Athens & Cape Sounion possible in 8 hours?

[sldcruiser]

We will be on the NCL Gem in Sept. docking at the Piraeus port. I've been in touch with Nikos from privategreecetours and he recommended 2 possibilities. The first was spending a full day in Athens with the most popular sites, plus the Tower of the Winds, Ancient Greek Agora and National Archaeological Museum. Our other option is to skip those extras (but see all the major sites) and then drive to Cape Sounion. He said it was a 3 hour round trip drive to Cape Sounion so I'm wondering if anyone has done this. We'll only be in port from 7-5. I don't want to feel rushed, but I'd love to get to Cape Sounion. Any opinions?

[cruisemom42]

Well, I guess that theoretically it's possible or else Nick wouldn't suggest it. However, in my opinion this tour makes for a long day of transit and very little time allowed at the actual sites.

 

You might want to read this post from a recent Princess cruiser who did this tour as a ship excursion. Their frustration with the day is quite evident:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25102071&postcount=59

 

My vote would be to stay in Athens, not try to crowd too much into the day, and enjoy yourselves.

[Hlitner]

We have driven between Athens and Cape Sounion (in our rental car) several times and do enjoy the trip. But, when we do this drive we enjoy stopping for a swim at one of the beaches, taking time for a nice lunch, etc...but we do this as a day trip. If this is your first visit to Athens then you will find more then enough within Athens. It is hard to justify taking more then 3 hours out of your single port day to go to Sounion.

 

 

Hank

[sldcruiser]

Thanks for the quick responses! Although Nikos gave both as an option, he did recommend the all day Athens tour because of the long drive to Cape Sounion. Guess we'll have to go back another time to see that! :)

[luvinretirement]

Thanks for the quick responses! Although Nikos gave both as an option, he did recommend the all day Athens tour because of the long drive to Cape Sounion. Guess we'll have to go back another time to see that! :)

 

We hopped on the bus just outside the port and got off at the metro station and took it into Athens - all day pass for 3 Euro each - trains are very frequent and easy to get around Athens on. We went to the Acropolis and all the other historical spots we'd planned at our own leisurely pace and still got back to the ship in lots of time.

 

Our second time in Athens (we did b2b 12 day cruises) we did the same thing but went out to the 2004 Olympic site and then wandered around the Plaka. One thing we found out was the Acropolis and many of the other sites are free on Sundays. We paid 12 Euro each for the 6 location pass the first time and got to see the last site for free on our second visit.

[ny4cruise]

We will be on the NCL Gem in Sept. docking at the Piraeus port. I've been in touch with Nikos from privategreecetours and he recommended 2 possibilities. The first was spending a full day in Athens with the most popular sites, plus the Tower of the Winds, Ancient Greek Agora and National Archaeological Museum. Our other option is to skip those extras (but see all the major sites) and then drive to Cape Sounion. He said it was a 3 hour round trip drive to Cape Sounion so I'm wondering if anyone has done this. We'll only be in port from 7-5. I don't want to feel rushed, but I'd love to get to Cape Sounion. Any opinions?

 

We were in Athens in July for the second time and used Nikos of privategreecetours for our second visit as well. We did the Athens & Cape Sounion tour. We visited the Acropolis (it was our friends’ first time in Athens) and Plaka for a little shopping and then left for Cape Sounion. We visited the Temple of Poseidon and enjoyed a wonderful lunch by the sea side. We spent around two hours at Cape Sounion. All in all our tour lasted about 8 ½ hours. It can be done in 8 hours but since this will be your first time in Athens I would really suggest the Full Day Athens Tour. We did Athens & Cape Sounion because it was our second visit and wanted to see something else. Whatever your decision is you will have a great time. Nikos is a great guy and a joy to be with.

[Susan-M]

One thing we found out was the Acropolis and many of the other sites are free on Sundays.

 

Although not all Sundays are free admission days, quite a few of them are ... this site provides a list of the free admission days.

[mahdnc]

In 2007, we hired a private driver and did the Athens + Cape Sounion tour in 8 hours--so it is quite do-able. It is a matter of personal preference on whether you should do this or an Athens only tour. For me, I was happy with the additional time we took to drive out to see the Temple of Poseidon. It is quite impressive to see this magnificent temple standing on the cliffs above the sea. I thought our driver did a nice job in planning our route.

 

You will enjoy either tour but I think you will be happy that you spent the money to hire a private driver...

[Hlitner]

Sometimes good things happen to those that do things on their own with not specific plans. A few years ago we had a day to kill in Athens and decided to rent a car and drive down to Sounion. Along the way we saw a beautiful beach along the coastal road and stopped to take a swim in the Ocean. We then went the rest of the way to Sounion and had lunch. We decded to drive back to Athens via the interior roads and got delightfully lost. We were not too worried since we can read the word "Athenia" in Greek (it is the only Greek word we can read) so could always follow the signs back to Athens. We spotted a few English signs pointing us to a cave complex which turned out to be the azmaing Peanias Cave Koutouki which turned out to be the highlight of the day. This is not a place we would have chosen from a tour book, it was just one of those things that happens when you go exploring with no fixed itinerary.

 

Hank

[GIZMO81]

Sometimes good things happen to those that do things on their own with not specific plans. A few years ago we had a day to kill in Athens and decided to rent a car and drive down to Sounion. Along the way we saw a beautiful beach along the coastal road and stopped to take a swim in the Ocean. We then went the rest of the way to Sounion and had lunch. We decded to drive back to Athens via the interior roads and got delightfully lost. We were not too worried since we can read the word "Athenia" in Greek (it is the only Greek word we can read) so could always follow the signs back to Athens. We spotted a few English signs pointing us to a cave complex which turned out to be the azmaing Peanias Cave Koutouki which turned out to be the highlight of the day. This is not a place we would have chosen from a tour book, it was just one of those things that happens when you go exploring with no fixed itinerary.

 

Hank

We went for an afternoon. Enjoyed the drive down the coast also had a wonderfull late lunch and the views... Well you all decide. http://cmd.shutterfly.com/commands/pictures/slideshow?site=travelguy&page=travelguy&album=5013 :cool: