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Hop-on Hop-off bus Pireaus to Athens


Salt & Pepper

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Hello,

We may take the Piraeus-Athens HOHO bus; however, the schedule has me somewhat perplexed. I'm looking for anyone who has recently taken the City Sightseeing (red) bus from port to answer this question: Does the first bus, leaving Piraeus at 8:20 go to the Acropolis & Parthenon stop? The schedule, as I see it, has the route stopping at the Marriott & Continental...no further. The next bus, leaving port at 8:50 has a stop at Acropolis & Parthenon at 9:35. Why wouldn't the first bus take passengers all the way into Athens? And, at that, on the first ride of the day, why wouldn't they take passengers to the stop that is the only Metro station? I have in inquiry in to City Sightseeing as well.

Thank you for your help!

:confused:

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  • 1 month later...

We're considering the same thing. Thank you for posting. I hadn't looked carefully enough at the timetable to notice that the earliest bus seems to go no further than the Marriott. Did you ever hear back from City Sightseeing?

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

We are not big fans of the HoHo since we prefer to walk most places within Athens or perhaps use the Metro for longer trips (this is a fraction of the cost of the HoHo and much faster). My suggestion is that you simply walk out of the port and over to the HoHo parking area (just walk with the water on your left) where you can ask any question about the schedules and routes. If you are not happy just keep walking (or grab a local bus) to the train station where you can get the very inexpensive (I think its about 1.4 Euros) metro train/subway into Athens (its the Green Line). If you are heading directly to the Acropolis you will probably want to change trains in Athens....but transfers are free and there are metro maps on every car and in the stations.

 

Hank

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We are not big fans of the HoHo since we prefer to walk most places within Athens or perhaps use the Metro for longer trips (this is a fraction of the cost of the HoHo and much faster). My suggestion is that you simply walk out of the port and over to the HoHo parking area (just walk with the water on your left) where you can ask any question about the schedules and routes. If you are not happy just keep walking (or grab a local bus) to the train station where you can get the very inexpensive (I think its about 1.4 Euros) metro train/subway into Athens (its the Green Line). If you are heading directly to the Acropolis you will probably want to change trains in Athens....but transfers are free and there are metro maps on every car and in the stations.

 

Hank

 

Hank ~ are those maps written in English?? We were looking at the Ho-Ho but we might be interested in the Metro... but then what about all the strikes in Greece lately?? Anyone know if they have effected the Metro???

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Hank ~ are those maps written in English?? We were looking at the Ho-Ho but we might be interested in the Metro... but then what about all the strikes in Greece lately?? Anyone know if they have effected the Metro???

 

Yes, the stops are written with the English alphabet and you will have no problem following the maps. The various lines are all color coded which makes it easy to follow signs underground when transferred between lines. It is like taking the subway in nearly any city of the world. You should look at the map and know where you are going (and where you want to get off) before you board the train. Also be aware that there are several types of tickets. The normal fare (I think its still 1.40 Euros) and the ticket is good for an hour once its validated (you do this by inserting it in the turnstyle). The tickets work on the unified bus/train/subway system which means you can use that ticket on any of the buses or 3 metro lines for the allotted time period. If you think you will use 3 trains/buses during the day it pays to buy a day ticket which I believe costs 4 Euros (unlimited use for the entire day).

 

As to strikes, yes they can certainly shutdown the Metro (or the HoHo buses) if you happen to be in town when they have a strike. Most strikes are announced well in advance. You might find this web site helpful:

http://athens.angloinfo.com/information/transport/public-transport/strikes/

It is even theoretically possible that a strike could shut down an entire port and you will not dock? This can happen anywhere and, in fact, happened to us in Norway last year (a place not known for strikes) when the ship pilots went on a 24 hour strike. Personally, we have had a lot more problems with strikes in Italy and France then in Greece.

 

We also recommend that cruisers who decide to venture off independently (the way we have traveled for over forty years) invest in a decent guide book. The Rick Steves series are especially good for cruisers and he even has a relatively new book called "Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports" which many cruisers find very helpful since he includes lots of specific info on using public transit to get to and from ports and around various cities.

 

Hank

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I also did a search here on Cruise Critic and found a step-by-step photo & written detailed instruction on using the Metro. Amazing what you can find on these threads.
CupKayke, Care to save me some time by sharing where you found the step-by-step photo & written detailed instruction on using the Metro?
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Hello,

We may take the Piraeus-Athens HOHO bus; however, the schedule has me somewhat perplexed. I'm looking for anyone who has recently taken the City Sightseeing (red) bus from port to answer this question: Does the first bus, leaving Piraeus at 8:20 go to the Acropolis & Parthenon stop? The schedule, as I see it, has the route stopping at the Marriott & Continental...no further. The next bus, leaving port at 8:50 has a stop at Acropolis & Parthenon at 9:35. Why wouldn't the first bus take passengers all the way into Athens? And, at that, on the first ride of the day, why wouldn't they take passengers to the stop that is the only Metro station? I have in inquiry in to City Sightseeing as well.

Thank you for your help!

:confused:

 

Hi I sent them a message a few days ago and had a very speedy reply

here it is

 

Thank you for your message.

We are operating both lines (Blue & Red) on March.

You will find our Buses at the bus stop at the cruise ship terminal of Piraeus Port. As you exit the cruise ship terminal, at the one & only main road you meet you will turn left it is a down slope and walk for around 50 meters.

You will also see directions at the advertisement banners we have inside the cruise ship terminal.

You can purchase your ticket by our escorts at the Bus Stop. For your info , from our Bus Stop outside the Cruise Ship Terminal to the Acropolis & Parthenon is 30 minutes. From there you can Hop-On to our Bus for the Athens Tour and do the historical centre (duration 90minutes) , ie: the Red Tour . Allow about 45 minutes to visit the archeological site of Parthenon the Odeon of Herodus Atticus, the Dionyssos theatre , etc.etc . the entrance fee for all archeological sites is € 12.- If you have some more time it is worth a stroll up to visit the Pnyx which faces the Acropolis and or a stroll to the Roman Agora behind the Acropolis, and so on (same entrance fee). Is worth also to visit the New Acropolis Museum which is simply stunning (entrance fee € 5.-) It is close by our Bus Stop number 3. Everything is listed in our website “Atractions”Please note that although the purchase of a ticket does not secure a seat on any specific bus, our professional staff and FREQUENT departures will secure your safe , timely journey back to the ship terminal. Trusting that above information will help you to organize your TourLooking forward to welcome you in our Buses.

Kind Regards

Chris

 

 

I hope this can be of use

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Thanks glittergal! I didn't see this post before I responded to you on a different one. It's still doesn't answer the questions about the 8:20 am bus from the port to the Acropolis. The reason it matters is that the ship arrives at 7:00 and most likely we will be allowed to exit at 7:30, so waiting until 8:20 isn't bad, but 8:50 starts to get late. I asked a few from Athens about the timing and they replied getting to the Acropolis at 9:30 shouldn't be bad in March, but I think we would still prefer to get going around between 7:30 - 8:00.

 

Looking at the hoho schedules one piece of advice I can offer is to Hop on/off at two - three key locations and maximize time nearby.

 

For example:

Get on at Port (8:50 am)

Get off at Acropolis (9:35am)

Tour Acropolis

Walk to Greek Agora exploring Roman Agora (Wind of Towers) along way

Tour Greek Agora

Get back on bus at Mostraki/Thession (12:37am)

Take pics from bus of Syntgma Square and more of the Plaka

Get off near Zeus Temple at Merlina Merkouri/Plaka (13:34)

Tour Zeus Temple and Acropolis Museum

Get back on bus at Acropolis Stop to return to port (15:10)

 

Take care!!

 

L.A.S.T.

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