elberko

My mother, 87, and her 91yo SO are doing a cruise in September, and spending 2 days in Boston before. She is very slow, but can walk a few blocks--he needs a scooter or wheelchair.

I think she expects they can do something like a HOHO bus--I'm doubtful that would work. I'm wondering if anybody knows of a guide they could hire to show them Boston by car, or another idea?

djkbooks

There are no hop on/hop off buses, rather Trolley Tours.

Boston is really not a place for touring by car.

cw

The trolley tours have unlimited off and on. I checked Old Town Trolleys and they will accommodate wheelchairs but only at certain stops. But if your mother and SO are near one of those stops, they could ride the circuit.

Checking the bostonusa.com site I saw a tour by car that can be customized. It's called trailblazers Boston. There may be others on the site. It's listed in the accessibility section under tours. I have no personal experience with them.

Where are they staying and will he have a wheelchair with him?

maxima

Given limited mobility and perhaps limited stamina, I would suggest looking into a few sites that are accessible where your mother and SO can spend some time, rather than attempting to tour around the city.

They can take a taxi to each site, and the SO can have his wheelchair or scooter transported with him.

For example, the Museum of Fine Arts has manual wheel chairs and rollators (walkers with 4 wheels and a seat) that can be borrowed free of charge and they permit visitors to bring in their own wheelchairs scooters and rollators. your mother may find using a rollator convenient as she would have a place to sit when she needs to rest. they could spent some time at the museum and lunch there as well if they would want to do that.

it may be possible for them to do a trolley tour.

elberko

I'm not sure where they are staying at this point--just hard about it today. He's apparently buying an electric scooter--can you even take those on a plane? Sigh. The trolley site specifically says they aren't allowed.

Macross

I would see the smaller electric scooters often in the airports. They are gate checked.
Wonder about the duck boat tours?

Macross

Are the Ducks wheelchair accessible?
Absolutely! If you are booking online you MUST call us at 617-450-0068 and tell us you have a guest that needs to stay in their wheelchair as we need to pull 3 extra seats to fit the wheelchair in the DUCK. If booking in person ensure you tell our Guest Service Representative that you have someone in a wheelchair so we can also pull the 3 extra seats. Each Duck in our fleet is equipped to have up to two wheelchairs strapped onto the back deck. Wheelchairs are boarded first along with one guest in your party. Other guests in your party will board in the order in which they arrived and where they are in the line. Guests also have the option of transferring into one of our seats. We will gladly set up the wheelchair lift to assist those guests who are not in a wheelchair, but are unable to climb stairs.

gail

Scooters do not fit in standard cars or even mini-vans - unless one gets suckered into buying one advertised as "easily dissembled for transport". They are not all that easy - and certainly not by anyone who actually needs a scooter. Anything with a motor big enough to drive a person and scooter is going to be heavy. Electric wheelchairs are even more impossible. Manual wheelchairs are easy - since person can be transferred and then w/c folded, lifted, unfolded.

(And as an aside, I seriously hope he is not buying any scooter from a TV ad. These are largely scams and they will see you anything - even without taking into consideration anything individual about the person or how it will be used).

The combination of limited walking and scooter is almost more difficult than 2 of the same mobility limitations. Can he walk at all?

maxima

The SO or someone on his behalf should check with both the airline and cruise line about using a scooter. he certainly cannot board with a scooter.

Also they may want to reserve a hotel room that has an accessible bathroom, preferably one with a roll in shower. an accessible tub is lower and will have grab bars, but may be more difficult to use. A roll in shower will have a fold down seat .. good to use while showering or drying off, but one has to be careful not to slip as the floor does get wet in parts.

most American hotels do not have stall showers and some tubs are really hard to get in and out of.

elberko

I was mistaken about the scooter. He has arranged for the use of one of the ship's scooters, he is not buying/bringing one.

KTtravel

We really enjoyed the Duck Tour we took several years ago. A fun way to see a fair amount of the city without getting off and on a bus.

Sassafrass

If they have enough mobility to get into a carriage, a carriage tour, not just a ride, might be lovely. There are some companies that do one. They require reservations.

gail

So if he is going to use ship scooter, how is he going to get around Boston? Would they be willing to spend the money for a private tour in a car? I think that might be the best option. Doing a fast search on-line, there would be a number of options. This could be customized to interests and mobility of each.

I admire their drive and energy - even if it seems a little short on pre-planning. Another thing for them to consider is that in many tourist areas in Boston, even drop-off by cab might be a distance from the destination. And in oldest areas, there are still uneven pavement and cobblestones - very difficult for walking.

Any chance they would use Uber? It works very well in Boston.