Athens on our own

This is my first European cruise, but I've been to Europe a bunch of times. Typically, in the Caribbean, we take the ship excursions because we don't want the stress of potentially not making it back to the port on time. It's just easier.

We want to do the major sites in Athens and Norwegian is charging $189/person for the excursion that we want to do (Acropolis and museum), which is really expensive, in my opinion. We will be there from 8am to 6pm. My questions are as follows:

1. How easy is it to get a cab into Athens and back to the port to do it on our own? And, how much time will that realistically take to get into the city. ?

2. Is it worth doing the cruise ship tour, due to the guide and front of line access? Should we just suck it up and pay the $189/person?

3. How much of a pain in the butt is it to do the hop-on, hop-off bus from the pier?

4. Or, should we just take the subway? How long does that take and how often does it run?

We aren't afraid of doing some walking. I am concerned that we won't have enough time in the day. Thanks in advance.

Monica

Reading your post makes me wonder. If you are concerned about going on your own in the Caribbean (where it is very easy) then its interesting that you would consider going on your own in a port like Pireaus. That being said, a taxi can get you into Athens in about 20 min and there will be plenty of taxis. The Hop On Hop Off buses load just outside the Port (along the main road that fronts the port) and they have employees at the bus stop to give you their guide brochure and answer any question. We are not HoHo fans...but it is a very good option in Pireaus for a first time visitor. The other option is to go to the Pireaus train station (about a 30 min walk or a short bus ride on the #843 bus) and take the inexpensive Green Line train/metro to Athens. And the final option is to use the X80 Express bus which runs from just outside the port (as somebody to point you to the bus stop) into Athens. We would add that since we have never used the X80 and do not know the current schedule...it would be wise to get current info from somebody with first hand knowledge.

Hank

Just spent time in Athens. Hank just covered all of your options in a concise fashion. However the one issue as you do your plan is to always have plan B especially in this part of Europe. On any given day, usually with advance notice, the metro or bus drivers or both may decide to go on strike as may just about any other workers. You can still diy but just be prepared.

My questions are as follows:

 

1. How easy is it to get a cab into Athens and back to the port to do it on our own? And, how much time will that realistically take to get into the city. ? It's very easy to get a taxi into Athens. It should cost 20-25 euro (for the taxi, not per person). The ride into the central area, near the Acropolis, will take about 20 minutes; maybe a bit more if there's a lot of traffic.

 

2. Is it worth doing the cruise ship tour, due to the guide and front of line access? Should we just suck it up and pay the $189/person? No, no, absolutely no. Athens is an excellent place to do on your own. Just bring some sort of guidebook, notes, audio guide,etc. with you for places like the Acropolis.

 

3. How much of a pain in the butt is it to do the hop-on, hop-off bus from the pier? It's pretty easy. Not sure why you'd think it's a pain. But like Hank above, I'm not such a huge fan of the HOHO bus. I'd recommend using a taxi to get to the Acropolis fast and first. If you get there right away you might have up to an hour before the cruise ship tour buses start arriving. Getting back, you could take the express X80 bus or find a taxi.

 

4. Or, should we just take the subway? How long does that take and how often does it run? The subway is a bit of a pain due to the longish walk from where most cruise ships dock. If you try to walk it, the walk could eat up as much as 30 minutes from ship to subway. There is a bus you can catch that will get you from port to subway, but I'm not sure how frequently it comes along....

 

We aren't afraid of doing some walking. I am concerned that we won't have enough time in the day. Thanks in advance.

 

Monica

See my thoughts above.

This is exactly what I was looking for. I got my Rick Steves travel book and I'm ready to go! I'm not really a fan of the HOHO busses, either. I've only done it in Munich, because I was super tight on time and needed a quick overview of the city.

Thank you everyone! I appreciate it.

Did the HOHO bus yesterday. 20 euro each. It was very easy. They are right outside the port.

You can also arrange a private taxi tour. Much cheaper than $189 per person. The driver picks you up in an air conditioned Mercedes sedan and drives you from site to site. We used PK travel. There is an entire thread, that's how I learned about them.