[GTO]

Please suggest holiday destinations where senior citizens will be comfortable. Mom is 75 and overweight, hence her mobility is restricted. She can walk, but no more than 20 - 30 meters before needing a break. Couple of pointers:

• Within India, we do the usual places from Bombay. She loves Mahabaleshwar and I always pick a house / hotel where she doesn't have to walk too much. We've been to Goa a couple of times, but she's now bored of it. Next on the list is Rajasthan since the flight is short, the hotel isn't too far away and they have a wheelchair to take Mom from the car to her room. She's loved our Kerala holiday too.

• Outside of India, she's not comfortable anymore with super long flights. She has anyway been to USA & Europe a couple of times. Recently, a family friend flew to the US and ended up in the hospital within 24 hours of landing, so that's really put Mom off from long haul planes. Any good destinations within <5 hours of flying time? One option I've thought of is a cruise from Singapore - she hasn't experienced it yet.

• Restrictions:
- She gets tired easily. Very easily.
- No sight-seeing destinations where she has to walk too much (e.g. a palace in Rajasthan or a fort in Goa).
- Flight duration of 4 - 5 hours tops.
- Driving destination of 4 - 5 hours tops.
- If domestic help or an assistant is available at the place, that's awesome (but not mandatory).
- Any activities must be close to the car parking or wheelchair-accessible.

Thank you!

[SmartCat]

Most holiday destinations can be senior-citizen friendly if you plan the trip well. Let me explain -

1) Let's say you go to a hill station with your family (wife, kids & parents or in-laws)

2) A typical hill station probably has a lake, view points, parks, water falls, temples, caves and trekking trails. You just have to strike off a few holiday spots from the list. Eg: water falls is generally a no-no because it is usually far off from car parking area. Caves and trekking trails are definitely not senior citizen friendly. But temples, parks and view points are almost always senior citizen friendly. Lakes will have benches where they can sit while you take a boat ride.

3) Do some Google research before you embark on the trip. Team-BHP travelogues can help too. How much walking is required? How far from car parking area to the tourist spot? Is the ground level or are there stairs/steps one needs to take?

4) Since senior citizens get tired, let them take a break/nap in the afternoon at resort/hotel. During this time, you can go with your wife/kids to tourist spots like water falls or caves. Go to senior citizen friendly spots in the morning and evening.

[comfortablynumb]

Couple of suggestions (within India) if you haven't already been there, for a laid back holiday, without much "sight seeing" as such:

1. Plantation stay in Coorg or Chikmagalur - Flight to Mysore and self-drive or hire a cab from there.

2. Pondicherry - Flight to Chennai and self-drive or hire a cab from there.

I guess both options would be within 7-8 hours, with breaks.

Cheers,
Vikram

[autorahul]

In India, consider going to the North East. Right now is a perfect time from Meghalaya. Find a sleepy resort to chill for a few days. Scenes in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh are quite different from the hill stations in the Western Ghats. One thing though, there might be places which are not wheelchair accessible, as tourism has not yet fully developed.

You can also consider Lakshadweep. Overlooked a lot, the place has pristine water similar to Maldives, and would cost less than half of what Maldives does.

Originally Posted by GTO

One option I've thought of is a cruise from Singapore - she hasn't experienced it yet.

Instead of Singapore cruise, which I feel is now overrated with not much sights, I would recommend cruise of Halong Bay in Vietnam. The cruise starts from Hanoi which has good connectivity.

You can also consider Turkey. There are direct flights from Mumbai, and the country is well accessible with pristine beaches. She would miss out on few places in Istanbul, though they are almost all wheelchair accessible.

You should also consider Seychelles. A perfect relaxing destination, similar to Maldives. There are hotels right next to beaches, and the country is uncrowded.

Finally, while you wouldn't want more than 5 hours of flights, would a farther destination with a 2 day stopover be worth considering. For eg. to visit somewhere in Europe, you could take 2 day stop over somewhere in Arab or Turkey. There are many places in Europe and the excellent rail connectivity is something that should be of comfort. If so, consider Norway. There is a cruise which covers Fjords in Norway, and you also get a chance to see Northern lights. If the low temperature is not a bother, its a stunning sight one must see.

[SDP]

My father is 75+ and I had to stop taking him to long trips about 3 years back due to health reasons. Mom is 70 now. Touch wood, she is in a much better shape healthwise and i have had similar questions about choice of destinations. Can she manage a Ladakh trip? Not sure, but most likely she can.

Having said that , both of them have travelled with us for Gujarat and Karnataka trips. I would recommend few places from those 2 experiences:

Hampi
Aihole-Patadakkal (Badami should be avoided).
Belur and Halebid (hoysala temples)
Srirangapatna palace
Gomteshwar at Sravanabelahola (Palkhi available for sr citizens)
Mysore palace
Gokarna
Murudeshwar
Bandipur (in general any wildlife sanctuary)

Akshardham temple at Gandhinagar
Gir lion safari
Somnath temple
Dhwarka
Modhera sun temple

Would have to fly to nearest airport and might need to stop over somewhere in between so that per day driving is limited

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by autorahul

If so, consider Norway. There is a cruise which covers Fjords in Norway, and you also get a chance to see Northern lights. If the low temperature is not a bother, its a stunning sight one must see.

From what I've heard from my Nordic colleagues, best season for Aurora sighting is November to March, which would be extremely cold for a senior citizen from India to tolerate. Fjord tours are popular in the summer season, and are mostly closed in winter.

So, in short, going on both the Aurora and Fjord tours would be difficult in the same trip.

However, I do agree with you that the Fjord tour is an experience to cherish. Attaching a sample pic (taken with a humble P & S camera) from my 2010 trip to Norway for your viewing pleasure (tour name was Norway in a nutshell):

[Nav-i-gator]

Any well known tourist spot, esp in hills (more so in North India), is a no-go during peak holiday season. Reason: these places are crowded to the brim and entry of cars/private vehicles is usually restricted to the outer limits of city/town/hill station. You need to walk a lot to go anywhere.

My recommendation would be to pick any lesser-known, less visited, unexplored place, book a good resort and spend good time in leisure.

Though it would be some pain to plan a vacation (and get tourist permit to visit), my highest recommendation would be Lakshdweep coral islands (That's on top of my wish list), followed by Andaman

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by GTO

One option I've thought of is a cruise from Singapore - she hasn't experienced it yet.

The option above actually will work well; you can a short cruise vacation and also probably go around Singapore as well. All the streets, malls, parking lots, attractions, and even public transport systems (trains/buses) are wheelchair friendly. And the flight from Bombay is not too long as well.

[ajmat]

This is high end but you could look at Primrose villas in Chikmagalur

http://www.primrosevillas.com

Getting there

6 hour drive from Bangalore airport - you drive on a decent highway and then on to Chikamagalur - some decent places to stop on the way.

You make your way to Chikmagalur and they will meet you at a particular point and guide you in. You have the choice of villas or a room in the main house. They will organise a Wagon R to take one from the villa to the main house for meals (which are excellent except for the italian!). Note, there is nothing to do there but chill or trek. You could make day trips to Belur/Halebid temple but I do not know how wheelchair friendly they are. You certainly would want to visit Shravanabelagola but she would need to be carried to the top. Am not sure how easy it would be.

You could also look at the Taj Vivanta in Coorg - a slightly longer car journey but a lot to do. From reception to the room will be via buggy or jeep

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

1. Plantation stay in Coorg or Chikmagalur - Flight to Mysore and self-drive or hire a cab from there.

One place which springs to my mind is Amanvana (http://www.amanvanaspa.com/). This is right next to Dubare and close to Kushalnagar and is a lazy holiday destination in itself.

--Anoop

[Nonstop-driver]

How about Mauritius? Slightly rainy now but you can check the weather forecast and plan.

Pros:
1. Visa on arrival. No trips to the Embassy.
2. Great food and hospitality. Easy to find full-time help.
3. Most of the resorts have in-house activities to keep guests occupied. Resorts are available near the airport too.
4. Easy on the pocket so you can spend more days

Cons:
1. 7-hour flight (direct, no layover)

Same goes for Seychelles and Maldives too subject to the weather around this time of the year. Flight time will be lesser.

[Arjun Reddy]

I am not going to suggest any specific places, but I feel the way to now enjoy holidays is on cruises.

Europe is a 9 hour flight and then you get some fabulous cruise options.

Singapore and South East Asia is around 4 hrs from Mumbai and then you can explore the rest on a cruise.

I am sure you have some good cruise holidays from Mumbai itself.

In India, you could explore south India. Arrive in Bangalore and you have a whole lot of driving destinations. Mysore, Coorg, Belur, Kabini, Bandipur and even Ooty can be driven to in around 5-6 hrs.

Coimbatore /Madurai airports have good access to most temple towns in TN. If you want to do some religious tourism.

Kodaikanal is another fantastic hill station. Easily accessed from the Coimbatore or Madurai airports.

The cruises are my favourite here. Mom will be as comfortable as at home and yet get to travel.

[ranjitp1]

You could fly to Kochi,and Kumarakom is just 2.5hours from the airport.And now with the monsoons in full flow,it would be quite an amazing sight,can't do much in terms of boating/houseboats etc (you just might get lucky in case one of the days gets to be a rainless day).The Vivanta Kumarakom,Park Regis Kumarakom,Zuri Kumarakom all are excellent places to be.The car gets to go almost till the cottages.Food is good.If you feel like it,you can do a Munnar too.It is about 150kms and a 3.5hr drive.Plenty of places in Munnar to stay, and again Munnar to Kochi airport is another 2-2.5hour drive (110kms)

You can also consider flying to Coimbatore and then drive to Kodaikanal.Approx 180kms/4.5hrs.At Kodai there is this hidden gem called The Fern which are swiss tents in the midst of Pine trees,absolutely fabulous and the kitchen customises food for you,in fact there is no set menu,they just cook whatever you tell them to.Another place is the newly opened Tamara at Kodai which is again one of its kind.

[NPV]

The Taj Resort and Lalit Ashok (almost next door) are great properties at Bekal (and senior-friendly from what I know).

One can fly to Mangalore and then drive down to Bekal (I think it is < 100Km and can be done in < 2 hours).

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by GTO

Please suggest holiday destinations where senior citizens will be comfortable. Mom is 75 and overweight, hence her mobility is restricted. She can walk, but no more than 20 - 30 meters before needing a break.
• Restrictions:
- She gets tired easily. Very easily.
- No sight-seeing destinations where she has to walk too much (e.g. a palace in Rajasthan or a fort in Goa).
- Flight duration of 4 - 5 hours tops.
- Driving destination of 4 - 5 hours tops.
- If domestic help or an assistant is available at the place, that's awesome (but not mandatory).
- Any activities must be close to the car parking or wheelchair-accessible.

Thank you!

GTO - I recently took my parents and 4 other senior citizens to Andamans (Port Blair & Havelock), as part of a 12 pax family group, for 7 nights.
My father (79) has Parkinson's Disease, and mother (69) has acute knee, spinal and arthritis related problems, which affects mobility for both of them. Another senior citizen (70) in the group had mobility limitations.

We managed just fine, because -
- Flights were reasonably short, and for us, direct.
- I chose hotels and resorts that had Ground floor accommodation and easy access for people with disabilities
- I booked Catamaran transfers, rather than the Government Ships, since they are easy to get on to and one doesn't need to hop over bulkheads. Helicopter service is also an option there
- We booked local cabs all through, to make conveyance seamless
- I made my parents' experience Snorkelling, Sea Scooter and speed boat rides, although Scuba etc. were out of the question at their age
- The local people are very helpful and readily assist you in case they see any challenge
- Skipped the arduous trip to Baratang or Diglipur, on this trip
- All activities are usually within 20-50 meters of where the car goes up to, so quite manageable.

They later told me, that they never thought that they would be able to do anything close to this in their lifetimes.

You may consider something like this too, and easily add Neil Island as well to your itinerary, because it meets all the criteria that you set out. All the best!

P.S. Last year I had taken them to Manali and Corbett (separately) and both trips were significantly more demanding and difficult than this trip.