When we visited Athens, Greece, in April 2017 we managed to just fit in a half-day tour to the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion. If you have a half-day to spare, we highly recommend this tour. The Temple is surrounded by water on 3 sides and the view is really lovely.
Catching the Tour Bus:
We flew overnight from the U.S. and landed in Athens late morning. We had just enough time to hop in a cab, check into our hotel, and stash our luggage, before heading down the street to catch the tour bus in the early afternoon. It was only a couple of blocks from our hotel to the corner where we caught our tour bus. Very easy. The tour company offers hotel pickups all over central Athens. When you book, you just let them know where you are staying and they’ll tell you the closest pick-up spot. There are lots of narrow streets in Athens, so don’t be surprised if the pick-up is a few blocks from your hotel.
The coach bus arrived right on schedule. We provided our Viator vouchers and hopped right on. The bus was large, there was plenty of open seats, and it was very comfortable. It was the perfect place for 2 weary travelers to catch up on some sleep.
The drive to the temple was just a little over an hour, so we had a nice nap and were all ready to go when we arrived. The tour guide did talk some on the ride down, so if you are interested in that (or less sleep deprived than us!), you do have some interesting information to listen to on the drive. On the way back, we managed to stay awake and we found the drive with the view of the coastline is quite nice.
Visiting the Temple of Poseidon:
The Temple of Poseidon is located on top of a hill. The coach bus parks below and you walk up a sidewalk to get to the temple. One thing that surprised me is the number of tourists, there were a lot. However, looking back at our pictures, we managed to get a bunch of pretty good ones without random strangers in the background (see below!).
Our tour guide gave us a small tour, and then we had about an hour to explore the area on our own. We walked around all 4 sides of the Temple of Poseidon and took a bunch of pictures (See some below). The time allotted was plenty. We were able to see everything and didn’t feel either rushed or bored. At the bottom of the hill, near the parking lot, there is a small cafe and gift shop where you can pick up refreshments and souvenirs if needed. Finally, at the specified time, you easily meet up with your tour guide, climb back on the bus and are driven back to your hotel drop-off spot.
You can book this exact half-day tour to the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion by clicking on the logo below:
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Note, all pictures on this post were taken by ourselves!
