Athens Itinerary Plan

[agadora]

After much research on both this site and others, I have developed two possible DIY plans for our 4-person cruise day in Athens. We will be there via the NCL Spirit on Friday, June 20, 2014, from 8am-6pm.

 

I've never been to Athens so would love any advice about whether this is realistic and doable. We are ages 40-50, all in good shape for walking.

 

Option #1:

 

-- 9am: get to Acropolis right away, via taxi. Have the taxi drop off at Dionysus Restaurant...at the end of Robertou Galli street...which is right across from the entrance to the Acropolis.

-- 11am: Agora and Roman Forum

-- 12:30 pm: Plaka (Scholarhio for lunch)

-- 2:30pm: Temple of Olympian Zeus & Arch of Hadrian

-- 3pm: Museum

-- 4:30pm: Metro Back

 

Option #2:

 

-- 9am: go to Acropolis right away, via taxi. Have the taxi drop off at Dionysus Restaurant...at the end of Robertou Galli street...which is right across from the entrance to the Acropolis.

-- 11am: New Acropolis Museum (eat if hungry)

-- 12:30pm: Temple of Olympian Zeus and Arch of Hadrian

-- 1pm: Plaka (wander, eat if haven't already, Scholario)

-- 3pm: Changing of Guard (@Syntagma Square)

-- 4pm: Taxi Back from Syntagma Square

 

FWIW, I have also looked into private taxi tours through places suggested on this site. Four people, full day, ranges from E220-240. Would this be better or is DIY the way to go?

[kadey]

Hi agadora- We did your exact trip last April on the Spirit and it was fantastic!!!It was our second time in Athens. The first time we did a private tour and the second time we did a DIY. We definitely liked doing the DIY better. We made arrangements with GreekTaxi via email for our port pick up and Athens pick up. They were waiting for us at both ends and gave us great advice on the itinerary that we had preplanned. I liked going right from the Acropolis to the Acropolis Museum since they are so close together. Plaka area is a great place for lunch. We are going again this May with a stop in Athens and we are trying to figure out our day! If you have any other questions about your trip please feel free to ask. Each port on your itinerary is better than the next and we loved the ship!

[MeHeartCruising]

I'm a big fan of DIY and have done so twice in Athens on a cruise day. I think either of your plans will work nicely. It really be a matter of choosing whether you want to see the Agora/Forum or Syntagma Square. Whichever one you choose, I would bring details about the other items on your list with you. You may find you have enough time to adjust your itinerary on the fly and fit something else in. Bring maps and know the basic layout before you arrive and then go for it.

[Hlitner]

We have spent more then our share of time in Athens (on both cruises and land visits) and your itineraries seem fine. Not so sure I would get hung-up eating at a particular restaurant for lunch as its sometimes just fun to walk through the Plaka area and stop at whatever looks (and feels) right. We would probably lean towards your #2 because we think its beneficial to see the New Acropolis Museum right after visiting the actual ruins. The two places just go together like Mutt and Jeff.

 

By the way, if you are going to hire a taxi at the port you will only need to tell the driver to drop you at the Acropolis. They know the way and do not need a restaurant reference :). Just be sure you know the approximate fare and negotiate with the driver before you get in the taxi. Taxi drivers in Athens are not the most honest folks on the planet :(.

 

Hank

Edited December 30, 2013 by Hlitner

[gkkapp]

I would add to this, many taxi drivers do not want to just take you to the Acropolis. They want to take you on a "tour" of the city for the day and they will argue with you about it. We ran into this problem in 2009 and ended up using "plan B", walking to the subway and taking that into Athens. A doable but long walk first thing. Friends on a 2011 visit had the same problem but did get a young taxi driver to take them all the way. The feeling is that the drivers think they lose money by just going back and forth from the port to the Acropolis. The traffic going back to the port slows them down and early in the day no one wants a ride back to port.

 

Just my "two cents".

 

<<<Karen>>>

[3ssn]

You are going to have a great time with Both options.

 

As for transportation: each time we went to Athens we took a taxi in the morning and the metro (and a walk in the port) back. You have to find a taxi driver to take you there because most of them only want to give you a day-tour. But you will find one. If not you can walk out of the cruise port and get a cab there.

 

You'd better get the taxi to drop you off at the foot of Acropolis hill, not the restaurant. This will save you a little climbing uphill. You will get to do enough walking so save your muscles a little.

 

The choice seems to be changing of the guard or the agora. If you are there on a sunday I'd really recommend the changing of the guard. But that will be at 11 am (lots of Evzon soldiers). The hourly/regular changing of the guard is not that spectacular. Also not that spectacular: Hadrians arch and the Zeus temple. You can see them from Akropolis. Walking there didn't add mucht, in our opinion. I would rather spend more time in the Agora which also has a very nice temple (the Temple of Theseion, close to the Theseion metro station where the metro to the port stops).

 

If this is your first time you probably will want to climb up Acropolis hill. For second visits (been there) there are two way better options to het a view on Acropolis:

 

1. You can climb up Likavittos Hill (the highest hill in Athens). Instead of climbing you can take the funicular, of have a taxi drop you off at the top. We actually dit this last time. That was a great view, and you are looking down on Acropolis.

 

2. You can climb up Mouseion Hill (the hill just opposite of Akropolis) with the Philopappos Monument on top. We have done that and had great views on Akropolis. Where Akropolis was too crowded, on the other hill we were alone

 

But as said: if this is your first time, climbing Akropolis is probably a must do.

[agadora]

I appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

I really would like to use the taxi there, metro back approach…and I'm hoping against hope to find a taxi driver that will oblige, but as Karen says and as I've read some other posts in this forum, that may be a challenge.

 

My other option is to schedule a taxi transfer, but I don't know if any drivers would be interested in that either….@Kady, did you have any difficulty with that when you did it? Do you remember how much it cost?

 

I'm not interested in taking the metro in because I really want to be to the Acropolis as early as possible before the heat and crowds. I try to avoid crowds of people whenever possible.

 

Regarding the New Acropolis Museum, I put it in the afternoon simply because it might be nice to be there in the heat of the day. It's hard for me to get a feel for the distance between these places, though…would it make sense to go from the Acropolis, to museum, to Agora, to Plaka, and then Syntagma Square for changing of guard and the metro?

[MeHeartCruising]

 

Regarding the New Acropolis Museum, I put it in the afternoon simply because it might be nice to be there in the heat of the day. It's hard for me to get a feel for the distance between these places, though…would it make sense to go from the Acropolis, to museum, to Agora, to Plaka, and then Syntagma Square for changing of guard and the metro?

 

Starting at the Acropolis, the next logical stop is either the Museum OR the Agora, since both are closest to the Acropolis. However, they are on opposite sides of the Acropolis. So going from the Museum directly to the Agora would mean either walking partially back up the Acropolis hill you already navigated down from and then back down into the Agora on the other side. Or you could navigate around the east side of the Acropolis hill to get to the Agora. Either way is an option. If you go back up the hill and down into the Agora, the uphill portion is very manageable if you're in decent shape. You've already climbed it once to get up the Acropolis from your taxi, so you'll know what you're in store for if you take this route. You would not be going all the way up to the highest part of the Acropolis, just up to the entrance area and then back down the path on the other side into the Agora. It's probably a 15-20 minute walk from the Museum to the Agora entrance via this direction. If you go around the east side of the Acropolis, you might as well make a quick stop at Hadrians Arch and at least look at the Temple of Olympian Zeus from outside the fence. Personally, I enjoyed walking close up to it to get a better feel for the size of the remaining columns. I would think you'd need to allow 45-60 minutes to get from the Museum to the Agora via this route with a quick swing by the Arch and Zeus. Also, if I'm not mistaken, if you go the east route, you'll pretty much have to pass thru the Plaka to get to the Agora. Or thru some residential areas that hug the foot of the Acropolis. I'd probably suggest going back up and over the Acropolis if you have decided on the stops you mention above.

Edited December 31, 2013 by MeHeartCruising

[kadey]

a.kambas@hotmail.com- direct email…We paid 50 Euros roundtrip including taxes.

[Ssislandgirl]

My 2 cents.

My husband and I are usually avid diy'ers. On this trip, my parents joined us. Our plan was to be at the Acropolis right at 8:00 for opening time. I love photography, so 1 of my must-do's was Mt. Lycabettus . Since the charge for the funicular to take you up there is 7 Euros/person, it was actually more economical to hire a taxi driver for 5 hours to take us to the must-see spots and then back to Piraeus. We payed 20euros/person/trip. I blogged about this trip,lots of pictures

 

http://pandbtraveladventures.blogspot.com

 

Click on the tab called Sept. 30th 2013 on the left side of the page.

Hope this helps

Athens is a great city. Enjoy your day

 

Petra

[kikki21]

Hi,

 

Both options are do- able and sometimes a taxi tour may be the better option.

 

I have been to Athens quite a few times now and like to DIY - last year there was an issue with taxis at the port and we nearly went off to get the metro but one of the drivers said he would pick us up outside the port and take us to the Acropolis along with another couple so we paid that portion of the trip and get the metro back. In the end, the other couple negotiated a price which I think was 80 euros for a tour for the 2 of them.

 

We went up to the Acropolis walked back down past Scholario and then onto Syntagma Square and made our way up to Mt Lycabettus via the furnicular and then got a taxi back to the Plaka (it was getting hot and we were a bit tired from the walk!) where we had lunch at Scholario which was lovely and then had a walk round the Plaka before taking the metro back to the port and another half an hour walk!

 

I was ready for my dinner that night!