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Athens tour company


djandbj
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Four or us, cruising on the Nieuw Amsterdam in May-June 2013, arranged with Nikos for a car and driver in Athens during our day there. Right from the start, when I emailed several companies asking for information about their services and costs, Nikos was amazingly responsive; I would hear back from him almost immediately after I sent the email. And the experience "on the ground" was every bit as good. Our driver, Ilias, met us outside the cruise terminal exactly where Nikos had said he would be. Although he isn't a licensed guide and therefore couldn't go into the various sites with us, he provided a lot of interesting and useful information as he was driving us to and through Athens. At each stop, he was very clear about where we should go and where and exactly when he would meet us; he also gave us his cell phone number so we could call and arrange an earlier pick-up if we didn't spend as long at the site as he had allowed -- a service we took him up on several times. We covered virtually every site on the "must see" list, and a few more that we didn't even know about but thoroughly enjoyed. He also took us to a very pleasant sidewalk restaurant on the edge of the Agora where we had lunch. And at the end of the day, he got us back to the ship in plenty of time before the "all aboard" deadline.

 

All in all, an excellent day of touring, much more pleasant it would have been on a 40-person coach tour and at a fraction of the price HAL would have charged. We couldn't have asked for more, and we will definitely use Nikos's service if we visit again in one of the areas that he serves.

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  • 3 weeks later...

WE had a wonderful tour with Nikos this past May. He has a very comfortable vehicle and had a fine tour planned for us. DH and I decided not to go up to the Acropolis and Niklos found a terrific spot for us to wait, comfortably having coffee looking at a great view of the Parthenon. He really covered a lot of ground showing us the sights of the city. I highly recommend him.

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We also had a GREAT experience with Private Greece Tours, Nikos and our driver Lambros. They were the best, and we were always one step ahead of all the ship tours. Always avoided the crowds. I would recommend this company very highly!

Barbara

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I organized a tour for 12 of us through Cruise Critic on May 30. We were off the Ruby Princess. I can assure you that this tour was less expensive and much more extensive than the Princess run tours - smaller too. We were met at the port by our handsome driver (Dimitris) - he took us to a beautiful small bus for our tour. I soon found out that the bus was only 5 days old and that we were the first group to use it. Although admission fees and lunch were not included on this tour - it was one of the best of my entire cruise. We paid less for this tour than any of the others and it was excellent. We went to all of the favorite sites, saw the changing of the guard, and even stopped at a baklava shop for gelato and baklava. We were returned to our ship on time and everyone in our group enjoyed it immensely.

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Was this with Dimitris from Athensbytaxi/ PK tours ?

He gave us a wonderful tour three weeks ago. Really knew his way around the city. Saw more than we planned to and he made everything as easy as possible.

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Nikos did a fantastic job of showing us all of the highlights of the city he so obviously loves. He was so flexible and shifted things around to accommodate one of our members that had some mobility problems. His knowledge was incredible and there were no questions he could not answer. The car he took us in was comfortable and quiet.

 

I would wholeheartedly recommend Private Greece Tours to anyone!

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Met on time, straight to Acropolis to avoid heat and crowds, watched changing of guard in better position than most people watched, dropped off for lunch at very reasonable eating place. You can do as much or as little as you want. I would recommend this company

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  • 4 weeks later...

We were docked in Athens for one day while sailing on the Celebrity Silhouette in June. We had an incredible day...it's hard to believe we saw so much! Our guide Helen (Ilene) was so knowledgeable and personable. We could have tailored our day any way we wanted, but for the most part, we followed her suggestions, and she never steered us wrong. Her extensive experience and education made the city's rich history come alive. There were 12 of us in our private group. The van was very modern and comfortable; the driver was skillful, friendly and accommodating. Nikos was wonderful to deal with, promptly responding to all emails, thoroughly answering all questions and addressing all concerns. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We just returned home from a great tour on the Celebrity Reflection. After checking with cruisecritic and tripadvisor and emailing two or three companies, I chose Private Greece Tours. Nikos was very prompt returning emails and we were met at the dock by Sakis. Sakis was one of the best tour guides that we have had on our many travels. His English was excellent. He was very enthusiastic about his city and has a great personality. He was very informative and took little side streets to places that were so great to see. He had a tablet that he used at each stop to help us visualize what was and better understand what we would be seeing. He even gave us a preprogrammed cell phone that we used to call him when we were leaving the Acropolis. The only regret i have is that we only booked a half day tour. If we knew that we would have such a great guide, we would have booked the full day. Nikos was also very helpful returning my emails promptly. I would highly recommend Private Greece Tours. Thanks to previous posters who led me to PGT.

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  • 1 month later...

I made arrangements with Nikos for four people to do an 8 hour tour of Athens in September. All was handled via e-mail. We were picked up at our hotel promptly at eight AM and given a fantastic tour by our driver/guide Mike. He was very knowledgeable about the sites we visited. Mike managed to avoid the crowds especially at the Acropolis. I would definately recommend them !!:D

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Alex, from Private Greece Tours was our driver in Athens last month. He kept us ahead of the crowds and made sure we saw everything we wanted. It was a Sunday when they do the large changing of the guard with a band and whole company of soldiers. He had us stay by the street to see everything rather than getting swarmed by the large crowd by the tomb. Excellent English and a lot of fun to be with. He gave us a phone to call him on when we were done with the Pantheon and Plaka. Nikos was excellent to deal with in advance and everything went smoothly.

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Just returned from Med. cruise and spent a day in Athens where we used

Vassilios Vassalos' Athens Tours. Our driver/guide was Christos who we found to be polite, knowledgeable and concerned about us seeing the right things in Athens. He even took us to a local restaurant, told us what to eat and how much we should order. He was right on. It was a great lunch. We had only three that day so the E class Mercedes was fine. Four people would have been a little tight for the person stuck in the middle of the back seat unless very small. We were very satisfied and would recommend.

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yet another vote for Nikos and private greece tours. We signed up for the 8 hour Tour of Argolis, which was a bunch of sites outside Athens

 

(http://www.privategreecetours.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49:argolis-full-day-tour&catid=17:peloponesse&Itemid=106)

 

it was great. A bit pricey for just 2 (300 euros) but we had the car and driver (Tom) to ourselves. He took us right up to the sites and gave us an overview of what to see for the places we went in, and met us right outside each place when were done, so I think it was good. The price would have been the same for more people, so that could be a a good value for a larger group. we also arranged with them to send a cab to pick us up at 4:30 am for the ride to the airport the next day. They were prompt and it cost 50 euros--pretty good for an early morning ride to the airport!

 

ML

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We've just got back from the Greek Islands and did a four hour tour with PK Travel. Paul fitted in a lot of places for us and gave a running commentary on everything we saw. Brilliant tour company and a brilliant driver. I would certainly recommend them to anyone. Love to do it again :)

 

Di

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We've just got back from the Greek Islands and did a four hour tour with PK Travel. Paul fitted in a lot of places for us and gave a running commentary on everything we saw. Brilliant tour company and a brilliant driver. I would certainly recommend them to anyone. Love to do it again :)

 

Di

 

Good to see another rave for PK travel..George was our driver. Such a great day!

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  • 1 month later...

Here's another vote for PK Travel in Athens. We found them last year on CC and had a great tour from our ship and back with Nick. We visited Athens and Cape Sounion. We were lucky enough to begin a cruise in Athens in October, 2013, so I emailed PK travel again and arranged a land based day from our hotel. Potoula promptly answered my emails. There were many tour choices offered by PK and we picked a day to Ancient Corinth, the Canal, Mycenae, Nafplion, and the Theater of Epidaurua. It was a full day with excellent commentary from our guide George. We also used this company for airport transfer to our hotel and ship transfer from our hotel. It was convenient and well done. So, we've used PK both ship and land based and found them excellent.

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  • 5 months later...

We used Private Greece Tours for a one day tour of Athens just a few weeks ago. All communication with Nikos before our tour was very professional and reassuring to us as we had never done a private tour before - only small group. We knew exactly what to expect, and we were not disappointed. We easily met our driver, Makis, at the port and then were taken on an interesting tour of the city visiting the main attractions in addition to enjoying lunch at a cafe Makis suggested. At the changing of the guards ceremony Makis even got us to a position to be "first in line" for individual pictures with the guards. He was so enthusiastic about his city, his country, and his heritage sharing many pictures and books which had overlays to help us visualize the "before" while we were viewing the "after" ruins. Keeping in mind our time to be back on the ship, he modified our tour as needed to see the "must see" sights and many extras according to our schedule and our interests. This is definitely the way to see as much of Athens in one day as possible. When we are in Greece the next time, we will use Private Greece Tours again.

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  • 1 month later...
This will be our first time in Athens and we are leaning towards booking a 1/2day tour and the hanging around the

Plaka for the afternoon. Does anyone have advise on how we can make our way back to the port without any hassle? What would the cost be? Any "must see" sites that we should see in the afternoon ?

Kelly

 

 

 

In my opinion, this would be a good question for the Athens forum on TripAdvisor. I am planning our DIY port day in Athens myself and our plan is to allow at least an hour to get back. I understand you can travel to Piraeus terminal direct from Monastiraki metro in about 20 minutes, but don't cut it too close. If you take a taxi you will need to allow more time with traffic and be certain to agree on a price (ask on TA) BEFORE you go. It really helps to go online and look at maps of the area (with Metro stations designated). I have never been there but there is a wealth of information on TA and great DEs to help you with any question.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I made arrangements for our tour in Athens with Nikos Loukas and Private Greece tours several months prior to our arrival on the Celebrity Reflection. He responded promptly and courteously to all of my e-mails. On the day of our arrival in Athens, our driver was waiting for us.

Our tour driver, Thanos Papanikolaou, was fantastic and made our day in Athens so memorable. Thanos made sure we were well taken care of from securing the closest parking spots, to narrating the sights in his beautiful baritone voice, checking on our wishes for the day's itinerary, and taking us to the most delicious restaurant for lunch! It was a wonderful day from the moment we met!

The excellent service provided by this company made our day in Athens amazing!

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  • 2 weeks later...
We used Private Greece Tours both last September for our Athens tour and again in early May this year. Both experiences were excellent. Last year was our first visit to Athens and our driver Alex, along with our guide Villeas did a wonderful job of showing us the city. They both were very knowledgeable and made the trip so much better than if we had been on our own.

 

Any thoughts driver vs driver & guide on private tours: better experience with the addition of a guide or could the tour have been just as good with only the driver?

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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...

We booked a tour of Athens with PrivateGreeceTours (Sept. 2014). My inquiry & other emails were answered promptly by Nikos Loukis. Our driver, Makis, was waiting at the spot described in our instructions. He shared his considerable knowledge of Athens and Greek history with us on the way to the Acropolis and had pictures of the temple ruins with overlays to show how each probably looked in its heyday. When we returned to the car, he had a bottle of nice cold water waiting for us!! Each place we visited was wonderful and Makis gave the background info to really appreciate what we saw. When we decided we were too tired to go the last stop on our tour, he quickly suggested other things that would not require so much walking and returned us to the ship at the agreed upon time. Makis is very personable and knowledgeable and speaks very good english. You can't go wrong with him as your guide. This tour was the highlight of our cruise!! I still can't believe how much of Athens Makis showed us in one day!

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  • 9 months later...

We have just returned from a wonder Greek cruise, but the highlight for us was our Athens tour with this company and their driver Elias. He took us everywhere and was very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend them and wish hopefully use them again in the future as Athens was such a lovely city.

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