Poll: which driver in Athens?

[mari10]

Paul has a brand new Mercedes vehicle (it came right after we were there last month). I'm not sure the total number it holds but it's somewhere at least in the 11-14 range. Our friends who were with us last month for a land trip will be on a family cruise in July and are using Paul again and I believe there are 11 in their party, but I'm not sure the maximum it holds. Just contact him, I'm sure he's anxious to begin using it!

 

Thank you. Our group consists of 9.

I'll email him pronto.

Mari

[KimmyinLA]

mshabbies, thanks for answering so many questions.

As for the breakdown of Athens and Cornith...I'm not sure of the exact itinerary but here is the email Paul first sent me:

 

Half Day or Full day Tours:

1. Athens City Tour

2. Ancient Corinth Tour

3. Cape Sounion Tour

4. Eleusis tour

5. Marathon and Rammnus tour

 

Full Day Tours:

1.Athens tour and Cape Sounion or Athens and Ancient Corinth

2.Ancient Corinth & Argolida - Myceneae - Naphlion - Epidavros

3.Delphi and the nearby Monastery of Osious Lucas

4.Ancient Sparta and the Byzantine fortified town of Mystras

 

As I previously wrote, we have requested a 1/2 day Athens City tour which I am told is about 4 1/2 hours. About 1 hour at the Acropolis, 1 1/2 hours at the museum and then the rest is spent seeing as much as possible (like changing of guards, etc). We have opted not to do the Cape Sounion tour because it sounds like it is mostly driving and from what I have read other posts. Instead, Paul has said he will drop us off where ever we want at the end of our tour, so we are thinking perhaps the Plaka to get some lunch and so some souvenir shopping.

 

What do you think? Would it be worthwhile to add the Ancient Corinth in the afternoon?

 

As always, any advice is appreciated.

[shmabbies]

I'm happy to help! We were so thrilled to go back to Greece and spend some real time. After two cruise stops in Athens & one in Santorini (and various other islands thru the years) it made such a difference to spend a week in Athens & a week in Santorini & get to do a lot (though I would still say we barely skimmed the surface). So talking about it to you all brings it all back! Anyway, to Kimmy, I would boil this decision down to the same issues I mentioned in another post. What YOU are interested in is what is important. I would say if you have ruled out Sounion because of the drive, the same logic would probably apply to Corinth, because I'm guessing it takes about the same length of time (roughly) to get from Athens to either spot. I would say the drive to Sounion is prettier. I would say the amount to see (in terms of ruins) is far more substantial at Corinth, and you get to see the Corinth Canal on the way (I assume a driver would go the same route to ancient Corinth as we did i.e. via Corinth Canal, but you should verify that). However, if you like cities & want to soak up atmosphere & ambience in the Plaka and save things like Corinth & Sounion for possible return trips to Athens, then that would be a good decision for you. If you think seeing the Acropolis is enough ruins for you for one day, you should also bypass Corinth & Sounion. If you enjoy seeing Bible locations & want to see where St. Paul spoke to the Corinthians, go to Corinth. Am I playing enough devil's advocate here? :o Your interests really matter the most!

[Breezey]

Shmabbies

Well thanks to your suggestion, we are booked with Paul for our cruise in September. His quick response, overview of the day (we decided on the full day) and obvious flexibility sealed the deal.

 

So now what are your thoughts on Naples (assuming you also did this port with a private driver). The cost for Naples is incredilbe but after having a meeting over brunch yesterday with our travelling friends we decided that we'd much rather do a private tour than be at the mercy of a busload of cruisers and the often mentioned "trapped in a cameo factory" stop.

 

Once these two ports are booked, we plan on wandering on our own on the rest of the ports and hopefully have some beach days

[shmabbies]

Hi Breezey, You've made a great decision with Paul and I hope when you get back you'll let us know how it went! As far as Naples goes, I can't help you. My only time in Naples was in my "pre-private-guide" days and we did Pompeii and the dreaded cameo factory tour. Actually we had a great tour of Pompeii and since it was February when we were there, we had the place virtually to ourselves. My father's family is from the Naples area and if I ever went back I know I would get a driver to take me to them! I'm going to ask my partners in crime, the couple with whom we shared some of our time with Paul, as I'm pretty sure they have done Naples with a driver OR at least can steer you in the right direction! :o

[trvlnliz]

Hi Breezy,

I'm shmabbies travel planning buddy! Last year my DH and where on a Med cruise that was suppose to stop in Amalfi but because of sea conditions we had to dock in Naples. We did the Amalfi drive and went to Positano and then to Pompeii on the way back to the ship. It was a very nice day.

This year we're going on a family Med. cruise and we'll take the Hydrofoil to Capri and then possibly we'll catch a Hyrofoil to Sorrento and then the train back to Naples. Since there are 11 of us this may be a bit much.

 

As far as a driver goes, we hired Gennaro and he is suppose to be quite good, but we had someone that worked for him and he was less that just OK. I've heard good reviews for :

FrancescoMarrapese - http://www.francescomarrapese.com/index.htm

Raffaele Iaccarino - http://www.sorrentotaxi.com/

Marcello Maresca - http://www.seesorrento.com/chi_sono_eng.html

 

Liz

[KimmyinLA]

We've decided that skipping out on the long drives would work best for us (then we'd have a great reason to go back;) )...but I've got questions for about other ports. Hmmm...perhaps it's time to start a separate thread. The ports I'm wondering about include Villefranche and Dubrovnik. If anyone reading this has any input -- please come on over!!

[Breezey]

Hi Breezy,

I'm shmabbies travel planning buddy! Last year my DH and where on a Med cruise that was suppose to stop in Amalfi but because of sea conditions we had to dock in Naples. We did the Amalfi drive and went to Positano and then to Pompeii on the way back to the ship. It was a very nice day.

This year we're going on a family Med. cruise and we'll take the Hydrofoil to Capri and then possibly we'll catch a Hyrofoil to Sorrento and then the train back to Naples. Since there are 11 of us this may be a bit much.

 

As far as a driver goes, we hired Gennaro and he is suppose to be quite good, but we had someone that worked for him and he was less that just OK. I've heard good reviews for :

FrancescoMarrapese - http://www.francescomarrapese.com/index.htm

Raffaele Iaccarino - http://www.sorrentotaxi.com/

Marcello Maresca - http://www.seesorrento.com/chi_sono_eng.html

 

Liz

 

 

Thanks Liz. Wow, 11 travelling together, that will be fun.

 

All is booked. We went ahead with Roberto at Drive Amalfi (one of Salvatore's colleagues). Another thread recommended him and hey, they all seem to have similar itineraries and prices. We had thought of Capri but since it is our first time in that part of Italy definitely wanted to see Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, hopefully Sorrento and Poisitano. We love Italy so am sure there will be another land trip planned there in the coming years.

[watercruise]

does anyone have email or phone for paul, the driver in athens?

thanks

[KimmyinLA]

Here's the email I've been using to correspond with him: greecebytaxi@greecebytaxi.com

He has a website: http://www.*****/

[shmabbies]

Kimmy, Just curious, where did you get that e-mail address for Paul? It's not the one I used just a few weeks ago when I wrote him a thank you for our day trips. The website address is correct so I know we're talking about the same Paul, just curious about the e-mail.

[KimmyinLA]

Hi mshabbies,

 

I think I originally used that 'contact' email address on his site to put in my request...then he's been using the one I posted ever since.

 

Also, I tried www.greecebytaxi.com and it automatically relinks you to www.*****

[watercruise]

does anyone have email for paul? thanks

[trvlnliz]

The email I have for Paul is admin@***** You'll love him he is a fantastic driver. :D

[Breezey]

The email I have for Paul is admin@***** You'll love him he is a fantastic driver. :D

 

Thats the one I used last week to book him for our trip in September.

[Norm&Ruby]

The information on this forum was very useful; thanks to all who contributed.

We are looking for another couple to share a tour we booked with Paul for a morning (8-12 or 9-1) tour of Athens on Saturday July 2. He charges 140 Euros for the tour whether its one couple or two. We are on the Windspirit that afternoon and cant find anyone else on that cruise interested; there must be others somewhere out there boarding a cruise that day that have the same intentions as us. You can email me at dr.norm@rogers.com

 

Thanks

 

Norman and Ruby

Toronto

[KimmyinLA]

Norman and Ruby,

 

I would also suggest letting Paul know that you're interested in finding another couple to share the tour...we asked him to do that and he promised us that he would let us know if he another couple on the same day.

[Queenk2]

Hi Breezy,

I'm shmabbies travel planning buddy! Last year my DH and where on a Med cruise that was suppose to stop in Amalfi but because of sea conditions we had to dock in Naples. We did the Amalfi drive and went to Positano and then to Pompeii on the way back to the ship. It was a very nice day.

This year we're going on a family Med. cruise and we'll take the Hydrofoil to Capri and then possibly we'll catch a Hyrofoil to Sorrento and then the train back to Naples. Since there are 11 of us this may be a bit much.

 

As far as a driver goes, we hired Gennaro and he is suppose to be quite good, but we had someone that worked for him and he was less that just OK. I've heard good reviews for :

FrancescoMarrapese - http://www.francescomarrapese.com/index.htm

Raffaele Iaccarino - http://www.sorrentotaxi.com/

Marcello Maresca - http://www.seesorrento.com/chi_sono_eng.html

 

Liz

 

We are going to be in Naples this year. We have been therre previously and have done both the Amalfi Drive and Pompeii..along with the dreaded Cameo Factory. This year we are planing to go to Herculaneum by either train or Txi..depending on if we can find another couple to share a taxi with, and then return to the port and take a Hydrofoil to Capri,,,whichwe have also been to before, but loved. Is there a better way to do this. I really don't want a guide because they cannot take you to Capri . Any suggestions here?

Thanks,

Karen

[maggiek99]

We will be using Paul on July 11th in Athens... I will post our experience when we return... It sounds from these posts that we will not be disappointed... Will definitely have to ask about the "best baklava", since my DH loves the stuff!

[shmabbies]

I'm the person who posted the "best baklava" experience and the bakery is nowhere near Athens, but rather on the way to Delphi in a town called Arachova (though like all Greek names I've seen it spelled differently). If you're touring in Athens you won't be anywhere remotely near it. But maybe Paul has an Athens favorite as well!

[maggiek99]

I hope so... Thanks for the info. I would assume (*possibly in error) that every place in Greece would have great Greek food including Baklava...

 

Maggie

[TedC]

Four of us used Paul for Athens and Cape Sounion in May of 2004 and were very satisfied.

 

He had a new Mercedes sedan that was comfortable for the four of us. If you're supersized it could be cramped.

 

Paul lived in US for several years and speaks fluent English. A big plus: He's probably the only male Greek adult who doesn't smoke - although he says there's one other.

 

We were worried we wouldn't make it back to the ship on time but he said if we didn't he'd put us up, his wife would feed us, and the next day he'd drive us to our next port - Katakolon.

 

I knew then that we would make it - and we did with time to spare despite heavy traffic in Athens made even worse by construction for the Olympics.

[Billybob62]

We are 3 couples on the Oceania Nautica next May. Since we are 6 people, can Paul accomodate us or would we need more for his larger vehicle? Also, how do we reach him? The ship overnights in Athens at the end, so we have a full day. Can Athens "be done" in a half day, with a side trip out of town, or would a second day (which would require a hotel stay) be advisable, with one full day in Athens and a second full day on a road trip? Any help would be appreciated.:) :)

[shmabbies]

Paul books by the vehicle, not per person, so if you booked his brand new larger vehicle and wanted to have just six in it, that would be up to you. If you wanted to lower your per person cost, you could try to get more people to share, or I think I have read that he does try to match groups up when requested. His e-mail is admin@***** and his website address appears somewhere in this thread. We just spent a week in Athens and personally I would spend a full day in Athens and a full day going out of the city (Paul's Corinth itinerary was great, which we did one day with him with friends, and his Delphi itinerary is also great, which we did on our own with him). I'd probably give the edge by a tiny bit to the Corinth itinerary because you see so many different places - Corinth Canal, Ancient Corinth, Mycenae, Epidaurus, and the beautiful town of Nauplion where we had lunch. :o

[robash]

I contacted Spiros and he replied with 3 options:

 

1. Athens and Sounion
   
2. Athens and Corinth
   
3. Only Athens

Which is the best option to choose from?

I really do not want to spend a whole lot of time in the car (I am fond of photography - like to take photos of beautiful scenery).