Originally Posted by
Aviatrix
I would also opt for the Sofitel in the second situation you describe. The town centre is just a quick train ride away, so - as you say - you can easily drop your bags and spend the day in town and have a more leisurely start to the day before your flight.
A part of me hesitates doing this because I can see us arriving into ATH in the morning, go to hotel, drop stuff off, go out, come back to hotel to rest, and then go out again in the evening. If we stayed at the airport, that'd be quite a bit of back and forth.
Originally Posted by
Cha-cha-cha
Having done similar things, I'd say the plans are about equal, though the second one means getting up very early (if I understand it.)
I'm not sure where the confusion is. We're leaving JTR at 07:00, arriving into ATH at 07:50, and we have a day and a night in ATH. The next morning we have a 09:30 flight ATH-LHR.
Originally Posted by
Cha-cha-cha
Do the plans involve seeing Athens on different days? If so, you should check site and museum hours. I my past experience, the biggest sites and museums are open daily, while less important museums are closed Mondays (public Museums) or Tuesdays (private museums). Many sites and museums have reduced hours on Sundays. Also check to see if you'll run into one of the "floating" religious holidays, when some things might be closed.
Thanks for the reminder on this topic--reminds me of the time I tried to visit the Louvre on a Tuesday! (To my defense, it was my only free day on the business trip.)
However, at this point my main goal is to visit the Parthenon and the new museum (the one with the antikythera in it). If I could, maybe take a few hour trip to Sounio to catch sunset at the Temple of Poseidon but the last bus back to Athens seem to leave a bit too early to do that.
Originally Posted by
Cha-cha-cha
As for the ferry, if you want to splurge it might be better to get a first class ticket rather than a cabin, unless you actually want to sleep. First class costs in my experience 20-50% more than economy. Usually it's not worth it, but for a seven hour trip where you want more comfort you might find it justifiable. The main advantage is that first class (often called VIP class) can be much less crowded and quieter; it also has more spacious and comfortable seats, usually a significantly nicer outside deck area, and sometimes a better (though more expensive) restaurant or cafeteria.
On this particular ferry the seats are:
Economy
Business class (seat)
Air seats lounge-1
Air seats lounge-2
Air seats lounge-3
Air seats lounge-4
Air seats lounge-5
Cabin A4 (4-berth outside)
Cabin A4-Pets (4-berth outside)
I'm guessing the business class is similar to what you're referring. That said, it's really the toilets I'm concerned about. Travel can really screw-up my stomach sometimes and I'm more than willing to pay for my own .... exclusive toilet. Thanks for the advice!