Hotels in Athens/Delphi day trip

Below is a response from "Janet" a Greece expert ( from a post with a question similar to yours)

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When on the RS tour we stayed at the Acropolis Select Hotel. Nice rooms, good breakfast and well located to the Acropolis etc

Posted by janet
Philadelphia, PA, USA
03/30/21 11:21 AM
2538 posts
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The intercity (KTEL) bus trip to Delphi is excellent, inexpensive, on modern busses with airconditioning, and comfortable upholstered lean-back seating -- nice passengers, a mix of tourists & Greeks, don't know how you'd do better. A taxi from a Plaka hotel to the bus station is about €12, and a 1-way ticket is about €15; trip takes about 3 hours, with a rest stop ;midway. I'm not sure where you get the 4.5 hour number (if it came from a dtour company that is because such busses often stop at 5-6 Athens hotels even before they leave town!! ugh). This site - https://www.athensguide.com/practicalinfo/busschedulesB.htm gives the usual timetable hasn't changed in years.

My first visit to Delphi (on my first trip to Greece in '99) was a horrendous day- tour group experience ... a dozen years later, on the last day of May, I took a bus with a friend, same timing as you plan, and it was PERFECT. That 3pm bus arrives about 5:15 or so ... it can stop at the ruins site, but u stay on for about 1 km to the turnaround in center of town. Get off and walk a few 100 metres to a modest hotel; we stayed at PAN... the rooms in back == on the main floor - had a view down mountainside to the sea, with hawks circling BELOW the balcony where I stood!. All tour-buses were gone, the museum was still open, so we strolled along the parapet for a km to the site and enjoyed the museum almost empty. Dinner was outside on a patio right by parapet walls looking at sunset & sea, drinking water that was Nectar of the Gods (piped direct from snow melt atop Mt Parnassus!). Next AM our landlord gave us early breakfast, we walked to the site, entered 8:15, had 2.5 hushed hours before the invasion of tour groups, by that time we were hi up on the site, so still on our own. Walked down the road to the Pronaia,filled our water bottles at the famous spring. We caught a 1:30 bus back to Athens... no rush no fuss no crowds.

To get the most from the site, advance prep is very rewarding. Tour Groups often get a very simplistic "gods & goddesses" version. Here are the resources I recommend for ADVANCE PREP & PRINT to TAKE:

• Printable Maps! (Museum, Sacred Precinct, Wider area) – http://www.planetware.com/map/delphi-map-gr-del.htm
• Sacred Destinations - http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/delphi Ads, but good info; see menu on side
• http://www.ancient-greece.org/archaeology/delphi-archaeology.html
• Dr J's Delphi – http://people.hsc.edu/drjclassics/sites/delphi/sacredway.shtm
NOTE: click items in SIDE MENU for complete photos & explanatory text. SUPER!
• Wikipedia entry, succinct & surprisingly good --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi

A budget is helpful in recommending accommodations as there is a wide range of places to stay with a wide range of costs.

If you have 3 days in Athens then I would recommend staying in Athens central rather than near the airport. It's very easy to get to the airport either by metro, bus or cab depending on budget and convenience.

I can recommend the Attalos Hotel on Athinas St. as it's central to everything one wants to see in the city. It's clean, safe and reasonably priced.

Lots of other options but the Attalos is my "go-to" place every time in Athens.

I haven't been to Delphi but Janet is one of the best sources of info on Greece travel forums so I wouldn't hesitate to follow her recommendations.

I second the Attalos-we stayed there in 2012. It has a wonderful location.

Thanks to JOE for posting my previous reply -- saves me hunting it up... and I repeat my recommend for this approach -- I can close my eyes and remember moments from that Delphi time ... the hush of the quiet museum, good signage, awesome unforgettable charioteer statue ... sitting at outdoor table right by rim-wall, looking down mountain at olive groves & out to sea at sunset.

Also TOTALLy agree that hotel budget-range is essential if you want best advice! Who knows if you're a budgeteer, willing to have tiny room with courtyard view to get a bargain, or someone who only frequents elite hostelries?? My choices r based on location -- this map will clarify -- http://www.orangesmile.com/destinations/img/athens-map-big.jpg (click & it gets huuuge, to orient, find acropolis & put it in center & navigate with side-slides). Do u see MONASTIRAKI just north? Attalos is just about 1/2 block N of this VERY busy Square with traffic day/night and packed on weekends. I concede that it's a well-run budget hotel & very handy to the Metro line going to the ferry port, but to me, it's a noisy area, no view unless you get a high-floor room or buy a drink on rooftop.

Now look around Akropolis on map ... all streets/lanes that are green-checked are "no-car" lanes... thus, quieter. See the long green lane below Acropolis area called Dionissous-Something? That's a wide promenade (used to be a street), lined w trees & lovely town-houses. Before dinner, greeks stroll there w baby carriages, there are ice-cream men & balloon sellers... it can look like a postcard. Hotels nearby include AIrotel Parthenon, Hotel Hera, Hotel Phillipos, its upscale sister Hotel Herodion .. higher rate than Attalos, but mid-range as big-city hotels go. My particular budget gem is Hotel Phaedra... only 21 rooms, unimpressive lobby & hallways... but rooms r sparkly-clean, crisp white linen, each w. balconies, either looking down on a church courtyard (#79 on map) or straight up at Parthenon!! Also, it has open roof terrace w canopies, no bar where u must buy a drink (like Attalos), but where you can bring your morning coffee or sunset beverage, to sit & enjoy. For solo travelers, a lovely nearby cafe under the trees, right by the Lysistrata Monument, is Cafe Diogenes, good for a shady lunch, a coffee, or pre-dinner glass of wine.. I relax & read a book here.

Oh-sorry about the hotel budget. I was thinking about 3 stars hotel-up to around $125/day-if possible.

Stars don't mean anything in Greece, hotels give themselves stars ... best to go by reviews on reputable sites, and estimates based on quoted room rates ... I think you're optimistic about hotel rates on short notice, In a major Capital in September... which is normally a big month for non-tourist doings (conferences etc). For example, NYC, Boston etc are always full in early fall for business mtgs, conventions etc... even with covid.

Check this "tiny URL" -- http://tinyurl.com/heq6edp -- its booking.com filter that shows hotels nearest Acropolis. Click "show on map" box in RH corner to see "Balloons" showing places with vacancies for your dates. Nothing on my list at your price range -- but I think Attalos has rooms left at just above your rate. Other reliable places that are near Syntagma include Hotel Cypria, Hotel Arethusa and Central Hotel, on Appollonas, all convenient.

Janet's Hotel Phaedra is in a great location and a great price. It's views are of the Acropolis from what I call the "fortress" end. We have stayed at the Acropolis View Hotel several times. It's towards the other end of the Acropolis - so have views of the Parthenon and theater from many of the rooms w/balcony and the rooftop terrace (also great for morning & night viewing - watching flood lights come up on the Parthenon was soon cool!). It is a bit more than Phaedra - but might be a good alternative.

quilter -- glad u appreciate my dear little Phaedra also. I also know & appreciate your Acropolis View; thanks for mentioning it! Reason I did not put it on the list is that you are a "we" ... a couple I assume, woman & a man. I was recommending from the perspective of a woman staying alone. Acropolis View is something of a hike along that promenade... certainly at night. The places I recommended are closer in ... just a few hundred yards from where she might have dinner at a cafe, on busy-enough lanes that she would feel secure on her own. The Plaka district is very safe, compared to every other big city in US or Europe where I've visited or lived -- and I've walked alone there at midnight. All the same, as a solo female I like my walk to be along pleasantly-populated lanes after dark.

If you can afford the $125 then you'll have better options. From your post it sounds like you'll be by yourself so you should be able to get something quite nice.

My philosophy is why spend a lot for a accommodation when you'll be spending more time outside of it.

However, do what's best for you.