Last post Sat, Apr 05 2008 11:10 AM by BurleyCTRS. 7 replies.
We want to go to France and Italy, maybe Spain--my daughter is a c6-7 quad. Does anyone have any advice or infomation about European travel? Does anyone know anything about a Eurorail pass? Or how can we get from one place to another? Should we get our own car? We want to be economical about it, not spend too much...what about hostels?? Is a hostel realistic for us?
I lived in Germany for a couple years (1997-1999) near the French border before I was injured, from what I remember there was a lot of stairs and steps to get up into everything just about and the cobblestone roads were bumpy. Most of the sidewalks did not have the ramp cutouts in the corners so be prepared to hop curbs, my son was born there and I tried to use a stroller for a while...I ended up just carrying him everywhere since it was easier.
When I was there the rail would take 5 people anywhere in Germany for 35 Marks (about $20) starting Friday and ending Sunday. I seen a lot of Germany that way, we were always taking weekend trips. But from what I remember the trains were tight getting on and off, most of the time we were standing because everyone was packed on there. I might at least looking into getting your own rental vehicle.
I did not like the attitude that most French people had while I was visiting, it seemed very rude to me. My wife at the time even spoke french so it was not like a translation problem, plus most of the people in Europe take English as there second language in school so you should be able to find someone. I mostly stayed in the small villages and towns, if you are going to the big tourist attractions then hopefully it is better there.
Like I said before, it has been a while since I was there so maybe everything has changed for the better. Let us know how it goes while you are there. Good Luck
Thanks for the info. Its going to take a lot of planning. We have decided to take another person with us which will be helpful and fun. There have to be people over there in wheel chairs, right?? I just have to do the research and find out what's up. The power chair would give her the most independence, but then we have to worry about charging it up on that kind of current and its heavy and you can't use a regular car....so we are leaning toward using a manual chair. Its definitely going to be an experience...we'll let you know what happens.
I just typed in "france wheelchair" and got a bunch of hits in the search bar on the web here, there are people over there in wheelchairs and more that have visited. Maybe you can contact one of their site to get a little help.
If you do go with an electric wheelchair, remember that their plug-ins are 220 volts (ours are 110 volts) so you are going to need a converter. Those converters are heavy, something you would not want to carry around shopping depending on how long the battery lasts. There might be a wheelchair rental place or check to see if your wheelchair can take 220V, most electronics now are made to take both so they can be sold worldwide.
Good Luck
Ok great, I will try "France Wheelchair". I'll keep you posted on what we find out...thanks!
I was born and raised in Italy and it's certainly a huge country. A lot has changed over the past years as far as travel. People don't use cars as much due to the gas prices and other ways of travel. Trains, Bus, Taxi, Scooters etc. Every country has an american consulate. Here's a website and info for the american consulate in Italy. Here's the website http://www.usembassy.it/english/ if you scroll to the very bottom of the page on the lower left side you'll see an area of contact us. They break down addresses, phone numbers, and email address of certain cities in Italy. Also this is the website for the Tourist Board in Italy http://www.italiantourism.com/ It has a lot of info that may be useful and you can get a more general idea of what you need. You can click on such things as travel tips, planning your trip, hotels, seeing the sites etc.For the French Tourism Info http://us.franceguide.com/ For the Embassy in France http://www.info-france-usa.org/ If you look there is a section called "Just for Kids" it may give more idea's on things that kids can do vs. adults.
Also traveling you need a passport, you can have every form of ID and they still won't let you on the plane. I'd check into all that too. I hear they are like 500,000 passports behind schedule in issuing so I have heard some have gotten on with a birth certificate but not 100% sure on what area's that applies to and doesn't.Hope this helps a little bit.
Thanks Shelley, I will follow up on your suggestions and post whatever I find out!
My wife and I traveled to France in 2001 and 2005, both times we were impressed by some of the services for individuals in wheelchairs. At the Louvre in Paris we were both allowed access for free even though only my wife utilizes a wheelchair for mobility. Versailles has an extended golf cart that accomodates wheelchairs for touring the grounds. The TGV rail had great accessible cars complete with accessible restrooms and call buttons.
