Athens transport query

[nellydean]

We are on the BOS next week and looking forward to visiting Athens (strikes permitting!).

 

I am rather confused about how to get from Piraeus to the city, because one thing tells me the train is best, the other the metro, and yet a third a cab

 

I think it's been made more complicated by the fact some of the info I was reading was before the Metro was completed/extended and might be out of date?

 

Anyway, I have a bit of a mobility problem with my knee, so i would prefer to expend all my energy in the sightseeing area rather than getting to the metro/ststion. Can someone please tell me the quickest way to get from the port to the Acropolis area.

 

If it's the train, how far is it to walk to the station and will we be able to get a ship's shuttle or a cab there?

 

If it's the metro, how far away is that, and ditto above.

 

And, if it's best to take a cab, is there a set fare to central Athens, or do they rip you off (or, is that just reserved for people who books tours with cab drivers?).

 

Many thanks.

Helen

[Fae11]

I just got back from Athens 2 days ago. The metro is very simple. I would suggest it. The busses are a little confusing. Your cruise people can tell you stops and bus numbers.

 

The Acropolis station is Acropoli. It is on the red line, the port is on the green. Take the Green to Omonia, then change to the red heading to Ag. Dimitros and get out at Acropoli. I'm not sure how long it will take. The trams, metro and buses are all on the same ticket. You can change all you want for 90 min for 1 Euro or get a day pass for 3. I didn't take the metro when I was at the port since i was on a cruise (don't use Viator- it's bad) and they bussed us there and back (with no AC). There is a hop on hop off train at the Acropolis that will take you between the places you have tickets to but I don't think they go up to the actual Acropolis.

 

If you have a lot of bags a cab might be better. The cab drivers are mostly nice. A few tried to rip us off. They like to charge each passenger the entire fare so they don't usually pick families up. We asked how much before we got in the cab. The people at our hotel said to just walk away from a cab driver who over-charges without paying. They are doing something illegal so they won't report you. We were 2 km from the Acropolis/Plaka and it was 3 Euro if that helps any. I'm not sure how far the port is.

[Fae11]

And don't worry much about the strikes. There was one while we were there. All the museums and ruins were open during it. We walked with in 2 blocks of the demonstrations safely. It just looked like a crowd with signs. Just stay away from Syntagma Square as that is were the demonstrations are. The schedule for them will be posted on banks and people will tell you when you are getting close. It is very hard to get a cab, even though there are more of them out, and you should expect to pay a lot more if there is a strike.

[kuldalai]

The train and Metro from Piraeus up to Athens are one and the same thing .

Check back on this thread for detailed instructions how to get from Cruise terminal berths to Piraeus Metro station . It is a good 20 -30 minute walk, but there is a local Urban bus service . Check back for detailed instructions where to get tickets and how to catch bus from berths to Piraeus station .