nick_arch

BY BUS - direct - 3 to 4 steps.

You can do the trip on X96 24/7 bus. It costs 5 euros per person, ride is appx. 55 minutes and bus travels between Piraeus seaport and airport every 15 - 20 minutes appx. ( every 30 minutes during late night ).

X96 bus departs from the seaport, but we are talking about one of the biggest passenger seaports of the world here ( Piraeus is the biggest passenger seaport in the continent ). A taxi ride is what i 'd definitely advise from the cruise ship dock to the bus stop. Taxi ride will be appx. 5 minutes long i 'd guess and would cost somewhere between 5 and 7 euros. Destination should be "Plateia Karaiskaki, near Ilektrikos, the metro station". Ilektrikos means 'electric', it's the way the subway station is widely called :-)

At the start you 'll have to get your luggage up the bus, that's a normal bus with racks and it's 3 - 4 steps to get in the bus. On arrival at the airport you arrive at ground floor where arrivals are and just take one of the elevators up one level to departures. No steps are included there, perhaps one only at the sidewalk.

Bus location in Piraeus seaport here: http://www.oasa.gr/xpmap.php?id=px96&lang=en ( pick forward direction / green stop, stop Pl. Karaiskaki )

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SUBWAY - no steps included.

Not direct, involves a change at Monastiraki station, changing to blue line, direction Airport.

Main etrance at Piraeus subway station has five - six steps if i remember correctly,but side enntrances are done on an inclined ramp, so no steps there.

No steps are involved at the change at Monastiraki St., you just get the escalators or the lift some levels down to Blue line.

Upon arrival at airport station you have again either escalators or lifts getting you up.

Cost is 8 euros per person, or 7 if it's two tickets purchased together. All trains on Blue line's "airport" direction go to the same direction but the trains that go all the way to the airport pass every 30 minutes, at :06 and :36. It can get crowded at Syndagma station on weekdays, so head towards the first wagon, the one in the front and get a seat a couple of stops later. Train gets nearly empty as it proceeds towards the airport.

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In all means of transportation and in public spaces please do take precautions against pickpocketing, which in my agenda means only one thing:

moneybelt or inner pouch for the cash and passport, keeping maybe 20 - 50 euros in the pocket for the small expenses of the day.

It is astonishing to see people, especially men, travelling with a stuffed wallet in the backpocket / sidepocket of some baggy trousers or shorts.

This is a typical precaution i advise getting in many Mediterannean-Sea ports of call.

Pickpocketing is not rampant in Athens. Compare with other places in the area like Barcelona or Rome or Paris makes Athens look like a kindergarden.

Still it can happen, so plz, plz, plz, take well thought precautions to minimise this risk.

Arrival - departure dates are what you should have an extra eye on.

April and a new summer season is right in our front door, so, please do read this, regarding airport taxi fares in Athens city:

This post does not apply for seaport - center or seaport - airport fares.

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Regarding taxi fares from airport to city center and vice versa please do remember that:

- fare is flat, 35 euros at daytime, 50 euros at nighttime.

- flat fare applies for single rides between the airport and the center.

- price is per vehicle and includes all, again ALL, applicable surcharges, like tax, VAT, fuel, toll, tip, anything if you hail the taxi.

- the only applicable surcharge not included in the flat taxi price is a "radio taxi call" or a "time arrangement call - rendezvous" , usually done through your hotel reception to get you to the airport and usually is something between 3 and 5 euros.

- If you arrive on the airport and head to the center: get a taxi from the taxi rank. Fare is what's already said and no, again, NO, surcharges apply. Have ready 35 euros ( or 50 if it's nighttime ) before hand to avoid confusion with local banknotes or any change confusion.

- If you leave the city, best way to get a taxi is to ask your hotel reception to arrange a taxi for you at a designated time. You 'll have a small surcharge of 3 to 5 euros but you 'll have the taxi right in your front door and is the easiest way to do it. Again, have ready the fare before hand to make things easier.

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Small letters:

1. How we know if it's daytime or nighttime?

Fare depends on time of arrival in destination. Daytime is from 5am till midnight. Nigthtime is after midnight till 5am.

2. What do you mean by center in Athens?

The center is a wide area in Athens where most visitors stay. Map here: http://www.aia.gr/userfiles/5b8cde13-2054-49cf-9bc2-8a92207812cb/153010_daktilios.pdf . If you have a doubt about where your hotel is, Google Maps can get you the exact location in seconds, or ask :-)

3. Do you have an official page to read these again?

Yeap. Athens airport site repeats all this information: Here: http://www.aia.gr/traveler/access-and-transportation/taxi-and-limousine/

4. Is taxi the only way to commute between the center and the airport?

Of course not. Athens airport is connected to the center by metro ( Blue metro line ), or bus ( X95 bus or other buses going to regional buses station etc ), or suburban railway. Taxi is the easiest way to reach the center if you are carrying a lot of luggage though. Metro and bus are ok, safe, fast, this is the way i always commute but i rarely travel with anything more than a small hand luggage.

5. What about the seaport?

Currently, unfortunately, there is no flat fare between the seaport and the center or between the seaport and the airport.

6. How does the "radio call" work?

If you want a taxi at some specific time to go to the airport, just go to your reception desk and tell them you need a taxi at yyy time. They 'll call and get you the taxi to hotel door. You can make specific requests like "i want a non smoking driver", or "i want a Mercedes" etc, or "i need a taxi driver with a credit card pos machine to pay with my credit card" etc.

6. What about tipping?

Tipping is not expected but it is welcome. In other words you don't "have to" tip in taxis. If you liked the service, add on the fare a couple of euros, like 2 or 3 euros, which is appx. 10%. I would consider this ok.

Happy to help :-)

a. Always remember to read reviews. 'Booking' has reviews there too, so please read them.

b. 'Trip Advisor', i assume we all know it, is related to CC. CC is more for cruise questions, TA is more about longer stays or domestic travelling and visits. In each place, TA has a full list of hotels and a very very very detailed ranking that can surely help you choose. Do read the reviews and try to combine what you read in 'booking' and in "TA". Srsly, TA has done a fantastic job these last 10 years and the database to compare hotels is simply impressive. Greece corum / Athens forum in TA is quite active and friendly, so use both sites to draw all the info you want. Athens foruim in TA can be found here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g189400-i194-Athens_Attica.html

c. Please remember CC is what you first want to take a look at for cruise related questions. This is the place where you 'll find the best contributors for cruise questions and especially people like ( hey, i am not saying, he he ) that are knowledgeable locals or are visitors that love Athens and have done the port of call so many times they know things better than many Athenians, he he :-)

d. DO PICK wisely a location in Athens. Athens is a huge metropolis but the sites and places of interest for a first -time visit are located in a rather small central area, around the Acropolis Hill and along the Blue metro line for a couple of stations each direction around Syndagma Sq. This is where you want to stay to minimise commuting in the city and to enjoy the sites easily and in most of the cases on foot. Pick wisely location, it's 50% of an Athens stay success. Map with central areeas, again here: http://g.co/maps/2vym7

e. How to pick a hotel? Anything above 8,0 in booking is usually good. If you want to make it even more detailed, focus on those hotels above 8.5. Read reviews in TA, check locations. Athens has appx. 320 hotels.

In the center you can find more than 30 hotels that do rank in top places in both sites and are offered in a wide spectrum of price range.

I cannot make any specific suggestions in CC, still TA lists are so exhaustive that you can really get a lot of help and reviews there. Remember to pick a good location + a good hotel ;)

As a local and according to CC rules, i am not allowed to post suggestions in Athens ( what a weird rule ) so, i 'll keep it generic.

Attalos is not a boutique hotel; i guess by "boutique" we mean a rather small hotel, not corporate chain with some persistence on some kind of "interior design" either classical or a bit more modern. Attalos is definitely medium-price or borderline lower price but not what we 'd call a boutique hotel here.

$150 - $250 is appx. 110 - 185 euros. That's a rather wide price spectrum and you can find a lot of options in there. What month are we talking about?

Since i cannot suggest any specific hotels, i 'd give a generic advice:

1. Check some of the larger booking sites, like http://www.booking/com, sort hotels by "review points from all" and then use the price range to limit your options. Anything above a 8,0 is a good choice.

2. Pick wisely location. This is half the success of an Athens stay. I 'd pick areas like Plaka, Acropolis Museum as a first option, then Syndagma, Monastiraki, Thission. If you wabt to see some of the central areas where i 'd book a hotel, here: http://g.co/maps/2vym7 . I 'd pick any of the green or yellow areas. I 'd probably pick the blue areas too they are very very central too. I 'd avoid areas like Omonoia and more to the North or areas that are far from the center. Keep in mind scale is rather small in Athens. Center is more or less walkable, i 'd say appx. 1 square mile.

Starting from April 1st, till Oct 31st, Acropolis Museum will also be open on Mondays too.

Museum has been closed on Mondays from the date it opened in 2009, still, constantly growing number of visitors and increasing interest led to the museum opening on Mondays too.

So, opening hours now will be:

April 1st till October 31st:

Mo: 8am - 4pm

Tu: 8am - 8pm

We: 8am - 8pm

Th: 8am - 8pm

Fr: 8am - 10pm ( restaurant open till midnight )

Sa: 8am - 8pm

Su: 8am - 8pm.

Last admission 30 minutes before closing time.

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Please mind that:

a. museum will be open on summer Mondays, only until 4pm, and

b. museum exhibition areas remain open on Fridays till 10pm with the restaurant remaining open till midnight.

I definitely agree; definitely on your side of thinking and i wish a simple credit card number was enough. Even this is NOT supposed to be recorded though and i have made a huge fuss in local IKEA, in Athens, when they were so stupid to write credit card numbers on the paper receipt cashiers print through the POS when you pay with a credit card. My voice could be heard all the way to the airport, which is 1 - 2 miles away i guess, even if i was getting trivial.

I also feel uncomfortable with this; not using travel services here in Greece since i live here but i had to give my passport number elsewhere in Europe.

Exhibiting personal documents is one thing, keeping and editing records of sensitive data is another.

I tried to find some definite information but, i am really sorry, i couldn't find any additional information, besides my personal assumption. I 'll give it another go again following days.

In any case, you have no way of knowing how many people already have access to the passport details you have given the cruise line, either at home or in the ports you visit.

I am afraid i agree.

SSN is the most sensitive number as far as i get it and this is never asked. I also understand though that some difference exists between USA and Europe, on the case of "passport number" being indeed considered sensitive data; or not.

What i get is that it is considered sensitive data in the States but not at all in Europe, where it can easily spill out even at an Internet cafe, or a purchase of a local cell phone number or a hotel check-in.

I understand how this feels uncomfortable, still passport number is not sensitive data. SSN is though and this is not what asked.

On a similar path, unfortunately, it is usual requirement to provide your passport and it to be photocopied when you check in in many European hotels, on top of providing a credit card. You may want to read a similar conversation, about hotel check-in in Trip Advisor, from London forum, here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k5353060-Passport_needed_to_check_in_hotel-London_England.html

A credit card itself does not substitute ID in EU. I understand Americans don't have id's, meaning a federal document that's nation wide, so it sounds a bit orwellic for Europe to be a little more obsessed about these things : )

I share the same opinion with you. A simple credit card should be enough for checking-in in a hotel or booking a simple travel service.

Unfortunately we are used to these things in Europe indeed, which seems to be a little weird about these things compared to the States or Australia.

In Italy for example, you can't use a pc at an Internet cafe, unless you exhibit your passport, which is photocopied ( ! ) and copy is kept at the Internet cafe. I was gobsmacked first time i went through this in Venice some years ago; definitely unexpected.

Typically, any bank transaction here, in Greece, needs proof of identity. You want money from a cashier in a bank? This means you 'll have to show proof of identity. In specific cases, these records are kept, especially when importing money and some paper trail is generated. I still don't know if this has become mandatory for online purchases of services.

( I still haven't managed to find a definite confirmation of what is needed and online reference of some specific law ).

Two are the possible explanations ( still just assumptions / not suggestions to provide the data ):

1. either travel agencies have to collect these data for reasons related to use of credit cards ( in order to purchase a service or goods in Greece, exhibiting id along with the credit card is mandatory ).

2. or travel agencies have to collect these data for tax related information, specifically for cross checks local tax service needs to do to "dig" hidden expenses and, consequently, hidden incomes from local tax residents.

I still don't have definite answer, nor this is a suggestion to provide your data.

I 'd probably mail back, asking the reason for the collection of these data.

We have received the same question in TA, twice already.

It's almost sure it has to do with recent tax law requirements or bank regulations regarding use of credit cards.

Give me some time to make some questions around. I 'll try to define what's going on and post relative information here in CC and in TA.

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EDIT: still trying to find a definite answer.

One possible explanation is they need a name and id to charge a credit card.

I am almost sure also that if this has to do with credit card use, it *may* somehow and at some extent be contradicting local laws regarding protection of personal data, although these laws are not always very very clear, anywhere int he world.

Hmm. Not really :)

It was just elections.

Only foreign press tended to think this was something to talk about in a "something may happen" way.

Greeks just voted and that was all. Then they went for their Sunday eating out :)

Nothing would happen, any way things were going, except some newspapers frenzy.