A Day in Athens, After a Long Flight

I just booked our next cruise yesterday and we fly out in <50 days, which for me trying to plan a trip to Europe is very tight (Usually I give myself at least a year). Anyway we fly in to Athens on 16 Sept, arriving at 10:30 AM. I booked a hotel in the Plaka (Electra Palace). I could use some suggestions on the following:

At the airport is it easy to get an English speaking taxi driver to take us to the hotel, or would I be better off trying to pre-hire a driver?

From the Plaka area approx. how much time should I allow to get to the pier the next day? (Our ship sails at 8pm, but I am not sure by what time we must be on board. I know if booking air through the cruise line ones flight had to arrive by 4:30 pm)

I would of course consider the Acropolis the one "must see", but taking into account our limited time and jet lag (Some sleep will be necessary) what would you consider a must see?

As to food, what should we try?

Any other suggestions to get the most of our brief time appreciated.

When you first get to the hotel, check your bags and go have lunch. Take some time to visit the Acropolis first thing. When you finish the Acropolis go take a 2 hr nap. No more. You don't want to mess up your adjustment to the new time schedule. After your nap go sight see! There is plenty of time because a lot of the sights are open until 8p. The Acropolis Museum is a must see too. When you purchase a ticket for the Acropolis you can buy a multi-sight pass. It is worth it and everything we saw was within walking distance of the Plaka.

When you first get to the hotel, check your bags and go have lunch. Take some time to visit the Acropolis first thing. When you finish the Acropolis go take a 2 hr nap. No more. You don't want to mess up your adjustment to the new time schedule. After your nap go sight see! There is plenty of time because a lot of the sights are open until 8p. The Acropolis Museum is a must see too. When you purchase a ticket for the Acropolis you can buy a multi-sight pass. It is worth it and everything we saw was within walking distance of the Plaka.

Thank you for your suggestions. Your idea of a short nap is excellent, just enough to get a little rest, but not so much we sleep the entire time in Athens. Its good to know that many of the sites are opened until 8. I would have thought 6. That gives us a couple extra hours, and then a late (For us) dinner.

We have arranged a taxi tour company to meet our early morning flight, take us on Athens tour, and drop us at hotel in Plaka area. The next morning the same company will pick us up at 10, take us to Ancient Corinth tour and then take us to port to board Vista. Private tours can be a little pricey, but this will most likely be our only trip to Athens. Too many beautiful places in this world! Hope my review after will be completely positive!

We have arranged a taxi tour company to meet our early morning flight' date=' take us on Athens tour, and drop us at hotel in Plaka area. The next morning the same company will pick us up at 10, take us to Ancient Corinth tour and then take us to port to board Vista. Private tours can be a little pricey, but this will most likely be our only trip to Athens. Too many beautiful places in this world! Hope my review after will be completely positive![/quote']

 

 

I think you made a wise choice. You will go directly to the Acropolis as and be there as soon as it opens beating the crowds and the heat. You will be tired from your flight so driving around in an air conditioned Mercedes will prevent the fatigue getting worse. The driver makes sure you see everything you want and makes sure you get there but there is no thinking or getting lost. Make sure you see the illumination of the Acropolis. Sometimes hotels have roof top bars.

I think you made a wise choice. You will go directly to the Acropolis as and be there as soon as it opens beating the crowds and the heat. You will be tired from your flight so driving around in an air conditioned Mercedes will prevent the fatigue getting worse.

:confused: Their flight doesn't arrive until 10:30 am -- they certainly won't arrive at the Acropolis when it opens.

:confused: Their flight doesn't arrive until 10:30 am -- they certainly won't arrive at the Acropolis when it opens.

Ok then but they will still save time by going straight there instead of going to hotel to drop off luggage and try to acclimate themselves how to get to Accropolis.

I think you made a wise choice. You will go directly to the Acropolis as and be there as soon as it opens beating the crowds and the heat. You will be tired from your flight so driving around in an air conditioned Mercedes will prevent the fatigue getting worse. The driver makes sure you see everything you want and makes sure you get there but there is no thinking or getting lost. Make sure you see the illumination of the Acropolis. Sometimes hotels have roof top bars.

This worked great for us! Our flight arrived at 7:10 am. PK Travel met our flight and took us straight to the Acropolis. We picked up a local guide onsite and enjoyed our time there. When we came out, our driver was waiting to take us more places. There were many people there then, so our early arrival helped us make best use of our time. Our hotel did have a rooftop bar, too!

Save the acropolis for the next morning and be there when the gates open. Your ship doesn't leave until 8 so no need to head down to the port until late afternoon.

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My ship is set to leave at 6 P.M. and we arrive into Athens at 5 P.M. the preceding day.

I know it will take some time to get our bags and to go through customs and immigration in Athens. Then we plan on taking the train into downtown Athens where we have an AirBNB. I guess by the time we get set into our room it will be around 8 P.M. Let alone if our flight is late. Any suggestions for our short time in Athens before our cruise?

My ship is set to leave at 6 P.M. and we arrive into Athens at 5 P.M. the preceding day.

 

I know it will take some time to get our bags and to go through customs and immigration in Athens. Then we plan on taking the train into downtown Athens where we have an AirBNB. I guess by the time we get set into our room it will be around 8 P.M. Let alone if our flight is late. Any suggestions for our short time in Athens before our cruise?

PK Travel will do a tour for you and take you to the port. They were wonderful to work with. Their website shows the different options, so you may choose what you want to see. We did a full day Athens tour since our flight was overnight and the next day we went 1/2 day to Ancient Corinth before the port. Trip Advisor ratings give them top reviews and so do we!

Rosethorne, we arrived in Athens after a short flight - the airport bus or metro are cheap and run often and both stop at Syntagma Square. It is a 3/4 block walk to the Electra Palace from there. (Have a look at google maps). There is a little cafe (Paradosiako) around the corner from the hotel for a quick lunch. My suggestion would be to buy your Acropolis multi pass at the Temple of Olympian Zeus -a few blocks away, in the afternoon - visit there and any other sites in the area - pan olympic stadium, Presidential guards at parliament house look around plaka. Then be at the Acropolis gates next morning at opening time - you already have your tickets so you can be among the first through the gates when they open. You will probably have time to visit a few other sites (ancient Agora, etc) before heading off to your cruise ship. This area is very walkable.

oops just noticed this question is a year old

Any suggestions for an Athens hotels?

Any suggestions for an Athens hotels?

I've stayed three times at the very well located Athens Gate hotel -- modern, friendly staff, excellent rooftop breakfast with view of the Acropolis.

For a bigger splurge, there's the Grande Bretagne hotel -- a historic hotel located on Syntagma Square, also with a rooftop breakfast and view of the Acropolis. This is the hotel Heinrich Schliemann stayed in while between his various excavations (Mycenae; Troy), before he built his own mansion nearby. I've stayed there twice and enjoyed it as well.

I just booked our next cruise yesterday and we fly out in <50 days, which for me trying to plan a trip to Europe is very tight (Usually I give myself at least a year). Anyway we fly in to Athens on 16 Sept, arriving at 10:30 AM. I booked a hotel in the Plaka (Electra Palace). I could use some suggestions on the following:

 

At the airport is it easy to get an English speaking taxi driver to take us to the hotel, or would I be better off trying to pre-hire a driver?

 

From the Plaka area approx. how much time should I allow to get to the pier the next day? (Our ship sails at 8pm, but I am not sure by what time we must be on board. I know if booking air through the cruise line ones flight had to arrive by 4:30 pm)

 

I would of course consider the Acropolis the one "must see", but taking into account our limited time and jet lag (Some sleep will be necessary) what would you consider a must see?

 

As to food, what should we try?

 

Any other suggestions to get the most of our brief time appreciated.

We booked a service called Welcome Pick Ups. They were amazing. Waiting for us when we got off the plane, no more expensive than a cab ride (ours actually turned out cheaper) and they tell you about their city as you go to the hotel. It's all prepaid so no worries about having currency and the drivers speak your language. Ours was phenomenal.

The Acropolis museum is fabulous, and you can just walk around the Plaka area very easily after that. We went to a restaurant called the Athenaikon that was excellent. It is also in the Plaka district. Prices were very reasonable, food was fabulous and the service was great.

Knowing that we would be arriving very early in the morning in Athens,after a long flight, with our kids in tow, we booked ahead for Private Greece tours to pick us up from the airport. The driver took us to our hotel to drop off our luggage, then picked up 3 more travelers to join our group and started off our Athens tour. You can also reach the city center by train, but frankly this was the easiest way (and the most comfortable too.)