Hop on Hop Off bus in Athens?

[happy_travellers]

Has anyone tried the Hop on Hop Off bus in Athens? How was your experience please share any positives and negatives. Thanks Karen

[Hlitner]

We are not even aware if they have a HoHo in Athens, but even if it does exist it would not be a good way to see the city. Athens has pretty decent public transit with a subway (Metro) and local buses plus taxis. But, most of the tourist-popular part of town is best seen on foot. One problem with HoHo buses (besides their cost) is the amount of time you lose simply waiting for the bus at each stop. In Athens, getting from the Acropolis to Syntagma square might justify a taxi (we walked) but from Syntagma Square you can walk over to the Plaka (across the street) which is where most tourists are happy to spend much of the day. If you want to go to Omonia Square or some other parts of the city the metro and perhaps a short taxi will meet your needs for less cost than any HoHo not to mention saving you lots of time.

 

Hank

[world_traveler_et]

You can go to gogreece.about.com/od/athensgreece/a/athensbus.htm . Look for the tourist bus 400 section. There is a hop on and hop off bus that stops at the major twenty sites in Athens. You can pick this bus up in the Syndgma area. The bus number is 400 and the cost 5 euros (valid for 24 hours). You have to purchase the ticket from the driver. The bus runs from 7AM - 9PM and would save some walking. To see a map of the route you can visit the 20 major tourist sites in Athens. This is a form of public transportation and it is a specialty bus serving tourists.

 

This site also gives you information about express buses to the airport.

 

This site also gives you information on all the major forms of transportation: buses, trolleys, electric rail and the metro. If the site comes up in Greek look for the British flag or the word English to convert the text.

[cruisemom42]

Given the traffic I've seen in Athens, I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing a HOHO bus here, unless you are unable to walk the area under your own power. I think that timewise it would be highly inefficient.

 

As Hank says, I think the heart of Athens is easily walkable and best viewed on foot.

[diane.in.ny]

You can go to gogreece.about.com/od/athensgreece/a/athensbus.htm . Look for the tourist bus 400 section. There is a hop on and hop off bus that stops at the major twenty sites in Athens. You can pick this bus up in the Syndgma area. The bus number is 400 and the cost 5 euros (valid for 24 hours). You have to purchase the ticket from the driver. The bus runs from 7AM - 9PM and would save some walking. To see a map of the route you can visit the 20 major tourist sites in Athens. This is a form of public transportation and it is a specialty bus serving tourists.

 

Thanks for the helpful link

[CintiPam]

We chose not to because (1) the traffic in the historic center is horrendous, (2) most of the main historic tourist sites are located on pedestrian-only streets, a very substantial (and nice) pedestrian-only zone created for the Athens Olympics, and (3) the historical core is so small that walking is by far the best way to enjoy it.

 

We did see a small train, nicknamed the "Happy Train", which is small enough to go down some of the narrow streets, but certainly did not see any buses in those areas. Might be a nice alternative when your feet have had enough for the day!:)