Where to go from Piraeus other than Athens

[islandwoman]

We will be in the Port of Piraeus on May 28 from 5 AM until 5 PM.  We have been to Athens previously and would like to tour somewhere else in Greece this time.  Please post any ideas you might have for a trip from the port that would get us back before the ship sails. We are interested in ruins, country-side and almost anything else except shopping. 

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, islandwoman said:

We will be in the Port of Piraeus on May 28 from 5 AM until 5 PM.  We have been to Athens previously and would like to tour somewhere else in Greece this time.  Please post any ideas you might have for a trip from the port that would get us back before the ship sails. We are interested in ruins, country-side and almost anything else except shopping. 

On my very first cruise that stopped in Athens, I took a ship excursions to Cape Sounion.  There is a Temple of Poseidon there and the views out over the water are great.  I don’t recall the drive there to be all that memorable though. 

[cruisemom42]

Corinth makes for a nice daytrip from Piraeus. Ruins, nice countryside and a chance to also see the Corinth canal.

[marazul]

I would vote for Corinth before Sounion.  It is also closer to the ort and there is more to see.

[pdmlynek]

21 hours ago, islandwoman said:

We will be in the Port of Piraeus on May 28 from 5 AM until 5 PM.  We have been to Athens previously and would like to tour somewhere else in Greece this time.  Please post any ideas you might have for a trip from the port that would get us back before the ship sails. We are interested in ruins, country-side and almost anything else except shopping. 

 

This is a tough question.  Based on your extensive list of cruises, it appears that you are a well experienced traveler, so you know how long it will take you to find a rental car in early morning hours, or when to get to the airport for a 17:00 flight, or dealing with heavy Athens traffic, etc.  

Corinth is wonderful, but given your shortness of time, I wonder if it is worth it.  If you have a late afternoon flight, you'll need to get to the airport between 14:00 to 14:30 (more if you are flying to US ns), which mean leaving Corinth around 12:30 to 12:45.  Lunch before that at 12:00 or so.  

 

If you can get a ow rental from Pireaus to ATH, from a car rental agency that is open that early in the morning on Sunday, then you could be in Corinth by 7:30 or 8:00.  This would give you about 4h of sightseeing time. I think thats acceptable.

 

If you can't find an early morning car rental in Pireaus that allows ow rentals, then you'll need to take an X__ bus to the airport (the only place that rents cars that early in the morning), get a car and then drive to Corinth.  That would add another 2h or so, meaning that you'll have only 2h of sightseeing in Corinth.  I seriously doubt that it would be worth it.

 

Personally, I think that there is just so much to see in Athens, that it would take weeks to see it all.  I'd recommend just do more sightseeing in Athens.  

 

Good luck!  Let us know when you come back how you decided.

 

[islandwoman]

8 minutes ago, pdmlynek said:

Corinth is wonderful, but given your shortness of time, I wonder if it is worth it.  If you have a late afternoon flight, you'll need to get to the airport between 14:00 to 14:30 (more if you are flying to US ns), which mean leaving Corinth around 12:30 to 12:45.  Lunch before that at 12:00 or so. ......

 

Personally, I think that there is just so much to see in Athens, that it would take weeks to see it all.  I'd recommend just do more sightseeing in Athens.  

 

We are doing a B2B and so have no need to get to the airport in Athens.  We have the whole day in Piraeus until  all-aboard.  The ship sails at 5 PM. 

Do you still recommend doing sightseeing in Athens, or going to Corinth?

If Corinth, a rental car or a tour?  I must say though, I haven't been able to find any affordable tours that would get us back to the port on time, yet.

[pdmlynek]

3 hours ago, islandwoman said:

We are doing a B2B and so have no need to get to the airport in Athens.  We have the whole day in Piraeus until  all-aboard.  The ship sails at 5 PM. 

Do you still recommend doing sightseeing in Athens, or going to Corinth?

If Corinth, a rental car or a tour?  I must say though, I haven't been able to find any affordable tours that would get us back to the port on time, yet.

 

OK, good, thanks for the explanation.  I had no idea that you were doing b2B cruises; I thought that the 17:00 was when your plane was taking off.

 

In that case, that this is even better.  Grab a rental car in Piraeus, drive to Corinth, and then drive back to Piraeus.

 

 

A question: What do you do with your luggage?  Do you leave it at the port?  Or do you have to take it with you?

 

[pdmlynek]

3 hours ago, islandwoman said:

We are doing a B2B and so have no need to get to the airport in Athens.  We have the whole day in Piraeus until  all-aboard.  The ship sails at 5 PM. 

Do you still recommend doing sightseeing in Athens, or going to Corinth?

If Corinth, a rental car or a tour?  I must say though, I haven't been able to find any affordable tours that would get us back to the port on time, yet.

 

One more alternative to Athens: Since you are going to be in Piraeus anyway, consider a daytrip to Hydra.  There are plenty of ferries to this close by island.  It should take something like 1h30 ow.  

 

(Though many people like it, I don't have personal experience with Hydra, thus, per cruisecritic rules, I am not able to recommend it.)

[islandwoman]

3 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

A question: What do you do with your luggage?  Do you leave it at the port?  Or do you have to take it with you?

 

We leave it on the ship.  We have the same cabin on both cruises.  But even if we didn't, we could still leave our luggage onboard and the cabin attendants would move it to the next cabin for us.

[itsnotjustme]

On 1/26/2023 at 12:15 PM, islandwoman said:

We are doing a B2B and so have no need to get to the airport in Athens. 

We are also doing a B2B out of Athens (mid-point is 3 Sep 23).  My thinking so far is to just get off the ship and tour around Pireas by foot.  Here are sites of interest to us I identified.... enough to fill the day.

 

[itsnotjustme]

On 1/26/2023 at 4:01 PM, pdmlynek said:

consider a daytrip to Hydra

For me, I would be uncomfortable taking a ferry that distance (Roughly 40 miles each way) and being certain I will be back by all aboard time.