Day trip to Delphi - Tours by Locals

[aegiina]

Hi,

 

Has anyone ever used this private tour group? Any concerns? Any information would be helpful and appreciated.

 

Is there any current concern about ship not stopping in Athens?

 

I was thinking about doing the day trip to Delphi since I have been to Athens a few times usually have gotten around fine on my own but Delphi is too far.

 

http://www.toursbylocals.com/DelphiTourGuide

 

Thanks, Aegina

[Jems797]

We have gone on two private tours out of Athens--two different cruises, both booked through Spiros--I cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed each. Our second tour was the one we took to Delphi. It is a bit of a drive but we had an airconditioned Mercedes, excellent and personable driver who took us to several nice places on the way...and a wonderful spot for lunch with terrific grilled lamb chops--overlooking the Med. Spiros called a couple of times to talk with the driver and make sure everything was going perfectly. Again, I would highly recommend booking through Spiros and if you search here on Cruise Critic you will see many others who will recommend this tour company. If you Google Spiros Tours Greece, you will come to his website with description of the tours. He will modify tours if you have some changes you would like.

[Jems797]

oh....and Delphi was spectacular! I would rate this better than the Acropolis, Pompeii and really most of the other ancient sites we have visited. Well worth the time to get there--easily done to get there and back to your ship on time.

[MercedMike]

Delphi is indeed spectacular! It is well worth the trip, especially if you have seen the Acropolis before. Be warned that it is even more of a climb than the Acropolis is! We ate at To Patriko Mas restaurant in town, perched on the cliff with sweeping views over the valley below.

 

You need to understand that licensed guides in Greece are rare (and sometimes expensive!) Many of the drivers recommended on this board, such as Spiros as above, or Paul and Nick at Greek Taxi whom we used, are not licensed guides and cannot go into the sites. Since Greece is a country where many wonderful guidebooks are available, this is not a big problem.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures of Delphi at http://www.bully4.us/blacksea3.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[sunsetbeachgal]

We were lucky enough to be on a Princess ship (a small one) that had a stop at Itea, so did an excursion to Delphi. It was just wonderful-a magical setting up in the mountains. And do not miss the wonderful museum-it is small but the antiquities in it are priceless! The town of Delphi is nice too.

[Jade13]

Delphi is indeed spectacular! It is well worth the trip, especially if you have seen the Acropolis before. Be warned that it is even more of a climb than the Acropolis is! We ate at To Patriko Mas restaurant in town, perched on the cliff with sweeping views over the valley below.

 

You need to understand that licensed guides in Greece are rare (and sometimes expensive!) Many of the drivers recommended on this board, such as Spiros as above, or Paul and Nick at Greek Taxi whom we used, are not licensed guides and cannot go into the sites. Since Greece is a country where many wonderful guidebooks are available, this is not a big problem.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures of Delphi at http://www.bully4.us/blacksea3.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

 

I haven't been to Athens in over 25 years. My DH has not been. I am considering going to Delphi. How long is the drive each way? If I read your report, you did Delphi, the museum in Delphi and the Athens museum in one day? Our ship arrives in port and we disembark. We have a hotel in Athens and flight the next day at 1:00pm. If the acropolis opens at 8:00am we may be able to walk there the second morning prior to going to the airport.

 

We are looking for suggestions.

[MercedMike]

I haven't been to Athens in over 25 years. My DH has not been. I am considering going to Delphi. How long is the drive each way? If I read your report, you did Delphi, the museum in Delphi and the Athens museum in one day? Our ship arrives in port and we disembark. We have a hotel in Athens and flight the next day at 1:00pm. If the acropolis opens at 8:00am we may be able to walk there the second morning prior to going to the airport.

 

We are looking for suggestions.

 

We were on a five day tour of Greece. Actually what we did was drive from Northern Greece to Delphi, arriving before noon to catch the sun on the Shining Cliffs. Then in the afternoon we visited the site and the museum and stayed overnight in Delphi.

 

The next morning we drove to Athens. It is 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and depending on where you need to get to in Athens. From the port at Pireaus it would probably be a half hour more. We then did the Athens museums, but not the Acropolis as we had done that before.

 

It should theoretically be possible to do Delphi in one long day, getting off the ship and meeting your driver, driving there, seeing the site and museum, grabbing a quick meal, and then driving back to Athens to your hotel. It would be a long fast day, IMAO.

 

With a 1 PM flight you might indeed have enough time to jump out of bed, hurry up the steps to the Acropolis and have a quick look around. I really don't think you would be able to do justice to both the Acropolis and the Museum of the Acropolis.

 

Honestly, with the limited time you have, I would recommend that you consider spending a full day walking the Antiquities Promenade, not just the Acropolis, and at least an hour or more in the Museum of the Acropolis. You should have time to visit the Plaka and have some good food, too! Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/athens.html

 

Is there any possibility to add an extra day for Delphi? Get off ship, go to Delphi, spend night there, drive to Athens and do the Antiquities next day, and time to explore Plaka or visit the Archeological Museum and still make your flight on day 3.

 

There is so much to do in Athens alone, not to mention the rest of Greece. You just have to decide what your priorities are.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Jade13]

We were on a five day tour of Greece. Actually what we did was drive from Northern Greece to Delphi, arriving before noon to catch the sun on the Shining Cliffs. Then in the afternoon we visited the site and the museum and stayed overnight in Delphi.

 

The next morning we drove to Athens. It is 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and depending on where you need to get to in Athens. From the port at Pireaus it would probably be a half hour more. We then did the Athens museums, but not the Acropolis as we had done that before.

 

It should theoretically be possible to do Delphi in one long day, getting off the ship and meeting your driver, driving there, seeing the site and museum, grabbing a quick meal, and then driving back to Athens to your hotel. It would be a long fast day, IMAO.

 

With a 1 PM flight you might indeed have enough time to jump out of bed, hurry up the steps to the Acropolis and have a quick look around. I really don't think you would be able to do justice to both the Acropolis and the Museum of the Acropolis.

 

Honestly, with the limited time you have, I would recommend that you consider spending a full day walking the Antiquities Promenade, not just the Acropolis, and at least an hour or more in the Museum of the Acropolis. You should have time to visit the Plaka and have some good food, too! Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/athens.html

 

Is there any possibility to add an extra day for Delphi? Get off ship, go to Delphi, spend night there, drive to Athens and do the Antiquities next day, and time to explore Plaka or visit the Archeological Museum and still make your flight on day 3.

 

There is so much to do in Athens alone, not to mention the rest of Greece. You just have to decide what your priorities are.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

 

Mike,

 

Thanks. I think Delphi is probably not a good idea, and no, one day was all my DH would agree to. It's a Saturday and we need to be back at work on Monday. Plus, when a cruise ends we like to go home.

 

For referance, is there a cruise port that is closer and most use for Delphi? Is it Itea mentioned on this thread?

[sunsetbeachgal]

Itea was about a 20+ minute bus ride to Delphi (and a very pretty ride at that!). It was a nice, small port and I think the only ships that go there are smaller ones (ours was a Princess 600+ pax ship-former Renaissance ship).

[cruisemom42]

I just got back from a 4-day post-cruise stay in Athens, and did Delphi one day. The setting is spectacular, but I don't think I'd rate it above the Acropolis! It is a 3-hour drive each way from Athens (about the same from Piraeus, maybe even a little less as you avoid the Athens traffic).

 

I'm not sure I'd choose to do it on a port day in Athens unless your ship has a very long day scheduled in port. Too many crazy things can happen in the traffic situations around Athens. To give you an example, I ended up going on a day tour, and the pickup was very late -- I was getting concerned. Turns out the Prime Minister of China was visiting Athens and wanted to go jogging, so they blocked off major downtown traffic arteries on a rolling basis to allow him to do this. :rolleyes: