Athens on own or guide?

[suefrankw]

Hi all,

lots of good advice on this board. We will be ending our cruise in Athens in October and spending one night there. For those who have been there, is Athens doable on your own or will we need a tour to see? If tour is preferable, any suggestions for guides?

Also we are staying just outside the Plaka. For the evening- it is a safe place to be out & about?

Thanks

Sue in FL

[Hlitner]

We love Athens in the evening, and have never had a problem with safety while walking in the streets. If the weather is good, the streets around the Plaka and Syntagma Square will be crowded with tourists and locals. You can do Athens on your own with the help of a guide book, but you will probably want to hook-up with an English speaking guide or group at the entrance to the Acropolis (you can do this on your own, but a good guide can add some color). I would also give a strong recommendation to a restaurant called "Daphnes" (for dinner) which is located on the edge of the Plaka. Your hotel can make reservations and give you good directions. If the weather is not too hot, have them make you reservations to eat in the outdoor courtyard.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Bassethound]

From the Emerald Princess, we won't have an evening. So, with daytime crowds, should we plan on a guide?

[suefrankw]

thanks hank- that sounds great

[Aussie Gal]

From the Emerald Princess, we won't have an evening. So, with daytime crowds, should we plan on a guide?

 

No you do not need a guide. Athens is a very easy city to walk around and as it is not a large city you will be fine. As Hlitner suggested, when you get to the Acropolis, hire a guide to take you around. It does help with the explanations.

 

The Plaka has lots of reasonable restaurants where you can have lunch and that is also very close to the Acropolis. I would plan on seeing the Acropolis first which can take up to a couple of hours and then have lunch. Afterwards, you can stroll around and see the rest of the sights before heading back to the ship.

 

If you have time, watch the Changing of the Guard at Parliament House. I think it occurs on the hour every day. The best one is on Sunday morning around 12 noon when the whole regiment is replaced. It is a great spectacle. :)

 

Jennie

 

Jennie

[drwong]

Beware of avaricious taxi drivers at the cruise terminal who'll offer to take you downtown for "only" 50 Euros, letting you bargain them down to 30 Euros. You'll pat yourself on the back for your shrewd negotiating skills, until you find out from somebody else that it only cost them 15 Euros in a metered cab!!! :p

 

And once they get you in their cab, they'll offer to drive you around to all the sites because, well, it's so far to walk and the weather is so hot. And at the end of the day, they'll claim that you owe them 100 Euros for the trip (some will try to squeeze you for 150 Euros if you're too well-dressed).

 

In reality, it's pretty easy to take the subway downtown from Pireaus and to walk around the Acropolis and surrounding sites. Buy an illustrated DK (Dora Kinderling for you old-timers) Eyewitness guidebook of Athens and use that as your navigational aid and guide. Incidentally, I learned more from that book than from the guide!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes, but if you are disembarking, it's at least a 20 minute walk to the subway station from the cruise terminal, not fun with luggage.

 

You could pre-arrange a car probably, for pickup. I can't remember what we paid in 2004, we had a pre-arranged taxi from hotel to cruise terminal, I don't think it was outrageous, more expensive than the illusive "metered" cabs, of course, but reliable and comfortable. Only time we did something like this was coming into Athens from the ferry port at Piraeus--in retrospect we should have taken the subway. We found a cabbie willing to take us, but we shared with another passenger. This is very common. It wasn't bad, except that he smoked like a chimney the whole way.

[suefrankw]

thanks all- good advice. we do have transfers from the cruise to our hotel so...

[Aussie Gal]

thanks all- good advice. we do have transfers from the cruise to our hotel so...

 

Once you have left your luggage at your hotel then just step outside and walk. You will have nearly a whole day to see the sights and you can easily do it in that time. We have been to Athens twice now and I do enjoy the city. It is very polluted and can be very hot, but the people are lovely and as long as you don't rush around and take your time, it is an enjoyable city.

 

They have made one of the streets a "walking street" with lots of shops which is a great improvement from the first time we were there (1995).

 

Have dinner at the Plaka and you will be entertained with wonderful Greek music. We feel very much at home there as our city - Melbourne - is the third largest Greek city in the world and the largest outside of Greece. :)

 

So many of the population of Athens and elsewhere in Greece have cousins, uncles, aunts etc. who live here.

 

Enjoy.

 

Jennie

[Debbierpof]

I can only tell you that I loved our guide Paul. For someone with not much time to explore it was well worth it. But if you do it on your own (since you are staying overnight), I'd recommend going to Lyccabettus Hill at some point -- what a breathtaking place! It is the highest point in Athens and gives you a great view of the sea, Athens and mountains. We had lunch there and it was very enjoyable.