N.Europe/Baltic self tours with lim. mobility?

[onmyjourney]

My father and I will be taking the following itinerary. He is a slow walker and can walk perhaps .25 mile and probably less than 30 stair steps. I have a wheelchair for him when needed. I'm looking for advice of these ports where I can get on/off cruise myself and push him as needed to center of town/sightseeing, etc (or ride a taxi), rather than taking one of the ship's excursions. He can walk short spurts once there. I understand riding in a wheelchair over cobblestone might also be uncomfortable, so if you could please advise where I might have issues with that...., and also would of course like to avoid steeper climbs pushing him. Thank you.

 

If possible, also recommend ports where he may be able to manage on his own, i.e. ports very close to city, in case we have varying interests (I may go on some excursions he is not able to do).

 

Helsinki

Tallinn

Klaipeda

Gdansk

Warnemunde

Copenhagen

Oslo

Kristiansand

Edited June 14, 2016 by onmyjourney

[Desdichado62]

I'd say in Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki, their respectively public transport systems should be friendly for people with limited mobility/people who are in a wheel chair.

 

I don't know about the other cities though.

[Pet Nit Noy]

My father and I will be taking the following itinerary. He is a slow walker and can walk perhaps .25 mile and probably less than 30 stair steps. I have a wheelchair for him when needed. I'm looking for advice of these ports where I can get on/off cruise myself and push him as needed to center of town/sightseeing, etc (or ride a taxi), rather than taking one of the ship's excursions. He can walk short spurts once there. I understand riding in a wheelchair over cobblestone might also be uncomfortable, so if you could please advise where I might have issues with that...., and also would of course like to avoid steeper climbs pushing him. Thank you.

 

If possible, also recommend ports where he may be able to manage on his own, i.e. ports very close to city, in case we have varying interests (I may go on some excursions he is not able to do).

 

Helsinki

Tallinn

Klaipeda

Gdansk

Warnemunde

Copenhagen

Oslo

Kristiansand

 

Here's the link to the Estonian Open Air Museum. This is outside Tallinn and shows the historic structures and life style of Estonian residents. Houses from different time periods have been assembled and grouped by age.

 

There are horse-drawn carriage rides every day from 11:00 AM until 3:30 PM around the park. (The park has somewhat longer hours.)

 

http://evm.ee/eng/home

 

Here's the link for getting to the park from the harbor:

http://evm.ee/eng/contact-information#

 

Another web site, the Estonia Tourist Center, claims the park is 15 minutes drive outside the city.

 

https://www.visitestonia.com/en/estonian-open-air-museum

 

There may be horse rides through the challenging hilly streets of Tallinn itself. I believe I once read about a family with a young child with some physical limitations who stumbled upon the town rides. I'd certainly contact the Tallinn visitor center about the town rides. The Open Air Museum is a definite information.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[Badger-Badger]

I have not been to these cities, but am currently planning for our upcoming cruise. I also have mobility limitations - although not as severe as your father's. I just wanted to recommend a tour company in Estonia who does a specialized Wheelchair Accessible Tour. We are doing another tour with them and they have been very responsive in regards to my limits and they have very, very reasonable pricing. It is called Saku Tours and it may be worth looking into so that your father can enjoy a city full of hills and cobblestones comfortable!

 

 

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[kitkat343]

Tallinn was one of our favorite stops, and we really loved exploring its spectacularly preserved medieval center. Please note that this lovely city may be challenging for travelers with disabilities or families that use prams, since cars are not allowed in parts of the medieval center, and the cobblestones will make a stroller or wheelchair use difficult. Because my 3 year old son has limited mobility without a stroller, our plan had been to take a pedicab around the city. There were some pedicabs at the port when we returned to the ship in the afternoon; however, the pedicabs were not yet available at 9 am when we left the ship (we visited Tallinn on their independence day holiday so on normal business days there may be pedicabs available directly in the port).

 

Instead, we took a cab from the port to the top of Toompea Hill (this is where the lovely Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located) and then walked down. Our son was able to climb the city walls (although the passage is very narrow and steep), and there were gorgeous views. In the main square, we found a pedicab, and we were able to take a very enjoyable 15 minute pedicab tour through the charming city. They are also available for hire for longer tours to all the major tourist stops. Since our son loves trains, we also rode on a tourist train that departs from Kullassepa street whenever it is full and makes a 20 minute loop around the city. We were fortunate to sit in the very back, since we had a great spot to take photographs from the back of the train.

 

Also, if your family has any interest in the military, the Seaplane Harbor Museum was excellent. This doesn't have anything to do with your question about mobility, but the museum isn't included in Rick Steve's book which is the primary source for most people planning this cruise, and if you like military history, this museum is quite fascinating. There is a flight simulator, and you can explore submarines and equipment.

 

In Helsinki, I think Tram 2 and 3 will take you to all their major tourist sites: https://www.hsl.fi/sites/default/files/uploads/3b3t_esite_en_12.8.2013.pdf . I'd double check to make sure the route hasn't changed (we visited the Baltics two years ago). Please also note that unless you are in a small ship, you may not dock directly in the center of Helsinki and may need a cab from the port to the center of town. This was one of the few stops we needed a cab instead of public transportation to get into the center of town.

Edited June 15, 2016 by kitkat343

[LondonTowner]

I have limited mobility and also took a taxi to the top of Toompea Hill from the ship. I think it was about 10 Euros. I had a manual wheelchair and spent more time getting in and out of it than anything else. Tallin is extremely disabled unfriendly.

 

We also did the mini train around the town.

 

In Copenhagen we did the HOHO bus which stopped right in front of our ship.

 

Gdansk does have cobblestones, but they were large and much easier to cope with the wheelchair. Here we did a ship's excursion due to time constraints. Very interesting stop and was the cheapest.

 

I haven't been to the other destinations.

[Eicruise]

We are headed to Tallin the end of this month. My mother will have a rollator with her. We were planning on taking a taxi to the top and walk down. Are there places to sit along the way? It sounds like she may have difficulties with the rollator on the cobblestones.

[LondonTowner]

I think there may have been a wall or somewhere to sit, but tbh I can't remember. Part of the walk is quite ste. At the bottom is the main square with lots of bars and restaurants.

[grayjay]

As I have some mobility issues myself I'm always very careful in finding things to do that I can manage. As I have been to all of these cities before I can perhaps help with some suggestions:

Oslo, Helsinki and Copenhagen are rather easy to navigate and handicapped-friendly in regard to buses, museums, facilities, restaurants etc. I suggest using the HopOnHopOff bus - you can take a wheelchair with you and they are accessible. It's a reasonably cheap and easy way to see a lot without having to walk too much even if you won't have access to the upper level if you can't use the steep stairs to the top.

Tallinn is really beautiful and quaint and most cruise lines operate a shuttle into the city centre.It's not that easy to navigate if you use a wheelchair, rollator etc. because of the cobbled streets, but the city centre is quite small and so you could perhaps just walk through the main street.

Klaipeda itself is small, cobbled streets again but a nice small farmers' market. We took a ship's tour here which showed us some of the countryside by crossing the sound with a ferry and going up to Nida which is a small seaside resort with quaint houses - very interesting and easy to navigate even in a wheelchair.

In Gdansk there also was a shuttle offered to the city centre ( by the cruise line, I think) and as we did a panoramic city sightseeing as a shore excursion there were quite a few wheelchair users in our group. As everything in the restored city of Gdansk is very near to each other I think you could manage quite well. Lots of groups, though, and it's quite a ride from the place where the ships dock to the city of Gdansk itself.

Kristiansand is nice. There was a small tourist train in front of the port, just outside the ship and it offered a 45-minute-ride through the town including a drop-off at the city centre and pick-up at a later time again. This was a good and easy thing to do. Don't miss the church in the city centre, in the mornings/at lunch time there are free organ concerts.

Warnemunde is a seaside resort. It offers a relaxing day at the beach ( accessible!) and there are lots of shops and cafés. The Hanse city of Rostock is near but I wouldn't really recommend it because you have to use a train to get there. ( you could take a taxi, though, it's not that far and the city centre has been wonderfully restored after the Wall fell). There's also the chance of a ferry going into Rostock from Warnemunde. Or you might take the "Molli Train" to see a bit of thje landscape - not far from where the ship docks.

I hope I could be of help.

Enjoy your cruise!

[Splinter]

Suggest you read the Yelp! and other on-line reviews of the HOHO bus in Oslo before booking. There are many posts about unreliable and poor service. Buses are mostly accessible in Oslo, but the trolleys/street cars are not. Otherwise Oslo is pretty accessible. I have a good friend who lives there who is a full-time wheelchair user.

[Putterdude]

I can't comment on all of the ports but Dudette has MS and travels in a wheelchair. We found Helsinki, Oslo and Copenhagen reasonably accessible. Tallinn was our biggest concern however we found a guide who said he could make it work. We started at the top of the old town and worked our way down the hill. I doubt that I could have managed it but with the help of our guide and one other gentleman we did it. Probably the most difficult part of our Tallinn visit was getting from the main square out to and through Fat Margerite's gate but we did it and then grabbed a cab back to the ship.

[grayjay]

Suggest you read the Yelp! and other on-line reviews of the HOHO bus in Oslo before booking. There are many posts about unreliable and poor service. Buses are mostly accessible in Oslo, but the trolleys/street cars are not. Otherwise Oslo is pretty accessible. I have a good friend who lives there who is a full-time wheelchair user.

 

We have been to Oslo numerous times and NEVER had a problem with the HoHobuses, especially since the two companies running buses joined. The main portion of Oslo is easily walkable but we have often used the HOHo bus instead of regular buses because they stop exactly where the ships dock and run to the museum island as well.(If you are interested in the museums and/ or the folk village there is also a ferry running across the fjord but there is still some walking to be done whereas the bus stops right in front.)