Athens and/or Cape Sounion HELP!

[wheatley]

We have a tour booked with Paul of Athens taxi. We're trying to decide between a full day tour of Athens or a combination Athens and Cape Sounion.

Has anyone done these tours? Which would you recommend? We leave in 9 days!!!! Thanks.

[conandrob240]

Do you only have 1 day in Athens? Cape Sounion is absolutely stunning. The temple there (ZEUS? can't remember name) is perched on a beautiful cliff with gorgeous sea views. The drive there is a bit long (90 min or so) but it is a nice way to see the countryside and some of it is along the coast which is beautiful. Once there, you need about an hour to see the temple and have a drink to soak in the view so the trip will eat up 3 1/2- 4 hrs of your day. The must-see sights in Athens are wonderful too and can probably be seen in about 4 hrs with a guide as long as you aren't including the museum into that time. The museum alone needs around 2 hrs. I would also recommend at last a few hours roaming thre Plaka area with shops, taverns, restaurants on your own. 8 hrs guided tour of just Athens may be too much, I'd opt for the Cape Sounion combo as long as either option leaves you an evening to explore the Plaka.

[ddoc]

and we used Paul's taxi and Paul was our driver. There were 10 of us.

We chose to do 1/2 day in Athens and then go to Cape Sounion. My personal response was that I enjoyed the 1/2 day in Athens BUT I was more than ready to get out of the big city and enjoy some beautiful scenery. We are not the kind of group that wants to go to every museum that Europe offered. We stopped along the way and had lunch at a charming restaurant with a beautiful view of the sea. It was a wonderful day and Paul did a great job. I would recommend him highly.

[cruisemom42]

I think it depends on your own preferences. If you are visiting other Greek isles on your trip, you might choose to skip Cape Sounion and concentrate on Athens, as you will see picturesque ruins and beautiful scenery on other islands as well.

 

I personally think Athens has more than enough to occupy a full day of sightseeing. It is so much more than just the Acropolis. But do realize that it is a large city with all the usual traffic, crowds, etc.

[ab0si]

Like most things in life, it depends ...

 

If you are interested in history and the arts, there is more to see in Athens than you can do in a day. If you merely want to dip your toe in the sites and have a more relaxed, less strenuous day, then the trip to Cape Sounion is a good alternative.

 

My choice would be to spend the day in Athens, but then I'm a history freak. On my first trip to Athens, I spent two days in the Ancient Agora (which I think is the holiest site in Europe -- if any place can be considered the birthplace of democracy, this is it).

 

If you get good weather (which you usually will), the drive to the Temple of Poseidon will be pleasant (nothing spectacular, but pleasant) and the site itself is wonderful.

 

Paul

[Travel to Ports]

We (6 Roll Call couples) arranged for Paul and reserved his Mercedes mini-bus last May. He came early to the ship so the Acropolis could be experienced before the crowds and the heat. Then a tour around the city (could have gone to archeological museum or now the new Acropolis museum, but it was a dreaded Monday and neither opened until 1pm) then a trip to Cape Sounion, a nice lunch with views of the Aegian, and then return to the ship. Did not go (family illness) BUT received multiple personal feedbacks that said the experience was fantastic! My thought is also, you have to take into account your total itinerary and see what you want to do. The people on this tour will have spent time in Barcelona, Rome, and Istanbul, and will have done Pompeii, the Roman forum, Ephesus and will have shopped in Barcelona (primarily). Our group did/will have culture, art, and history as primary and shopping and eating as less of a priority. As for us Piraeus was one of the final stops we were going to be happy with the long drive to Cape Sounion rather than shopping and eating in town. Whatever you think you want!

Good luck,

David

[Mapu]

We have a tour booked with Paul of Athens taxi. We're trying to decide between a full day tour of Athens or a combination Athens and Cape Sounion.

Has anyone done these tours? Which would you recommend? We leave in 9 days!!!! Thanks.

Do both! Our cruise ended in Athens (Pireaus) and since we have been to Athens several times but not to Cape Sounion we took the opportunity to go to Cape Sounion and then dropped a couple back at the ship (they were doing the next cruise) and got dropped at our hotel. We used Paul's Taxi as well; his son was our driver and Dimitres was great too.. In your case I would go to Athens first thing see the sights and then go to Cape Sounion before returning to the ship. It is going to be hot and you will enjoy the ride (views) and Cape Sounion. Tell Paul you would like to have lunch on the way to Cape Sounion at a typical cafe along the beach. That is what we did. There is a restaurant at the base of Cape Sounion that is more expensive.

[bellagirl]

Instead of going to Cap Sounion, we chose to do a one day,3-island cruise from the port of Piraeus. The ship took us to the islands of Poros, Aegina and my personal favourite, Hydra. It is an intimate look at islands that a bigger cruise ship cannot access.

Hydra is absolutely fabulous as it is totally car-free. All you see are pedestrians,donkeys and horses. Aegina is well-known for their pistachios and Poros is a nice stop in between. The schedule allows enough time for shopping and a cup of Greek coffee at a cafe.

It's a beautiful way to spend a day, albeit a long one!

Just an alternative to spending a day in Athens or at Cap Sounion! Shelly:)

[jstducky]

We have a tour booked with Paul of Athens taxi. We're trying to decide between a full day tour of Athens or a combination Athens and Cape Sounion.

Has anyone done these tours? Which would you recommend? We leave in 9 days!!!! Thanks.

 

You may have already left for your cruise.. but I'll put my $0.02 in.

 

I took a tour with Paul of Paul's taxi when we were in Piraeus. We did the Athens and Cape Sounion tour. We thought it was fantastic. Paul was probably the best private guide we had on that cruise.

 

We felt that we got to see all of Athens and got down to see Cape Sounion on our tour. Paul picked us up early and got us to the Acropolis right when it opened, so we were one of the first ones there and we beat the cruise line tour passengers. By the time they arrived, we were leaving. We ended us seeing all of the major sights of Athens, including the changing of the guards before leaving for Cape Sounion. When we returned back to Athens we were dropped off at the Plaka to wander for an hour or so. It was perfect.

 

Whatever you choose, I am sure you will have a fantastic time with Paul

[CaroleLee]

You may have already left for your cruise.. but I'll put my $0.02 in.

 

I took a tour with Paul of Paul's taxi when we were in Piraeus. We did the Athens and Cape Sounion tour. We thought it was fantastic. Paul was probably the best private guide we had on that cruise.

 

We felt that we got to see all of Athens and got down to see Cape Sounion on our tour. Paul picked us up early and got us to the Acropolis right when it opened, so we were one of the first ones there and we beat the cruise line tour passengers. By the time they arrived, we were leaving. We ended us seeing all of the major sights of Athens, including the changing of the guards before leaving for Cape Sounion. When we returned back to Athens we were dropped off at the Plaka to wander for an hour or so. It was perfect.

 

Whatever you choose, I am sure you will have a fantastic time with Paul

Any one have his website-e-mail? Pricing?

Thanks

Carole

[vacationhappy]

Bellagirl -

 

Was the three island cruise on your own or was it an organized trip?

[CorgiGuy]

Any one have his website-e-mail? Pricing?

Thanks

Carole

 

Hi Carole,

 

We have booked a sunset tour to Cape Sounion with Paul for October 6th. The tour lasts 5-hours & the charge is 150 euros.

 

Neither Paul or his son our licensed guides, however, from what I have read, they are well able to provide general information on the areas being visited.

 

You can e-mail Paul @ the following:

 

<athenstaxi@athenstaxi.org>

 

Stay well,

 

Anthony