Help with Athens tours

[dickinson]

We will fly to Athens from the east coast of USA.  7 hour time difference.  We land at 2 pm.  We have two full days before our cruise.  The second day we are doing a walking tour of Acropolis and the Museum.  We plan on buying a Combo ticket to see some of the other sites.  Originally I thought of going to some of the other sites (Ancient Agora, etc) our first full day.  Not sure how badly we will be affected by jet lag.  I have now seen a tour on Viator which is 4 -5 hours and would take us out to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon.  It would leave by 5 pm and pick up could be as early as 4 pm.  Supposedly sunset at the cape is beautiful.  Is this doing too much in one day ie: walking around Athens to see the ancient Agora, Temple of Zeus, Hadrians Library, etc AND going to Cape Sounion and Temple of Poseidon?  Which sites are really a must see?  Thanks.

[marazul]

34 minutes ago, dickinson said:

We will fly to Athens from the east coast of USA.  7 hour time difference.  We land at 2 pm.  We have two full days before our cruise.  The second day we are doing a walking tour of Acropolis and the Museum.  We plan on buying a Combo ticket to see some of the other sites.  Originally I thought of going to some of the other sites (Ancient Agora, etc) our first full day.  Not sure how badly we will be affected by jet lag.  I have now seen a tour on Viator which is 4 -5 hours and would take us out to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon.  It would leave by 5 pm and pick up could be as early as 4 pm.  Supposedly sunset at the cape is beautiful.  Is this doing too much in one day ie: walking around Athens to see the ancient Agora, Temple of Zeus, Hadrians Library, etc AND going to Cape Sounion and Temple of Poseidon?  Which sites are really a must see?  

It will be fine. The ride to Sounion is a little over one hour. The most that can happen is that you will take a nap during the ride. 

You get to Sounion a little after 5. You may or may not see the sunset depending on the date.

[dickinson]

@marazul  It says it starts at 5 pm.  they call it a sunset tour. There is an hour stop at beach where one could swim or get a bite to eat (we'd eat !).  I hate to plan too much in one day but I don't expect to ever be back.  

Edited August 19, 2023 by dickinson

[CruiserBruce]

Have you read any of the numerous comments around about Viator? Better to use one of the local, recommended vendors,  like PK.

[marazul]

4 hours ago, dickinson said:

@marazul  It says it starts at 5 pm.  they call it a sunset tour. There is an hour stop at beach where one could swim or get a bite to eat (we'd eat !).  I hate to plan too much in one day but I don't expect to ever be back.  

Go for it, but listen to CruiserBruce and get a local tour - PK Travel or George's Taxi.

[dickinson]

8 hours ago, marazul said:

Go for it, but listen to CruiserBruce and get a local tour - PK Travel or George's Taxi.

I found Getaway Athens.  They offer shared tours.  Description sounds almost like Viator's except it is an hour or more earlier and an hour longer.  Not sure why longer. Also it is less expensive. We are still debating if it is too much to do in one day and the day after we arrive so we are jet lagged. 

[marazul]

2 hours ago, dickinson said:

I found Getaway Athens.  They offer shared tours.  Description sounds almost like Viator's except it is an hour or more earlier and an hour longer.  Not sure why longer. Also it is less expensive. We are still debating if it is too much to do in one day and the day after we arrive so we are jet lagged. 

I found the description of the Getaways tour.  It takes two extra hours because it spends a lot of time picking up and returning passengers to different locations.  That is the problem with many shared tours.  You could check the price with other companies that do a small group tour, like PK.  However, any tour that includes time for dinner will take 4-5 hours and nearly half of that time is the drive.  It will be closer to 4 hours if it is a private tour which picks up in only one place and lets you control better how much time you spend at dinner.

 

Consider staying in Athens and going for a late dinner in one of the many restaurants in Plaka that have a view of the Acropolis.  That is also a wonderful experience.  Save Sounion for another trip. 

 

 

[dickinson]

@marazul I appreciate your opinions.  As I stated previously we don't expect to be back in Athens again.  The Getaways tour is small so it won't be going to lots of different hotels.  I checked PK and their tour that includes where we want to go is 8 hours and also starts at the cruise port.  Any private tour that they will customize will just be too expensive for two people.

 

We have a walking tour already booked for the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum for our second full day in Athens.  Our hotel is The Athens Gate which is directly across from the Acropolis so we will have wonderful views.  

 

Even though the Acropolis has hordes of people, apparently not many on this site to say their experiences and what tour companies they used.  

Edited August 20, 2023 by dickinson

[marazul]

@dickinson-

OK.  Here are a few thoughts on your plans. 

 

On day 1 you would like to walk through the Ancient Agora, etc and also go to Sounion. Your concern is that you will be too tired to do both. 

 

You can do it.  Just do not try to get an early start and get some rest.  You can go first to the Ancient Agora and the temple of Haephaestus, walk back alongside te Roman Agora, and go into Anafiotika and Plaka.  This will take you about 3 hours and you can do it on your own.  You can also look for a walking tour that does this.  Break for a late lunch and a little rest.  Take the Sounion excursion.  As I said before, the most that can happen is that you will fall asleep on the bus on the way back to Athens.  

 

On Day 2 you are taking the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum tour.  That only takes a half day.  You have the entire afternoon for other things.  For example, go to the National Archaeological Museum. Or, else take the tour of the Ancient Agora to Plaka that afternoon instead of doing that on Day 1.  In that case, on Day 1 you could sleep late, go to the National Archaeological Museum, go back to Plaka for lunch and then go to Sounion.  Whatever you do, plan on dinner in Plaka. 

 

The Athens Gate is not directly across from the Acropolis; it is directly across from the Temple of Zeus.  The hotel is about four blocks away from the Acropolis, and it does have a great view of the Acropolis from the rooftop terrace and from some of the rooms on the top floor.  

 

You wonder why most people do not talk about tours to the Acropolis.  That is because the vast majority of people do it on their own getting tickets for both.  A good tour adds value to the experience, so it is worthwhile doing it.

[dickinson]

@marazul Awesome post!  Thanks.  I have actually tried to find some walking tours of the other sites that are on the combo ticket but somehow can't find anything.  Again, with two people we don't want private tour because of expense.  I have tried looking on Trip Advisor but frankly I don't find it the most user friendly.  Probably user issue ( ME!).  I'll try again.

 

Thanks so much 🙂