Athens Excursion

[trishs]

Great! Thanks, I'll add it to my list (:

[Onessa]

My 15YO high school freshman DD was discussing Greece with me the other day (her Social Studies teach was in Greece to run the marathon). I was driving so I was mainly listening as she reminised -- she went down the "laundry" list of every place we had been (we've taken three cruises that included Greece in the past four years - two with stops in Athens) and concluded that the Acropolis in Athens was the "one of the coolest things we've EVER done!" While I concur that the Acropolis is really cool, I would not have picked it as being in my DD's top 10 :).

 

It is an amazing site -- the first time we went with a ship's excursion and got stuck in the "herd" mentality. Last year we were there on a beautiful day in Late November. We braved the subway system (which was a bit of an adventure since there was construction and we had to switch to buses and then back to the train a few stations further down). There were several very nice Athenians on the train and in the station who helped us understand what the Greek announcements meant). We walked through the Platka, to the Parliment for the changing of the guards, through the national gardens, the Roman area and then to the ampitheatre entrance for the Acropolis. It was between the morning ships excursion tours and the afternoon ones -- so there were probably 30-40 people there (11:30ish) on a weekday in November -- it really was a perfect situation. And as others have noted, going on our own allowed us to explore all of the site -- the ampitheatres and other areas at the foot of the hill are also great to see.

 

As to Rhodes - I've been around that island a few times. I really do most enjoy the old walled city. After trips where I've seen more than my fill of Ionic, Doric and Corinthean columns -- the medivial city is a wonderful change of pace! Last time there, we walked to the gates that were just a few yards from the port and used a walking tour I had purchased and downloaded to our iPods (Discovery tours) -- I enjoyed the city more with a better understanding of what it was I was looking at! And it was great to go at our own pace.

 

Note: There are a few spots just outside the walls where vendors have booths selling local trinkets -- got some nice orthodox icons, natural sea sponges, etc for Christmas gifts as about 1/2 the price of the shops inside the walls.

[poolside2]

We just returned from our Oceania cruise and used Spiros' Taxi for the day. Spiros made the arrangement and George was our driver in his new Mercedes bus. He made sure we hit all of the highlights of Athens in one day and ensured we arrived everywhere before the tour buses. It was a fabulous day and George is a wonderful driver and person. It was great to be picked up at the port, driven around and not worry about your belongings or what to do/where to go. George also lives right in Athens so he was aware of what possible areas to avoid incase of any disruptions, etc and had plenty of backup plans for us.

[trishs]

We just returned from our Oceania cruise and used Spiros' Taxi for the day. Spiros made the arrangement and George was our driver in his new Mercedes bus. He made sure we hit all of the highlights of Athens in one day and ensured we arrived everywhere before the tour buses. It was a fabulous day and George is a wonderful driver and person. It was great to be picked up at the port, driven around and not worry about your belongings or what to do/where to go. George also lives right in Athens so he was aware of what possible areas to avoid incase of any disruptions, etc and had plenty of backup plans for us.

 

Thanks. What time was your flight?

[poolside2]

We had about 8 hours with George. If you let them know what times you are in, they can plan their time with you according and hit as many highlights as possible. There are a few things you can do earlier in the day, such as the changing of the guards, we went up to a mountain top to get a view of the city (you can see the Acropolis from up there) which would be beautiful first thing in the morning, Hadrian's Arch, etc and then you can head to the Acropolis once it opens and still make your flight. George is pretty good about times, he drove 3 hours to pick us up in Itea for 8 am on a previous day. If you do talk to him, please say hi from Janet in Canada!

[trishs]

Thanks for the info. (:

[luvtocook]

We just returned from our cruise and we did an all day tour in Athens and Old Corinth with Jordan. We saw everything, went to the Plaka for a little while, had a fabulous lunch at his favorite restaurant, saw the changing of the guards and just had a GREAT day!!! He is very knowledgeable and really makes you learn & understand his country's history!!!

Highly recommend Jordan.

 

www.athens-tours.gr