I am traveling on a group tour to Rome, Siena and Florence. I was told that I will have to check my walker all the way through and use an airport wheelchair for boarding. I’m traveling on three different airlines, and I’m a bit concerned that I’ll never see my walker again. Do you know of a place that rents walkers in these cities?

First of all, I would check with the individual airlines to see if perhaps they can carry your walker in the on-board closet, or even in the overhead bin. It will of course depend on the measurements, but it never hurts to ask. Even if you can only have it on two out of the three flights (because of aircraft size) it still will cut down on your chances of it being lost or broken. Unfortunately walkers don’t fare too well in the hold, so if you must relinquish it for the flight, try to at least put it in a protective bag.

If it is lost or damaged, then just get in touch with Wheelchair in Italy www.wheelchairrentalinitaly.com/, as they also rent rollator walkers. They can deliver the walker to your hotel, and then pick it up after you depart. They can deliver any place in Italy, so it’s really a good backup plan, just in case.