pireaus to acropolis

[PUDDING1]

hi there

 

will be visiting athens on princess cruise in october. i dont really want the expense of a shore excursion to the main sites.

 

what is the best way of getting to the city i have read some horrow stories about the taxis so is the train easy and is it far from the port?

 

I would appreciate your help and advice.

[BratDet]

lots of good info there. Your post will certainly get moved there.

 

Rick Steve's has a great book on Med cruise ports and lists Athens as a maybe for needing an excursion.

Great info at toms port guides dot com for free.

 

Since Athens is still having demonstrations, I was thrilled to have booked a private tour for the whole day.

THAT was NOT WHY I booked a driver, it was to get to seeee sooooo much more..Speed touring, I called it!

thru private greece tours dot com (based on great reviews by well respected CC members)

Great communications with Nikos, the owner..

When we were at the changing of the guard, there was a demonstration going on just two blocks over. Our guide kept an ear out for movement towards our area (as it has hapened before), and rerouted our day to avoid traffic due to the road closures that happened as a result of the demonstration.

 

We went to a fantastic overlook, the Plaka, Ancient Agora (warned us about being alert to thieves while walking near there), changing of the guard, Acropolis, Acropolis Museum (free wi-fi on only on 2nd floor so we were able to face time two of our three adult children), Temple of Zeus and a special gate I forgot the name of....and PanOlympic Stadium,

 

Drove around town and saw some other important buildings....and last stop was for baklava!!

 

We shared our excursion with two other CC Roll Call members.....and had a wonderful day with them!!

65 Euros each...worth every penny of the splurge...

 

We had Alex...he was great....great info and discussions...

nice cold AC also hahahah.

 

The drivers are so flexible and you can skip, add anything you like.....

 

Can't wait to go back and do the whole med cruise again!

 

Bernadette

Edited August 31, 2012 by BratDet
add info, bad typing misspells

[-Lew-]

The quick answer is the train is easy and inexpensive. The distance to the train station depends on where your ship berths.

 

I recommend you check out the Greece Ports Board here where you'll find a wealth of information.

 

Lew

[Minoushka]

We took a hop on hop off bus right in Piraeus you can negotiate the price .we paid 18 euros each others paid 12 ...depending on the crowd It is just outside the port gates walk towards the town you will see it big red thing

In Athens they have yellow and blue yours will be red to get back just hold on to your ticket

Comfy ride with headset .it stops at the acropolis you can get off and visit here and everywhere else

We did the complete city tour and stayed on the bus .it was very hot and I was ruined out but I found Athens clean and actually not as polluted as I remembered .i guess the Olympics helped

The whole tour took a few hours

 

Enjoy

 

Michele

[OldSeaDog]

It's an easy walk to the train station--about a mile, I'd guess, from where Princess docks. It takes 20-30 minutes. The train is very inexpensive, and easy to navigate. I believe I found the instructions at Toms port guides dot com.

 

If you're reasonably fit, I recommend renting bicycles as we did. Athens has far more pedestrian only roads than any city I've been to. We rode all over the city, seeing all the tourist hot spots, and rarely had to share the road with cars (when we did, there were usually super wide sidewalks which were perfect to ride on).

[bcnvcanada]

Better than that there is a newpaper stand accross the street from the port on the way to the electric (subway) you can purchase an only ticket good for 90 minutes. Ride down to the electric, you will know by the over the street walkway, and you off. It is easy to do, but as in all city in world be careful of pickpockets.

[Captain Canuck]

rip off artists..go metro

do a search of these boards..there is a post with pictures and maps with the whole route.

benefit is also you do not have to fight Athens traffic

there is a pedestrian bridge from the port to the metro station

[Pia1913]

Last time we were there was in 2010 and we used the Princess shuttle. Don't recall what they charged, but it was easy and convenient.

 

We were also in Athens in November of '11, but that was just for embarkation.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Pia1913

[Aloha 1]

Just left Athens, Wednesday. Second the comment about Nikos. It isn't only the transport, it's his knowledge of his country's history. Very enjoyable half day tour ending at our hotel, then the Acropolis Museum on our own. You can certainly use the hop on- hop off or take the tube but unless you have "studied up" on your ancient history, you may not have a clue what you are looking at or it's history. BTW, Athens was just fine. Quiet, no riots, and the same excellent food. People appear to be moving forward since the June election.

[Zena,W.P.]

We took a hop on hop off bus right in Piraeus you can negotiate the price .we paid 18 euros each others paid 12 ...depending on the crowd It is just outside the port gates walk towards the town you will see it big red thing

In Athens they have yellow and blue yours will be red to get back just hold on to your ticket

Comfy ride with headset .it stops at the acropolis you can get off and visit here and everywhere else

We did the complete city tour and stayed on the bus .it was very hot and I was ruined out but I found Athens clean and actually not as polluted as I remembered .i guess the Olympics helped

The whole tour took a few hours

 

Enjoy

 

Michele

 

We love the hop on hop off buses but I am concerned that traffic in Athens will mean the bus moves at a snall's pace. We will be there in November, so should be less tourists. What was your experience with the speed of the loops?

Peggy

[paul929207]

We took the bus from right across from the terminal. Got off at the Metro station. One ticket covered both. It was 1.40 euros per person each way.

 

Which ship are you on? We are on the Crown in October visiting Athens and others.

[Minoushka]

We love the hop on hop off buses but I am concerned that traffic in Athens will mean the bus moves at a snall's pace. We will be there in November, so should be less tourists. What was your experience with the speed of the loops?

Peggy

 

I think busses ave their own routes traffic was not that bad but in July it was the heat it was unbelievable not conducjive to walkingWe were content to see athens from. Our seats on the bus

[caribill]

If you plan to take the train, have a plan B ready in case the train personnel are on strike the day you are there.

[cruisemom42]

The "electric train" (or Green line from Piraeus into Athens) isn't really a train but is part of the metro system of greater Athens.

 

The metro does not shut down due to strikes very often at all -- it is frequently not included when regular strikes are called; only when the most restrictive and complete strikes take place. And those types of strikes generally also would close the tourist sites in Athens, so you wouldn't need it anyway.

 

One other point I'd make is that the number of strikes in Athens in the 2013 Med season thus far has been far less than in 2012.

 

Of course, that said, it is always recommended to have a Plan B if you plan to tour independently.

[sentosa25]

We used the Hop On Hop Off Bus in Athens in may this year and found it a great way to see round Athens, especially the Acropolis and other must sees.

If you do not want a private tour or a ships tour, this is probably the easiest way(and cheapest!) to see Athens.

I think the buses start at 9 am.

 

Both red and yellow ho ho buses were there waiting when we arrived at the bus stop,which is a short walk from the ship, but the red bus was leaving in 10 minutes, the yellow in 20 minutes, so we took the red. The fare was 22 Euros, although if you have a ticket from a previous hoho red bus tour, they will give you 2 Euros discount. As far as I could tell, both buses use the same route but are run by different companies. Spoke to others afterwards who had used the yellow bus with no complaints.

With our tickets, we got a timetable, so we always knew what time the next bus was, most we waited was 10 minutes and that is only because I like to be early.

We did not book tickets beforehand, as the buses run frequently.

 

It takes about 30 minutes to get from Piraeus, where we dock, to Athens depending on the traffic.

 

The bus goes up to The Acropolis via Syntagma Square and there is an interchange there for the rest of Athens including Temple of Zeus, National Gardens, museum, Greek Parliament, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , City Hall and a few other stops before coming back to The Acropolis where you change for the bus back to the pier. The famous changing of the Evzone guard takes place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at 5 minutes to the hour (eg 10 55am) and they cross over at 30 minutes past the hour.

Some people just changed buses and went straight back to the ship as it was a little windy that day.

 

The whole tour , if you do not get off, except to change and take the next back to the ship takes about two hours. The headphone commentary is good and included some nice Greek Music.

 

We had seats upstairs and the views were wonderful, but, remember, it can get hot, so don't forget sunscreen, water and a hat, preferably one that ties on . On the drive from Piraeus, the driver went quickly on a stretch of road and it was so windy I nearly lost my hat!!!!

 

Hope this helps

 

 

Anne

_____

[griffy116]

Don't know if you've given much thought to a private car, but we found that it was cheaper than the cruise tour and easier, and faster to get around and see everything than the hop-on/hop-off bus. We really liked the convenience. He was waiting on us when we arrived, got us there with the best of efficiency. Gave us tips and at the end of the day, we were really glad this was the option we took because we wanted to make the most of our day and this allowed us to do just that.

[PUDDING1]

We took the bus from right across from the terminal. Got off at the Metro station. One ticket covered both. It was 1.40 euros per person each way.

 

Which ship are you on? We are on the Crown in October visiting Athens and others.

 

hi we are on the crown leaving rome on the 3rd october ;)

[PUDDING1]

thanks all for the information many useful tips to consider :)

[paul929207]

hi we are on the crown leaving rome on the 3rd october ;)

So are we. Come over and join the Roll Call. To join, Click Boards at the top of this page, Scroll down to Roll Calls, click on your cruise line, Click on your ship. Find the thread for your sailing.

[movc]

Guide on getting to the metro and markered google map at cruiseportwiki dot com

[zdncer]

lots of good info there. Your post will certainly get moved there.

 

Rick Steve's has a great book on Med cruise ports and lists Athens as a maybe for needing an excursion.

Great info at toms port guides dot com for free.

 

Since Athens is still having demonstrations, I was thrilled to have booked a private tour for the whole day.

THAT was NOT WHY I booked a driver, it was to get to seeee sooooo much more..Speed touring, I called it!

thru private greece tours dot com (based on great reviews by well respected CC members)

Great communications with Nikos, the owner..

When we were at the changing of the guard, there was a demonstration going on just two blocks over. Our guide kept an ear out for movement towards our area (as it has hapened before), and rerouted our day to avoid traffic due to the road closures that happened as a result of the demonstration.

 

We went to a fantastic overlook, the Plaka, Ancient Agora (warned us about being alert to thieves while walking near there), changing of the guard, Acropolis, Acropolis Museum (free wi-fi on only on 2nd floor so we were able to face time two of our three adult children), Temple of Zeus and a special gate I forgot the name of....and PanOlympic Stadium,

 

Drove around town and saw some other important buildings....and last stop was for baklava!!

 

We shared our excursion with two other CC Roll Call members.....and had a wonderful day with them!!

65 Euros each...worth every penny of the splurge...

 

We had Alex...he was great....great info and discussions...

nice cold AC also hahahah.

 

The drivers are so flexible and you can skip, add anything you like.....

 

Can't wait to go back and do the whole med cruise again!

 

Bernadette

 

 

I got to the website but cannot find ony pricing on the tours. what am I missing?

[wiselindag]

Although I'm a big proponent of DIY, we booked a taxi tour to avoid demonstrations scheduled for our port day in Athens. I researched all the possibilities and booked with Vassilios Vassalos, who turned out to be excellent. I just booked a transfer with him for my brother, who will be in Athens in a few weeks and can highly recommend him.

 

Here is a review excerpted from my trip report:

I found Vassilios on line after researching Athens guides and booked him to take four of us on a tour of the city when we arrived for our port stop. When we first corresponded, he had offered tours of four, six and eight hours and initially we opted for the six-hour tour. After we conferred ,however, we decided to do the eight-hour tour and were glad we did. First, we drove to a small charming marina in Piraeus where he took photographs of our foursome.

 

Our goal was to view the major sites downtown early enough to avoid the masses of people and closed streets which he knew would start towards noon for a massive demonstration planned for this date, and Vassilios was expert in re-designing his typical tour to ensure that we were well out of the center in time and in responding to our assorted requests for the remainder of the day.

 

We drove to the Acropolis and were glad we got there early because the lot was much more crowded when we returned from our visit to the top. Vassilios had given us a little book so we could read about each of the monuments, but there is also a printed description next to each structure.

 

We stopped off to get some bottled water (another gift from Vassilios along with the booklet), and then headed to the new Acropolis Museum, followed by the Panathinion Stadium, and the Presidential Palace, perfectly timed to view the hourly change of the guards. Then Vassilis drove us through Syntagma Square, pointed out the Parliament and other buildings, and took us past the Academy (where I managed to snap a people-free photograph), the Museum, the Library, and the first Athens University. Throughout the tour, Vassilios pointed out venues in Athens used for both the 2004 Olympic Games and the Games in 1896

 

We passed the Plaka (normally on his tour), but did not stop, on our way to the area where many Athenians live, near the sea. We went to Glyfada, where we saw some traditional houses and many lovely apartment buildings along the seafront, and then on to Vouliagmeni, where we saw more expensive condos and clubs situated on the water. These are very popular after midnight, according to Vassilios, one of many interesting facts we learned during the day.

 

Our destination, since we were all very hungry, was the Taverna Voskopoula (Shepherd’s Daughter). Here we were told would be lambs roasted on a spit (at least six hours on the fire), Roast Pork done in the same way, and other typical Athenian dishes. The huge restaurant was partially filled when we arrived, and crowded when we left. We ordered Roast Lamb, Roast Pork, Tzatziki, Toasted Bread, Greek Salad, Fried Zucchini and French Fries. Compliments of the house, we received yogurt, honey and nuts for dessert. Thoroughly stuffed, we all returned to the car and agreed that his restaurant recommendation had been excellent.

 

Vassilios drove us out to a resort area along the water where we saw big hotels and lovely beach clubs. We also viewed a hot springs resort where the water supposedly cures all ills. We even saw some people swimming in the November sunshine.

 

On the way back, we stopped in an area with a large church (one of the group had asked for a chance to see one) and some shops for a little gift shopping. I was surprised to find a Marks and Spencer Department Store. Then we headed back to the ship and arrived about 4:45, in plenty of time for our departure at 6. We had a great day with Vassilios. By the end of our tour, we bonded to the extent that we were invited for a fish dinner on our next visit... Apparently, he's also an expert fisherman!

 

Vassilios is a terrific guide (and an excellent driver in his Mercedes taxi). I highly recommend his services if you need a tour of Athens and the surrounding area or if you require a transfer of some sort. I will certainly use him the next time I'm in Athens (and plan to take him up on the dinner offer!!)

[kevdds]

I am wondering about the HOHO buses from Piraeus. Everything I read says to get to the Acropolis as early as possible, and I am certain everyone on these boards is reading the same thing. With 3 or 4 ships in port the same day, I would think that there would be an overwhelming number of people trying to get on the first bus of the morning, so it may not have enough seats. The next, then, would not leave until 30 minutes later. Has anyone seen what the crowds are like for the earliest HOHO buses in Piraeus? Is this an issue?

[sentosa25]

It may depend on what time of year you are there.

 

We were there in May this year, got the red HoHo bus around 9am and there were empty seats.

When we went to the bus stop, there was also a yellow HoHo bus which left 10 minutes after the red one.

They both do the same route, so choose which ever one leaves first.:)

[zdncer]

Thanks to everyone for all of the great info. We did take a private tour through Athens by taxi and it was fabulous. Very knowledgable. Drives like mario andretti and we got to see everything we wanted at a reasonable price. He also took us to a great local place without tourists for lunch provided water throughout the trip and kept our bags so we didnt have to carry them into the sites.

 

If you use them request Alex he is simply fabulous and has a great sense of humor also. Not bad on the eyes either. lol Nothing wrong with a great view.

 

Enjoy everyone, and thanks again,

Jamie