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Any suggested guide or tour companies for the Acropolis?

Any suggested guide or tour companies for the Acropolis?

Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 05:39 AM
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Any suggested guide or tour companies for the Acropolis?

We are finishing up the details to our upcoming trip to Greece and so appreciate everyone's input. We are a family and want to have a guided tour of the Acropolis. We are open to either a private tour or a small group tour. I understand that there are guides located there however we would like to prebook this. If you have had a tour of the Acropolis and can recommend your guide or tour company, please let me know. Thanks so much.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 06:05 AM
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I wouldn't count on "Guides located there" -- in some countries & in parts of Greece, licensed guides do stand around entry & solicit business on per-head basis, but very "iffy" around Acropolis.

When u say 'a family" how many does that mean? All adults or some children? Ages? Do you have any budget limits? You do have many options including:

ATHENS WALKING TOURS - http://www.athenswalkingtours.gr/city-walking-tours -- very well known, well-reviewed. Main tour starts at Syntagma square, gives good central-athens overview, going up to Acropolis. In AM, about 2.5 hours. €39. Acrop only = €29; under 12 free. Optional add-on in aft - Acropolis Museum (time in between allows for nice mod.-price lunch @museum's terrace cafe (a/c).

VIATOR PVT GUIDES - https://tourguides.viator.com/Listin...ki&City=Athens also v. well-reviewed = u choose the guide, read all his/her reviews & hourly rate (€50-60 -- if there are 4+ this can be less than above). Advantage of this is that u can arrange to start @8 am -- so have time atop acropolis w. few people; the main tours & Cruise-ship throngs arrive about 9:45 & it can get very crowded. Conversely, u could do tour @5pm, after crowds have left.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 06:28 AM
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There are four of us. My children are aged 19 & 12-- both have a strong interest in history. I am looking for a reasonably priced guided tour e.g. saw that Context tours would be USD 441-- that would be too much! The ones you mention above are within budget. Thanks.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 06:42 AM
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You can try contacting Fantasy Travel and Dolphin-Hellas Travel, both in Athens and both with websites. They should be able to provide you with a list of reliable guides.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 07:11 AM
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An alternative would be a do-it-yourself tour for free. There are plenty of guide books and info on the internet to provide you with a wonderful description of what you are seeing and experiencing.

In addition most tour groups start later in the morning/day which means it will be crowded with other tour groups and tourists which takes away from the experience of the Acropolis and surrounding area.

If you do your research, get a good guide book and arrive at opening time around 8 a.m. you'll get just as good if not better experience than spending a lot of money.

However, I understand wanting a less stressful and more easier way to experience the Acropolis and a tour will fit the bill but there are alternatives and for free if you can do it on your own.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 04:27 PM
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I don't use to recommend anyone here, but a friend of mine is a licensed Tour Guide AND a PhD Archaeologist.
If you would be interested in contacting her, you can find my email on my profile.

IMO no book can substitute a tour guide ( let alone an archaeologist), i have visited many archaeological sites and other monuments with licensed tour guides and always admired not only their deep knowledge, but also all the background information they can give and their answers to any question you can imagine.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 04:29 PM
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If you want a tour guide, that's certainly your choice, but I agree that it is easy to see the Acropolis on your own. FWIW, I was there recently, and saw so many tour groups trotting around at about twice the pace that felt right to me. To each his / her own!

If you aren't already planning on it, I would strongly encourage a visit to the magnificent Museum of the Acropolis -- incredibly well done, IMO, and even though I had done a ton of advance research, I learned a lot there.

Enjoy!
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Old Jun 22nd, 2017, 08:11 PM
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We definitely want to go with a guide. We have used guides before and have been very impressed with the quality (but have always done our research carefully to make sure we have used high quality guides). We are all very interested in the history and it makes a big difference to do a private tour with an expert vs reading a book IMO. In the past, I have not felt rushed-- perhaps because we have done primarily private guides. On the contrary it is nice to have someone who you can ask in depth questions.

I have done more research since posting this and it seems that most of the guides on viator (thank you travelerjan) have degrees in history, etc. and all are licensed. I am just waiting to hear back from one more but think we have already found the right person to bring the Acropolis to life for us.

Thank you all, especially Travelerjan, for your suggestions.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2017, 06:06 AM
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You are quite welcome ... I shall never forget my first glimpse of it (18 years ago?!!!), and have climbed those steps many a time since, always with anticipation.
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Old Jun 25th, 2017, 11:35 AM
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DanielMorris, I have booked my whole trip already myself. This request was just for a guide to the Acropolis-- part of my research. Via travelerjan's recommendation, I have found a guide who has excellent reviews and who should be able to give us an in-depth tour of the Acropolis and be able to answer all of our questions.

I personally don't use a travel agent to plan my trips as I enjoy the whole process of researching almost as much as I enjoy the trip! But travel agents can be extremely helpful to those who don't enjoy the research process or don't have the time to do it.
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