Athens Shore Excursion: Acropolis Walking Tour

Our guide Apollon (?) was great when it came time to tackle the Acropolis. He made sure to break up the climb into segments, stopping under shade each time while he gave us more info on what we were seeing. I had my doubts about making it to the top (& back down!) at 70 with a bad back and bum ankle but I was able to do it!

We were on a cruise pickup tour. Our son has a disability, and uses waking sticks. He was fine with the Athens walk, but struggled to climb up the Acropolis. He, and a few others from our group, chose not to continue. The guide showed them where to wait while the rest carried on to the top. We later found out that there is actually lift access to the top. Why didn’t our ‘expert’ guide know this ????

A lot of walking but well worth it. The guide was well informed and we saw lots around the area we walked

Loved acropolis. Guides were great. Little disorganized with taxi and meeting spot at metro. The jewelry store mentioned at meeting spot was nowhere to be found. Must be a new jewelry store name that wasn’t updated. Other than that it was a great tour.

Let me start by saying Annie was an incredible guide and if I was just rating her I would give her a 5 star. But I am rating the company so I will give a 3 star. There were 20 people in the group which is larger than advertised. The tour started walking through the garden in the cool of the day. That was so silly to walk there. It had almost no historic value. Why be there when it was cooler and be on the top of the accropolis when it was extremely hot? It would have been better for the company to get an earlier entrance. The skip the line did work well but it was at 11 am and so hot it was most unbearable. Annie tried to keep us in the shade but that is difficult. Annie taught to different locations and countries and did an excellent job. The tour should skip the garden and go to other historical places and walking past the prime ministers home was not necessary either.

A real archeologist lead our tour. What a treat. He paced the tour well enough to allow my 76 year old mother to pull off the ascent up the Acropolis. Bus met us at the cruise port, well organized and air conditioned. Back in time to get back for our cruise departing. Would totally do again.

Wish we had booked a tour that was less history lesson. Too much walking to the Acropolis. Wish we had booked the other entrance. Less demanding

Our walking tour started great with clear communication as to where to meet. Traffic while on the bus was crazy busy, but we were excited about the tour thinking Athena would be our guide. Unfortunately at the bus station we were passed off to another tour guide. Being an elementary teacher, I know from many field trips that the guide makes or breaks the trip. In our case, our guide was mediocre, disinterested and not engaging. He did make sure he stopped to talk in places with shade, but there was not adequate restroom and picture taking opportunities . We enjoyed the sights, but it was not an interesting learning experience.

Wonderful tour to get a quick overview of Athens and visit the Acropolis. The tour guide was an encyclopedia of knowledge, with the right amount of entertainment and cynicism. It was very hot and he broke down the stops to make sure we had breaks in the Acropolis climb and as much shade as possible when he was providing information. We also had approximately two hours of free time to have lunch and visit la Plaka. Easy port pick-up. Well organized. Great day!

Pickup at the cruise terminal in Piraeus went smoothly. We were driven in a taxi, arranged by the tour company, by Mr. G, who was very entertaining. The walk from the Syntagma metro station took us past the Parliament, where we saw the changing of the guard, some gardens, Hadrian's Arch, the Olympus Temple, and through some streets of the Plaka shopping district. We had a brief lunch, then onto the Acropolis. Our guide, Tina (?) was very, very knowledgeable, and great at getting us through the crowds. Since we skipped the Museum, we had plenty of time to explore the winding streets of the Plaka. The taxi ride back to the cruise terminal again went smoothly. A great day.

We were disappointed with our Athens walking tour. We felt it was not good value for money (paying over $145 AUD and the group was way too big (28 people) . It was hard for our poor guide (who was very knowledgeable) to keep everyone organized. We did a quick stop at changing of the guards and a walk through the gardens, saw the temple of Zeus. Then it was onto the acropolis. We still had to pay for our entry tickets, another $20 EUR/person. We then did the guided tour of acropolis. We were glad to say goodbye to this large group and have some free time on our own. The rest of the group moved onto the museum. We enjoyed our free time in Plaka, having a lovely Greek lunch at ‘the cave of acropolis’ and a wander around the Plaka streets. We then meet up with the group again to catch the bus back to our ship. I feel We would have been better to catch a taxi into Athens and downloading an audio guide and touring ourselves. The tour was way to expensive and too large a group. It was not what I thought we had signed up for. Very disappointed.

Apollo our tour was great at sharing the Greek myths and history about the Acropolis. He also adjusted and helped deal with the heat so that we could enjoy our trip. Thank you for a great day!

Our guide, Apollon was excellent. He had great knowledge of history and mythology of Greece and was also an archaeologist. He was also considerate of all ages on the tour stopping frequently as we climbed to the top of the Acropolis. Thanks for a great experience!

we had a lovely tour with the guide named Niobe. she was very professional, experienced, enriched us with a very interesting knowledge and made our visit to the acropolis prefect

The guide was very knowledgeable. It was a very hot day (33) and she tried to find shade as much as she could. One of our party was about to develop heat stroke and the guide was so helpful with salty snacks, water, rest and shade. We were all impressed with how she shared her passion for the architecture and artifacts.

We really enjoyed our walking tour around Plaka neighborhood, Acropolis and The Parthenon. Eli, our tour guide, is really friendly and knowledgeable.

Our guide was Joanna. She is an archaeologist herself. So visit the Acropolis with her made it even more special. She spent the full time taking and pouring her knowledge to us. The start of the tour was a bit warm but it made the sunset very worth it.

Magda, our tour guide was simply amazing...! She's warm, friendly & her knowledge of Athens & Acropolis was simply wow..! My husband & I booked the tour & there were only 5 of us (1 from Burma & 2 from the US).. so, it feels like a private tour. Overall, I give this tour, with Magda as the tour guide, 2 thumbs up! A must-do for those who comes to Athens to see Acropolis.

First offf, this tour seemed to be pieced together meaning that it was far from smooth sailing. To start, we were driven from the port by multiple cabs. I've never seen that before. From there we met up with other groups in a train station (a crowded loud one) that had some relics inside. She walked us through the free relics stating what we could read on the plaques, which was good because none of us could hear the tour guide, Daphne. It would have been helpful if they had radios, but they didn't. We then watched the changing of the guards and even outside I could not hear her. So, I learned nothing about it. Then we walked to the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Gate- and the process to get us all tickets was unorganized and long causing a lot of waiting around in the heat. Then on to Acropolis- more waiting around for them to figure everything out. We gave up and went to Acropolis on our own and thank goodness we did otherwise we would have had little time on our own and no time to shop or eat. Tour guide Daphne - she was kind and seemed to be knowledgeable but none of us could hear her, even when standing right next to her. I asked her to speak up several times but there was no charge. In addition, I don't think I have had a tour guide with less excitement. It's also important to note that although we booked with the tour, this doesn't include a speed pass, when you arrive you you have to wait in line with everyone else. There was really no need to book with the tour. I could have done this on my own- I wish I had just done the Hop On/Off bus and gone directly to the Temple of Zeus.

This was a great tour but it was incredibly hot and there was a lot of walking. We started our on a walking tour of Athens, visited parks, and then climbed the Acropolis. If we had gone first to the Acropolis, we would have been there at a much cooler part of the day, and would have spent enough time at the Acropolis to really see everything. I stead, we were rushed, hot, and uncomfortable. The guide had some interesting stories, but a lot of the facts and stories as we walked around Athens seemed designed to simply fill time until our timed tickets at the Acropolis.

Our guide Dafni was great . Excellent English and focused on people needs. A must do in Athens. We highly recommend this tour.

Although we were visiting the Acropolis, the guide Despina made the tour so much fun! She really brought the energy and showed us around. I also felt a little under the weather on the tour, and she was so sweet to look after me! The tour is a must if you go to Athens and I would advice you to book Despina Savvidou!

I was originally supposed to do a walking tour during our port visit in Pireaus. Unfortunately, our cruise ship was not able to dock because of weather conditions. Athens Walking Tours monitored our ship's status for docking and they proactively cancelled our walking tour. They proactively sent me an e-mail denoting the cancellation policy if a ship does not dock and they refunded our money in full. I was really looking forward to this tour, but if you are on a cruise ship, please be assured they will monitor your ship's status.

Would give it a 5 stars but think in my limited time in Athens should have just done the acropolis and forgone the museum . Tour guide was very knowledgeable and very thorough !

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. He explained the history of the area and the artifacts.Climbing the very steep and slippery steps to the Acropolis could be challenging, but it was worth it. The view was amazing. We did have a very bad experience after the tour concluded. Our guide didn't lead us back down from the Acropolis site. He just abandoned us and said goodbye.. . We had planned on just returning down the same route that we went up. He said not to, and take an alternate route down.. We did and made a wrong turn and ended up completely lost , with narrow roads going in every directions, and no one we asked spoke English. We finally found a taxi and told him that we needed to get to the meeting point to catch our shuttle back to our cruise ship. We knew we were only a few blocks away, but just wanted to get there quickly. The taxi driver started driving down back alleys, and in neighborhoods that we knew we shouldn't be in. We asked him several times why it was taking so long and he just mumbled something about road blocks. We were getting very nervous because it was obvious he was just running up the cab fare. We insisted he take us to our meeting point , he stopped the taxi, opened the door and told us to walk 2 blocks and turn left. He insisted we owed him 30 euros for a ride that should of only cost a fraction of that. Now we are totally lost and panicking because we had to get to our meeting point and didn't know how far away we were. Luckily we met an older, honest taxi driver who showed us how to get there.. We were so upset from the experience, it ruined our whole visit to Athens.This all could of been avoided if the tour guide had just taken us back to our meeting place instead of abandoning us..

Our waking tour with Dorina was amazing. The itinerary was nicely paced and the the walk up to the Acropolis was thrilling...even for those of us who were a bit apprehensive. A very educational tour. Dorina's knowledge and command of the English language were excellent, as were her patience and sense of humor. I would award 10 stars if possible. Hope to revisit Athens and take another walking tour with Athens Walking Tours and their wonderful guide, Dorina Katsadoraki!

The people associated with the tour were friendly and knowledgeable. The person leading the tour was especially knowledgeable of the Acropolis history, Greek culture, and Roman and Greek mythology. There were two minor logistic hiccups on the way to the walking portion of the tour. This was handled professionally and did not detract from the quality and enjoyment of the tour. We definitely recommend the tour.

Adonis was a very well educated and informative guide. He showed us all over Athens and hiked the Acropolis with us.

We did the morning walking tour of the Acropolis and loved every minute of it. It was packed with insightful details and touches of humour. A great way to spend a morning in Athens, especially if you're on a short trip. Katerina, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable and went above and beyond to throw in details and even took us for an bonus tour of the Athena temple at the top of the Acropolis.

Vicki, our Guide, was superior. Super knowledgeable, but did not overload us with too much information. Highly recommend this tour! Lots of walking, but at a good pace for all.

Our guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable and caring ( a person in our group had difficulties in walking that hot day) but he made allowances for that. The only suggestion I can make is that they were too far away from the ship's gate and we could not see their sign. Other guides were just outside the gate with the names of the persons they were meeting). In the end I walked 100metres to find their name in a small card in the bus windscreen. But once our group of 6 were in, we had a very good service.

We only had a few hours in Athens while visiting with a cruise ship and wanted to see the Acropolis. This group has you meet at a yogurt shop near the base of the Acropolis and they are very well organized once you get there. They put us in a group of about 15 with our tour guide Stella. She was excellent and really made you understand what you were seeing. Having the skip the line option is really worth it as the place is crazy with tourists. I visited 40 years ago and it is not the same place in terms of crowds. Stella did a great job of speaking away from the groups so you could hear and also getting through the throngs of people. Wear good walking shoes and beware of the slippery stones you must walk on. I saw one bad fall so if you are unsteady on rough surfaces take the cruise line tour that drives by most sites and requires little walking. Beware of the taxis at the cruise ships as they all want to sell you a tour of the city after they have you in the taxi. We had been forewarned of the up-sell and stood firm on just the ride to the Acropolis. There is the X80 express bus from the cruise terminal to the Acropolis area which is about 10 euros round trip but the man in the booth told us (after we bought our ticket) that he did not know when the next bus would come because of morning traffic. We did use the bus to return and there is a stop right around the corner from the yogurt shop. Traffic in Athens is horrendous so plan accordingly if you have a short shore excursion.

We booked a guided tour of the Acropolis to make sure we would learn and appreciate the 5000 years of history. Eleni was an amazing guide and went way above our expectations. She was very knowledgeable and funny. I feel like she made the tour worth it and would recommend a guided tour of the Acropolis.

Athens Walking Tour was a great experience we had an amazing tour guide who was so interesting as we walked up to the Acropolis. The service was amazing picking us up from the pier where are ship docked and transporting us into Athens.

Tour Guide was very professional, well spoken, funny and knowledgeable. He ensured no one was left behind and he was very safety conscious on our behalf particularly when crossing the road and walking around the Parthenon.

<p>After figuring some things out the tour went very well...Thr tour was acually in 3 parts with 3 different guides which we didn't expect and was a bit odd but it turned out to be fine. The last part was the best - the walking tour of the Parthenon with Alexandros - he was OUTSTANDING. He was young, enthusiastic and incredibly knowledgeable. Highly recommend.</p>

<p>We were in Athens in 11/17 and it was pouring rain. But, our guide was wonderful and after lunch the sun came out and we were able to see Athens.</p>

<p>This was awesome. We had our guide named Sophia, and I hope I had her name right. She was very knowledgeable with the histories and spoke a good English. She made sure to answer any questions if our group had any.</p>

<p>I should have read this tour better. I was surprised that the price of the tour didn't include the entrance fees52 euros for the two of us that had to be paid in cash at the start of the tour. The tour guide we had was very good, but once we got to the top of the Acropolis, half of the group had purchased a different tour that also went to Acropolis museum. We didn't have that tour so the guide said goodby to use at the top of the Acropolis and we had to make our own way back to the meeting place to get the cabs back to the ship.</p>

<p>It was rushed tour. Not recommended for those who cannot walk fast. It was an ok tour. Will l fo it again with this company? No l will not. Maybe it was the particular tour guide we got that day but this tour was too rushed.</p>

<p>Dorina was a fantastic guide. Incredible knowledge and passion for Athens and her work as a tour guide. She provided detailed insight into each area we visited beginning with the excavation at the train station. She was thoughtful and took bathroom breaks and paced the climb to the top of the Acropolis with breaks to provide historical context and made it easer for a handicapped person in our group. The majority of our small group did not travel on to the museum of the Acropolis afterwards and instead went to Plaka the nearby town, which I highly recommend. Here you will find narrow winding streets of the old town with shops and plenty of tavernas with excellent, authentic Greek food at excelled prices, and great for sitting outside to people watch. An incredible value for the price. Pick and drop off at the ship was effortless. I would highly recommend this tour rather that transporting and purchasing tickets on your own, which we usually do.</p>

<p>One of the best tours we have taken. Walking from Syntagma Square to the top of the Acropolis is not for those who have mobility issues. On the other hand, if you can walk for short stretches, with plenty of breaks, you can do this. Many of the folks on our tour were 70 in age, and were able to complete the hike up and back. The narratives given by our guide, Dori, were very good and helped us understand the city, its parks and monuments, and the attractions of the Acropolis. Highly recommended.</p>

<p>Tour was great. Guide was very knowledgeable and interesting. It was a rather long walk.</p>

<p>The tour guide was so knowledgeable, yet paced the information, which was shared effectively and in an interesting way. Despite a very hot day, and quite an elevation to the Acropolis, our family of youngish seniors were easily able to get to the top of the Acropolis due to strategic stopping along the way. We appreciated the efforts to avoid other groups during the information sharing, so that it was easy to hear and gave the best viewing opportunities. An amazing historical experience, and well worth the price of the tour!</p>

<p>This tour was great. Would do it again! Very knowledgeable guide.</p>

<p>Knowledgeable guide - Nicholas. He took the time to explain the history of Athens and had great detail of all of the sites visited, just wish we had more time to explore. Traffic is quite heavy in Athens when there is multiple cruise ships docked at the same time in the port</p>

<p>In short, this was a wonderful tour. Our guide, Aristotle yes, really, was an enthusiastic, well-educated. and delightful leader through a few millenia of history, and we couldn't have enjoyed it more. We were glad to have taken this option to a NCL cruise excursion - particularly so once we figured out how much more personal not to mention, affordable our experience was. We were picked up at the boat by a delightful taxi driver, who whisked us well, as much as you can whisk in rush hour Athens traffic from Piraeus into downtown Athens - I can't begin to imagine how long it took those busloads of excursionists to get to the same destination. Dropoff was easy - rendezvous with the Athens Walking Tour folks was fast - and we were confident that we knew when, where, and by whom we would be returned to the the ship. The tour of downtown Athens was compact time-wise but action packed, and a great tease for the climax of the Acropolis and all its wonders. No doubt, the Acropolis was packed, but Aristotle maneuvered us beautifully and slowly, thank goodness, for the older folks up the hill to the wonders above. </p> <p>Athens Walking Tours has this whole thing working seamlessly. I would recommend them without hesitation. After the end of the tour, we had free time to enjoy a drink and a snack, and our new best friend taxi driver G picked us up on time and returned us to our ship with a hefty side of personality and commentary. An all-round wonderful day. Just wish we'd had more time to visit the Acropolis Museum - but that just wasn't possible. Go for it - you will enjoy. Unless you are one of those - we overheard someone actually ask - So you mean this is a WALKING tour?</p>

<p>This was the best tour of all the tours we took in a 3 week cruise of the Mediterranean. We were picked up at the cruise terminal and taken downtown where we met our guide. We then began to walk to all of the major points of interest downtown and our guide covered all of the main cultural and historic information with just the right amount of infoat least for us--not too much or too little. We then walked the the top of the Acropolis to explore the Parthenon. The tour was culminated by a visit to the Acropolis Museum which is one of the finest museums we have ever seen. Our guide was delightful. Great command of English,very professional and full of energy.<br/> Can't say enough about this experience.</p>

<p>Guide was very informative and loved walking through the area and not just riding and viewing on bus. Just be aware that the walk up to the acropolis is on rocky paths and is a rather long and step grade.</p>