Athens tour with Paul @ Greek Taxi - feedback please

[stephanienolting]

Hello,

 

Can anyone who has been on the Athens tour with Greek Taxi tell me if you used a licensed guide? We have already booked the tour and are trying to decide if it's worth it / necessary to pay for a guide. If so, how much?

 

Thanks!

Stephanie

[sunsetbeachgal]

Stephanie,

 

I can't comment on your exact question as we did not take a "tour" with Greek Taxi, but we were with a group who all used Greek Taxi for airport pickups to hotels in Athens and then pickup at hotels and transportation to Piraeus the next day. Our experiences with Greek Taxi were all excellent-good drivers, excellent English, clean vehicles and excellent communication/follow-up with Paul. We would not hesitate to recommend this company.

[stephanienolting]

Stephanie,

 

I can't comment on your exact question as we did not take a "tour" with Greek Taxi, but we were with a group who all used Greek Taxi for airport pickups to hotels in Athens and then pickup at hotels and transportation to Piraeus the next day. Our experiences with Greek Taxi were all excellent-good drivers, excellent English, clean vehicles and excellent communication/follow-up with Paul. We would not hesitate to recommend this company.

 

Greta, we are very excited! Thank you for your feedback!

[polySeraph]

Can anyone who has been on the Athens tour with Greek Taxi tell me if you used a licensed guide? We have already booked the tour and are trying to decide if it's worth it / necessary to pay for a guide. If so, how much?

 

We have taken the full-day "tour" with Greek Taxi. We really thought this was a great way to experience Athens during a one-day port call. We didn't hire a guide. My husband is an engineer and amateur historian and he had spent the year prior to the cruise researching the engineering and history of the Parthenon. We also had a very good guide book with us.

 

We shared the taxi with another couple from our roll call and our driver was Paul's son Demetrius. The taxi was a Mercedes and the first time we got into it in the morning, we all thought it was a little snug for 4 people. By mid-day we had all decided that we we certainly wouldn't want to be in a bigger vehicle since the streets were decidedly narrow and lined with parked cars.

 

Even though Demetrius wasn't a licensed guide, per se, we did find that he was able to answer whatever questions we asked him throughout the day. (He just couldn't go into the historic sites with us.) He also seemed to genuinely enjoy sharing his city with us.

 

If you'd like more details of how we spent the day, click here to read my port reviews for the cruise. You'll need to scroll down a bit for the Athens port review.

[chipmaster]

We used Greek taxi a couple years ago, 15 of us in a larger minibus.

 

IMHO the driver was great and a guide would have been nothing more than added expense. At the acropolis it makes sense if to hire if that is your interest as the driver stays with the vehicle on all the longer off bus affairs.

[luvn2cruzzz]

We used GreekTaxi two years ago for a tour to Delphi from Athens. There was six of us. We did not have Paul or his son and the driver we had was fairly silent for most of the day. I considered the service purely transportation and if you are choosing to book, I would want to know who the driver was before I committed. Paul was very nice to deal with and responded quickly

[stipmom]

Be careful with Paul's promises about the driver. I had used Paul for a trip to Corinth and Myceane and he was fine. Last year I booked him again for a trip to Cape Sounin and then hotel drop-off. First he said he would be driving us, then it was either him or his son. In the end neither of them took us. He sent someone else. To make it worse the driver was obviously ill. I'd never use Paul again.

[sk84fungirl]

Hello,

 

Can anyone who has been on the Athens tour with Greek Taxi tell me if you used a licensed guide? We have already booked the tour and are trying to decide if it's worth it / necessary to pay for a guide. If so, how much?

 

Thanks!

Stephanie

 

We used Paul in April. We were on the Jade and had a stop in Athens. Unfortunately, our ship was late. Paul waited and made adjustments throughout the day for us to see as much as possible. We also used a licensed guide. She was EXTREMELY knowgeable. So much so that we wanted her to curve some of it...:p

 

There were 16 in our private tour and I would highly recommend Paul's services.

[jp4166]

How did you contact Paul in Athens? Have a party of 5 adults. Does he charge on a per person basis? Do you decide where to go, or does he a planned tour?

[calgal729]

We used GreekTaxi two years ago for a tour to Delphi from Athens. There was six of us. We did not have Paul or his son and the driver we had was fairly silent for most of the day. I considered the service purely transportation and if you are choosing to book, I would want to know who the driver was before I committed. Paul was very nice to deal with and responded quickly

 

Do you remember the name of your tour guide?

[chipmaster]

You can check his website here: www "dot" greektaxi "dot" gr

The cost is by the vehicle, and as all private he has a "standard" routine but since it is private if you have specific preference they will accomidate as many or few steps with whatever time you think you want. IMHO for the novice, firstime visitor their standard routine is good.

 

How did you contact Paul in Athens? Have a party of 5 adults. Does he charge on a per person basis? Do you decide where to go, or does he a planned tour?

[sunsetbeachgal]

Their web site is *************. Paul answers e-mails very quickly. Good luck.

[mbleackl]

We used Paul with Greek Taxi just two weeks ago. We had an amazing full day tour from the Athens Cruise Terminal in Piraeus to Corinth and Mycenae. This was our third time in three years using Greek Taxi and one of our most memorable. Paul arranged a fantastic licenced guide in Anna for us. She was very knowledgeable and engaging and all of us loved her. On this occasion Paul was our driver but in previous years we have had his son Jim (Demetrius) and an associate Marcos as our drivers. All were great. After visiting the Corinth Canal and Mycenae first we drove back to Corinth where we had lunch overlooking the ruins. Because we had a little time Paul drove us up to Acrocorinth a Fortress on a high hill. While we couldn't go in due to time constraints it was still an amazing sight to see it close up.

We had a very comfortable 12 Seat minibus for 6 of us so there was plenty of room. Our tour was originally scheduled for 8 of us but one couple had to pull out due to adeath inthe family. Paul also has a 16 seat minibus which we used twice before for larger groups.

As for guides, I would reccomend having one. We would have missed a lot if not for our guide Anna. One of the great things about Paul is that he grew up in the USA and speaks perfect English. He is quite humerous.

We will use Paul again in the future and have no trouble reccomending his services.:)

[SingBill]

I used Paul in 2010 and plan to use him again in 2011. Although Paul nor his son was our driver, he told us upfront that he nor his son was available for the day we wanted. His associate (I don't remember his name) was excellent and showed us a good time. Two of the ladies in our group had mobility issues and he made sure they got up close to all of the sites. This is why I have already contacted him for our tour this year.

[sk84fungirl]

How did you contact Paul in Athens? Have a party of 5 adults. Does he charge on a per person basis? Do you decide where to go, or does he a planned tour?

 

There was a flat rate for up to 16 and we divided it equally. He had a planned tour, but it was very flexible. Because our ship was late, we made adjustments throughout the day.

[sk84fungirl]

Do you remember the name of your tour guide?

 

Paul was our driver and we had a licensed female tour guide. Can't remember her name...:o

[stephanienolting]

Thank you everyone for your feedback! Looks like we chose a great company to tour with! :)

[indycrew]

Thank you everyone for your feedback! Looks like we chose a great company to tour with! :)

 

You sure did - we had Paul's son - Demetrius, he was just great! Our first trip to Athens we were not impressed - tried to do it on our own, this time made all the difference, we loved it!! Perfect day!

[calgal729]

Paul mentioned his partner Nikos would be our tour guide, and havent seen any feedback on him. Did anyone have Nikos as their tour guide for their Greek Taxi tour of Athens?

[sk84fungirl]

How did you contact Paul in Athens? Have a party of 5 adults. Does he charge on a per person basis? Do you decide where to go, or does he a planned tour?

 

We contacted him directly through his site and then regularly through email. His tour includes all of the historical highlights. However, he was very flexible and would do whatever we liked. We really enjoyed it. There was 16 in our tour. The cost was for the group, not per person.