Athens tour guide question

As far as I can see from the description of the tour and Terms and Conditions, PK Travel requires a deposit on Shared Excursions. How did it work for those who already used this company? I am not a big fan of paying a deposit or giving my credit card.

Any other companies out there that don't require a deposit?

Thanks!

I like TAXIGREECE.COM!

George's Taxi - Private Tours

Tripadvisor rates George #1. We did a full day tour of Athens, 4 of us, a few years ago. We have him reserved for this October.

I like TAXIGREECE.COM!

George's Taxi - Private Tours

 

Tripadvisor rates George #1. We did a full day tour of Athens, 4 of us, a few years ago. We have him reserved for this October.

Do they require deposit or credit card info?

Thanks a lot! :)

Do they require deposit or credit card info?

 

Thanks a lot! :)

Not at all! Here is my review from fall 2012:

We booked George based upon both cruise critic and trip advisor reviews and were not disappointed. I used the George's taxi website to make initial contact. After that, contact and confirmation by email was easy. We even received a thank you from Nicholas, George's son, following our tour.

George was waiting at the pier in a Mercedes for the four of us. We were traveling with my sister and brother-in-law and each couple was given an Athens guidebook - a nice touch!

George spoke excellent English, was interesting, entertaining, accommodating and gracious. We started off getting coffees at a local shop that gave us warm pretzel type bread. It was delicious.

We saw all of the usual Athens wonders and they were breathtaking. He drove us up to the highest spot and the panoramic view was exquisite. George brought the past to life with his knowledgable discussions.

We requested a stop for lunch. We wanted a local place, not a tourist trap. We were so happy with our meal!!! We were served about 6 or seven traditional dishes, two salads on the house, a couple of beers and a half carafe of wine made by the proprietor's father - total cost for all four of us 40 euro! Loved loved loved this meal. One of the highlights of our trip for food.

George let us walk across the street to buy baklava!

What can I say, this was a wonderful and memorable day. ( we did take about an hour at the end for shopping.)

I don't think Athens could have been covered in one day as we did without George.

No deposit needed. We used him two years ago for 12 of us. GREAT tour! He is #1!!!

Review 10-06-2013 Mycenae, Corinthian Canal, Nafplion

We recently took a wonderful excursion with Paul Kalomiris (paul_kalomiris@hotmail.com) the taxi driver from Athens and a guide he recommended named Gregory. We all decided to see some new places on the Peloponnesus Pennensula, which is separated from the mainland by the Corenthian Canal, which was one of our stops. We visited the canal, the ancient site of Mycenae, and the delightful seaside town of Nafplion, which is at the base of the Palamidis, a wondrous castle with 999 steps carrying you above Nafplion.

Paul picked us up from the port early, the second we walked off the Royal Princess we saw him waiting for us, so we got a quick start and missed a lot of the crowds. Paul expertly guided us away from Athens, today we were going to cover new territory for all of us visiting places we had never been to. It was a Sunday, and there was a bit of traffic but Paul turned on a hotspot for us so we could all get and send emails using his hotspot, so this made the traffic time (which was pretty short anyway) pass quickly, plus it was fantastic that he had this for us in the first place, not other driver-guides have done this for us and we all really appreciated it greatly.

Once we broke out of the traffic jam we moved quickly, our first stop with the Corinthian canal. What an incredible place, we all loved snapping selfies on the bridge, as well as perusing the coffee shop and some of the yummy foods for sale there. Paul keept us on schedule, we had a lot of territory to cover and he was trying to make up for the time we lost during the traffic jam. We had only lost about 20 minutes, so this was easy to make up. We all really appreciated Paul’s diligence in keeping us moving in a timely manner!

As we drove through this exquisite country, we drove through verdant valleys filled with fruit trees and fields of grapes and Olive trees. We came upon Mycenae, and ancient town with many impressive ruins. Gregory guided us on an interesting walking tour of this old Greek town and we had a fantastic time learning all about the powerful and brilliant culture that lived here so many thousands of years ago. In Mycenae we saw the Cyclopean Walls, the Grave Circle A with 6 royal tombs, courtiers' houses, sanctuaries, the Grave Circle B with 14 royal tombs and 12 tombs of private citizens, the Treasure of Atreus also known as the beehive tomb of Agamemnon, and the Lions Gate. It was a fantastic tour run by our knowledgeable guide Gregory. This was a favorite stop for many of us.

We continued to drive on towards Nafplion, and when we finally came upon it, we were all blown away by its beauty and history. Gregory walked us through the town, pointing out all the important places and then left us with plenty of free time to explore, shop, and eat, which we all did! Here I found some beautiful “Worry beads” as well as other trinkets of Greece. The town itself was incredible, with narrow streets filled with flowers and hills with the looming Palamidis palace with all of its steps.

We ate at a small Greek restaurant on a beautiful side street and had delicious food served as we sat outside and soaked up the culture and good vibes. The food was delicious. We lingered awhile at the restaurant, talking to locals and taking in the parade of characters whom all lived here. We also spied a cute hop on, hop off choo-choo train snaking itself through the narrow and scenic streets. We all loved Nafplion and decided we needed to plan to spend more time there next time we visit.

Finally it was time to get back to the ship. Paul was diligent about getting us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare, we never had any concerns about this as Paul has always been very conscientious of cruisers needs to get back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. He was the consummate driver-guide, as was Gregory. This was the second time I had used Paul and he made us feel like family, this made the tour all the more special because of Paul’s hospitality. It was our favorite tour of the cruise, thanks so much to Paul, and of course Gregory.

I'm trying to figure out if PK Travel Paul/Dimitris are the same Athens by taxi people mentioned at the beginning of this thread? Does anyone know for sure?

Never mind, lol. I figured out they are definitely the same. :)

I'm trying to figure out if PK Travel Paul/Dimitris are the same Athens by taxi people mentioned at the beginning of this thread? Does anyone know for sure?

Yes, they are the same company. We will be using them on our upcoming visit next month! They have been great thus far in communication, changes etc. looking forward to our tour very much! :)

Dolfans from Miami

I'm trying to figure out if PK Travel Paul/Dimitris are the same Athens by taxi people mentioned at the beginning of this thread? Does anyone know for sure?

yes they are the same. I've taken 2 excursions with Paul, he is wonderful and really takes great care of people who tour with him. I will always use him when I can! Enjoy your time with him...

We have just returned from a trip to Athens and Greece and we used PK Travel. We first had contact with them during a Mediterranean cruise in 2013 when we had a driver and car for a day trip from our ship. We were met by Dimitris and he turned an interesting day into a day to remember with his help, knowledge and the ability to take us to just the right places for the right times.

We loved it so much that, in planning a return trip to Europe in December 2014-January 2015, we specifically wrote to them and asked about a one week driving tour through the Greek mainland. They worked with us to put together a tour that matched our interests and the result exceeded our expectations! We had a personal driver and took their advice to use guides for some of the key locations such as Delphi, Meteora and Philippi.

We cannot speak too highly of our experience. I am not the sort of person who is given to hyperbole but it was a week we will always remember. A definite 11…

We were met at the airport by the same person who would drive us during the week and then picked up at our hotel the next day for the week’s travel. Travelling with Dimitri, we did a total of 1,600 km and visited Corinth, Delphi, Meteora, Berea, Thessaloniki, Philippi, Kavala and Athens. The travel was relaxing and informative and the driver was safe, professional and interesting - it was like leaving a friend when we finished. Potoula, who managed all our correspondence and planning, was incredibly well-organised and responsive. Paul, the manager, was always in contact when needed to make sure everything was progressing well and to make any small adjustments necessary. On one day, when we decided to ask for a guide for the next day, he organised it late in the day and we were so happy with the result.

The weather in January was cold, but not at all a problem. The days were sunny, the roads were good and the food and accommodation were excellent value. We are from Australia and we loved the weather.

This was a trip we will never forget and we have determined to return and do an expanded journey, possible driving ourselves. I was very impressed with the quality of the roads, both the highways between major cities and the secondary roads.

We would highly recommend PK Tours as our experience with them was entirely positive.

In looking at their website, I did notice that the "guides" in fact, are not licensed guides but basically drivers, and while they have some knowledge, "their knowledge is quite limited"....Not sure I would want to go with that...just my opinion.....When I will be there only for a day, I would want a guide who is knowledgeable....and can into the sites and explain what I am looking at.

In looking at their website, I did notice that the "guides" in fact, are not licensed guides but basically drivers, and while they have some knowledge, "their knowledge is quite limited"....Not sure I would want to go with that...just my opinion.....When I will be there only for a day, I would want a guide who is knowledgeable....and can into the sites and explain what I am looking at.

I found Paul to be of great help, he was as knowledgeable as the guide he brought for us, and smart enough to know we needed a guide for Myceanne! If you really want facts, you should hire a guide along with Paul. The guide goes through each place with you, explaining what you are seeing.

If you try to save money and want to hire a driver who has some knowledge, Paul is great. But if you want to learn the nuances of each site than hire a guide along with Paul! That's what I did...