Everyone Should Be Able To Travel

My mother used a travel scooter to criss-cross Europe. Cobblestones were a pain but she got where she needed to go. This was back when she could still manage a few steps into a bus to go on the big tours organized by cruise ships. 

They book their cruises early so they can get an accessible room and review the excursion options, opting for ones labelled as easy. We always checked the exclusions on the excursions to be sure they don't say people in wheelchairs can't participate. Even after all of that prep there are still times my mother has to stay on the bus because of distance or the number of steps involved. 

We often schedule private excursions, especially when all five of us are traveling together. This lets us beat the cruise ship busses to the prime locations and it means no steps into a bus. We are always careful to head back to the bus well before departure time because when you take a private excursion the ship will not wait on you if you are late.

In some locations you can reserve a driver or a driver and a tour guide. We opted to get both a driver and a tour guide in Pompeii. She told us so many stories and we learned more than we would have on our own. She also told us what it was like to live within sight of an active volcano. Not only was the tour guide well worth it but our driver was a retired police officer who brought us right to the ship despite the official drop off spot being a good distance away.

Now that both of my parents use wheelchairs we only take ship excursions when they are specifically labeled as accessible, which can be hard to find. Our Ireland and Scotland excursions were a fabulous bright spot with lots of wheelchair accessible vehicles. I highly recommend London, Ireland, and Scotland for accessible travel.

It takes extra time, and sometimes a few phone calls, but it is possible to find accessible transportation in most locations. I am happy to help you find the solutions that will let you enjoy your dream vacation.