X80 vs. Metro vs. Welcome Pickups

[jlandz09]

We are scheduled to arrive in Piraeus at 7:00 am. Our tour meets close to the Acropolis at 9:00 am.

 

X80-

 

Pros- Cheap (~4 euros)

Cons- Worried about space and not getting a spot if there is a flood of people.

 

Metro-

 

Pros- Cheap (~2 euros), Seems less like the train would run out of space compared to the X80 bus

Cons- Seems like it's quite the hike from the cruise port to the train station. Someone correct me if I'm wrong about this.

 

Welcome Pickups-

 

Pros- Private, pretty much same price as a taxi, guaranteed ride

Cons- More expensive (~30 euros)

 

Our primary concern is getting to the meeting spot on time. If all three of these options will reliably get us there, then the only other consideration is whether the Metro is too long of a walk from the port. Any information on these concerns + anything else I am not already understanding would be greatly appreciated!

[Hlitner]

Regarding the walk to the train station/metro (which we have done many times) it is approximately 1 mile (can be another quarter mile depending on docking position) and a flat walk once out of the port.  Regarding the X80, while it can be a good option, timing is everything,  You might want to look up the schedule since those buses can sometimes be 40 minutes (possibly more) between buses.  And, as you fear, if there are a few ships in port, the bus can get crowded.  

 

Taxis are actually a good option.  We have generally seen taxis at the ports, although you always want to discuss the fare before getting in a taxi.  We have never used private cars/drivers.

 

I believe Uber is now back in Athens and actually summons a real taxi (independent Uber drivers are apparently not legal).  There are also a couple of other locally popular apps such as FREENOW.  In the past I have also used "Beat" but not sure if this works in 2023.

 

Hank

[jlandz09]

Lots of good information here that I wasn’t able to get from the travel blogs. Much thanks!

[jlandz09]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Regarding the walk to the train station/metro (which we have done many times) it is approximately 1 mile (can be another quarter mile depending on docking position) and a flat walk once out of the port.  Regarding the X80, while it can be a good option, timing is everything,  You might want to look up the schedule since those buses can sometimes be 40 minutes (possibly more) between buses.  And, as you fear, if there are a few ships in port, the bus can get crowded.  

 

Taxis are actually a good option.  We have generally seen taxis at the ports, although you always want to discuss the fare before getting in a taxi.  We have never used private cars/drivers.

 

I believe Uber is now back in Athens and actually summons a real taxi (independent Uber drivers are apparently not legal).  There are also a couple of other locally popular apps such as FREENOW.  In the past I have also used "Beat" but not sure if this works in 2023.

 

Hank

What if we wanted to take a taxi from the Cruise port just to the Metro station? Just checked the Uber app and it was only 5-7 dollars.

 

Im thinking maybe we play it by ear. If we get off the ship at, say…7:15…we have plenty of time to walk. If we get off at 7:45, maybe we taxi to the metro to turn the half hour walk into a 5 minute drive. And if it’s REALLY backed up for some reason getting off the ship and we can’t get off until 8 or so, then we just catch a taxi all the way to the tour office.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, jlandz09 said:

What if we wanted to take a taxi from the Cruise port just to the Metro station? Just checked the Uber app and it was only 5-7 dollars.

 

Im thinking maybe we play it by ear. If we get off the ship at, say…7:15…we have plenty of time to walk. If we get off at 7:45, maybe we taxi to the metro to turn the half hour walk into a 5 minute drive. And if it’s REALLY backed up for some reason getting off the ship and we can’t get off until 8 or so, then we just catch a taxi all the way to the tour office.

You may find some resistance from taxi drivers for such a short haul, but it is very possible.  In fact, just last year DW and I needed to get to the ferry port (across the street from the Metro Station) from a cruise ship (we were going island hopping) and did not want to walk since we had lots of luggage.  I asked a taxi (at the port) to take us and offered him 10 Euros (I would have gone to 20) which he accepted.   It is also possible to take a local bus, I think the #843 or #859, from across the steet from the port over to the Metro station.  The bus ticket (bought from a kiosk, tobacco shop, or on the bus, is good for 90 minutes and can also be used on the Metro (Green Line) into Athens.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, we have never used the local bus from the port area over to the Metro (we love to walk) but have used the #843 from the Metro to get back to the port.  Remember that these are local buses that run a continuous route so you need to know where to get off.  It is pretty simple to figure out, but do not miss your stop.

 

Hank

[PurpleTraveller]

We have used the X80 bus from Piraeus into Athens and back and it worked perfectly for us. We got off the ship at about 7.30am (sorry, can't remember the exact time) and walked the short distance to the bus stop. We waited about five minutes and got on an empty bus with two other couples. When we got to the stop nearest to the Acropolis we all got out and the driver also got out to show us where to walk to go to the Acropolis and also where the bus stop was on the opposite side of the road to return to the ship. There was no queue at the entrance to buy our tickets and we were up in the Acropolis before the tour buses arrived and got too crowded. After a day of sightseeing in Athens we got the bus back to the ship mid afternoon. The bus was fuller for the return trip but we still got seats. It was an easy and inexpensive way to visit Athens.

 

[jlandz09]

This is all great to know. In my little planbook, I'm going to put the information down for all three and approach it this way:

 

Ideally, we get off as early as possible and just catch the X80 bus so we can skip the walk to the Metro since it would be nice to actually have something of a view on the way into the city. If the bus is overly crowded and we have time, we will make the 20-minute trek out to the Metro station and ride out from there. By my calculation, we can catch a metro that leaves at 8:05-8:10 and still arrive in time for our tour since the tour meets at 8:45 and the meeting point is only a 1 minute walk from Acropolis metro station.

 

However, if we are getting off the ship and it's already closer to 8, then we will just grab a cab either one that's sitting there or through Uber or Freenow.

[Hydro ergo]

On 5/12/2023 at 10:08 AM, jlandz09 said:

This is all great to know. In my little planbook, I'm going to put the information down for all three and approach it this way:

 

Ideally, we get off as early as possible and just catch the X80 bus so we can skip the walk to the Metro since it would be nice to actually have something of a view on the way into the city. If the bus is overly crowded and we have time, we will make the 20-minute trek out to the Metro station and ride out from there. By my calculation, we can catch a metro that leaves at 8:05-8:10 and still arrive in time for our tour since the tour meets at 8:45 and the meeting point is only a 1 minute walk from Acropolis metro station.

 

However, if we are getting off the ship and it's already closer to 8, then we will just grab a cab either one that's sitting there or through Uber or Freenow.

Curious what your sail dates were and how it all worked out for you? Any recommendations?

 

thanks!