private tour company in Athens--suggestions, please

[bagladi]

My family will be cruising on the Celebrity Reflection out of Rome on July 10th. Trying to plan our excursions and was wondering if any one has any suggestions for Athens and Sicily?? We would prefer to hire a reputable private tour operator and not go with the ship in these two places. Has anyone had any great experiences with tours in these areas that you can share? Thanks so much!!!

[antarctic penguin]

Here is a link to George's Taxi website http://www.taxigreece.com/Private-Tours-in-Athens-Shore-Excursions/full-day-athens-tour.html.

 

He was recommended to me by my travel agent as he knows him personally and told me he has never heard any complaints. And he gets good reviews on cruise critic. We will be using him this Sept. on our eastern Med cruise. Good luck!:)

[bagladi]

Thank you for the info. I have contacted George's taxi and hope to hear back

from them soon!!

[boom_boom]

We used PK Travel I think it is also known as athens by taxi, in the fall of 2013 and had great service. Met us at the airport, half day tour of Athens then took us to the Port. Highly recommend:)

[chipmaster]

It's been a few years but I used GreekTaxi a few years ago, they still have a presence on the web in and tripadvisor.

 

We had Dimitri as our drive/guide in a small bus, a great if not hot day!

[Got2Cruise]

I am considering a highly recommended on Cruise Critic taxi tour company in Athens. They request prepayment but they will refund your money if given 48 hours notice. Is this the norm for Athens, Greece taxi tours?

[texancruzer]

Another vote for PK Travel. Paul runs a great tour company…..

 

We have used them twice now and both times had a great day. We were the first ones on the Acropolis both times - our pics are empty of the hordes of people that will be there later …….. just sayin :D

[paradiselivin1]

Another vote for PK Travel. Paul runs a great tour company…..

 

We have used them twice now and both times had a great day. We were the first ones on the Acropolis both times - our pics are empty of the hordes of people that will be there later …….. just sayin :D

 

What was the approximate cost for your tour? How early in the day did you start & how long was the tour?? Thanks!

[cruisemom42]

If anyone is wondering, it's quite easy to do Athens on your own without a tour. All the sites are located very close to one another and much of the area is pedestrian only anyway....

 

I would recommend a taxi (about 20-25 euro) to get you to the Acropolis first thing. After that you can walk around and visit as many of the other sites as you wish, plus the Plaka is also right there at the foot of the Acropolis.

 

Walking distance: Acropolis museum, Greek Agora, Roman Agora, Tower of the Winds, Theatre of Dionysus, Plaka, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, etc.

 

When you are done for the day you can ride the metro back at your leisure or hail another taxi to take you to the port.

 

I've done this twice and I also was able to get to the Acropolis at or before opening time, thus avoiding all the crowds.

[Got2Cruise]

If anyone is wondering, it's quite easy to do Athens on your own without a tour. All the sites are located very close to one another and much of the area is pedestrian only anyway....

 

 

 

I would recommend a taxi (about 20-25 euro) to get you to the Acropolis first thing. After that you can walk around and visit as many of the other sites as you wish, plus the Plaka is also right there at the foot of the Acropolis.

 

 

 

Walking distance: Acropolis museum, Greek Agora, Roman Agora, Tower of the Winds, Theatre of Dionysus, Plaka, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, etc.

 

 

 

When you are done for the day you can ride the metro back at your leisure or hail another taxi to take you to the port.

 

 

 

I've done this twice and I also was able to get to the Acropolis at or before opening time, thus avoiding all the crowds.

 

 

Thanks! This is very useful information

[paradiselivin1]

Thanks Cruisemom42. We may give that a try, too ~ sounds easy enough to do!

[maryann ns]

Athens is very easy to tour on your own. Take the above advice and add a guide book and you are all set.

[texancruzer]

What was the approximate cost for your tour? How early in the day did you start & how long was the tour?? Thanks!

 

We started early. We were picked up at 7:30 and headed straight to the Acropolis. A full day tour for 4 people was 220 euros.

 

We have done Athens a few ways (this was our 4th time there on a cruise) and this, for us, is the way to go.

 

We did the metro our first trip. While it is cheap it was kind of a hassle. We had to walk a long long way to the metro stop. The port is huge and very congested and confusing. Definitely did not get to the Acropolis early that way !

 

Second time we used the ship tour "Athens on your Own" We did this because we were there right after the really big (and bad) demonstrations in Syntagma square. We were worried about strikes and the metro/taxis not running and getting stranded in town. It worked ok but not enough time before we had to be back to the bus.

 

Both of the last 2 times we have used PK Travel. Last time we had my husbands parents with us - her being in a wheelchair. They were awesome and helped her experience Athens as best you can in a wheelchair.

 

This trip (just got back last Sunday) we saw a number of things we hadn't seen before thanks to a great driver ……

 

So - yes you can do DIY here….. takes research, planning and patience. But if you want a great tour co. Paul's company is the way to go.

[cruisemom42]

So - yes you can do DIY here….. takes research, planning and patience. But if you want a great tour co. Paul's company is the way to go.

 

Research and planning yes, but not as much as with some ports.

 

Patience? Hmmm.... Taking a taxi in is just as easy and fast as taking a private tour. No extra time; pick up at the same place where pre-booked taxis and cars wait, drop off at same place for the Acropolis. Since the distance is short, the cost is not much. (As I said, about 20-25 euro total per taxi, not per person).

 

Easy peasy.

[texancruzer]

Research and planning yes, but not as much as with some ports.

 

Patience? Hmmm.... Taking a taxi in is just as easy and fast as taking a private tour. No extra time; pick up at the same place where pre-booked taxis and cars wait, drop off at same place for the Acropolis. Since the distance is short, the cost is not much. (As I said, about 20-25 euro total per taxi, not per person).

 

Easy peasy.

 

I agree in part.

 

Athens has so much history to see and while it is mostly all in one basic area, the city has grown up around it and for a first timer it can be a bit confusing in my opinion. Even with a good map we got a bit turned around our first trip there. Best advice is to get a good map from online and study it !! Familiarize which way is what. Also plan out your route…. its easy to want to hit the hot spots and then the lesser sites but sometimes that means backtracking….. also be realistic in how much you can do. Lines for tickets etc can affect your timing in a big way…… and some helpful " routes " may be written by some people who take sightseeing in a "death march" mindset :( We listed what we wanted to see ahead of time online and they had an itinerary pretty much all set for us ….. even to the perfect timing of us seeing the changing of the guard at Syntagma square. We drove up right in front, hopped out and voila' the guards began…… we have awesome video.

 

And the patience part comes with realizing that not all goes as planned sometimes. We took a taxi back to the ship when we took the metro in (our first trip) Our taxi driver actually stopped and picked up "a friend" while on our way back ….. then he wanted to drop us at a terminal where we didn't see our ship !!! :eek: I told him I was not getting out until I saw the big "X" on the ship. Good thing I did as the terminal he wanted to let us out at was quite a distance from our ship. So be flexible and patient……. and yes a taxi will be much easier than the metro. While I do not, many consider DIY as using public transportation such as a bus or the metro……

 

PS: Remember your terminal number !!!!! :)

[fabrome]

You can go by taxi,train,or bus to the city center and then move around on foot

[chefestelle]

Has anyone done the hop on hop off?

[hathaway42]

I have used greektaxi on previous cruises and been very happy with their services.

[tidygirl]

How many passengers can a taxi hold? We will have 6 of us and are thinking of DIY

[NoWhiners]

We used Nikos at http://www.privategreecetours.com, they were excellent! Our driver was Tom (who worked for GM in Detroit for 15 years, so his English was great!). We used them for a tour of sites outside Athens but I believe they do city tours too. Plus, if you book a tour with them, they will also offer you a somewhat reduced rate for an airport transfer by taxi if you need it. We used this also--left our hotel at 4:30 am!!

 

You pay in cash (Euro's) at the end of the tour, and if you cancel outside of 48 hours in advance, there is no charge. (He gets your credit card info just in case :) ) Nikos will send you his cell phone number, your drivers number and tell you where to meet to cab. We were picked up at the port in Athens the day we debarked from the cruise as we had 1 night post-cruise in Athens. The terminal we were in (Terminal B?? can't remember) required a short bus ride to the main terminal, and our driver was waiting just as noted, but we were a bit early so had to wait for him to arrive.

 

I highly recommend them but I also considered Paul and some of the others already noted.

 

Also, if you are going to a hotel in Athen's for pre-cruise nights, there is an express bus from the airport that takes you to Syntagma square, where you can catch the metro. we did this and it was quite easy, if you are able to handle your luggage. And our hotel was only a short walk from a metro station. You could always just grab a cab from Syntagma square to your hotel. I know you didn't ask this but thought I would toss it in, just in case!

 

good luck and have a great time

ML

 

oops--just noticed you're there now. Sorry.

Edited July 13, 2015 by NoWhiners
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[Got2Cruise]

We returned from our cruise which disembarked in Athens. We opted for a tour with PK Travel because we wanted to make best use of our time. The day we were there it was 92 degrees. Something can be said about being picked up directly from the ship and directly to the Accropolis 7:30 am and arriving at Accropolis before the crowds and the heat. The heat is one thing is a very important thing to consider. We were able to see more from 7:30 to 12:30 and then driven to our hotel than some can see in a full day. We were driven around in an airconditoned Mercedes taxi door to door to each site.