I will be in Aegina for 2 nights, 1 full day and 1 half day. Since i am not renting a car I wondered if I should sign up for a private tour or if I could see sights by local bus/walking. I would like to see the temple of Aphaaia, and the Byzantine village of Paleachora,and Agia Marina. I checked a website for a day tour and they quoted me a price of 80.00 for 4.5 hours including these areas and Pachia Rachi and Portes. I would be happy with the bus and walking in doable. Any advice would be very appreciated.
Posted by
Washington DC
27111 posts
I don't know anything about Aegina, but for those with some knowledge of the island's buses, it might matter when you are going to be there. What are the dates for your trip?
Posted by
OP
cardiff by the sea
156 posts
I will be in Aegina september 30, October 1 (the only full day) and leaving mid day October 2 for Agistri.
Posted by
Washington DC
27111 posts
OK, so that's Friday - Sunday, with your full day being Saturday.
80 euros seems quite high for a half-day tour. I suspect a taxi might be less expensive, especially if limited to the three places you want to see. Even better if part of the trip was done by bus and you just had the taxi as a back-up plan when the bus schedule wasn't ideal. With that in mind, I'd carry taxi telephone numbers with me. If you won't have a working phone and need a taxi, you can try my technique of walking into a café or bar (ideally not during a really busy period), putting a 1- or 2-euro coin on the counter, and saying "Taxi?" with a smile. That should work even if there's no one around who speaks English, which would be very unusual in Greece.
This is what I uncovered about the buses on Aegina:
This English-language website has some basic information. Unfortunately, the link to the full schedule is broken, and there's no information on when they go off the summer schedule, which is the basis for the information presented. The schedule might change in mid-September or at the end of the month. You'll need to check at the bus departure point (better) or the tourist office when you arrive to get precise information. Where buses are concerned, that is always a good idea, anyway.
The bus ticket office is reportedly on Plateia Ethnegersias.
If you scroll down on that web page you'll find the key stops on each bus line listed. Line 2 goes to Aphaia and Agia Marina. It appears that some of the buses hit Aphaia only on the way back to the capital, so you'd need to check on that. I might be misinterpreting the information; wish I could see the actual schedule.
It's possible that same line goes to the Agios Nektarios Monastery. Google tells me that Paleachora is "on a steep hill adjacent to" the monastery, so it sounds like you might have quite a climb if the bus only goes to the monastery; it's possible that it also goes to Paleachora. You'll note that the schedule information provided for Agios Nektarios is confusing; perhaps the column headers are wrong and one should be for the outbound trip.
Understand that the above info was obtained by Googling. I have never been to Aegina.
Posted by
NH (USA)
1157 posts
Your best bet would be to rent a car for one day in which you can see just about the entire island and the sites you mentioned. It would be a lot cheaper than 80 euros for 4.5 hour tour. You didn't mention when you would be there but if it's off season there won't be a lot of traffic once you leave Aegina Town. Even dury High Season traffic will be reasonable.
The best way to see Greece is to rent a car which gives you the freedom to go to places where bus don't take you and get to see more locals and out-of-the-way villages and areas.
If you are not part of the EU you would need an International License which is easily gotten and will cost around 25-26 euros or $30 (US), still a lot lower than 80 euros for the short tour.