Cost for Athens Tour

[bobbisailsolo]

How much should I expect to pay for a private tour of Athens? The ship tour is about 195.. just wondering if I could do a private tour at a similar price. Thanks.

[Peteymil]

How much should I expect to pay for a private tour of Athens? The ship tour is about 195.. just wondering if I could do a private tour at a similar price. Thanks.

 

Our private tour was 250 euros, and if you can do it, it was great. We used Paul's company athenstaxi.org which is frequently mentioned on the threads.

[jlijny]

We just came back from Athens, and used Paul, too. The 8-9 hour tour was FANTASTIC. We spent 250 euros, and it was definitely worth it.

[cberge]

Ditto to the other posts when I was there.AND..if there are 2 of you or more that is 195 PER PERSON I am guessing so you can see the difference right off.

[HUTCH 8]

We went Aug 1st paid 250 Euro with Pauls from the Ruby Princess

 

Recommend Pauls Taxi to friends you are going on M S C they received a price of 180 Euro same tour!

 

Do they charge more for a ship with mostly Americans????

 

The price of 250 was worth it BUT why the difference??

 

Get the price before you say the ship!

[BigGuy25]

We used Jordan at Greek-Tours. It was an all day tour and he was great. The cost was 220 euros ... divided by 4 that came to just 55 euros each for our own car and driver for the day!

[Bop]

Hi Big Guy 25,

 

I am shopping for Athens tours for a good friend. We have used Paul's Taxi and were very satisfied with the tour we had but would like to have a couple of alternates.

 

What is the website url for Greek Tours.

 

Thanks,

Bop

[yfhow]

Hi, we have booked Paul for our September pre-cruise (transfers, a half-day tour and full day tour). It is our first time in Athens and would appreciate any information about tipping for these tours as well as in restaurants and hotels. Thank you.

yfhow

 

We just came back from Athens, and used Paul, too. The 8-9 hour tour was FANTASTIC. We spent 250 euros, and it was definitely worth it.

[yfhow]

Hi jilijny,

We have also booked Paul for our pre-cruise in September (transfer airport/hotel, a full day tour and transfer hotel/port). This is our first time in Athens and would appreciate any information about tipping for the transfers and tours as well as in resturants and hotels. Thanks

yfhow

 

We just came back from Athens, and used Paul, too. The 8-9 hour tour was FANTASTIC. We spent 250 euros, and it was definitely worth it.

[Susan-M]

Hi Big Guy 25,

 

I am shopping for Athens tours for a good friend. We have used Paul's Taxi and were very satisfied with the tour we had but would like to have a couple of alternates.

 

What is the website url for Greek Tours.

 

Thanks,

Bop

 

Hi Bop,

 

We also used Jordan for a day tour outside of Athens (Corinth, Mycenae, Nauplion) and really enjoyed our day ... he also does tours in the historic centre of Athens.

His website is: http://www.athens-tours.gr/single-tours.html

[bobbisailsolo]

Thanks all. I have written Paul to see if he is available. If not, I will write Jordan. Looks like its slightly cheaper than the cruise lines' excursion, and probably a whole lot better.

Barb..

[BigGuy25]

Hi Bop,

 

We also used Jordan for a day tour outside of Athens (Corinth, Mycenae, Nauplion) and really enjoyed our day ... he also does tours in the historic centre of Athens.

His website is: http://www.athens-tours.gr/single-tours.html

 

Yep ... that's the Jordan that we had a great day with!! The sites were fabulous ... and the lunch was terrific. He took us to a little place, off the beaten path, frequented by the locals. No one spoke English (but very friendly) so he did all the ordering. It was a place with fabulous pork and chicken giros (they don't use lamb), eggplant, sausage, Mythos beer, wine and more. He made sure that we got there just when they opened for lunch so that we could get the first cuts of meat off of the spit they had been revolving on. ONE OF THE GREAT MEALS OF THE TRIP.

[Bop]

Hi Bop,

 

We also used Jordan for a day tour outside of Athens (Corinth, Mycenae, Nauplion) and really enjoyed our day ... he also does tours in the historic centre of Athens.

His website is: http://www.athens-tours.gr/single-tours.html

 

Thanks Susan.

We did a similar tour with Takis of Paul's taxi. He was an amazing driver who drove, showed us the map of where we were going, and read from his handy guidebook while negotiating Athens traffic (stick shift, no less). I quickly volunteered to take over the large map and guidebook so the people in the back seat could breathe again. Once we got out of Athens all was smooth and most enjoyable.

 

Happy Cruising,

Bop:D

[johnh603]

Hi,

 

We were in Athens a week ago, and had a great tour with Spiros (***********@yahoo.com), web site ********************. 220 Euros for the day, car and driver, a very comfortable Mercedes sedan taxi, with an excellent, knowledgeable, friendly driver (Spiros himself). We were 2 couples, so it was 110 Euros a couple.

 

We had the option of spending the whole day in Athens or going to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon in the afternoon. It was Sunday, so there wasn't much traffic in Athens but there would be beach traffic at the cape, so we stayed in Athens. Besides the Acropolis, we saw the changing of the guard at the palace, the Temple of Zeus, the ancient agora, the Roman agora, the Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis Museum, and finished up with shopping in the Plaka.

 

Admission to the sites was not included in Spiros' price (I imagine this is the same with the other taxi tours). It was 12 Euros a person for the Acropolis (this included admission to the Temple of Zeus and the agoras, but not the museums). The Archaeological Museum was 7 Euros each, and the Acropolis Museum 1 Euro apiece.

 

Spiros was great, I highly recommend him.

 

I just previewed this before posting it, and see they blocked out the email and web site addresses, don't know why, but I'm sure if you do a search for Spiros tours in Athens he'll pop up.

 

John

[Whasup]

Did you have to give a deposit or cc number to reserve?

[Whasup]

;):);)

[antsmom]

Are you supposed to tip the drivers on top of the quoted 250 euros? If so, how much is expected? Do you pay for their lunch?

[ny4cruise]

We had an excellent tour last year with Nikos Loukas of privategreecetours. It cost 400E for the six of us for the whole day in a luxury Mercedes van. I have booked him again for my next visit in Athens in July and I got the same price for eight this time. In both cases I had to provide my credit card info in order to secure my reservations. There was no problem whatsoever and Nikos was always prompt in answering all my questions.

[navigator0709]

Its interesting that that all the Athens tour websites don't list prices. This is different than the Rome and Ephesus tours that I've been working on.

 

I'm going to have to email them directly in order to get the prices and that is a bit annoying.

 

From what I've read, Paul's Taxis, Jordan from Greek Tours, and Nick from privategreecetours are all recommended.

 

We are a group of 6 (4 adults, 1- 7 year old and 1- 11 year old). I'm trying to get a tour that all will enjoy.

 

Not sure if we should do the full 8-9 day Athens tour (Plaka and museums in the afternoon), or dothe Athens sites in the morning and Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in the afternoon instead of Plaka/Museums.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Sally

[munkegodes]

We are using Nick (Paul was booked but I believe this is his son) from Athens Taxi in a few weeks. We got a 4 person sedan taxi for 210 Euro.

 

They also have a mini-bus but we didn't have enough ppl interested from our RC. We were quoted 400 Euros (for up to 10 passengers plus 40 Euros per each additional passenger up to 16) for the minibus.

 

Originally we had planned on just taking public transport into town then use the HOHO bus but fear of public transport strikes made us opt for hiring a private taxi instead.

[munkegodes]

We went Aug 1st paid 250 Euro with Pauls from the Ruby Princess

 

Recommend Pauls Taxi to friends you are going on M S C they received a price of 180 Euro same tour!

 

Do they charge more for a ship with mostly Americans????

 

The price of 250 was worth it BUT why the difference??

 

Get the price before you say the ship!

 

I imagine the price difference actually might have to do w the time of year. August is peak travel mth for Europeans. As you'll see in my above post, we were quoted 210 euro in May (shoulder season) and are on an American line (RCCL). It may just be a simple equation of supply and demand.

 

The reason they need your ship name is b/c diff companies dock at different locations within the port so they need to know where to pick you up.

[TriMomma]

 

From what I've read, Paul's Taxis, Jordan from Greek Tours, and Nick from privategreecetours are all recommended.

 

We are a group of 6 (4 adults, 1- 7 year old and 1- 11 year old). I'm trying to get a tour that all will enjoy.

 

Not sure if we should do the full 8-9 day Athens tour (Plaka and museums in the afternoon), or do the Athens sites in the morning and Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in the afternoon instead of Plaka/Museums.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Sally

 

Sally, I have the same questions. We are a group of eight (4 adults and 4 kids). Athens seems relatively easy to do on our own, but a private tour sounds nice too. So my question is:

 

- diy - just in Athens or

- private tour and see Athens and Cape Sounion

 

Any thoughts peeps?

[Susan-M]

Sally, I have the same questions. We are a group of eight (4 adults and 4 kids). Athens seems relatively easy to do on our own, but a private tour sounds nice too. So my question is:

 

- diy - just in Athens or

- private tour and see Athens and Cape Sounion

 

Any thoughts peeps?

 

If you only have one day in Athens, and are interested in the sites there (enough to keep you busy for a few days) I would suggest staying in Athens for the day.

 

However, it depends on when you are going...and what's in store with strikes, protests, etc. This is where it would be beneficial to having a private driver, since he could change up the itinerary as needed.

 

I prefer DIY in Athens (we've spent 3 days there touring on our own, plus one day with a guide to Corinth, Mycenae and Nauplion). DIY is great if everyone enjoys walking, you don't mind using taxis or the metro to get to and from Athens, and if someone in the group works out an itinerary for the day. You'll also want to have a good guide book (Rick Steves is an excellent one).

 

You don't mention how old the kids are, which will be another factor in determining whether DIY or private tour works better for your group.

[TriMomma]

 

You don't mention how old the kids are, which will be another factor in determining whether DIY or private tour works better for your group.

 

The kids are four boys (13, 13, 11, 10).

[navigator0709]

I think this summer in particular (because of the Greek financial crisis) it will be very risky to count on public transport for "on your own".

 

I ended up going with Nick at privategreektours. He's charging $400Euro for 12 people for an 8 hour tour of Athens. I'm going to try to get 6 people to join our party of 6 on our Roll Call. $200Euro for 6 people for a ride from the ship and back and driving to all the sites is pretty reasonable, I really want to be able to see ALL the sites in Greece.

 

We are doing a shorter tour in Epesus (half day) and doing Rome "on our own" since we'll see Rome in the 2 days before we cruise. For Crete and Sicily, we're "winging" it.