Let's not forget that "everything" in Europe seems to be cobblestones. Even for those used to walking, this compounds the stability factor.

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Can I add my `six cents `worth. How about offering to someone you know well, that you `help` with their costs, if they would be willing to be your companion and assist you on tour ?

Nation: I have thought of this before, because I have more time for travel than my husband does, but I have a bad back and a post-surgical shoulder, so carrying the luggage presents a difficulty for me. I had thought of advertising for a travel companion, but never have, because I worry that it sounds creepy in a desperate sort of way. And what if, after paying someone's fare, you don't hit it off?

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By Catie: Nation: I have thought of this before, because I have more time for travel than my husband does, but I have a bad back and a post-surgical shoulder, so carrying the luggage presents a difficulty for me. I had thought of advertising for a travel companion, but never have, because I worry that it sounds creepy in a desperate sort of way. And what if, after paying someone's fare, you don't hit it off?

Catie : I find it difficult to believe that there would not be someone in your inner circle of friends/acquaintances that would LOVE the opportunity to travel but due to their own circumstances are unable to financially cope with the full costs, and would look at what you are offering as a wonderful opportunity. If you have a trust TA they may know of someone also.

I know I would take it an opportunity like this if my circumstances at the time allowed it

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Catie : I find it difficult to believe that there would not be someone in your inner circle of friends/acquaintances that would LOVE the opportunity to travel but due to their own circumstances are unable to financially cope with the full costs, and would look at what you are offering as a wonderful opportunity. If you have a trust TA they may know of someone also.
I know I would take it an opportunity like this if my circumstances at the time allowed it

Cottontail: It's not that I don't know anyone who would like to travel, it's that I don't know anyone that I like enough to want to travel with who happens to be available. Everyone I consider tolerable to travel with is working and/or obliged to spend their vacation time with spouses, or tied up with responsibilities, etc.,. One ideal friend is retired but her husband won't let her out of his sight. Another would love to travel but is not able to. I have traveled before with a BB stranger and it worked out fine but if I had to
help with someone's costs, I'd want to be sure I really liked the person.

Caitie ~ it must be quite frustrating not being able to 'locate' someone with the time/circumstances etc to match your own. And yes of course it needs to be someone you 'like'.

Have a great time in Gaul ~ ahhhhhh........ sighhhh.......

Been away and just came in on this topic. Not sure I can add anything but as one of the "elderly and unfit" felt I had to comment.

It can be difficult to determine just how difficult a tour is. Trafalgar could do a better job of warning people. Another tour company does put little boxes on certain tours saying something like "this tour not recommended for those with difficulty walking or stairs".

Someone to help is absolutely essential. There can be times when you need help where you wouldn't even think of it. Bus steps was mentioned but at least there you have railings to hold. I recall a rather new, modern hotel just outside Rome that had about 5 steps up to their dining room and absolutely nothing to hold onto.

A helpful Tour Director is a plus too but of course you won't know that until you get there. On "Best of Italy" our TD was a accommodating and considerate as he could be, but the steep hills and stair are there and there's nothing he/she can do about it. One local guide kept saying "we will walk very slowly..." but his long-legged slowly and my slowly were worlds apart.

The answer as to this as to so many other questions re tours is "research, research, research.

luvtotravel: I'm also not sure how one defines elderly and unfit--they don't necessarily go together, and younger people can have as many arthritic problems as older. We always think we're the elders of any bus tour but it turned out last tour, there was a couple from Oklahoma, we'll never forget them, who were older than us--even--and both as slim and as wiry and as active as could be. They evidently wore pedometers and not once did I hear them complain.

I think this site is a huge bonus for anyone planning a tour since one, as you point out, can't always rely on the rating of the tour (leisurely to Trafalgar means a two night stay not the actual pace), at least in our tour tales, we can get an idea of the steps, the amount of walking, the distances. As Roxy has pointed out, in Italy and several other places in Europe, streets are cobblestone and stability is an issue. I took a very nasty fall in Lucca running for the train and forgot the ground was uneven, so yes, research, but also read our tales.

Brenda

Hi I agree with most of the advice to the elderly or unfit. I am not that fit but did "practice" walking in the spring to get my strength and stamina up. 5 km was quite comfortable for me. I felt I would be okay on the tours. I was wrong and they were very challenging for me. Perhaps 3 TOURS and 35 days was too many, but I may never get back and wanted to see as much as possible.

I am speaking of my experiences in France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy this Summer 2008.
First, the heat was a big factor. For 2 of my tours the heat was 37*C to 40*C in southern France and Italy. Heat is very exhausting and even with flat walking one can become very stressed due to heat more than the distance. Many much younger and quite fit people found this also. SO, BE SURE TO GO WHEN THE WEATHER IS COOLER LIKE APRIL/MAY OR OCTOBER.

Second, I have arthritic knees and usually I have no pain. Day after day of climbing stairs can be very wearing on the knees and back. The stairs on the coach are difficult especially when carrying bags. The front ones have a lower pitch than the back ones SO I found these easier.

It seemed that almost every washroom had stairs in the basement or upper levels. I was quite relieved to find a main floor one. There are very few accommodations on main floors for the handicapped. They do have some handicapped washrooms but these are often downstairs with the others or kept locked. Also, the toilet facilities in many places are primitive. The "Hole" in the floor and the many toilets with no seats can be a challenge for certain ailments. Usually, the handicapped ones had toilet seats.

Also, the terrain can be a challenge. As mentioned the cobblestones are harder to walk on. The hills like at Assisi were difficult to manage as well. The combination of hills and heat is stressful and can zap the strength right out of you. I found I just wanted to find a quiet place to rest and cool down rather than sightsee.

There are tours like www.seniortours.ca here in Canada that cater to the needs of older people. They bring your luggage out of your house and back in at the end of the tour. Everything is looked after, including all breakfasts and dinners. They have excellent hotels and leisurely paced outings. Maybe these would be something to check into. They are for 50+.

I agree about this website being a great resource and research being the key. I read everything on here and did some research besides. I still was not totally prepared for many of the obstacles I met along the way. I expected SWitzerland to be the most stressful as far as hills and terrain and it was the easiest. Parts of the south of France and some parts of Italy were hard. If people do not have physical problems they may not mention the slopes/hills, long walks, stairs to washrooms etc. in their tour tales as these are not a factor to them. It is only when these are a challenge that they might be mentioned.

I DO AGREE THAT ALL TOUR COMPANIES NEED TO BE MORE UPFRONT ABOUT THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS & TERRAIN ON THEIR TOURS. WARNINGS NEED TO BE ISSUED SO THE PASSENGERS DON'T BOOK INAPPROPRIATE TOURS BY MISTAKE. THEN THE POOR TOUR GUIDES WOULD NOT HAVE TO MAKE SO MANY ACCOMODATIONS, WHICH TAKES UP A LOT OF THEIR TIME.

I chose Leisurely and Comfortable tour designations-not known that this refers mainly to how long you stay in one place -like 2 nights- rather than the actual pace of the day to day sightseeing. What the TD and local guides consider a leisurely pace is not often what many of the people on the tours consider it to be. Also, a few TD's don't have much concern for people with disabilites on their tours and treat everyone the same.

A number of 40 year olds with young families
(7-12) were absolutely exhausted after just a week of the early starts and long hot physical days of touring. They don't know how I did 35 with my bad knees and having thrown my back out.

The long bus rides are very exhausting too.

But oh the sights you will see and memories you will have are all worth it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sandry,

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Originally posted by Caitie:

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Catie : I find it difficult to believe that there would not be someone in your inner circle of friends/acquaintances that would LOVE the opportunity to travel but due to their own circumstances are unable to financially cope with the full costs, and would look at what you are offering as a wonderful opportunity. If you have a trust TA they may know of someone also.
I know I would take it an opportunity like this if my circumstances at the time allowed it

Cottontail: It's not that I don't know anyone who would like to travel, it's that I don't know anyone that I like enough to want to travel with who happens to be available. Everyone I consider tolerable to travel with is working and/or obliged to spend their vacation time with spouses, or tied up with responsibilities, etc.,. One ideal friend is retired but her husband won't let her out of his sight. Another would love to travel but is not able to. I have traveled before with a BB stranger and it worked out fine but if I had to
help with someone's costs, I'd want to be sure I really liked the person.

Plus, unless you were paying for a separate room for a paid traveling companion, you'd have no way of knowing if 2 women could "live" together for 10+ days...and that's a ginormous compatability factor! Even loved ones have a hard time doing it sometimes!

I just read this thread and have but 2 words to say to Caitie: "Pick me, pick me!" (Well, that's 4 words, but you get my drift...)

Shannon

Shannon: ROFL! What just happened here???? This is like the time I innocently asked, "What if Trafalgar arranged a tour for us BBers...", and before I knew it, twenty people had signed up for a nonexistent tour. Seriously, would you really leave hearth and home to go traipsing about with the likes of me? If so, I'm honored indeed.

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Originally posted by sandry:
Hi I agree with most of the advice to the elderly or unfit. I am not that fit but did "practice" walking in the spring to get my strength and stamina up. 5 km was quite comfortable for me. I felt I would be okay on the tours. I was wrong and they were very challenging for me. Perhaps 3 TOURS and 35 days was too many, but I may never get back and wanted to see as much as possible.

I am speaking of my experiences in France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy this Summer 2008.

....

The long bus rides are very exhausting too.

But oh the sights you will see and memories you will have are all worth it.

Wow - good comments Sandry. I didn't feel the "more taxing TTs" were that, but can see where you're coming from. I guess its a "horses for courses" thing. We had a guy at the Acropolis who sat at the bottom - he was unable to go up - and while I understood, I also felt he'd missed something special. BUT, at least he'd been there and experienced it.

Plenty have said there was an easy way up etc etc - but he'd just had enough.

Its the classic "walk a mile in my shoes" (no pun intended) where you can't know what another person feels - or the pain/trouble/whatever he/she may be experiencing.

I guess its why we shouldn't judge others - at least not too quickly ...

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Plus, unless you were paying for a separate room for a paid traveling companion, you'd have no way of knowing if 2 women could "live" together for 10+ days...and that's a ginormous compatability factor! Even loved ones have a hard time doing it sometimes!

Roxy: Last year, I did something very uncharacteristic and spontaneously agreed to meet another BBer in London for a few days. She was on her way elsewhere afterward and I went North to see my family for a week. It was all just a whim. I was able to get a last minute ticket because it was January and the sane people were staying home. London is very expensive, so we decided to share a room. I had never met this person before and didn't know a whole lot about her. My kids were warning me she might be an axe-murderer. Halfway across the Atlantic, I began to ponder the possibility of our not getting along, but decided that, since we were both grownups, surely we could tolerate one another for three days? Well, the weather was awful, but the trip was pretty nice. We had fun. We stayed up late at night chatting like schoolgirls and we did day trips together and had a good time. Bathroom sharing was much easier than I thought. She was very relaxed about everything and we had no problems.
I think if I had to go on a coach trip with a companion, we could probably work out how much space we each need from one another. At least I'd hope so. I like to think I'm flexible when it matters. Of course, it's always possible to stumble upon someone with whom you're incompatible and when that happens, you just thank goodness you don't have to live with them permanently.

Caitie, I'd go on a tour with you any day. Maybe you, me and Shannon should get together.

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Caitie, I'd go on a tour with you any day. Maybe you, me and Shannon should get together.

Thank you, Jeannie. I love that idea!