Top Athens Day Trips - page 6

The scenery on the drive in the mountains is gorgeous, and the stop in the village of Arachova is also worthwhile for the views. The Oracle of Delphi is pretty amazing, and the guides are very knowledgeable. We also enjoyed the local lunch stop-thank you to Faye and Milos for the fun and safe trip that immersed us in Greek culture and history!

We (my teenaged son and daughter and I) enjoyed a fun afternoon touring Athens with our guide Alex and another family who had joined the tour. Our guide was very good-natured and also shared with us a lot of interesting information about Athens and the sights we were seeing. The bike tour enabled us to see a number of things we would not have had time to see, or would not have known to see, outside of this tour. I especially liked seeing the Panathenaic Stadium and riding through the Agora. I had not ridden an e-bike before and it was certainly helpful in 1 or 2 spots! I recommend this tour; we all enjoyed it.

What can I say from the experience apart for the fact it met all of my expectations! First let me start off by saying I wasn’t sold on the idea of this activity given the very long journey with the lingering doubt I could potentially be disappointed by what I see. Having very few days in Athens, it also meant going on this journey would mean sacrificing a full precious day in the city. All of these doubts would soon be forgotten when setting my eyes on the first monasteries and seeing the dreamlike landscapes unfold before me as our very friendly and knowledgeable guide brought us on multiple stops to each monastery and photo stops in the mountains which look like something out of the movie Avatar! If you have some doubts, I hope this review speaks to you when I say I have been converted into a believer and highly recommend the lengthy trip to see with your very own eyes why UNESCO choose this as one of its world heritage site, which in unlike anything I had ever seen in this world! It will definitely be a place I never forget, and the pictures I have taken on this trip are simply out of this world! Now for those wondering about the subtle details of the tediously long journey (which I didn’t seem to find particularly clear when booking the trip), here’s the way things unfolded for my experience. The total trip time averages 4-4.5 hours each way. There were no washrooms inside the voyager type bus, but the driver stops halfway (so after about 2 hours) to this cafeteria type restaurant which has a large number of washrooms and also a convenience store to buy any junk food and refreshment you could want for the journey. The first time you stop at this place is a quick 15 minute break for washrooms and snacks. The second time you will return to this place is on the way back when the stop is slightly longer given they allow you time for supper (like I mentioned previously, cafeteria style food is served, or you also have the option of purchasing some pre-made sandwiches for more budget conscious people). The bus itself is very comfortable and has USB charging ports (typical USB-A ports, not the newer USB-C type) if you wish to bring your cords for charging, which is highly recommended given the lengthy journey to help pass the time on your phone, and to keep your phone full for the high number of amazing pictures you’ll be taking! Important to note there is WiFi on the bus which is an absolutely amazing feature to have! Lastly, your arrival at the city itself will generally coincide with lunch time. Depending on the option chosen, you will either have lunch included or not with the tour. The only difference here is the price. At the time of writing this review, the lunch was 15 euros at the restaurant the bus dropped off the group if bought separately (I did not see any other alternative close, so you either pack a lunch if you wish to save money, or head to this other cafeteria style restaurant). There were about 7-8 different types of food in the cafeteria and most were traditional Greek meals which were delicious. If you can score your Viator ticket with the meal per person at less than 15 euros difference, I would say you’re saving some money! So that’s pretty much all of the details I can recall and believe you will need. Hopefully it can help others understanding how the day unfold and the details, and convince you to go see what I truly believe was an enchanting scenery!