Arrival Day Itinerary in Athens too ambitious?

Our flight arrives from USA to Athens on Friday July 14th (9:10am), and our cruise leaves the next day on Saturday July 15th (we can begin boarding as early as noon on cruise departure day). The ship leaves at 7:00pm on Saturday the 15th.

I realize our time in Athens is limited, but we really wanted to do the following before getting on the cruise ship:

Acropolis

Acropolis museum

Hike Philoppapos Hill and/or Lycabettus Hill (which one is better?)

and maybe... explore Plaka district or Ancient Agora (time-permitting and energy-permitting)

We plan to sleep on the plane en route to Athens. My husband is very resilient when it comes to sleep deprivation. I am hopeful, and I tend to fall asleep easily. We are both in our mid-30s and very active/fit, so physical ability is not the problem, if anything it will be the fatigue and possible energy depletion from the flight.

Is it too ambitious to think we can tackle the Acropolis and/or museum the same day that our intn'l flight arrives in Athens? I figured that since our plane arrives in the morning on the 14th, we'd give ourselves a few hours to get from the airport to our hotel, drop our luggage off at the hotel, and then (since we plan to stay awake all day anyway), to go visit some sites before heading back to the hotel for an early bedtime.

Our other option is to try to tackle the Acropolis very early Saturday morning before we need to check out of our hotel and go to Piraeus to get to the ship.

The port of Piraeus is only about 20 minutes from central Athens. There's no real reason to head to your ship as soon as it's available, especially with such limited time in Athens.

The Acropolis is going to be very crowded unless you go first thing in the morning or late afternoon (and in late afternoon it will be VERY hot in July). So for that reason alone, I would recommend doing it in the morning before you leave. You could do the Acropolis museum also before you go to the port, if you wish. It's nice to do both together, but if you want to do the museum on the preceding day, that's also fine -- it will "set the stage" for the Acropolis.

Given that, I think you can fit in the other things you want to do, within reason... (I'll put in a plug for seeing the ancient Greek Agora rather than hiking one of the hills, but that's just me. I find the Temple of Hephaestion in the Agora to be fascinating and much better preserved than the Parthenon. Also, the little onsite museum there is charming and has some very interesting "finds" related to the birth of democracy.

The port of Piraeus is only about 20 minutes from central Athens. There's no real reason to head to your ship as soon as it's available, especially with such limited time in Athens.

 

The Acropolis is going to be very crowded unless you go first thing in the morning or late afternoon (and in late afternoon it will be VERY hot in July). So for that reason alone, I would recommend doing it in the morning before you leave. You could do the Acropolis museum also before you go to the port, if you wish. It's nice to do both together, but if you want to do the museum on the preceding day, that's also fine -- it will "set the stage" for the Acropolis.

 

Given that, I think you can fit in the other things you want to do, within reason... (I'll put in a plug for seeing the ancient Greek Agora rather than hiking one of the hills, but that's just me. I find the Temple of Hephaestion in the Agora to be fascinating and much better preserved than the Parthenon. Also, the little onsite museum there is charming and has some very interesting "finds" related to the birth of democracy.

Thank you for this good insight! About how long does it take to tour the Acropolis and also the Acropolis museum?

How long does it take? This is one place where your mileage may really vary.

(First, let me just say that there is not a lot of signage at the Acropolis, so bring some kind of guidebook or mp3 tour or similar....)

I can't imagine doing justice to the Acropolis in less than 90 minutes, and if it were me, I'd spend probably an additional hour. But I'm more interested in ancient ruins than your average traveler...

The Acropolis museum is fascinating but it's not large. You could go through it at a moderate pace in an hour, maybe a bit more. They do have good signage here. Again, I'd probably spend about two hours. When I went, I had a guidebook that described every one of the metopes from the Parthenon and I stopped at each one... Not to mention I found the remnants of the earlier temple -- the one that the current Parthenon replaced -- to be equally if not more interesting.

I think 2 hours for each can be enough, but do factor in time for coffee & watching the world go by. How about you go to the Acropolis museum, then take your time strolling around Plaka, having a meal, enjoying the little lanes etc, during the later afternoon, early evening & you can stroll through the Agora area, back down to Monistiraki area. That'll keep you awake long enough to sleep well that night! Then in the morning, have a reasonably early start to tour the Acropolis, without feeling a time constraint. Your hotel will store your baggage after you've checked out.

Very doable.

Agree to see the Plaka area late afternoon/evening and/or at night for a late dinner. Good atmosphere and hustle and bustle.

Also perhaps a good idea to see the Akropolis first thing on day 2. Have your bags on standby at the hotel and swing by in a taxi to collect it.

If your cruise includes a stop in Kusadasi, Turkey, leave some ruin seeing for Ephesus. Found that always a lot more fascinating than Athens Acropolis...

You practically have 2 days and I see no prob seeing those sights plus more. Athens is very compact and things are all 15-20 min from each other. Do your hiking when you arrive Friday AM to help with jet lag then head over to the national archeological museum in afternoon to get out of the sun. The acropolis museum is open late (8a-10p) on Friday so you could do that in the evening. I would go to the acropolis first thing on Sat to beat the crowds and heat. There is no need to go to the ship so early. Your hotel will hold your bags. Just make your hotel near the acropolis so you can walk everywhere

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Wow, all excellent suggestions! Just reading through your ideas makes me feel so much less stressed. This is our first cruise and our first time to Athens or any of our ports of call. It's overwhelming to say the least. THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time to reply!

I would make good use of sat morning and not get to the ship until mid afternoon around 2:30 to 3:00 pm. We sailed on the Royal out of Athens last May and extended our pre cruise day touring while leaving our luggage at the hotel. Told the desk clerk when we would return and he had a cab waiting for us as we came back. Check in at that time was a breeze and took about 5 minutes. Remember that this is an open cruise so that not all of your shipmates will be checking in as they do for a closed loop out of the states. 1/2 to 2/3 will be people who are continuing on, having come aboard in Rome or Barcelona. Given how warm it will be in July, I would do the museum in the afternoon on Fri and then get an early AM start at theAcropolis before the crowds grow and the heat rises. Also do some homework and look for one of the many recommended rooftop restaurants for dinner Friday night. Go late and enjoy the view of the Acropolis as the sun sets. We really enjoyed this ship and cruise. My only complaint was that the Greeks and romans always seemed to put their temples and monuments on the top of hills. LOL

I would make good use of sat morning and not get to the ship until mid afternoon around 2:30 to 3:00 pm. We sailed on the Royal out of Athens last May and extended our pre cruise day touring while leaving our luggage at the hotel. Told the desk clerk when we would return and he had a cab waiting for us as we came back. Check in at that time was a breeze and took about 5 minutes. Remember that this is an open cruise so that not all of your shipmates will be checking in as they do for a closed loop out of the states. 1/2 to 2/3 will be people who are continuing on, having come aboard in Rome or Barcelona. Given how warm it will be in July, I would do the museum in the afternoon on Fri and then get an early AM start at theAcropolis before the crowds grow and the heat rises. Also do some homework and look for one of the many recommended rooftop restaurants for dinner Friday night. Go late and enjoy the view of the Acropolis as the sun sets. We really enjoyed this ship and cruise. My only complaint was that the Greeks and romans always seemed to put their temples and monuments on the top of hills. LOL

Thank you! Excellent suggestions. I did not consider that it is an open cruise for many passengers - thank you for making that point. Rooftop dining with a view sounds lovely! I will look into that definitely!

How long does it take? This is one place where your mileage may really vary.

 

(First, let me just say that there is not a lot of signage at the Acropolis, so bring some kind of guidebook or mp3 tour or similar....)

 

I can't imagine doing justice to the Acropolis in less than 90 minutes, and if it were me, I'd spend probably an additional hour. But I'm more interested in ancient ruins than your average traveler...

 

The Acropolis museum is fascinating but it's not large. You could go through it at a moderate pace in an hour, maybe a bit more. They do have good signage here. Again, I'd probably spend about two hours. When I went, I had a guidebook that described every one of the metopes from the Parthenon and I stopped at each one... Not to mention I found the remnants of the earlier temple -- the one that the current Parthenon replaced -- to be equally if not more interesting.

Do yo have any recommendations for guidebooks? This is very helpful info as we have the same itinerary. thanks!

You can easily do this and have time to spare. Keep in mind that unless you enjoy the heat, you might want to get in your room and grab some sleep between noon and 3:30. If you cannot sleep then go to the museum at that time since they have A/C. Get rested up, showered, and hit the do some sightseeing in late afternoon. Spend the evening in the Plaka.

Get up early the next day and tour about until noon. It it gets too hot, consider the museum again, or if you have not already been. Try for an extended checkout or just pack and leave you bags at the desk. When you are tired or find it too hot to tour any more go back to the hotel, get your bags, and head to Piraeus.

Do yo have any recommendations for guidebooks? This is very helpful info as we have the same itinerary. thanks!

If you like just a good general overview of the Acropolis/Agora areas, see if you can get Rick Steves' Athens guidebook (possibly from the library) and copy the pages on what you plan to see. He does a good job of providing the key points without being too dry. Rick Steves also has free downloadable podcasts for these sites if you prefer to get your information that way.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/greece-turkey

If you like more details about the sculpture, architecture and archaeology of these sites (as I do), then I recommend the following book: Greece: an Oxford Archaeological Guide. It's got much more detailed descriptions but too big to carry with you, so again it might be a good idea to see if you can get it through your library and copy the relevant sections.

For the new Acropolis Museum, the Oxford Guide doesn't cover it (at least I think it is too old) but a new Rick Steves guide may. The first time I visited the museum it was brand new and impossible to get a guide book in advance. I simply popped into the museum gift shop upon arrival (it is near the entrance) and picked up one of the several guides they had, which worked perfectly.

Thank you cruisemom42!!