Taxi or tour in Athens?

We will be in Athens in November and are trying to decide if the 4 of us should rent a taxi for the day to take us to the Acroplolis and the Plaka, or if we should do a private tour. I'm sure the tour will cost more but it's probably nice to have a guide to tell you about what you're seeing?

Thanks.

Sue

If you are a do it yourself kind of group, you can hire a guide at the Acropolis --to my mind, the only place you'd really need one. They cost around 100 euros per group.

Most "private" tours in Athens do not include a guide (the drivers are not licensed guides and cannot accompany you into the sites). So even if you have a private tour, you still would have to pay separately for a guide if you want one.

There is also a group that gives walking tours; I haven't used them but have heard good things about them from others:

http://www.athenswalkingtours.gr/tour04.html

It all depends what you like to do? For us we generally always go with doing things on our own verses private tours which is what we done in Athens. We got a taxi driver that took us directly from the port to the steps of the Acropolis. He gave us some photo opts to get pictures while approaching which was nice. He gave us information about town as we were driving through. It was easy to catch a cab going back also because we had walked down to the Plaka for lunch and shopping! We crossed the street over to the Temple of Zeus which is directly on a main road which is where we found a taxi back. Good luck with deciding and have a great time!!!

So it sounds like you can walk from the Acropolis to the Plaka?

Would your advice change for a place like Ephesus? Because also there, we are trying to decide what to do.

Yes, you can easily walk from the Acropolis to the Plaka (and there are other interesting things in between, like the ancient Greek agora and the later Roman forum). :)

As to Ephesus, I would recommend a private tour there. Why? First of all, Ephesus is a huge site, compared to the Acropolis. It's an entire town, like Pompeii. Second, private tours are very reasonable in Turkey, and public transportation is not as easy. So I'd book one of the several recommended agencies here for an excellent tour of Ephesus -- and don't miss the Terrace Houses.

When in Athens, we were able to get a taxi at the port and he gave us a guided tour going into the Acropolis. He dropped us at the palace just in time to see the changing of the guard, then picked us up, showed us other noteworthy sites, and dropped us all the way up at the Acropolis. After touring there, we used Rick Steves' walking tour of Athens to wind down to the Plaka. That was a great experience, and much better than a tour would have been. There are tiny alleys that I would never have wandered down. He gives you the history and points out places of interest. From there, we got on the subway and rode it back to Piraeus. It was a great day primarily because we did so much on our own, but still saw the sites.

Hi,

We will be in Athens ~Nov and want to visit the Acropolis. We've signed up for a tour guide since we won't have much time. I will be traveling with 2 grandparents with bad knees. How long does it take to get up to the Parthenon/Propylaea (30 mins) going at a slow pace? and how long do you think I will need up there to see everything and soak up the wonder? Also, I can't tell from the comments whether it is easier to get up the northern or southeastern entrance?

Many thanks!

Kathy

Hi,

 

We will be in Athens ~Nov and want to visit the Acropolis. We've signed up for a tour guide since we won't have much time. I will be traveling with 2 grandparents with bad knees. How long does it take to get up to the Parthenon/Propylaea (30 mins) going at a slow pace? and how long do you think I will need up there to see everything and soak up the wonder? Also, I can't tell from the comments whether it is easier to get up the northern or southeastern entrance?

 

Many thanks!

 

Kathy

Definitely the southeastern entrance is the easiest route because (1) you are starting higher up the hill itself when ascending up the southern rather than the northern slope; and (2) there are about 100 less steps using that entrance. The ascent primarily is gentle "switchback" slopes. I investigated this thoroughly last year because my spouse has depth perception problems on steps. Of course, all the paths converge at the Propylea. I cannot advise on your other questions because we are ancient ruins people, real history/archaelogy lovers, so definitely spent more time than others might.

We will be in Athens in November and are trying to decide if the 4 of us should rent a taxi for the day to take us to the Acroplolis and the Plaka, or if we should do a private tour. I'm sure the tour will cost more but it's probably nice to have a guide to tell you about what you're seeing?

Thanks.

 

Sue

Hi Sue: We used Paul (frequently mentioned on these boards) for full-day taxi service. Actually, his son took us and did a wonderful job (both he and his father are drivers, not licensed guides, though they were very knowledgable). It cost 250E for the day, not including admissions or lunch. He even gave us a book describing the sites of ancient Athens, which was ours to keep. Of all the drivers we used on our 12-day cruise (and we used quite a few because of the heat), they provided the best service.

So it sounds like you can walk from the Acropolis to the Plaka?

 

Would your advice change for a place like Ephesus? Because also there, we are trying to decide what to do.

Absolutley! You just make your way back down and you will arrive at the Plaka. And as the other poster said there are many things to stop and visit in between.

As far as Ephesus we did our ship's tour due to our time restraints. There are only 3 of us and it was just a cost reasonable for us to do it rather than hire a taxi. Of course I was a little upset because we were in with a 'tour' and had to do their step by step actions. It left only about 20 minutes afterwards to shop around outside the gates which I could have used a little more :). It was an experience that I loved very much though!!

The Acropolis is, of course, the crown jewel of Athens. Lots of people like to tour the Acropolis, and then spend the rest of their time shopping in the Plaka.

However, if your main interest is the antiquities, then the Antiquity Promenade will take you through many more sites than just the Acropolis. With a good guide book it is easy to walk by yourself and you can spend basically the whole day wandering from one end to the other. You will see a lot that others miss. (and oh, yeah, there is a small shopping area at Plaka's Gate so you won't miss shopping entirely!)

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/athens.html

Have a GREAT cruise!

We will be in Athens in November and are trying to decide if the 4 of us should rent a taxi for the day to take us to the Acroplolis and the Plaka, or if we should do a private tour. I'm sure the tour will cost more but it's probably nice to have a guide to tell you about what you're seeing?

 

Thanks.

 

Sue

We were in Athens on a Sunday so the traffic was very light. We used cabs which cost us 20 euros per cab. The Plaka, the Acropolis, and many other sites are all in close proximity....

Can anyone tell me what the best and cheapest way is to tour athens for a family of 5? (3 teens) Do they allow 5 in taxi or should we hire private guide in mini bus?

Thanks, visiting December.

Can anyone tell me what the best and cheapest way is to tour athens for a family of 5? (3 teens) Do they allow 5 in taxi or should we hire private guide in mini bus?

Thanks, visiting December.

The best and cheapest way is to use public transportation. You can easily get from the ship to the Acropolis, the Plaka, Syntagma Square, the Archeological Museum, etc -- basically anywhere you want to go in Athens -- for a 3 euro per person all-day metro ticket.

Five will not fit in a standard taxi.

We were able to get a taxi for 9 at the port and we didn't pre-reserve. It was a stretch Mercedes and he was just waiting for a fare. We weren't able to negotiate much on the price (90 euros to the Acropolis, a few years back) because we were a large party, but he took us all, and gave us a wonderful 'tour' on the way in. It gave us a nice overview and then we took public transportation back to the ship.

Your info is a great help. Just a couple of questions. What was the cost for a cab from the port to the Acropolis? Did you make arrangements ahead or just go to the line up?

We just got back from Athens in August. We did a tour that took us to the Acropolis but then allowed us free time to explore on our own after. In our free time we went to the Agora, the Plaka and the New Acropolis Museum. We got a lot out of having a tour guide explain things at the Acropolis, the information was so interesting. But then after that we made good use of our time on our own. Exploring by ourselves was easy. We had a good map and those parts of the city were fairly well marked.

If you decide to get a cab, there were many lined up at the port, getting one was no problem. We did talk to people who took a cab without planning, negotiated a price and had the driver take them around for the day. Some people were very satisfied with that.

Have a great time. We loved Athens and it was definitely a highlight of our trip.

Your info is a great help. Just a couple of questions. What was the cost for a cab from the port to the Acropolis? Did you make arrangements ahead or just go to the line up?

You should not pay more than 20 Euros for a regular taxi from the port to the Acropolis. Settle the price before you get in the taxi. If they want more, go to the tourist police in the terminal. (It's only seven miles and should be even less money, but in my two visits in the past year, never got one to agree to use the meter. If the driver agrees to the meter, make sure it is the day, not night meter.)

We just got back from Athens in August. We did a tour that took us to the Acropolis but then allowed us free time to explore on our own after. In our free time we went to the Agora, the Plaka and the New Acropolis Museum. We got a lot out of having a tour guide explain things at the Acropolis, the information was so interesting. But then after that we made good use of our time on our own. Exploring by ourselves was easy. We had a good map and those parts of the city were fairly well marked.

 

If you decide to get a cab, there were many lined up at the port, getting one was no problem. We did talk to people who took a cab without planning, negotiated a price and had the driver take them around for the day. Some people were very satisfied with that.

 

Have a great time. We loved Athens and it was definitely a highlight of our trip.

Could you please tell me the name of tour service you used? or email me at fgrandma7@socket.net. Thank you.

Hi Sue: We used Paul (frequently mentioned on these boards) for full-day taxi service. Actually, his son took us and did a wonderful job (both he and his father are drivers, not licensed guides, though they were very knowledgable). It cost 250E for the day, not including admissions or lunch. He even gave us a book describing the sites of ancient Athens, which was ours to keep. Of all the drivers we used on our 12-day cruise (and we used quite a few because of the heat), they provided the best service.

Could you please tell me how to get in touch with Paul? My email address is fgrandma7@socket.net.

There is so much more than the Acropolis to see in Athens. The sites are all located in the center of Athens but they are scattered. It is always very helpful to have a professional to point details out to you and to provide you with all the necessary information. Being driven up to the entrance of the sites is also very important. We wouldn't have seen as much as we did otherwise. We had a great tour (family of six) when we were in Athens, with Nikos Loukas from www.privategreecetours.com. I highly recommend him.