Athens DYI

Ok, we are not usually the DYI'ers ( in Europe)but it seems to me we can do Athens on our own. If we take a taxi from the port to Plaka and head toward the Acropolis but do any of you recommend hiring a guide? I was thinking of using Rick Steve's walking tours. Seems simple enough to me.

Ok, we are not usually the DYI'ers ( in Europe)but it seems to me we can do Athens on our own. If we take a taxi from the port to Plaka and head toward the Acropolis but do any of you recommend hiring a guide? I was thinking of using Rick Steve's walking tours. Seems simple enough to me.

We stayed in Athens for 2 day pre-cruise and DIY'ed the Acropolis in 2016 and it was great. Recommend getting there early to beat the ship's tours which bring masses of people. If you have school aged kids, have them bring their school ID with them, it will get them entrance discounts at the Acropolis and at the Acropolis Museum which is absolutely worth going into. We did not hire a guide.

You can take a cab or there is a bus called the X80 from the port. If you take a cab, make the Acropolis your first stop since it obviously uphill!!!! ;p

Wandering the Plaka is lovely and very easy to do. I got a map from Borch that made it super simple to find the attractions.

We stayed in Athens for 2 day pre-cruise and DIY'ed the Acropolis in 2016 and it was great. Recommend getting there early to beat the ship's tours which bring masses of people. If you have school aged kids, have them bring their school ID with them, it will get them entrance discounts at the Acropolis and at the Acropolis Museum which is absolutely worth going into. We did not hire a guide.

 

You can take a cab or there is a bus called the X80 from the port. If you take a cab, make the Acropolis your first stop since it obviously uphill!!!! ;p

 

Wandering the Plaka is lovely and very easy to do. I got a map from Borch that made it super simple to find the attractions.

Thank you for your reply. As I said we are wanting to do a few DYI's on our next Med cruise and I thought Athens seemed to be a great choice for that along with Mykonos, Kotor, Corfu and even Argostoli.

Assuming you are going in the late spring/summer we would suggest a slightly different strategy. If you are going to use a taxi (we normally use the Green Line train or X80 bus), you might be wise to have the taxi drop you right near the Acropolis Entrance. It can get very hot in Athens, and the Acropolis can be crowded (cruise ship passengers are only a small percentage of daily visitors). So we would recommend making the Acropolis your first stop so you are hopefully climbing up during the cooler (and less crowded) part of the day. After the Acropolis make sure you visit the relatively new Acropolis Museum (not far from the entrance to the Acropolis) which will help put everything you have seen in better perspective. Following that museum you can walk over to the Plaka area (just keep in mind that this part of Athens is a true tourist trap with too many tacky shops). You can walk through the Plaka and then over to Syntagma Square.

I do like (and often recommend) the Rick Steves books...but beware of his restaurant recommendations :). You might find yourself in an overpriced cafe and notice that nearly every customer is holding a Rick Steves book. We think that the popularity of the Rick Steves books has done a lot to ruin many previously terrific eating venues. Popularity often breeds complacency.

Hank

Assuming you are going in the late spring/summer we would suggest a slightly different strategy. If you are going to use a taxi (we normally use the Green Line train or X80 bus), you might be wise to have the taxi drop you right near the Acropolis Entrance. It can get very hot in Athens, and the Acropolis can be crowded (cruise ship passengers are only a small percentage of daily visitors). So we would recommend making the Acropolis your first stop so you are hopefully climbing up during the cooler (and less crowded) part of the day. After the Acropolis make sure you visit the relatively new Acropolis Museum (not far from the entrance to the Acropolis) which will help put everything you have seen in better perspective. Following that museum you can walk over to the Plaka area (just keep in mind that this part of Athens is a true tourist trap with too many tacky shops). You can walk through the Plaka and then over to Syntagma Square.

 

I do like (and often recommend) the Rick Steves books...but beware of his restaurant recommendations :). You might find yourself in an overpriced cafe and notice that nearly every customer is holding a Rick Steves book. We think that the popularity of the Rick Steves books has done a lot to ruin many previously terrific eating venues. Popularity often breeds complacency.

 

Hank

Thank you for your input. We will actually be cruising in late October and early November. Hopefully cooler and less crowded but I also understand things will close earlier so we may have less time to enjoy some sites.

Thank you for your input. We will actually be cruising in late October and early November. Hopefully cooler and less crowded but I also understand things will close earlier so we may have less time to enjoy some sites.

Hot or cold, that's still a heckuva climb!! Since I am not into that sort of thing, I vote the taxi drops me off at the top of the hill! ;p:')

Can anyone tell me where Bus x80 drops at the Acropolis. Is it still quite a climb up to the entrance.