Athens Metro

It will help a lot if you tell us the exact hotel ... "near Acropolis" means all 4 sides, differing Metro stations. Is it within a few blocks of Syntagma Square??? In that case, either Metro X95 Express bus will do. I Prefer the Bus

BUS -- right by the curb outside Airport building, goes every 20-25 minutes. You buy ticket (€6) at a kiosk, when u get in bus, you "validate" ticket by punching it in a pole mounted box. Your big bag goes in a pile inside the bus in a "baggage pen." Then you can relax; no one can get on after Airport, only 1 stop befor Syntagma so NO pickpockets. You can relax, even doze. It end right at the Syntagma sidewalk so no rush to get out. Takes about 60 minutes.
METRO -- you go across street from building, up exscalator, ticket at window; €8. Metro takes about 45 minutes, but often you have to wait for it, so the time is a "wash". After getting out of Metro car u have to take 2 escalators, and then steps, to reach the street, so the time's about the same. Metro is empty when you get in but sit near door, because by the time it reaches Syntagma or Monastiraki stops it will be packed, crowded with standees. THAT is when u have to be alert for pickpockets... you'll be trying to get out before door closes, wrestling with your suitcase, and whoops! someone bumps into you and -they gotcha. Never happened to me, but I'm always alert. But I prefer the bus.

If your hotel is on the south side of Acropolis, near Acropolis Museum & u are taking the Metro, you'd have to change at Syntagma to he "Red Line" fo one stop. If you take Bus, you just walk down Amalias Avenue with y our rolling bag... it's downhill, easy 10 minute walk.

My hotel is Acropolis Select, 37-39 Falirou Str. I will be joining the Rick Steves Tour there.

Metro from airport is now €10 or €5 if you are over65 .
The bus is now €6 or €3 if over 65.
Pickpockets in metro are a problem. I agree with previous poster that bus is safer. But unless you're going to somewhere near Syntagma you may be better with metro. It sounds like you are well prepared. Backpack in front is very good idea.
Don't be scared to use metro. Just be alert.
Also just before you leave check for strikes. They are frequent and sudden.
Taxi from airport is €38 flat fee. There are good companies who you book ahead and will meet you at the airport.
Enjoy athens. I just spent 5 months there.

Thanks for your responses.

Ida

We use the metro about four times a year and have never had a problem. Athens is a big city and like anywhere else there can be pickpockets, but crime is still relatively low there. Anyone can be unlucky but if you take normal city precautions it's unlikely you'll have a problem.

The Acropolis Select is around a 15 minute walk from Syntagma so, if you are using public transport, you may well want to use the metro anyway for the last part of the trip.

The nearest station to the hotel is Syngrou Fix. You get the metro to Syntagma and then change to the red line (line 2) heading to Elleniko. Syngrou is two stops. Go out the entrance which has the bookstore to the right and walk up the pedestrian precinct. Turn first right into Fallirou and the hotel is about 3 minutes.

Alan

The metro is safe but there are pickpockets for sure. Just take precautions Money belt and if anyone offers to help you with your luggage they are a pickpocket.

I appreciate your advice and comments. ALL my friends say I should take a taxi because will be jetlagged (though I don't get much jetlag) and have my luggage with me. I thought metro would be not only much cheaper but interesting, as well. I take subways all over the world.

Re taxi, a friend who has visited Greece says taxi drivers are difficult and try to cheat you. I figure that I just confirm price before I get in, and not get out till in front of my hotel. If a problem, I insist on going inside and have hotel clerk help me.

The Metro is clean, efficient and for the most part very safe. Still be alert . . . just like anywhere else. It's quite a bargain, especially if your accommodations is close to a Metro Station like Monistiraki or Syntagma Square.

We've used the Metro many times and have never had any problems . . . but that doesn't mean you are 100% safe from pick pockets, common sense is your most important weapon.

The Taxi will be the quickest and most efficient way to get from the airport to your accommodations . . . door-to-door service but around 38 euros or 54 at late night/early morning hours.

We also used the Taxis and have never been cheated or hood-winked.

Either will be safe, just depends on budget, convenience level and if you are a group then a taxi will be more cost effective.

Taxi fare is now a set rate. I think it is 35 euros which includes tolls. late night and early morning I believe it is set at 50 euros. As I recall there might be an add on fee of a couple of Euros if the driver puts your bags in the trunk.

Just to put this in perspective the taxi trip is through downtown Athens and sometimes there is heavy traffic. It takes 35 to 50 minutes. Think about any big city where you have taken a taxi that long and that far. When you convert 35 euros to US $ that is $39. Even if the taxi driver pulls a fast one on you, its still far less expensive than any cab ride I have taken in North America over the past few decades.

This June we ordered a taxi from Plaka to the airport. The driver spoke good English. He asked how long we had to get to our flight and confirmed the fare was 35 Euros. We had a long talk with him about the economic crisis and how people were coping. Given the struggle the average Greek is going through I had been planning on giving him a 50 Euro bill for the fare. After about a half hour of driving I realized he had the meter running and he wasn't taking the express route to the airport.

I realized he was taking us the long way to the airport to avoid paying the tolls. The meter actually ended up at 33 euros but of course we had to pay the 35 standard rate. He needed the meter receipt for tax purposes and planned to keep the tolls and extra 2 euros for himself. Even knowing he was cheating us, he got us there in time, safely and with good discussion so I gave him 40 euros. As a a bonus I get to tell a story about a cheating taxi driver.

Keep in mind its tourists dollars that are going to help the Greeks get out of economic trouble.

We took the metro two years ago. At that time we were planning, there weren't as many comments about pickpockets on the metro, so we didn't know to be worried. Before we leave any airport, we always put valuables in a neck wallet that slides inside either a cami or undershirt that is tucked in. It's as much about remembering where we put stuff as it is about pickpockets. It was an easy walk from the metro to the Acropolis Select.

One good thing about taking the metro from the airport is that you'll be in the first group to get aboard, so you can easily find seating that will make it very difficult for anyone to get near you. It's once you go to get off the metro and are making your way out into the street that you have to be vigilant. Don't carry anything of value in a bag slung over your shoulder. Always keep it in front of you. I too use a neck wallet to carry my valuables under my clothing.