Looking for a good Athens walking tour on our own

Hello,

We will be on the MSC Musica, in Athens from 7:30-4:30. We would like to see the acropolis, the agora, the Temple of Hephaestion, and see a bit of Plaka. So far we're planning on getting the X80 bus into town. I'd like to get an itinerary together, anyone have any suggestions where to find a step by step guide somewhere?

Tks!

Rick Steves has authored an Athens guidebook that contains multiple suggest walking tours. I enjoyed all of the ones that I used.

We also recommend the Rick Steves books. The format and information in those books are designed for independent travelers and you will find all kinds of valuable info at a very detailed level. All of his guides have various walking tours. You can also look at their web site for up to date info.

Hank

And I'll make a third recommendation for Rick Steves. I have found (on several visits) that his Athens walking tours are some of his better ones. Well thought out and good info for an introductory visit. His walking tour that includes the Agora was very interesting, and includes the Temple of Hephastion. (One of my favorite sites in Athens....)

Rick Steves also offers free podcasts. You can download them at home and play them as a tour. They are also transcribed so if you prefer to read on a device you can do that.

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Although you say you want to do a tour on your own, I would recommend the 'free' walking tour (Google it).

When I took it the route we took was excellent, and was not one I would have taken with a guide book.

The tours are 'free' in the sense of if you like the tour give the guide a tip at the end, if you don't like it, there are plenty of opportunities to make a quiet exit early on.

Although you say you want to do a tour on your own, I would recommend the 'free' walking tour (Google it).

 

When I took it the route we took was excellent, and was not one I would have taken with a guide book.

 

The tours are 'free' in the sense of if you like the tour give the guide a tip at the end, if you don't like it, there are plenty of opportunities to make a quiet exit early on.

That is our plan also. We've booked 2 of them in Athens on our upcoming cruise. We'll choose 1 and cancel the other. We did one of their tours at Harvard in the fall and it was great.

Although you say you want to do a tour on your own, I would recommend the 'free' walking tour (Google it).

 

When I took it the route we took was excellent, and was not one I would have taken with a guide book.

 

The tours are 'free' in the sense of if you like the tour give the guide a tip at the end, if you don't like it, there are plenty of opportunities to make a quiet exit early on.

I have been looking into this and wondered how one got to town to meet the tour guide?

Although you say you want to do a tour on your own, I would recommend the 'free' walking tour (Google it).

 

When I took it the route we took was excellent, and was not one I would have taken with a guide book.

 

The tours are 'free' in the sense of if you like the tour give the guide a tip at the end, if you don't like it, there are plenty of opportunities to make a quiet exit early on.

Were doing this also in 3 Weeks. What is an appropriate tip?? 20 euro??

The sites that you want to see are not very far apart. I've visited Athens twice by cruise ship and took the X80 bus on our second visit.

You can google map your own walking tour from either Hadrians Arch or Syntagma square as that's where the X80 bus drops off. Rick Steves has downloads for most sites in Athens.

Here's a tip for you. On the trip back to the ship, get on the bus where you were dropped off and not the bus stop facing the port. You will repeat a 5 minute ride but you avoid the mad dash for a seat

Were doing this also in 3 Weeks. What is an appropriate tip?? 20 euro??

Whatever you feel right, but personally I felt it was worth at least €10 per person.

There were around 20 people in the group, so allowing for some paying more and some less, €200 for a mornings work for the guide didn't seem bad.