Quick visit to Athens
 

We are going on a 7 day cruise from Venice to Athens. Our stay in Athens is for only 7 hours. Will we have any problem getting to the primary tourist sights on our own from the port or should we do the shore excursion offered by the cruise line?
Thanks for any tips you might have!

We just came back from a cruise that went from Venice to Rome and stopped in Athens for a day. Based on reports from this webpage and others, we (a group of 4) hired a taxi driver/tour guide to drive us around. We had a GREAT experience with him and would highly recommend his services. We definitely saw much more than the people on the ship's tour and he was very flexible with adjusting the day's itinerary based on what we wanted to see and how long we wanted to stay at different places. His name is Jordan Daioglou and his webpage is www.athens-tours.gr He was very reasonably priced compared to the ship's tour offerings.

I second the recommendation of Jordan's services.

We just returned a couple of days ago after spending 3 weeks in Europe. We spent a week in Greece, and we used Jordan for a couple of hotel/airport transfers, as well as scheduling a full day trip to Delphi with him.

I had contacted other taxi drivers that also offer services similar to Jordan's, and his prices are very reasonable. We had an excellent time with him and he is completely flexible as far as how long you want to spend at different places.

My father wanted to purchase some good quality olive oil, and Jordan took the time in the middle of the tour to find a store, go inside with us and help my father choose bottles of olive oil.

The restaurant we stopped at (he provided us recommendations of 3 different places) on the way to Delphi was a small roadside taverna - not one of the large establishments that the tour buses stopped at - we had the best meal of our time in Greece there.

Another thumbs up for Jordan. I also used his services for a tour of Athens last year and again for Delphi this year. He showed us all the "must sees" and his prices are very reasonable. 7 hours in Athens should be enough time to see the main sights of the city.

I wanted to add my praises for Jordan. We found Jordan on Trip Advisor because we were looking for someone who would plan a flexible tour as we have young children. He was a wonderful tour guide who knows a great deal about the history of Greece and who painted an amazing picture of what it's like to live I'm Greece during these times. He knew where to go to avoid traffic and always had recommendations for places to eat that were reasonable and family friendly. He takes great pride in his work and great pride in taking care of his clients. I would definitely recommend him to anyone wanting to see the real Greece. My children loved him, they felt like he was family and he treated them wonderfully. I hope we can go back to Greece one day and see Jordan again.