Scooter Accessible in Mediterranean ports?

[CrusingJoe]

Scooter Accessible in Mediterranean ports?

 

Will I be able to tour these ports without much Difficulty or should I stay on the ship? I can walk short distances, but need my Drive Medical, Phoenis 3 scooter to travel further.

 

Barcelona, Spain

Cannes, France

Florence/Pisa/Livorno, Italy

Ephesus/Kusadasi, Turkey

Mykonos, Greece

Naples/Salerno, Italy

[Fblack]

A few of the ports almost require a shuttle bus from the pier to the foot of town. I do not think they are equipped to handle a scooter. Barcelona and Livorno come to mind. Sometimes a ship will tender as occasionally in Mykonos.

[Hlitner]

Scooter Accessible in Mediterranean ports?

 

Will I be able to tour these ports without much Difficulty or should I stay on the ship? I can walk short distances, but need my Drive Medical, Phoenis 3 scooter to travel further.

 

Barcelona, Spain

Cannes, France

Florence/Pisa/Livorno, Italy

Ephesus/Kusadasi, Turkey

Mykonos, Greece

Naples/Salerno, Italy

 

I would suggest you post this on the Special Interest Cruises/Disabled cruising board where there are others who have experience with your question. We do know all of these ports very well and can tell you that they will, at a minimum, be very challenging and at worst nearly impossible. You are going to need to have your scooter transported in many ports which might mean using taxis (or buses) that can and are willing to handle your scooter.

 

Barcelona - You will need a taxi or bus to get you and your scooter to town (about 1 mile). Since Barcelona has good sidewalks and is relatively flat (in the center of town) you should be able to get around with your scooter once you are dropped at an appropriate place. Another great option here for mobility challenged folks is to get on one of the Hop On Hop Off buses where you can ride all over the city.

 

Cannes - A big problem since this is a tender port. Most ship's tenders do not take scooters but you should check on the Disabled Cruiser board.

 

Livorno - You would need transportation from the port (like everyone). There are some possiblities with excursions but keep in mind that the old European cities do not adhere to anything close to ADA.

 

Kusadasi - You can certainly use your scooter to get around the shopping area (bazaar) in town which is close to the port. Touring Ephesus is impossible with a scooter and nearly impossible with a wheelchair.

 

Mykonos - Most ships dock but a few still tender so this would be important. You would need transportation from the port into town (less then a mile) and could probably negotiate most of the streets in town with a scooter. The town has plenty of shops and cafes but they may not all be handicapped accessible.

 

Naples - Your best bet here is to take some kind of driving tour (perhaps to the Amalfi Coast).

 

Hank

[Paul&Kathy]

DH uses a folding Luggie scooter and the only place we ever stay onboard is Santorini. Everywhere else is worth getting off and see how you get on. As you say you can walk short distances hopefully you will be able to get on/off a shuttle bus as CrusingJoe said most of these ports need some transport. Most shuttle bus drivers are very helpful and will let you put the scooter under the bus (if it is the coach sort) or sometimes there is a luggage space that it can go. Some ports are now getting proper accessible vans as one of the shuttles which is great, although of course you may have to wait a bit longer for it. I just googled your scooter and it looks fairly compact and manageable so you should be fine.

 

Barcelona - there is a port bus that drops off a the Colon statue at the bottom of Las Ramblas. We have had DHs scooter on it as well as our suitcases. From the drop off point you will be able to scoot all the way up Las Ramblas to Placa Catalunya, visiting the Gothic Quarter/Old Cathedral en route if you want, it is very flat and scooter friendly. SOME of the metro stations have elevators so if you wanted to visit Sagrada Familia (the new Gaudi cathedral) I think you should be able to do it, we did but check the Barcelona metro map first as I can't remember which route we took and I have a feeling there was a station we could not get into. Parc Guell (the Gaudi Park) is accessible by bus and the public buses have a ramp that they will deploy to let you on BUT they do get very crowded at busy times of the year so you might want to miss that one on your first visit. But even if you don't want to bother with public transport you can have a great day and see a lot around Las Ramblas area. Another option is to scoot around the port to Barcelonetta beach, again all flat and there is a lovely wide promenade but it is quite a distance - OK for you on the scooter but anybody with you will need to be quite fit (as I know - I had sore feet that day) it must be a couple of miles each way.

 

Livorno - this is a port you need to plan in advance, with or without a scooter. If you are going to Florence the ship's 'on your own' transport might be best, that way you can go at your own pace and avoid the cobbles as much as possible and they should be able to put the scooter under the coach (just check with the excursions desk first). The bus/train with a scooter would be difficult. Alternatively hiring a car is a good option but make sure that it is one of the companies that deliver to the ship (Sifracar do and I think Europcar too). Pisa is a better option with the scooter really, again ship's transfer or hire car is the way to go and when you get there is it all flat and smooth surfaces, no cobbles at all.

If you find yourself in Livorno with no plans or decide not to go to Florence or Pisa then it depends where you dock. If at the big commercial harbour you will have to take a shuttle bus into town - again they should put the scooter on for you, we have never had any trouble. If you are lucky enough to dock at the smaller port it is an easy walk/scoot into town. You will know if you are there because there will not be a shuttle. Just walk across the small swing bridge by the coast guard's office and follow everyone else into town. Don't try going out of the main port gate towards the American Market and you can't get across the street that way. Once in town it is flat and easy to wander around. There is a big market just off the main street but only in the mornings, also an indoor market that has one accessible entrance (at the far end coming from the main street).

 

Kusadasi - A very easy port, just scoot through the port shopping centre, there are a couple of really steep slopes (like 45 degrees !) but if you don;t like the look of those try another route like going along the cafes by the sea and you will find a better way. Once outside walk straight ahead and in 2 minutes you are in town. My standard advice for Kusadasi is ignore the 'Grand Bazaar' and follow the street past the old castle (now a hotel I think) and then turn right into the main street. It is flat, pedestrianised and very scooter friendly and far less hassle. Tackle the bazaar later once you have a feel for what is on offer in the proper shops if you like, although I must say the hassle factor there is less than it used to be. Again you can have a great day just wandering. We have never tried Ephesus and our experience of archeological sites in general with the wheelchair and scooter has not been great so we tend to give them a miss, but maybe someone else can advise ?

 

Mykonos could be tricky but still worth a go. The streets are not cobbles but they are a sort of crazy paving, different sized slabs with white cement between them, some laid flat and others less so. We managed to walk most of the town on our last visit but DH complained bitterly about a sore bum for hours afterwards ! If you tender you may or may not be able to take your scooter, it is best to wait until they announce open tendering, once most people are ashore, then go down to the tender platform and ask nicely whether they will take the scooter for you. It will depend on the crew, how busy they are and especially how rough the sea is. If you can't take the scooter I would still go for the ride (provided you are confident getting on and off the tender) because the tender will drop you off right in town and you can sit at a cafe (there are lots beginning within a few steps of the drop off point) while your companions wander around the town, but you will have seen the style of it (it is pretty but all much the same really). If you dock it is a little way out of town, we did that once a long time ago and there was a shuttle bus, a coach type, and I expect again they would let you put the scooter underneath.

 

Naples - you might want to plan in advance here too if you want to go to Capri, Sorrento or whereever. We did Sorento once with the wheelchair by train but it was very cobbly when we got there so I would not recommend it, and we have not tackled Pompeii with the scooter, our family went there last year and said they were glad we did not go with them as they did not see any accessible paths. Naples itself is OK, from the dock walk up into town, bear roughly left around the castle and you will find a lovely old indoor precinct, beyond that is a large square with the cathedral (up steps, unfortunately) the the old royal place and up the right hand side of that square is a pedestrianised shopping street that is a nice wandering area.

 

Never been to Cannes so can't help with that one.