ter2000

DH and I are taking a cruise in June that has Piraeus as one of its ports. We have stayed in Athens three times in the last couple of years or so, so instead of visiting there again we thought about a trip to Cape Sounion instead. Has anyone done this? Can anyone recommend a reliable tour guide?

An alternative might be a beach day somewhere like Glyfada - could a helpful fodorite suggest a beach that would be easily accessible from our ship?

Thank you all!

mariha2912

Bus A1 from Piraeus to Voula is the more convenient bus to Glyfada seafront. I guess most people would suggest the area around Asteria bus stop for a few hours on the beach. There are some cafe/bar/restaurants,sunloungers and the like, you may want to check Balux Club.. Depending on traffic, Piraeus to Glyfada can take even an hour on a bus or taxi.
There is no direct bus connecting Piraeus to Sounion. There might be a combination of urban and intercity buses, but it is time consuming. Unfortunately I don't know any private tour guides.

tarquin

My experience was many years ago but there is a bus south down the coast to Sounion. You don't need a guide, just walking shoes and maybe a picnic, although I remember an eating place nearby. The runis are impressive and the view is fabulous.

clausar

Going from Piraeus to Sounion with public transportation isn't a good idea, as there is no direct connection.
You should take a bus,and change to a KTEL bus, which runs every 60 minutes... so you may have to wait for quite a long time in the worse scenario....

Having a private guide can be quite expensive.... cost might be starting from 170 Euro, which would be the charge for a half day tour...

More convenient would be to rent a car and drive to Sounion on your own. It is a distance of 70 km one way.
An alternative would be to take a taxi to Asteras in Vouliagmeni, and spend the day on the beach.
Asteras is very well known in Athens and it is a complex of 2 hotels ( Westin Athens and Arion). It has an excellent location on the Vouliagmeni penninsula.
You will have to pay a quite high entrance to go to the beach , but you will be then among many Greek celebrities...

On your way back you could stop in nearby Glyfada for window shopping and lunch in one of the numerous restaurants and cafes.

ter2000

Thank you all - that's very useful. Just googling Vouliagmeni and I see that there is a lake there as well. Has anyone been there? It looks interesting. Could you give me an idea of how much a taxi from Piraeus to Vouliagmeni might cost?

Thanks again

clausar

The Vouliagmeni Lake is a nice little spot, worth a visit, bit it is not a place where you can spend more than 1 hour....
There is a cafe during the day, and paying an entrance you can swim in the lake. The water has a constant temperature all year around, and it is very deep..

The distance from Piraeus to Vouliagmeni is 25 km, a taxi should cost around 20 Euro