marazul

I agree with cruisemom, of course. Regional strike by security guards in the Venice and Treviso airports lasting four hours.. Since you are practicing your Italian, take a look at the link just under the table of strikes: Vedi legenda Settore* Click on it for a definition of all the terms that can appear in the "Settore" column. Those are the work "sectors" covered by the website.

In theory, yes. The flights are 30 minutes each way. There are several flights each day on Aegean Air. You can fly there and back in one day. Rent a car at the airport or arrange a tour with a local company. The ferries take several hours to get there so they would not work for a day trip. aegeanair.com

Check with a company like George's Taxi. I believe they do charters for larger groups. Maybe a bus or two large vans. They could also reserve inns or hotels for you. georgestaxi.com

Yes.

Well said! That is one of my objections to a frequently mentioned tour company that has "tipping guidelines" for their US customers. In our experience, the same applies in France, Spain and Greece.

That is a good summer beach day tour. Not so much in November. There is nothing else to do at that beach. The water will be too cold and there is a good chance of strong winds. Pick something else. Anything else.

I never said that the OP's hotel charged the same if you use a credit card or pay in cash. I only pointed out that it can and will accept credit cards if you book through a third party. Therefore, it could accept credit cards if you booked directly with them, but it chooses not to do so. (Whether the dual pricing structure makes good business sense or not is a different matter. Apparently, it must work for them.) It's one thing if you book directly with a hotel and, at checkout, you are offered a discount for cash. It's another thing to offer a substantially different price between reserving through a third party or directly with the hotel. That's unusual because of contractual arrangements as mentioned by edinburgher. Even in that case, the hotel could accept either cash or credit card at checkout. If a hotel offers an incentive for paying cash that's great, but it is the guest's choice how to pay. If a hotel does not want to accept credit cards, that's fine. It's their business. But If the guest wants to have the option to pay by credit card, then don't stay in a hotel that only accepts cash payments. If the guest doesn't want to use a booking site, then don't use one (I never do except for research). Yes, it is a moot point. The hotel chooses how it wants to do business. The guest chooses whether to do business with the hotel or not. The question was "Is it typical for small hotels in Athens to require payment in cash?" The answer is "no"

All hotels will accept cash if you choose to pay in cash. Many will offer you a discount if you pay in cash instead of card. It is almost unheard of to refuse cards and demand payment in cash. Apparently, the OP's hotel accepts credit cards if you book through a third party, but demands cash if you book directly with them.

Out of curiosity, I checked the listing for Marble House in a booking website. It says it accepts Visa, Mastercard or cash.

No. There are hundreds of hotels in Athens. Why don't you find another one? It is safer to pay by credit card.

The service in the Pantheon will take under one hour.

Hellenic Heritage is the one and only official website for Acropolis tickets: https://hhticket.gr/ It is also the official website for more than 25 other archaeological and historical sites in Greece. Here is the list: https://hhticket.gr/tap_b2c_new/english/tap.exe?PM=P1P&region=all To buy Acropolis tickets: Go to https://hhticket.gr/ Click on "Buy Tickets" Click on "Acropolis and Slopes" Select your date Select your time slot Select "Single Use" or "Combined Ticket" Select the number of tickets Add to Cart Buy There is no such thing as a "skip the line" ticket. Everyone has to go through security. The only line you can skip is the line at the ticket office which you skip by buying your tickets ahead of time. Enjoy! (And, please, post all your comments about tickets here so others can benefit from your experience.)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR ACROPOLIS TICKETS: hhtickets.gr This is also the website for 25 other sites in Greece.

There are thousands of restaurants in Rome. You are trying restaurants on somebody's "lists" all through your stay. All are good, but you can probably find at least 2 or 3 other restaurants just as good on the same block, especially in less touristy areas. As I said before, it is hard to get a bad meal in Rome. You are looking for a place to eat on a day where you have had a big lunch and where you have a short amount of time to eat before your tour. You are not looking for a life-altering gourmet experience, but for a quick, tasty meal like the locals have. This is the time to be spontaneous and trust your own restaurant picking skills. Look at the menus posted on the sidewalk; look at the people eating there; look at the food if there are sidewalk tables. And then, pick one that appeals to you. You never know, you may be writing reviews for the next "go to" restaurant on CC. We pick restaurants like that when we are traveling and we have had great meals and, at least, satisfying, good meals. Try it; you'll like it. 😉

It is a 3-hour (9 am-noon) strike limited to the province of Bolzano. It will not affect you.

IIRC there is a good pizzeria almost across the street from La Taverna dei Fori. I think it is called Pizzeria della Madonna. But it is hard to get a bad meal in Rome. You might just want look at the menus of the restaurants you pass on your way to the Colosseum and pick one that appeals to you.

The hotels' own websites will have their official ratings. I have no idea what the booking websites use, but I imagine they roughly correspond to the official ratings.

You all inspired me into doing a little research on hotel ratings. See post #903 in the Hotels in Rome sticky.

HOTEL STAR RATINGS IN ITALY – EXPLAINED (SORT OF) Hotel star ratings in Europe are set by some common regulations that each country adapts for itself. In Italy, the national regulations can also be adapted by different regions or cities. For example, the requirement of parking spaces for a 4-star hotel would be ridiculous in Venice or, for that matter, in Rome. This website has an excellent summary of the requirements for Rome (https://www.romewise.com/rome-hotel-star-ratings.html) and a translation of the national requirements (here). (Authors: Elyssa Bernard and Alessandro Bisceglie) Here is their summary of the star ratings for Rome: Minimum hotel standards for Rome Italy Hotels According to decree mentioned above, you can be sure of the following minimum standards for Rome hotel star ratings (there are more requirements, but these are some of the main points that allow you to see the difference between star ratings): At a 1 star hotel in Rome: reception 12 hours per day, room cleaning once a day, minimum size of all double room of 14 square meters, change of bed linens once a week. At a 2 star hotel in Rome: same features as at a 1-star hotel but there must also be a lift/elevator and a change of bed linens twice a week. At a 3 star hotel in Rome: same features as at a 2-star hotel but also staff with knowledge of a foreign language, a reception open at least 16 hours, staff uniforms, internet service, and all rooms to come with a private bathroom. At a 4 star hotel in Rome: same features as at a 3-star hotel but also, in addition to daily room cleaning, the room will also be tidied in the afternoon, a change of linen every day (unless the customer opts out of this), laundry and ironing services available for guests, double rooms at least 15 square meters. At a 5 star hotel in Rome: besides all the amenities and features of a 4-star hotel, a 5-star hotel must also offer a reception service open 24 hours a day, employees that speak a total of at least three foreign languages between them, single rooms of at least 9 square meters, and double rooms of at least 16 square meters.

This is what came up for me: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=Ischia&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=464

Yes. Search for "Ischia" in this forum.

Keep Roscioli and skip Pizzarium. Two completely different types of restaurant.

Sit inside. It's fun seeing the action in the kitchen. October could sometimes be a little rainy.

Midnight in Italy.

Use this website to calculate the cost of many forms of transportation just about anywhere: https://www.rome2rio.com/