Wheelchair Accessible Shore Excursions on the Med

Has anyone used vendors for wheelchair accessible shore excursions in the following ports?

• Gibraltar
  
• Alicante
  
• Barcelona
  
• Marseilles
  
• Livorno for Pisa and Florence
  

I have been to Pisa, Florence and Gibraltar (plus others) and have found tours but I can transfer to a car. Do you need to stay in your chair? Do you want an overview of historic sites and inside visits or do you prefer a scenic ride? Also what do you like to do?

I have been to Pisa, Florence and Gibraltar (plus others) and have found tours but I can transfer to a car. Do you need to stay in your chair? Do you want an overview of historic sites and inside visits or do you prefer a scenic ride? Also what do you like to do?

I use a walker mostly. On this cruise, I will be using a scooter on the ship, but my walker will also be with me if I need it. It is just that I cannot walk long distances. What I like to do? Scenic rides. On shore excursions it just seems that there is not much time for interior sites. Love quickie museum stops, castles, churches, local atmosphere mostly in cafes, pubs, and the like.

OK, We use driverinrome dot com in Livorno for a tour of Pisa and Florence. We were picked up at the ship and taken to Pisa first and then into Florence. Of course I did not climb into the leaning tower but was able to access everything else there. In Florence we saw all the sites and went inside to see the statue of David (NO waiting as the guide had reserved our tickets before arrival) and church. The primary advantage of using a private guides was that they are allowed to park in the direct vicinity of the sites. The buses from the ship's excursions park about a mile from the first site and that is more walking than I can do.

In Gibraltar we took a ship's excursion that went all over the peninsula. I stayed on the bus while my husband went into the caves. We took the cable car down from the top after seeing the apes but I could have stayed on the bus (not huge but still steps) if I had chosen. This was a low walking excursion if you don't go into the caves.

In Barcelona it was very easy to get around. I highly recommend going to LaFamilia Sagrada as I had no difficulty there. Barcelona has had the best access of any city we have visited in Europe.

OK, We use driverinrome dot com in Livorno for a tour of Pisa and Florence. We were picked up at the ship and taken to Pisa first and then into Florence. Of course I did not climb into the leaning tower but was able to access everything else there. In Florence we saw all the sites and went inside to see the statue of David (NO waiting as the guide had reserved our tickets before arrival) and church. The primary advantage of using a private guides was that they are allowed to park in the direct vicinity of the sites. The buses from the ship's excursions park about a mile from the first site and that is more walking than I can do.

In Gibraltar we took a ship's excursion that went all over the peninsula. I stayed on the bus while my husband went into the caves. We took the cable car down from the top after seeing the apes but I could have stayed on the bus (not huge but still steps) if I had chosen. This was a low walking excursion if you don't go into the caves.

In Barcelona it was very easy to get around. I highly recommend going to LaFamilia Sagrada as I had no difficulty there. Barcelona has had the best access of any city we have visited in Europe.

I was wondering if I could take the ship shore excursions as you do in Gibraltar and judge for myself at the various stops and determine if I should stay at the bus or a nearby cafe until the group returns. I have no problem adjusting to the situations.

I wonder about the first step getting on the bus. Is it a normal step found on a van or is it really high? I can do van steps with no problem.

Did you notice if the Accademia in Florence was accessible for scooter? I have arranged for scooter-accessible transportation to Florence.

Thanks for any info you have.

When I visited the Academia to see the David, there were two steps to get into the building. The steps weren't steep and my friends lifted my scooter ino the building.

As or the buses, sometimes you get lucky and they have those hydraulic buses that lower, but you don't see those often. I would go to the shore excursion office and ask if any buses have those. If not, it's a really high step and the first step inside the bus will also be high.

Many times I decide whether to get off the bus. You can stay on board or just sit somewhere nearby. But make sure you tell your tour guide.

When I visited the Academia to see the David, there were two steps to get into the building. The steps weren't steep and my friends lifted my scooter ino the building.

 

As or the buses, sometimes you get lucky and they have those hydraulic buses that lower, but you don't see those often. I would go to the shore excursion office and ask if any buses have those. If not, it's a really high step and the first step inside the bus will also be high.

 

Many times I decide whether to get off the bus. You can stay on board or just sit somewhere nearby. But make sure you tell your tour guide.

Florence seems manageable by scooter after ship transportation in wheelchair accessible van.

Thanks Kitty9. Since I will be on my own, lifting my scooter into the Accademia is not an option. Oh well. I have been to many of the sights I want to see again time. I am just hoping for relatively smooth roadways for my scooter. And from what I have seen on youtube, the roadways do seem to be somewhat smooth.

My hopes are going back to Santa Croce, Pizza della Signoria, Il Duomo and Baptistry. And the terrific gellateria in Piazza della Signoria. These seem to be manageable by scooter.

The big challenge is Provence from Marseille.

Kati, I am in a wheelchair as well and want to use DriverInRome for my cruise on the Epic May 20-27th originating/ending in Barcelona with stops in Naples (may 22 7am – 7 pm ), Civitavecchia (may 23 7am – 7 pm), Livorno (may 24 7am – 7 pm), Cannes (may 25 8am – 7 pm), and Provence (may 26 7am – 7 pm). I am lining up shore excursions in every port (except in the port in Cannes.) Did you go to Pompeii? Where you able to tour it yourself or did you have to pay the 150 euros for a private wheelchair tour? Did you go to the Colisium? Could you get around a bit on your own?

I have not been to Pompeii. We spent about three days in Rome prior to a cruise. We did go to the coliseum. There is an elevator to the top and lots to see. It is more difficult to do the ruins which are right next to the arena although I did manage a bit of that. There is a church near the coliseum (about a block or two away) called San Pietro de Vincoli (St Peter's Chains is a "sort of" translation) which is worth a visit although up a few steps. Michaelangelo's Moses is in the church which was completely open when we were there. The chains that were used to bind St. Peter when he was jailed were also displayed. We just happened on this site when we got a bit lost. I also recommend googline "accessible rome" for additional hints and good maps.

Barcelona is very accessssible you can use the hop on hop off bus. We used accessible barcelona to make hotel reservations and transportation to and from the airport and to Montserrat. Use this website http://www.accessiblebarcelona.com/ and you'll see reference to Jordi who can provide transportation, he is very good.

I used Hills and Roads while in Florence. Luca owns this company and he provided a fabulous tour. We went to see the statue of David, Luca had made reservations and when we went to pay the guy at the admissions desk said it was free for us. We had a similar experience at the Picasso museum, they did not charge my husband saying that if he made the effort to get there he would be their guest. Luca took us to the Tuscan countryside through the grape vineyards and olive groves. He took us to a mediveal village where we ate, we were the only tourists in the restaurant, the rest were locals. The meal was the best meal I have ever had and the wine was fabulous. We bought two bottles to bring back. His vehicle was not wheelchair accessible but my husband could get in he car and than we put his chair in the back. Luca couldn't have been more helpful. Go to trip advisor and look up hills and road you;ll see fabulous reviews. Here's his website http://www.hillsandroads.com/

Thanks you guys for your helpful advice. Still trying to figure out if I can do Pompeii in a wheelchair without having to pay 150 euros for a private company tour.

Kati, I am in a wheelchair as well and want to use DriverInRome for my cruise on the Epic May 20-27th originating/ending in Barcelona with stops in Naples (may 22 7am – 7 pm ), Civitavecchia (may 23 7am – 7 pm), Livorno (may 24 7am – 7 pm), Cannes (may 25 8am – 7 pm), and Provence (may 26 7am – 7 pm). I am lining up shore excursions in every port (except in the port in Cannes.) Did you go to Pompeii? Where you able to tour it yourself or did you have to pay the 150 euros for a private wheelchair tour? Did you go to the Colisium? Could you get around a bit on your own?

Can't speak to Pompeii in 2012, but when we went in 1999, we lifted my mother onto a ship's tour bus, loaded a manual wheelchair in the baggage bay, and went to this trip (on her "bucket list").

There is a long ramped path to the entrance from the parking lot, with a few single steps. Once you are inside, it is not very accessible. Sidewalks too narrow for a wheelchair, and the streets are big cobblestones with cracks between about the size of a wheelchair caster wheel (which jammed almost immediately). We tipped the wheelchair backwards and drug it the rest of the tour. At each intersection there are big stepping stones that you have to lift the wheelchair over. Fortunately there were four able bodied adults and one wheelchair user, so we were able to do this lifting. It would definitely not work for a power chair. \

Don't make the mistake we made of going out the regular exit route...4 flights of stairs, and a turnstile with no gate. It was a nightmare! Ask to exit through the entrance if you try this. It was worth it for my mother, but we were exhausted by the end of the day.

Our advance planning for Barcelona indicates that it will be one of the most wheelchair friendly cities we have visited. Especially useful is the interactive map for the Metro that shows stations that are accessible and also the ones with elevators.

http://www.tmb.cat/en/transport-accessible

Expand to full screen and then click on symbols at bottom. We plan to take Metro from Colom statue to Sagrada Familia and then cab from there to Parc Guell. Then walk & roll down hill to Metro to Placa Catalunya and roll down Las Ramblas which from all the photos we've seen seems to be very wheelchair friendly.

Hi,

I want to book a trip to the listed ports :Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Santorini, Greece; Istanbul, Turkey; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Mykonos, Greece; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Naples, Italy; Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

DH has MS and cant walk more then a few step... can anyone help me with who I can book tours for him on each of the stops. I so don't want to miss this trip. we want to go on the new

Celebrity Reflection

Thanks for all your help

Has anyone used vendors for wheelchair accessible shore excursions in the following ports?

• Gibraltar
  
• Alicante
  
• Barcelona
  
• Marseilles
  
• Livorno for Pisa and Florence
  

In Livorno, there are taxi's waiting by the pier that you can hire for tours. They are not HC accessible. But if you also plan to take a collapsable/folding wheelchair and your husband can transfer into the taxi than this could be a workable solution for this port and others.

JoyB,

I just took a cruise in my wheelchair that visited all of the ports you mentioned except Santorini (I actually got engaged in Santorini a couple of years ago).

I literally took thousands of accessibility photographs in the various ports and am still in the process of writing everything up. Contact me at john at sagetraveling.com and we can provide accessible tours in all of your ports.

John

Welcome to Cruise Critic and I am sure that we will all appreciate your photos when you have a chance to post them.

husband doesnt use wheelchair but has difficulty with walking distance

We did private tours in most ports on an extensive Med cruise which is reviewed via the link at the bottom of my post[cant figure our how to link description of the tour to it]

I've tried to explain what would be accessible by wheelchair

Pompeii-very difficult

Pisa/Florence-relatively flat

Barcelona-was made wheelchair friendly for the Olympic games years ago

Hi,

My husband and I are going on a Western Med cruise on the Epic on October 14th. He is using a wheelchair. Normally, he is using a power wheelchair. But, we always bring his manual wheelchair also. But, he can not walk at all. As he is not too heavy, we usually ask someone to help me go up some stairs or transfer him in a car.

I would like to know what are your suggestions for each of the following ports : Naples, Rome (Civitavecchia), Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Cannes, Marseille, Barcelona.

For Rome, I would like to know if it is possible to go from the port to Rome by ourself using the train. Is the train wheelchair accessible?

Thanks.

Melissa

Taxis for the handicapped.Barcelona

If you are interested in reserving a taxi that is suitable for disabled people or people with limited mobility call this number for cabs suitable for the disabled or handicapped.

Barcelona Handicapped adapted Taxis

Tel: +34 93 322 2222

Tel: +34 93 307 0707

Tel: +34 93 420 8088

We have also produce an extensive FAQ (Frequently answered questions) on all aspects on the Barcelona Taxi service which you can visit by visiting the link below:

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/faq/transport/taxi/00-taxi.html

Do Barcelona Taxis generally accept common credit cards (Master Card)? A: Some taxis do have a credit card processing terminal in their taxi however the great majority of taxis do not have credit card processing facilities. It is therefore recommended that you always ensure to take enough cas ...

Hello Jimice, I did the Epic Cruise in May 2012 to all those ports. I am in a manual wheelchair (paraplegic), I don't use an electric chair and can't walk at all. You will have an easier time in the ports with a manual chair (getting transportation) than an electric if you can transfer to regular taxis. Barcelona its port is right in the heart of town, you just pay 5 euros to take the blue bus to Columbus monument because its too long of a walk to get from port to town (there is a good website http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/transport/disabled/access-barcelona-disabled.html) Barcelona alot of the underground is accessible but NOT ALL, the buses I believe are all accessible. I recommend doing the Turista bus (can't remember if that was the one) but you can get on and off of it and their accessible and it takes you to all the tourist spots. Cannes you are right in town (although you have to do the tender in.) So you don't need transportation. Epic has a lift that brings your chair down a few steps to get you on the tender boat although they don't like to do it til around 10 am but you should just book you tender time as soon as you get on the boat. If its really rough weather, they may not allow you off. You should get assigned a person in customer service that can help you with that stuff. If you prefer, you can give me your email and I can give you my number so you can call and I can tell you all my details. Marseille you can take a taxi into town - about 20 euros (you can try to share with others.) They have buses that take everyone else but they may or may not have 1 bus that is accessible (Epic reimbursed me my taxi fare to and from marseille because they didn't have a bus with a lift.) Rome I don't believe you can take the train there. I did a private car (better if you can find another couple to share the cost.) But the private car service can take you places that the buses can't and you can go everywhere you want. Livorno port and Naples I also did a private car service. Naples I suppose you can do a taxi into Naples if that is all you want to see because you port right in town but I took a car service to Pompeii (there is an accessible entrance but it was closed the day I was there because it was flooded out), we then had the driver take us throughout the Almafi coast (Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, and some other city starting with an R.) A little dificult to roll around those cities but I preferred just driving around and seeing it. Rome you can't just take a regular taxi as that would be really expensive so you will need a car service.I think I heard there was steps to get to the station but I am not sure and you may miss the ship taking the train. Livorno, the ship has buses that take you to Livorno but they may or may not have an accessible bus. Frankly you will want to go into Pisa and Florence though as Livorno I don't believe is very nice (Pisa and Florence are wonderful and you wont want to miss that.) I am more than happy to talk you through all my planning as I did alot of research and may still have some of my cheat sheets to help me when I was in the areas. Sage Travel has alot of tips for people in wheelchairs. I went through Fashion Travel and negotiated a lower rate for a private car because I guaranteed 3 days, I negotiated 1 rate for just 2 people and then another rate if I could find another 2 people on the cruise to share although since I wasn't guaranteeing 4 people, I wasn't getting a wheelchair lift (I was fine with just riding in a 4 door Mercedes for those 3 days.) They may want to charge more for a guaranteed wheelchair lift. I did get the cards of the actual car services that Fashion travel used if you want to negotiate directly but I think you may have an easier time just dealing with Fashion Travel. On Epic, you can't get to either the 5th or 6th floor from the elevator on 1 side of the ship so you may want to have your room on the side of the ship that has the elevator that takes you to all floors.

Hello Jimice, I did the Epic Cruise in May 2012 to all those ports. I am in a manual wheelchair (paraplegic), I don't use an electric chair and can't walk at all. You will have an easier time in the ports with a manual chair (getting transportation) than an electric if you can transfer to regular taxis. Barcelona its port is right in the heart of town, you just pay 5 euros to take the blue bus to Columbus monument because its too long of a walk to get from port to town (there is a good website http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/transport/disabled/access-barcelona-disabled.html) Barcelona alot of the underground is accessible but NOT ALL, the buses I believe are all accessible. I recommend doing the Turista bus (can't remember if that was the one) but you can get on and off of it and their accessible and it takes you to all the tourist spots. Cannes you are right in town (although you have to do the tender in.) So you don't need transportation. Epic has a lift that brings your chair down a few steps to get you on the tender boat although they don't like to do it til around 10 am but you should just book you tender time as soon as you get on the boat. If its really rough weather, they may not allow you off. You should get assigned a person in customer service that can help you with that stuff. If you prefer, you can give me your email and I can give you my number so you can call and I can tell you all my details. Marseille you can take a taxi into town - about 20 euros (you can try to share with others.) They have buses that take everyone else but they may or may not have 1 bus that is accessible (Epic reimbursed me my taxi fare to and from marseille because they didn't have a bus with a lift.) Rome I don't believe you can take the train there. I did a private car (better if you can find another couple to share the cost.) But the private car service can take you places that the buses can't and you can go everywhere you want. Livorno port and Naples I also did a private car service. Naples I suppose you can do a taxi into Naples if that is all you want to see because you port right in town but I took a car service to Pompeii (there is an accessible entrance but it was closed the day I was there because it was flooded out), we then had the driver take us throughout the Almafi coast (Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, and some other city starting with an R.) A little dificult to roll around those cities but I preferred just driving around and seeing it. Rome you can't just take a regular taxi as that would be really expensive so you will need a car service.I think I heard there was steps to get to the station but I am not sure and you may miss the ship taking the train. Livorno, the ship has buses that take you to Livorno but they may or may not have an accessible bus. Frankly you will want to go into Pisa and Florence though as Livorno I don't believe is very nice (Pisa and Florence are wonderful and you wont want to miss that.) I am more than happy to talk you through all my planning as I did alot of research and may still have some of my cheat sheets to help me when I was in the areas. Sage Travel has alot of tips for people in wheelchairs. I went through Fashion Travel and negotiated a lower rate for a private car because I guaranteed 3 days, I negotiated 1 rate for just 2 people and then another rate if I could find another 2 people on the cruise to share although since I wasn't guaranteeing 4 people, I wasn't getting a wheelchair lift (I was fine with just riding in a 4 door Mercedes for those 3 days.) They may want to charge more for a guaranteed wheelchair lift. I did get the cards of the actual car services that Fashion travel used if you want to negotiate directly but I think you may have an easier time just dealing with Fashion Travel. On Epic, you can't get to either the 5th or 6th floor from the elevator on 1 side of the ship so you may want to have your room on the side of the ship that has the elevator that takes you to all floors.

This is very informative. It will help a lot when I take my 17 y.o. daughter in a manual wheelchair. She is mobile though. She just cannot walk more than 15 minutes.

Au plaisir and thanks for sharing that much

Hello Jimice, I did the Epic Cruise in May 2012 to all those ports. I am in a manual wheelchair (paraplegic), I don't use an electric chair and can't walk at all. You will have an easier time in the ports with a manual chair (getting transportation) than an electric if you can transfer to regular taxis. Barcelona its port is right in the heart of town, you just pay 5 euros to take the blue bus to Columbus monument because its too long of a walk to get from port to town (there is a good website http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/transport/disabled/access-barcelona-disabled.html) Barcelona alot of the underground is accessible but NOT ALL, the buses I believe are all accessible. I recommend doing the Turista bus (can't remember if that was the one) but you can get on and off of it and their accessible and it takes you to all the tourist spots. Cannes you are right in town (although you have to do the tender in.) So you don't need transportation. Epic has a lift that brings your chair down a few steps to get you on the tender boat although they don't like to do it til around 10 am but you should just book you tender time as soon as you get on the boat. If its really rough weather, they may not allow you off. You should get assigned a person in customer service that can help you with that stuff. If you prefer, you can give me your email and I can give you my number so you can call and I can tell you all my details. Marseille you can take a taxi into town - about 20 euros (you can try to share with others.) They have buses that take everyone else but they may or may not have 1 bus that is accessible (Epic reimbursed me my taxi fare to and from marseille because they didn't have a bus with a lift.) Rome I don't believe you can take the train there. I did a private car (better if you can find another couple to share the cost.) But the private car service can take you places that the buses can't and you can go everywhere you want. Livorno port and Naples I also did a private car service. Naples I suppose you can do a taxi into Naples if that is all you want to see because you port right in town but I took a car service to Pompeii (there is an accessible entrance but it was closed the day I was there because it was flooded out), we then had the driver take us throughout the Almafi coast (Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, and some other city starting with an R.) A little dificult to roll around those cities but I preferred just driving around and seeing it. Rome you can't just take a regular taxi as that would be really expensive so you will need a car service.I think I heard there was steps to get to the station but I am not sure and you may miss the ship taking the train. Livorno, the ship has buses that take you to Livorno but they may or may not have an accessible bus. Frankly you will want to go into Pisa and Florence though as Livorno I don't believe is very nice (Pisa and Florence are wonderful and you wont want to miss that.) I am more than happy to talk you through all my planning as I did alot of research and may still have some of my cheat sheets to help me when I was in the areas. Sage Travel has alot of tips for people in wheelchairs. I went through Fashion Travel and negotiated a lower rate for a private car because I guaranteed 3 days, I negotiated 1 rate for just 2 people and then another rate if I could find another 2 people on the cruise to share although since I wasn't guaranteeing 4 people, I wasn't getting a wheelchair lift (I was fine with just riding in a 4 door Mercedes for those 3 days.) They may want to charge more for a guaranteed wheelchair lift. I did get the cards of the actual car services that Fashion travel used if you want to negotiate directly but I think you may have an easier time just dealing with Fashion Travel. On Epic, you can't get to either the 5th or 6th floor from the elevator on 1 side of the ship so you may want to have your room on the side of the ship that has the elevator that takes you to all floors.

Thank you so much for all this information! Here is my e-mail : lalande.melissa@gmail.com Because English is not my first language, I would be more confortable if we can chat together maybe by Facebook...

I have a few questions :

- I didn't find Fashion travel on Internet. Do they have a website?

- For Marseilles, how long is it from the port to town (in taxi)? How did you get reimbursed by NCL?

Thanks.

Mélissa

The contact for Fashion Travel is below, Silvia helped me. If you don't speak italian then conversing my email is probably the easiest (although she does speak English.) Marseille was probably a 15-20 minute drive into the heart of town. On Epic, their was a customer service person who reached out to me about the tendering process for Cannes and she asked if I was doing any Shore Excursions for Marseilles. From what I recall, they had buses for everyone (for a flat rate) but I think she said that they may not have a wheelchair accessible one so she told me to get her my receipts and that they would reimburse me (they just credited my account by the amount I told them I spent for the taxi to and from Marseille.) Not sure if they would do that for everyone, I suppose it depends on if they have an accessible bus or not. Its probably about 20 euros there and 20 euros back.

Below you could find the links (available only in Italian, so you could translate it with Google) of the accessible itinerary in Pompeii

http://www.pompeiisites.org/Mediagallery.jsp?idGalleria=173&idFilmato=376

http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?idSezione=2310&idSezioneRif=302

http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?idSezione=2309

http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?titolo=Friendly%20Pompei,%20scavi%20pi%F9%20facili%20per%20tutti&idSezione=2309&idSezioneRif=722&lookfor=friendly

The entrance for disabled people is in Piazza Anfiteatro(I got in free and so did my companion - bring your handicap placard to use to get in free).

Rome:

Coliseum: you could access to the main entrance. There is a lift to access at the second floor (Free for handicap and companion.)

Vatican Museum: you could skip the line going directly to the Vatican Museums Hall at the desk "Permessi Speciali – Reception" (Free for handicap and companion).

Florence:

Uffizi Museum: you could access to the main entrance. There is a lift to access at the floors (check Sage Travel as I don't believe I went into the museum but I think I recall its accessible and probably free.)

Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral: the wheelchair accessible entrance is at Porta dei Canonici (southern entrance, not the main entrance) (I believe this was free as well for handicap and companion.)

I believe for a private car its usually 500 euros or more each for Rome, Florence, Naples/Amalfi Coast. I negotiated with Fashion Tour guaranteeing them all 3 cities for Total 1275 euro (mercedes car) – 4 people 1495 euro Total

If I would have guaranteed the 4 people in advance she would have guaranteed a minivan (wheelchair accessible.) Not sure if she will give the same deal but you definitely can negotiate with these companies. I found it easier that you reach out to them and tell them what you are willing to pay BEFORE they quote you a price because they don't like to come down off an original quote. Best to advise that you can get the package for a certain price elsewhere and ask if they can beat the price. Don't mention I posted this on the internet please:) Silvia was wonderful, very responsive, followed up to make sure everything was occurring. I believe I saw a listing for an agency that could help book cars for people in wheelchairs and it gave me this travel agency (although on their own website they don't mention anything about booking wheelchair accessible tours but she was very informative.)

Silvia Testa

FASHION TOUR

Vicolo del Fosso di Tor Pagnotta, 41 C

00134 Roma

www.fashion-tour.com

info@fashion-tour.com

Tel e Fax 0671357501

Skype: fashion-tour

Blog: www.fashiontour-italia.blogspot.com

www.fashiontour-holidayinitaly.blogspot.com

The contact for Fashion Travel is below, Silvia helped me. If you don't speak italian then conversing by email is probably the easiest (although she does speak English.) Marseille was probably a 15-20 minute drive into the heart of town. On Epic, their was a customer service person who reached out to me about the tendering process for Cannes and she asked if I was doing any Shore Excursions for Marseilles. From what I recall, they had buses for everyone (for a flat rate) but I think she said that they may not have a wheelchair accessible one so she told me to get her my receipts and that they would reimburse me (they just credited my account by the amount I told them I spent for the taxi to and from Marseille.) Not sure if they would do that for everyone, I suppose it depends on if they have an accessible bus or not. Its probably about 20 euros there and 20 euros back.

Below you could find the links (available only in Italian, so you could translate it with Google) of the accessible itinerary in Pompeii

http://www.pompeiisites.org/Mediagallery.jsp?idGalleria=173&idFilmato=376

http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?idSezione=2310&idSezioneRif=302

http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?idSezione=2309

http://www.pompeiisites.org/Sezione.jsp?titolo=Friendly%20Pompei,%20scavi%20pi%F9%20facili%20per%20tutti&idSezione=2309&idSezioneRif=722&lookfor=friendly

The entrance for disabled people is in Piazza Anfiteatro(I got in free and so did my companion - bring your handicap placard to use to get in free). I didn't get to go in though as the handicap path was closed that day due to flooding/rain. I didn't book a guide to take me, I was just going to do it with my husband.

Rome:

Coliseum: you could access to the main entrance. There is a lift to access at the second floor (Free for handicap and companion.) Just need to be careful navigating inside and outside the coliseaum with all the cobblestone.

Vatican Museum: you could skip the line going directly to the Vatican Museums Hall at the desk "Permessi Speciali – Reception" (Free for handicap and companion). Overwhelming and lots to see so I didn't make it to the Basilca because there was so much.

Florence:

Uffizi Museum: you could access to the main entrance. There is a lift to access at the floors (check Sage Travel as I don't believe I went into the museum but I think I recall its accessible and probably free.)

Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral: the wheelchair accessible entrance is at Porta dei Canonici (southern entrance, not the main entrance) (I believe this was free as well for handicap and companion.)

I believe for a private car its usually 500 euros or more each for Rome, Florence, Naples/Amalfi Coast. I negotiated with Fashion Tour guaranteeing them all 3 cities for Total 1275 euro (mercedes car) – 4 people 1495 euro Total (since I can transfer to a car from my wheelchair I didn't need an accessible van guaranteed so it made it cheaper.)

If I would have guaranteed the 4 people in advance she would have guaranteed a minivan (wheelchair accessible.) Not sure if she will give the same deal but you definitely can negotiate with these companies. I found it easier that you reach out to them and tell them what you are willing to pay BEFORE they quote you a price because they don't like to come down off an original quote. Best to advise that you can get the package for a certain price elsewhere and ask if they can beat the price. Don't mention I posted this on the internet please:) Silvia was wonderful, very responsive, followed up to make sure everything was occurring. I believe I saw a listing for an agency that could help book cars for people in wheelchairs and it gave me this travel agency (although on their own website they don't mention anything about booking wheelchair accessible tours but she was very informative.)

Silvia Testa

FASHION TOUR

Vicolo del Fosso di Tor Pagnotta, 41 C

00134 Roma

www.fashion-tour.com

info@fashion-tour.com

Tel e Fax 0671357501

Skype: fashion-tour

Blog: www.fashiontour-italia.blogspot.com

www.fashiontour-holidayinitaly.blogspot.com