bluedevilbill

Hello everyone. My family and I are taking our first trip to Charleston. My 83 year old mother, while jovial, has difficulty walking very far without becoming winded. We are staying at the Isle of Palms, so all touring will need to be done by car.

I would really appreciate any guidance on how to make this trip enjoyable all the way around. Should I rent a wheelchair? If so, for one day to tour the Historic District, or to have with us for the week? Are there some tourist stops (plantations, etc.) that are especially good (or especially horrid) for people with limited mobility? Are the famous carriage rides accessible for someone who is on the heavy side and can't step up big steps?

Again, I would really appreciate any and all guidance. We are arriving in mid-March. Thanks so much. Bill

Litespeed_Chick

We took my in-laws on the carriage ride. Mom-in-law is heavy enough that she has knee issues. Dad-in-law normal sized but has had a mild stroke. Both around 70 at the time.

They did not seem to have that much difficulty getting IN the carriage with a boost from my husband. But BOTH of them had near disasters getting OUT of the carriage. We were horrified. Personally, I think if your Mother is reasonable, and will listen to you tell her to be careful, and not just decide to JUMP down, you should be able to take the c. ride (highly recommended) without inicident. If she's head-strong and/or air-headed, I would advise against it.

My own parents are big proponents of the greyhound bus tours which do the historic district tours. They are air conditioned (that's my parents' thing). Hard to believe a greyhound can get through those streets, but apparently they can.

Good Luck.

GoTravel

The streets and sidewalks in Charleson are not wheelchair friendly because they are either slate, flagstone, brick, or cobblestone.

I highly suggest organized tours.

The Sea Aquarium would be nice and is wheelchair friendly.

tcapp

You can take her on a mini-bus tour. These are located behind the Visitors Center and they are very nice and give a fantastic overview of the city.
Greyline Tours also have a harbor cruise she might enjoy.

travelgirl_67

As GoT said, our streets unfortunately are not very condusive to moving about in wheelchairs or with walkers...heck sometimes its a challenge for me to walk around I think a tour on a carriage or tour bus would be a great way for the family to see Charleston and for your mother to be comfortable.

For most of the historic houses, you could drop her off at the front door and then look for street parking so she would be able to visit them...though most of them do require walking up a flight of stairs to see 2nd or 3rd levels of the homes.

Most of the carriage companies do have platforms to get to the carriages...usually require walking up 3 to 4 normal size steps so no giant steps required.

The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon on East Bay at the corner of Broad does have an elevator (does require walking up about 10 normal steps to get to the entrance of the building) so she'd be able to see all of that building with relative ease.

If you did want to rent a wheelchair for one day, you could visit the Aquarium. Also at the aquarium is the boat to Ft. Sumter...if you did have a wheel chair, there is a ramp down to the boat and then she could walk across the gangplank and up just 3 or 4 steps and enjoy the nice 1 hour ride to the fort. Once there, you can then use the wheelchair to get into the fort. They also have wheelchair lifts to take you to the top of the fort for a great view of the city!

Another indoor wheelchair friendly option would be the Charleston Museum...the 1st museum in the US. It is across from the Visitors Center.

Since you're staying out at IoP, you may want to visit Boone Hall Plantation. They have a great plantation tram tour for an extra $5 and it takes you all over the plantation. I don't recall the steps being really big. The tour of the house is just one level...a few steps up to the entrance and a few steps down into one of the rooms but nothing really big. You could probably push her around in a wheelchair on the rest of the grounds...as long as it hasn't rained, they shouldn't be too bumpy. There is a really good restaurant there but it does require walking up about 20 or so steps.

Also, you may want to check out the accessiblity guide on the CVB site...it has some useful information: http://www.charlestoncvb.com/visitor...ssibility.html

Enjoy your visit!

LoveItaly

Hi Bill, I ditto the statements that a wheelchair on the sidewalks in Charleston would not work. I loved Charleston, such a beautiful place, but I lost count of the times my friend and I stumbled around while walking (we have no walking problems and we were sober, LOL). Very uneven sidewalks with lots of cracks etc.

But it sounds like you have gotten some good ideas here..and am sure you will all enjoy this very special city.