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who would you chose for athens tour?

amanda blake

By amanda blake,
in Greece Ports

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calberry

calberry

Posted
Posted

We used Athens Taxi, see my blog on our day in Athens.

 

http://calberrymedcruise.blogspot.com/2007/09/post-20-piraeus-and-athens.html

 

Just remember that they are drivers, and that you would need to get official guides (if you felt you needed one) while at the actual sites. We did NOT.

 

Jimmy (Pauls' son) was our driver, and we really enjoyed him, his narrative, and the day. I would not hesitate to recommend them.

 

Happy planning,

 

Steve

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LTCOP

LTCOP

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We spent 3 days with Spiros last summer touring Athens and surrounding areas. I can't say enough about how wonderful he was. He knows how to get you in and out of places without waiting in lines and took us to incredible places to eat. I can't say enough about the great experience we had with him.

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tangles00

tangles00

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We used Athens Taxi, see my blog on our day in Athens.

 

http://calberrymedcruise.blogspot.com/2007/09/post-20-piraeus-and-athens.html

 

Just remember that they are drivers, and that you would need to get official guides (if you felt you needed one) while at the actual sites. We did NOT.

 

Jimmy (Pauls' son) was our driver, and we really enjoyed him, his narrative, and the day. I would not hesitate to recommend them.

 

Happy planning,

 

Steve

 

Hi Steve,

 

your photo's are amazing, thank you for sharing.

 

If you don't mind me asking, how much did they charge for the tour. There are four of us and we would fit nicely into their yellow taxi!!!

 

Thanks

 

Leonie

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calberry

calberry

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Glad to share. It helps me re-live the fond memories! Plus I figure I am 'giving back' since fellow Cruise Critic posters helped us so much in our planning.

 

Here is a 'cut and paste' from an email from Paul when I first reserved their services. As you can see, the price then was 250E for the 4 of us.

 

Dear Steve,

thank you for getting in touch with me. My son and i are available and happy to be of service.

My taxi is an air-conditioned, E-class Mercedes and seats 4 passengers plus myself comfortably.

All my tours are private with a very flexible itinerary and my prices are per trip, not per person.

 

 

The pick up from your ship, the full day tour and the drop off at the port will cost 250 Euros.

Entrance fees to the archaeological sites, and food are not included in the price.

I suggested to start the tour at 7:30 AM so as to avoid the crowd and the heat at the site of the Acropolis.

 

Below follows a list of my hire options and most popular tours which can be altered according to your wishes.

 

- Full Day Athens Tour includes a visit to: The Acropolis, The National Archaeological Museum,The Tower of Winds, The Old palace, The Greek and Roman Agora, The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament and the Changing of The guards, The Temple of Zeus, The Olympic stadium (the original stadium built in the 1863 for the first modern Olympic games in 1896), The Hill of Lycabetous, and finally The Plaka where you will spend time for shopping and have lunch in a nice restaurant.

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amanda blake

amanda blake

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wow...how long ago was that...cant understand why it would almost be double...and we are going to be there at end of season..oct 22...that is outragerous how it has gone up...

 

I think we will do the ships tour...more reasonable...now that is a switch...it used to be that the ships tours were outrageously expensive...

 

the ship wants 74 DOLLARS for 7 hours...

 

we are doing private tours in Naples, Florence and Ephesus...and that is a big chunk of money...

 

will do Rome, Venice, Barcelona and Dubrovnik on our own...

 

and will do Nice and Athens with the ship...

 

yes I realize we will not see what you can see with a private tour...but maybe less is more in this case...when a cruise is so port intensive, do you have energy to do 9 hour tours each day? or do you get so exhausted that it becomes drugery....

 

the med needs to be done a few times...there is no way to see it all on one cruise..that is what I am telling myself..

 

any advice is always appreciated....

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calberry

calberry

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wow...how long ago was that...cant understand why it would almost be double...and we are going to be there at end of season..oct 22...that is outragerous how it has gone up...

 

Shouldn't the fact that we were 4 and you are 13 have some bearing in the difference? We were just there 6 mos ago.

 

$74 x 13 = $962 (or ~643E at 1.5 conversion), and you don't have ANY flexibility. 643E for the ship's tour vs 450E for Athens Taxi sounds like a 'no brainer' to me. :D

 

Or have I totally missed the point (again)? :)

 

Steve

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gedam

gedam

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And this is the trip that we have decided on as we have my elderly parents travelling with us as well.:)

 

Full Day Athens and Cape Sounion Tour includes a visit to: The Acropolis, The Old Palace, The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier in front of The Parliament and The Changing of The Guards, The Temple of Zeus, The Olympic Stadium (the original stadium built in the 1863 for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896), and finally The Cape Sounion where you will see the Temple of Poseidon and have lunch in a nice taverna.

Cape Sounion Tour includes: a wonderful drive along the scenic coastal road of the Saronic Gulf passing through some of Athens most beautiful suburbs (Glyfada, Vouliagmeni, and Varkiza). In Cape Sounion you will visit the 5th century B.C Temple of Poseidon with one of the most breathtaking panoramic views in the world (on a clear day you can see at least seven islands) and you will have lunch or dinner by the sea.

 

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betonic

betonic

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I used Paul last year and had a great tour with his son. I paid less than you were quoted but we were only 2 peolple. I'm sure that he charges more for a van than a regular car. The best part of the day was the great local restuarant where we had lunch and got yummy baklava from the bakery next door.

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tangles00

tangles00

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I have just received an email back from Paul from Athens taxis today and our quote is for 240 euro for a full day tour. Seems pretty reasonable to me. I could handle driving around in an air conditioned E class for the day instead of a bus with the hoardes. :D

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tangles00

tangles00

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yes that must be for two of you, so he can use a smaller car...but for 6 it is 540E...

 

Actually slip of the finger it was 230 and there are four of us which we thought was pretty reasonable and we basically get to choose where we want to go. :)

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Susan-M

Susan-M

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oh yes that is good...but for me he was way more..and we are not going peak time...oct 22...so not sure why so much more...

 

What was his quote to you and for how many people? Is he using one vehicle or more?

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Tina-Ann

Tina-Ann

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For August '08 we booked Athens Taxi for a 5 1/2 hour, 1/2 day tour for 4 people for 150 E. We did customize our tour slightly deleting one stop and replacing it with something else. We also requested to be picked up at 7 instead of 7:30 just to try and beat some crowds. And we have arranged to be dropped off at the Plaka. That way we can spend a few extra hours there on our own. We'll then take a taxi back to the cruise terminal.

 

Tina

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amanda blake

amanda blake

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What was his quote to you and for how many people? Is he using one vehicle or more?

 

there are 6 of us...so we decided to do the ships tour..for now...it is $74 for 7 hours..includes admission into the Acropolis...and gives 3 hours on our own...it is the euros that are killing us of course...his 540 E for 6 ends up being $135pp....and the acropolis is on top of that...12Epp...so then it is $153 pp..double what the ship wants...yes of course the private tour would be 9 hours as the ship is 7....but really 7 hours is probably enough for me as I will have been putting in exhausting 12 hour days already in most ports...will need to start training for this experience...lol....

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susie2shoes

susie2shoes

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yes that must be for two of you, so he can use a smaller car...but for 6 it is 540E...

 

Amanda are you sure it was 540E. As I posted above we are a group of 8 and we are only paying 450E. I contacted Paul last June and he sent me a copy of the day excursion and the price was 450E He said to contact him again just before Christmas and when I did he said he was keeping the prices the same for 2008. I'm sure I looked on his web site and the price was also 450E. He has been very prompt in returning my emails. I would be unhappy if I was paying 540E and everyone else in groups of 6 to 10 were paying less!! Maybe you should contact him again.

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amanda blake

amanda blake

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Amanda are you sure it was 540E. As I posted above we are a group of 8 and we are only paying 450E. I contacted Paul last June and he sent me a copy of the day excursion and the price was 450E He said to contact him again just before Christmas and when I did he said he was keeping the prices the same for 2008. I'm sure I looked on his web site and the price was also 450E. He has been very prompt in returning my emails. I would be unhappy if I was paying 540E and everyone else in groups of 6 to 10 were paying less!! Maybe you should contact him again.

 

I checked again...yes it is that much..maybe because the fuel has gone up so much...and of course Spiros is charging more as well...

 

I am quite ok to do the ships tour...

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verga

verga

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Our family group of 13 people (including 2 elderly parents in wheelchairs) used Spiros last Nov 07 to arrange our 4-days Classical Greece tours and he did an awesome job. After our Peloponnese tour with Alice as our tour guide, we all wished we had used Spiros to arrange our Athens tour.

 

Spiros originally quoted me 500 E per day for a private bus (seats 20 people) plus an English speaking driver but later he reduced it to 450 E because we booked him for 4 days. He also arranged a private tour guide (165 E for the full day) to do the Peloponnese tour with us and we had a wonderful day with Alice.

 

If your group has an extra day in Athens, please do the Peloponnese tour with Spiros because you will enjoy it for sure. You will cover so many different attractions, Corinthian Canal, Ancient Corinth, Ancient Nemea, Mycenae, Naflio and Epidavros.

 

Here is my brief trip report which I posted in trip advisor.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g189400-i194-k1590642-Our_private_4_day_Classical_Greece_tour_with_disabled_parent-Athens_Attica.html

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Bsan1221

Bsan1221

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I would call Gemma. I don't know the name of her company but she is a certified tour guide and has a driver. She does all of Greece and she is very passionate about her country. You can't go wrong with her. If you really want to learn about Greece e-mail Gemma. Her e-mail address is: onom@otenet.gr

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jbuch02

jbuch02

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".... any advice is always appreciated (Amanda) ...."

 

Four of us are traveling to Italy and the Greek Isles in September. The couple we are traveling with have traveled extensivley in Italy and Greece. We are experienced cruisers but this is our first trip to Europe so I rely on their advice. I'll pass some of it on to you.

 

A lot of what you ultimately choose to do has more to do with what YOU want to see not what someone is telling you that you ought to see (including the "wonderful emails you'll receive from the "guides" wishing to rent themselves and their cars out to you). Thererfore, you have to study the city and determine in advance what interests you. There are expereinced travel journalists who will provide a list of "must see" places for a day tour. In Athens its the Acropolis at the top of the list and I'd recommned walking this with a good guide (about 25 eu). After that, it really depends on whether or not you want to experience Athens life or take the time to visit museums .... there are numerous good ones again depending on your interests.

 

Don't try to do too much. One of the best things about Greece, from what we are told, is the food (Greek coffee, ouzo) and the friendly people so, mingle. Our friends like the Plaka (a huge bizare with many good coffee houses and small restaurants). Its at the base of the Acropolis so, it makes for a good combo for a days visit.

 

The metro is easy to use to get around Athens and is inexpensive. One of the web sites I link you to below has got a link ..... its easy to walk from the ship terminal in Piraeus to the metro stop. Here's how to do it:

 

http://www.europeportreviews.com/Athens3.htm

 

We tend to use few ships tours but this is a personal preference and going it on your own is not for everyone .... but if you're concerned about spending too much, there are many less expensive ways to get around Athens than spending upwards of 400 eu to drive around in a Mercedes in the very crowded streeets of Athens or sign up for a ships tour with 50 or more people packed into a bus. Walk .... Athens is one of the safest cities in Europe with excellent public transport. Here are two web sites that will be very useful to help you learn about Athens. I'd also recommend you go to the local library nearest you and pick up a couple of current travel guides (Fodor's, Michelen's or Rick Steves' series .... Through the Back Door (of Europe)). Half the fun of traveling for me is to study the region I'm going to before I go to it and then carefully pick what I'm going to do so as to leave plenty of time to simply enjoy a good meal, some good friends, a bottle of wine and time passing pleasureably. Good luck ... hope this helps

 

www.athenswalkingtours.gr

 

 

http://www.athensguide.com/

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