2015, 12:24 AM
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Re Puerto Madryn. We didn't make it to Punta Tombo so can't help there but we did take a trip out by taxi to Playa El Dorodillo and got to see the whales up close, just metres off the beach. It was a while ago now but I do recall there being a viewing platform above the beach which would probably be reasonably accessible. We also got to see the whales right by the pier in town. They turn up most days at around 1.00pm apparently. Access there is clearly very good. BUT! Do check when the whales will actually be there. I am not sure March is the best time a I believe the main season is May to September.
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