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Athens tour company


djandbj
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I had the pleasure of going on the Argolis - Full Day Tour at the end of May/12 with Private Greece Tours. Our guide for the day was Petros, and he was WONDERFUL. We went to the Corinth Canal, Ancient City of Corinth, Mycenae, Nafplion, as well as a couple of quick stops along the way. The day was perfect, and we all raved about it. Petros was very accommodating and extremely knowledgeable about the area. We had a lovely lunch in the beautiful town of Nafplion. I would highly recommend Private Greece Tours. I had already seen the Acropolis, so this tour getting out of the city really allowed us to see parts of Greece that most don't.

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We are thinking of getting a group together from our roll call to share an excursion in Athens. Since we don't have any idea how many people there will be, I don't have enough details yet to book anything.

 

Does anyone mind sharing their pricing for using Nikos? How much for how many people, assuming it was an all day tour? I don't want to bring it up until I know it is within our price range.

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12 of us on the Equinox June 1 sailing took an Athens tour with Nikos of privategreecetours.com. The price was 400 Euros.

 

Admission to the Acropolis and the museums is additional but we lucked out and arrived on one of the free admisiion days.

 

Due to a possible transportation strike our cruise itinerary was changed at the last minute and we docked in Athens 2 days earlier then scheduled.

 

Even before I could contact him to make sure he knew and was still available he sent an email saying he would be at the pier to meet us on the new day.

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My husband and I will be in Athens prior to our Aug. 18th departure on a cruise to Itanbul. I am in touch with Private Greece Tours and would like to share a private tour with one, maybe two other couples, so that we can hire a driver plus a guide. August is rapidly approaching so let me know if you are interested in pursuing something. Thx.

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12 of us on the Equinox June 1 sailing took an Athens tour with Nikos of privategreecetours.com. The price was 400 Euros.

 

Admission to the Acropolis and the museums is additional but we lucked out and arrived on one of the free admisiion days.

 

Due to a possible transportation strike our cruise itinerary was changed at the last minute and we docked in Athens 2 days earlier then scheduled.

 

Even before I could contact him to make sure he knew and was still available he sent an email saying he would be at the pier to meet us on the new day.

 

Thank you for this..... that is definitely doable for our group. Athens is actually my very time in Greece. I loved Italy/France/Spain and was wondering how different Greece would be. I usually try to learn a few words in the local language, but Greek has me confounded so I really need a good guide!

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OK... he is lightening fast on Email!!!

 

I added a link on the blog site with info about the tour he emailed me. They are saying 400 euros for 12 people which I think is a great rate. I checked out his reviews on Trip Advisor and they were awesome.

 

Hubby and I are two, so are there 10 others that think they may want to join? If there are lots of folks, they will do another bus; bit it is a flat 400 euros per vehicle divided by the number of participants.

 

I know, I know I'm a planner and we have 279 days to make a decision.

 

I'm going it ourselves in Dubrovnik, this is Athens so I guess this afternoon I can start planning Izmir. I would just kill me to do this out of date order!

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OK... he is lightening fast on Email!!!

 

I added a link on the blog site with info about the tour he emailed me. They are saying 400 euros for 12 people which I think is a great rate. I checked out his reviews on Trip Advisor and they were awesome.

 

Hubby and I are two, so are there 10 others that think they may want to join? If there are lots of folks, they will do another bus; bit it is a flat 400 euros per vehicle divided by the number of participants.

 

I know, I know I'm a planner and we have 279 days to make a decision.

 

I'm going it ourselves in Dubrovnik, this is Athens so I guess this afternoon I can start planning Izmir. I would just kill me to do this out of date order!

 

So sorry... thought I was on our roll call thread - I got too excited!

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Full Day Athens Tour was fantastic. We had a very professional and knowledgeable guide and we toured all the sites we wanted in a safe and comfortable manner. I give this company a perfect 10 and will always recommend and will continue to use them in future trips. July 2012.

 

Why are all these reviews by first time posters? It is a bit of a worry.

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Why are all these reviews by first time posters? It is a bit of a worry.

 

Think you need to start at the beginning of this thread - Lois R has over 30,000 posts, I have over 3,000, many others with several hundred each. Should not be "a worry". You'll read the same high praise for these two tour companies on TripAdvisor as well. They're that good.

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Zelker is correct, the entire thread is comprised mostly of comments made by multiple posters.

 

This is my first cruise in 20 years, my join date is Feb '12...I have other comments to post, haven't gotten to it, yet.

 

Just let me know, I will gladly give you anything I am able, hoping to help you in making your decisions for several med cruise ports. Our trip, including Rome and Venice, was wonderful, and we felt we hit a home run with every guide we used...how fortunate was that? I hope yours will be fantastic, as well. Have fun!

 

Rwethereyet.

 

Good to hear. I am just paranoid after another thread where one time posters (on here and Trip Advisor) raved on about a guy in Alaska who turned out to be a charlatan. Don't mind me. :o

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This is not my first post but we used Private Greece Tours last November and can assure you Nikos Loukas is one of the the best tour guides we ever had! There were 10 of us and did a full day Athens taxi tour, pick up and retun to port.

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Well I'm one of the ones who posted earlier raving about Private Greece Tours and Nikos, it's owner. I'm just under 4000 posts now so not a newbie. This is a great company to work with. We've hired them twice and could not have been happier with their service. Just wish I was heading back again soon!!!:)

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One thing I've noticed in the last year or two on this site is that "savvy" tour operators will actively solicit returning passengers to write a review of their services here on CC. Often they will even provide a link to a thread such as this one, since by CC rules no one can start a thread with an unsolicited tour review; it must be in response to a query.

 

Because of this, you'll get some folks joining CC just to post a good review of their tour. I'm not fond of this practice myself (would rather see unsolicited reviews) as it tends to give a sense of prominence to the couple of companies that use this practice, whether or not they are the best....

 

It is what it is, but it's best to be aware of it.

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One thing I've noticed in the last year or two on this site is that "savvy" tour operators will actively solicit returning passengers to write a review of their services here on CC. Often they will even provide a link to a thread such as this one, since by CC rules no one can start a thread with an unsolicited tour review; it must be in response to a query.

 

Because of this, you'll get some folks joining CC just to post a good review of their tour. I'm not fond of this practice myself (would rather see unsolicited reviews) as it tends to give a sense of prominence to the couple of companies that use this practice, whether or not they are the best....

 

It is what it is, but it's best to be aware of it.

 

 

Well you're right they do that, most of these companies are small without large amounts of money to spend on advertising and the internet is one way to spread the word. I suspect that if a company were providing bad service you would find people spreading that word too. I,for one, am very glad to be able to read of other people's experiences with tours/hotels/guides both here and on Trip Advisor, being able to do that has GREATLY enhanced my experience on my trips.....I haven't picked a bad tour/hotel/guide since reading this information.

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One thing I've noticed in the last year or two on this site is that "savvy" tour operators will actively solicit returning passengers to write a review of their services here on CC. Often they will even provide a link to a thread such as this one, since by CC rules no one can start a thread with an unsolicited tour review; it must be in response to a query.

 

Because of this, you'll get some folks joining CC just to post a good review of their tour. I'm not fond of this practice myself (would rather see unsolicited reviews) as it tends to give a sense of prominence to the couple of companies that use this practice, whether or not they are the best....

 

It is what it is, but it's best to be aware of it.

 

I agree with Gracie - these are small companies who bend over backwards to make sure their clients have a wonderful time. If it helps them to post a review, I'm happy to do it. But believe me, if I had less than the experience I was expecting, I would not hesitate to post that too. I find nothing wrong with a company owner asking people to spread the word....I think most people will agree that there is nothing better than word of mouth advertising.

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Well you're right they do that, most of these companies are small without large amounts of money to spend on advertising and the internet is one way to spread the word. I suspect that if a company were providing bad service you would find people spreading that word too. I,for one, am very glad to be able to read of other people's experiences with tours/hotels/guides both here and on Trip Advisor, being able to do that has GREATLY enhanced my experience on my trips.....I haven't picked a bad tour/hotel/guide since reading this information.

 

I agree with Gracie - these are small companies who bend over backwards to make sure their clients have a wonderful time. If it helps them to post a review, I'm happy to do it. But believe me, if I had less than the experience I was expecting, I would not hesitate to post that too. I find nothing wrong with a company owner asking people to spread the word....I think most people will agree that there is nothing better than word of mouth advertising.

 

I am not saying the practice is right or wrong -- clearly CC allows it, so it's not up to me to make a determination.

 

However, I think it's also fair that readers be aware the feedback given isn't necessarily as spontaneous as a casual reader might think. Several times people have expressed surprise when they've been contacted by a guide or agency after the fact and asked (at times a bit aggressively, and I've had that experience personally) to write a review on CC.

 

I notice you both mention the word "advertising" in your responses. To me, there is a difference between advertising and a true, spontaneous and glowing report that is unsolicited. The latter, when I can distinguish them, will point me to the guides that I'd want to hire.

 

YMMV.

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I am not saying the practice is right or wrong -- clearly CC allows it, so it's not up to me to make a determination.

 

However, I think it's also fair that readers be aware the feedback given isn't necessarily as spontaneous as a casual reader might think. Several times people have expressed surprise when they've been contacted by a guide or agency after the fact and asked (at times a bit aggressively, and I've had that experience personally) to write a review on CC.

 

I notice you both mention the word "advertising" in your responses. To me, there is a difference between advertising and a true, spontaneous and glowing report that is unsolicited. The latter, when I can distinguish them, will point me to the guides that I'd want to hire.

 

YMMV.

 

 

I guess since I'm IN the hospitality business and run a resort I know very well how wonderful and how terrible any internet site can be. Do I aggressively seek out reviews on Trip Advisor for my property, no, I don't but I certainly welcome them. I think you take the word "advertising" a bit too seriously in both my & Zelker's response. Are the reviews good "advertising" for a tour company? SURE they are, but whether solicited OR NOT I willingly gave my opinion, as I'm sure all the others have too...it's not like anyone is holding you hostage or charging you more if you opt NOT to post something...I guess I just don't understand your concern. Of course there are others who don't ask a client to "pass the word" if they've had a good experience, that is THEIR perogative but I see nothing wrong with a company seeing the possiblities in getting good reviews on this site and Trip Advisor by simply asking a client, "If you enjoyed my services please say so...." What in the world is the harm in that?

 

And I assure you if I have a bad experience I pass THAT word on too!!!

Edited by Gracie115
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Now been home a month from magnificent 20 night Mediterranean cruise. In Athens we used Private Greece Tours for 10 of us on a full day sightseeing tour. We experienced an absolutely fantastic day in covering the many sights of such a large & busy city as Athens.

I give great credit to Nikos, & our driver Frank, for their very efficient & totally reliable service, & would not hesitate to recommend their tour operations for any future visitors to Athens:):)

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Will be arriving in Athens at noon on the next to last day of our Azamara cruise. The ship's excursion sounds ominous stressing how strenuous the walking and climbing are. We climbed the mountain in Kotor, Montenegro but were able to do so at our own pace. Would we be able to do the ship's tour or should we do a private one where we could take our time? Exactly how difficult is it?:confused::confused::confused:

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Booking a tour with Nikos and Private Greek Tours was absolutely the best thing we could have done in Athens! Everything went exactly as planned and Nikos is the ultimate guide. He is very knowledgeable and easy to understand. He knew of all the great places to take us and was willing to alter the plans to accommodate our group of six if we wanted to do something different. We took the tour along the 'Greek Riviera' and had lunch at a small local restaurant (Nikos' recommendation) that was wonderful. Don't hesitate to contact Nikos about your tour - he's great!

:):):)

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We used Athens Tour Company, with Nikos Loukas , it was the best tour of our trip as my husband has often said since we have been home. He was More than accomodating, giving us all the local information, and history we craved to know. We found him very knowledgable, and helpful. We were very fortunate to find Nikos Loukas, he was like being with our own personal Rick Steves!:)

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Well, to those who are concerned about whether a number of these posts are, perhaps, "not kosher", I have booked Private Greece Tours for transport and a half day tour coming up this month. A FULL report will follow after our experience. This will NOT be our first trip to Athens.

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We are considering taking a trip to Corinth on our way to the port to begin our cruise. We will have been in Athens 2 days before doing Sounion and Athens. Sounion will be with a taxi driver and Athens, Athens Walking Tours. Do we need to hire an additional guide in Corinth, or would the driver give enough info before getting there. Hoping to use Athens by Taxi---Paul Kalomiris.

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We are considering taking a trip to Corinth on our way to the port to begin our cruise. We will have been in Athens 2 days before doing Sounion and Athens. Sounion will be with a taxi driver and Athens, Athens Walking Tours. Do we need to hire an additional guide in Corinth, or would the driver give enough info before getting there. Hoping to use Athens by Taxi---Paul Kalomiris.

 

Paul (and any of his drivers) will be able to give you plenty of information about Corinth and the area as they are taking you there. Couple that with some pre-trip reading about it and you'll be fine. We were just there in May and did not have a guide and none of us felt that we missed anything doing it on our own. BTW, the small museum there is fabulous. Enjoy!

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