city break with two adults with mobility issues

jph

Registered User
Messages
98
Hi,
We are trying to plan a short city break for a 'big' birthday and want to include two people who have mobility issues - one elderly who could avail of a wheelchair and the second one who requires the support of a walking aid. The cities under consideration are : Amsterdam; Krakow; Edinburgh (so far) - does anyone have any thoughts/ideas/suggestions regarding how best to plan such a break or where best to go? Would need to factor in cityseeing etc.

Thanks a mill
 
I would rule out Edinburgh from that list...it's very hilly, particularly around the royal mile. How about Copenhagen? Relatively flat, with a large bike culture so much more suited to wheelchairs. Lots to see too.
 
I would recommend Amsterday - again, a cycling culture, most areas, particularly the downtown area where you are likely to be staying and moving around, are quite flat. Lots to see and do, same currency, all speak English (shame on us!) and relatively inexpensive flights from Aer Lingus (don't go Ryanair - they fly to Eindhoven, which then involves getting a double decker bus to the train station, and then a train to Amsterdam - too challenging, I think).
 
Having travelled to a few cities with someone who has mobility issues, I am going to suggest the following.
Amsterdam is picturesque - but the old city centre is nearly all cobblestones. Someone using a walking aid could find these difficult as their balance might be compromised. A solution is to avail of the several rickshaw cyclists which we did often. While it is a cyclists city, we found it hard to get around.
We requested a room in our four star hotel in Rome that was accessible and beside a lift. It was. But the dining room for breakfast was up a flight of twenty five stairs. This hotel had four steps in and no ramp.
Get daytime flights. Book both people as wheelchair users through the airport when booking your tickets. There are good walks involved wherever you end up going. It takes longer to get people with mobility issues through the airport.
The easiest break we had was, surprisingly, in Nice. The airport was close to the centre of town. We flew with Ryanair - although they do not like wheelchair passengers, they were fine. The seafront is an easy stroll or a good place to sit and people watch you can head to Monacco for the day etc.
Have a nice trip!