Advise for partially disabled traveller

[dumbaxel]

Going to Athens, Istanbul, Ephesus, Jerusalem, Alexandria on HAL 9/2010. My wife will be fine on the ship, and on/off tour buses, but can't walk long distances.

1. Seems our folding transport chair will be worthless (although it performed well in Alaska and Western Med, although cobbelstones were tough to handle in Germany.

2. Should I plan to take a folding wheelchair instead? I think so, but will that work in Athens, Jerusalem, and Giza?:eek: The cruse lines always discourage HC travellers, yet we have done OK on previous outings.

3. Any particular advice on mobility for tours that originate in Haifa, go to Nazareth, Galilee, Jerusalem (overnight), and return to the ship next day at Ashod would be most helpful - that's really why we are taking this cruise.

 

Would appreciate any sound advice - we have been on SOME cruises, but not many (2 river cruises, and 2 "big ship" cruises).

[katisdale]

I have been in all those places except Istanbul. In Athens we used athenstaxi@athenstaxi.org. We were very pleased with them. This is where we embarked so we had two full day tours on to the Acropolis, Agora, Archeological museum, changing or the guard etc. The second day we went to Corinth, corinth canal, mycenea, Nafplion, and Epidavros. The cost back in 2008 was $250 euros per day. He provided a mercedes car - very nice and got us close to all the sites. I was using a rollator then. In Ashdod and Haifa we used the Princess excursions. The trip to Galilee was fine but the "easy" tour to Jerusalem was horrible. We got a retired paratrooper who took us to a tank museum for over an hour. We were then late going into Jerusalem and had to park almost a mile from the Mount of Olives (I didn't get off the bus) and then at the Western Wall he took the men to "their" section but neglected to provide any commentary to the women. We stayed on the ship as it travelled between Ashdod and Haifa. If I had it to do again I would take a private tour here. In Ephesus I took the "easy" ship's excursion again and this was most pleasant. My husband went into Ephesus and said it would have been extremely difficult for me. I went to the Ephesus museum, a mountain village and a carpet school. The carpet school was amazing as we saw the looms being set up and young women taking classes in hand making rugs.

In Alexandria we used Nile Blue tours. They are excellent. We went into Port Said one day, travelled into Cairo (where I think we saw everything ending our tour about 10:30PM the first night), stayed overnight at LeMeridien Pyramids, and after more touring the next AM went to Alexandria (short tour here) and back to the ship. Mr. Abbas who arranged the tour and his wife who toured with us are wonderful. I can't remember how much the tour cost but it was less than the Princess tour and included just the two of us, the driver, Mrs. Abbas, and an egyptologist who joined us in Cairo.

Notes on accessibility - In Athens the lift to the acropolis was broken. It is a long walk to a chair lift (it was broken) and then you take an elevator to the top. I never got up there but did enjoy the view from the distance.

In Ephesus I did not even try it.

In Israel - There are a lot of steps and uneven pavement but it is well worth the effort.

In Egypt - I think having a private tour here makes all the difference. You can get much closer to the sites in a private car or van than in the big tour buses. Everything I had read about the Egyptian Museum said there was no access to the second floor except for the stairs. Our egyptologist had studied there in college and took us to the freight elevator. If you can't go up to the second floor you miss the mummies and the King Tut exhibit. It is crowded and not air conditioned but a must see.

I don't think I saw a single curb cut in any of these cities.

[dumbaxel]

Thanx, that helps. Sounds like it's private taxi all the way for us.

[Splinter]

It's over 10 years since we were in Istanbul, but we also used a private cab there (lots of them at the port). Just be sure to check the trunk FIRST...many have no room for a wheelchair due to installation of an extra gas tank there. Lots of cab drivers did not speak English, so be prepared to show on a map or say the place you want to visit in Turkish (for example, asking for Aya Sophia or Hagia Sophia instead of Saint Sophia's or the Sultanahmet Mosque instead of the Blue Mosque. The Grand Bazaar was very accessible with some help...paved and no steps, although not real level. You cannot get to the upper levels of the Aya Sophia, but can get into the street level in a wheelchair.

 

Just be aware that some of the mosques do not allow people inside in wheelchairs, and you will have to remove your shoes.

 

We found lots of willing bystanders who would help lift wheelchairs up short flights of stairs, of which there are a number throughout the city in parks and near the popular sights.

 

Ephesus is not accessible (very steep and rocky, with lots of steps as well), but we were able to find a first level carpet factory to tour and the bazaar was pretty easy to get around in (and a short walk from the cruise ship pier) in Kusadasi.