Athens:Shore Excursion Questions.

[bluejayway]

Leaving on the Celebrity Galaxy in the Fall for the 11 day Med. Cruise and we are wondering about our plans in Athens. We are trying to decide if the acropolis tour is worth doing or if it can be something that we can do on our own? ...or if we should do the quick drive by on the way to the shopping plaka? Any comments would be appreciated.

[Moose Tracks]

Hmmm...bluejayway...a fellow Torontonian by chance? We did the Med last summer on Millennium and found Athens very easy to do by yourself. If you're physically able to do some walking, I'd forego a ship's excursion. We left just after we docked and walked to the metro (flat, easy 25 minute walk). Took about an hour in total to get from the ship to the metro stop by the Acropolis. The metro was easy, modern and clean, with signage in Greek and English. Bought a day pass for 3 euros each. You can pick up an English metro map...you need to know the furthest stop on the route to get which direction you want to go. The metro stop for the cruise ships is the end of the line so you can't get lost at the beginning! There are three lines (blue, green, red) and transferring from one line to the next was easy. The Acropolis stop is a stone's throw from the Acropolis. Walkup hill (left) when you exit the station and the entrance is just at the end of the road. We spent about 2 hours at the Acropolis, walked to the Temple of Zeus (about 10 minutes) and the Olympic Stadium (about another 5-10 minutes). Then walked back through the gardens and had lunch in the Plaka. Walked to the Parliament buildings (unfortunately, just missed the changing of the guards...supposed to be very good) and then got back on the metro around 2:00 to go back to the ship. We would have still had a lot of time to look around, but we'd seen everything we'd hoped to see and since it was getting a bit hot, we headed back. This is the thread to the review I posted last year (user name Putz). We did the majority of the ports on our own.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=230361

Have fun planning.

Lynn

 

[Xcruzr]

I agree that it can be down on your own. A word of advice - try taking a cab and get there early morning as they open. We were there right at opening and the hill was virtually deserted. We were able to get some great photos without the huge crowds and did not feel rushed as we toured the musuem and hilltop. By the time we left the hill an hour or so later it was already filled with tourists and crowds.

[Susan-M]

We also did Athens on our own and had a great day .... lots of walking, but if you are up to it, it's the best way to see the city as so many of the 'must see' sites are all within walking distance of each other.

 

We used Lynn's (Moose Track's) directions for getting to the Metro & they were great! The Acropolis was the highlight - plan on a couple of hours there as early as possible (including time in the Acropolis museum, which is small) & then take in the other sites.

 

Two on line resources that we used for Athens were:

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/greece/athens.htm

and

http://www.chem.uoa.gr/Location/AthensMap/Athensmap.htm (if you click on the blue "P" on the map, you'll see some great photos and interesting info on each site).

[Chick's pal]

I agree that you can and should do this on your own. A couple of hints:

 

1. You may have difficulty getting a taxi from the port to take you to "just" the acropolis. They want a day-tour out of you.

 

2. Take a bottle of water. It's hot and dry on top of the hill. We were there very early one morning and bought the last bottle of water at the only vendor nearby.

 

3. The Plaka and the Parliament building are very nearby. You can end up at the Parliament building and there is a Metro station right there that will take you back to the ship.

 

When are you traveling? We are on the 10/30 sailing of the Galaxy.

[bluejayway]

I will be travelling 9/25. Thanks for all of the information-it will help alot with

the planning. We feel more confident now that doing it on our own is the way to go.

 

Thanks Again

[bluejayway]

Thank-You everyone for all of the information both on the site and attached to your links. It will be of great value when putting together the plans for our trip.

 

Much appreciated.