Day trips out of Athens?

Geez....I would have thought that someone would have a recommendation or two! My loss, I guess!

Paul it would help if you would tell us exactly WHEN You plan to be in Greece, and how many days you will have in Athens.. is it a trip solely to Athens, or are you looking for something to do just before/after a cruise. Our advice might differ greatly if trip is in MAY or AUGUST. ALso, what is affordable for you? there are a lot of private -car trips that could be customized to minimize walking or standing or hills... but they could cost you upwards of $500 for a day. Give us a clue as to your budget... otherwise you're asking us to spend time & effort developing a whole range of scenarios, from which you could then pick one. That would make us travel agents, which we are not -- just experienced travelers to Greece who share our expertise gratis -- but we are not mind-readers. PLease give more info.

We are hoping to be in Athens, just Athens, a week or two from now. All we are looking for is a nice, easy-to-do 1/2- or 1-day side trip out of Athens, returning to Athens by the end of the day. $500 or even $600 for the three of us (myself, my wife and my adult daughter) might be doable, depending on how good the trip is. Again, it could be a trip to somewhere on the mainland or even a cruise to one or more nearby islands.

Try https://www.taxigreece.com/ for suggestions. Georges Taxi operates tours out of Athens in luxury vehicles at reasonable prices. As a former travel consultant, I used them for clients many times.

Paul

Aegina is a nice and fairly easy day trip from Athens. Have a look at this article.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/04/04/aegina-athenians-all-year-round-go-to-destination-2/

Janet can give good advice on the details.

If you are happy to rent a car then Nafplio, with a side trip to Mycenae is a good bet. Nafplio is a. Ice little town and, importantly for your purposes, it has a flat pedestrian centre. You can drive up to the fort and get the view even if your wife can’t manage the walls. Likewise at Mycenae you can get a sense of the place and, from memory, the walk up to the Lion Gate isn’t too bad.

My doubt about this would be where you would pick up the car. Driving out of central Athens is a nightmare!

You might find this accessible guide to Athens useful.

https://www.thisisathens.org/itineraries/accessible-guide-historic-heart-urban-soul-visual-impaired

Have fun.

Alan

If you are able to rent a car, heading to Napflio for a day is nice. We stayed there for a couple of days. It was the very first capital of Greece for one year before it moved to Athens. Ancient Mycenae is about a 30 minute drive from Napflio. It is the ancient city of King Agamemnon who was involved in the Trojan War. If you like history, it is great to see.

Napflio is lovely. You might also look into a day tour to Delphi. There are some listed on TripAdvisor. I cannot vouch for any of these as we did this trip on our own. It looks to be a 10 hour day and about $100 per person. There is a walk uphill to the temple, etc. but it isn’t steep. You can look at photos of Delphi to get an idea if this is something your wife could do. Also how long is she able to sit on a bus. My sister-in-law has back issues and cannot sit in a vehicle for very long so that would be a consideration.

HI! Janet here, with some details about Aegina, an ideal day-trip from Athens, even with limited mobility. I answer this query so many times, I'll just cut & paste one response, tailoring it a bit --

To show you the simple pleasures of this outing, Here's a photo album of a june daytrip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36264706@N03/sets/72157621604646139/detail/ - so much to see... and the short voyage there there is half the fun! Only challenge at all - to get to Pireaus in time for an 8:30 sailing.

The KEY to real enjoyment is the right ferry; NOT A hydrofoil (small - enclosed - salt-rimed windows - no view).. instead use "COnventional Ferry" (I.e. open deck); you can sit out and enjoy a 1-hr "mini-cruise" ... watching the wake, seeng everything from giant cruise ships & freighters to 3-masted schooners, speedboats, and tiny sloops.. maybe even a dolphin. These ferries go less frequently - first is ?8:30 AM, next not til Noon. THe Green Line Metro is a quick trip (20-30 mins from Monastiraki station) but that involves lots of stairs/escalators ... so you're better off taking a taxi. Since it's in rush hour, it may be between €20-25 -- a "street taxi" might be iffy on price so have your hotel call ahead for City Cab or Welcome Pick-Ups (u know fare in advance, pay by credit card)... In fact, use this for most trips. These cabs will take you right to ramp of the ferry. PS you can buy ticket ahead, at any ticket agency by your hotel.

Aegina has a charming port town complete with small ruin right by the ferry with ONE remaining column (have Mellissa pose by it with sea background - makes a great photo!) A TINy museum next door mainly notable for huuuge man-size vases. The main classic sight is stunning Temple of Aphaia mid-island, on a hill (not steep) with 360° view of Saronic bay. I usually recommend bus + hike, but for you, a taxi. At taxi stand, agree on price for the following -- drive to Monastery (seen in video) pause for a look -- continue to TEmple & wait for 15 minutes while you walk around it & take pics -- continue to Ag. Marina, pleasant seaside town. There you can loll at a waterside cafe and have a nice lunch. Staff can tell you time of next bus back to the port, or call a taxi.

Back at port town, if energy permits, it's fun to walk through back lanes... Aegina is not a "foreign tourist" target, so its back streets are Greek... I love to browse local grocery/hardware stores for products. Relax at a portside cafe with a drink and enjoy sunset on the last open-deck ferry, sailing at 6:15 -- or if you've had your mini-cruise in the AM, you can get a Hydrofoil earlier & reach hotel for a rest before dinner.

PS: Regarding solutions to other mobility situations, I've sent you a PM; look up in RH corner of this window.

Thanks for the suggestions!