Cost for Athens Tour

[ucolorado]

"Dear NYcruiser, you stated you used Nick at PrivateGreeceTours for Athens. Is there a reason you booked a car vs just doing the walking tour? We are cruising in Sept and sitting on the fence with this one.

Carol

ucolorado@aol.com

[ny4cruise]

"Dear NYcruiser, you stated you used Nick at PrivateGreeceTours for Athens. Is there a reason you booked a car vs just doing the walking tour? We are cruising in Sept and sitting on the fence with this one.

Carol

ucolorado@aol.com

 

We used Nikos of privategreecetours.com last year when we visited Athens with our three kids and an elderly member of our family. We didn’t really feel comfortable with the option of using public transportation, trying to find our way around and walking in the heat all day. We had a great experience. We were promptly picked up from the dock and he was always there waiting for us every time we came out from a different site and the A/C felt really good. He was great in explaining everything to us about the sites and ancient Greek history and mythology. Exactly what we had wished for and more…We will visit Greece again with friends this July and have already booked a tour with him again.

[SAN]

We used Billy Bus Tours because our group was so large, 17 adults. His father "George the Famous Taxi Driver" and his brother do smaller groups. Everyone in our group thought the tour with Billy as our driver and Pepe as our guide was one of the best tours we had on our cruise. You can e-mail Billy at http://www.athensguide.com/bus-tours.

[siouxcitysue]

We had a great private tour with Dennis at http://www.toursofathens.com. There are just two of us and Dennis suggested that we join with a group of 4 he already had booked. It worked out great for all 6 of us! This was exactly two weeks ago today (5/17/10). A private tour is the only way to see Athens IMO. We spent exactly as much time as we wanted everywhere. I wrote a longer review under the Celebrity Equinox Eastern Med. for reference. Good Luck and have a great trip!

[cruie4ever]

Hi

 

Do any of the other tour operators besides jordan at jordantaxi52 & Nikos at private Greece tours have a web site listing ? We will be there Next May 18,2011 off the Navigator of the Seas

 

oops forgot Billy at minibustours@gmail.com

 

TIA

 

Cliff

[cynkr]

A group of 8 booked Nikos after reading his website online. We were quoted 400 E for a full-day tour of Athens, and we did need to fax credit card info as a deposit. (Nothing was charged on the card and we paid in cash after our tour.)

 

I know you are trying to save money, but I would suggest you try to line up 2 or 3 couples on the boards to share the tour with you. It will be very, very worth your while.

 

Nikos picked us up at the port and drove us to Athens. He had cold water in the van, books for us to take into the Acropolis with us so we did not miss anything, and even lent us his cellphone so we could always reach him with questions or for pick up. (Technically he is a driver and cannot accompany us into the historical sights...this is the usual way things are handled in the Med.) He was very professional and extremely knowledgeable about the city he obviously loves.

 

We spent 8 hours touring all the major sites, driving through the financial and cultural centers & city squares, touring the Acropolis Museum and visiting the Plaka for lunch. At all times, Nikos was helpful, and we felt completely safe & secure (even though the ship had delivered a letter for people to be aware that problems could erupt in the city). I would highly recommend Nikos for your Athens visit!!

[MercedMike]

"Dear NYcruiser, you stated you used Nick at PrivateGreeceTours for Athens. Is there a reason you booked a car vs just doing the walking tour? We are cruising in Sept and sitting on the fence with this one.

Carol

ucolorado@aol.com

 

Actually, we have done both. Both work well. But here is my take on it.

 

IF you are primarily interested only in the Antiquities, then starting at the Akropoli metro station and walking the Antiquities Promenade will give you all the most important ancient sites plus the Acropolis Museum and be a very pleasant and interesting tour. You can easily do it yourself with a good guidebook.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/athens.html

 

However, if you want to do other things in Athens, such as the Archeological Museum, the Plaka, the Olympic Stadium, the Presidential Palace, Lykabettos Hill or any of the many other attractions, then a driver is indispensible! We used Nick of GreekTaxi and he is a marvel. I don't know how he manages to maneuver the confusing and crowded streets, and he is absolutely marvelous at somehow finding a parking place right in front of all the attractions! Plus he took us for lunch at a fabulous giro place!

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/blacksea3.html

 

Incidentally, we gave Nick a BIG tip! Why? Very simple -- because he made our tour so wonderful and memorable. That is always our principle, tip big for great guides and tip little or nothing for poor guides. We never go by a fixed percent.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[J&Jtravelcouple]

Nice report and pics Mike, thanks for the links.

[Susan-M]

 

However, if you want to do other things in Athens, such as the Archeological Museum, the Plaka, the Olympic Stadium, the Presidential Palace, Lykabettos Hill or any of the many other attractions, then a driver is indispensible!

 

Hi Mike,

It's possible to successfully do all of that on your own, with good planning, use of the metro, plus lots of walking. We did all of the above (plus Acropolis & Agoras, and the delicious gyro lunch in Monastiraki) on a port day on our first visit to Athens ... it was a full day, but very interesting and very rewarding to do it on our own. Not for everyone, but just wanted to let others know that if you want to cover more sites than just the Antiquities Promenade on your own, it is doable.

[MercedMike]

Hi Mike,

It's possible to successfully do all of that on your own, with good planning, use of the metro, plus lots of walking. We did all of the above (plus Acropolis & Agoras, and the delicious gyro lunch in Monastiraki) on a port day on our first visit to Athens ... it was a full day, but very interesting and very rewarding to do it on our own. Not for everyone, but just wanted to let others know that if you want to cover more sites than just the Antiquities Promenade on your own, it is doable.

 

LOL -- the pronoun is the key here. I am sure that YOU could do that on YOUR own. I couldn't. With artificial knees and a bad hip, the walk of the Antiquities Promenade was all I could manage before my pain pills wore off! :D

 

But it is certainly true that healthy and adventurous people could do it all on their own, as you say "with good planning, use of the metro, plus lots of walking."

 

Personally I enjoyed having Nick there waiting for me with the air conditioned car!

 

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. YMMV.

[Susan-M]

 

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. YMMV.

 

Exactly ... and that's why I made sure to include "Not for everyone" as well as the bit about planning, metro and walking.

 

So I guess we can agree that a driver is indispensable for some, but dispensable for others.;)