10 hours in Athens - sightseeing?
 

I am on vacation, US passport. I will be flying from Cairo to Tel Aviv.

One option is to is to fly out from Cairo @ 3:10am - 6:10am in Athens (A321- 100/200), 10 hour layover
then depart Cairo at 4:30pm - 6:30pm in Tel Aviv (A320 - 100/200).

I would be flying coach. Another option is to take flight with 5h layover or fly Royal Jordan via Amman.

I have never been to Greece, and was wondering if it would be easy to do sightseeing with 10 hour layover and how safe it would be as single female.

Thanks in advance

2008traveler, welcome to FT.

I’ll move your thread into our Europe forum, where you should receive some expert advice on things to see.

NWIFlyer
Moderator
Aegean Miles+Bonus

@2008traveler:

Easy answers first! Athens is a very safe city, similar to every big city in Europe. Standard precautions should be taken, such as not having an easy to open bag in the metro during rush hour, etc., but other than that no problem for single females.

Now to the more difficult ones: What yopu can do in 10 hours depends on what you'd like to see. At the time you arrive, traffic should be light, so even if you take the bus (which personally prefer), you should be in the city centre (Syntagma square) in about 45-5- minutes, same time as by underground. Check its schedule, as it leaves every 30 minutes from the airport. At any rate, considering your trip into the city and the trip back, you're left with about 7 hours for your visit. I'd suggest the Acropolis Museum and a fast visit to the Acropolis proper, then walk down towards Monastiraki, make a short walk through Plaka (the old part of the city) and then take the train back to the airport. This way you'll get a pot-pourri of ancient, not so ancient and modern views of Athens and the noise that accompanies them. Careful, if its a sunny day get a bottle of water as it can get uncomfortable walking in the sun even in the winter. HAve a nice... day (literally!)

Yes, 10 hours between flights would be enough time to visit the Acropolis (probably the primary attraction for most tourists) as well as one or two of the other sites/sights around Athens such as one of the Agoras or Mount Lycabettus - though you could spend a lot more time at all of these.

If you have just travelled around Egypt on your own, I don't think you have to worry about Greece.

However, unless you are in your early 20s and eager to see as much as you can as quickly as you can, I don't know how much you will be able to take in after a 0310-0610 flight and having to get to the airport before that. Bearing in mind that you will need to deal with entering Israel and figuring out how to get to your accommodation the same evening! And as you are concerned about safety, being tired also lends yourself to being distracted more easily.

5 hours between flights doesn't really give you enough time to do anything as the airport is around 1 hour from the city and it's relatively expensive (€12 return by bus or €20 by metro) to get there.

It's 10 hours and 10 minutes between flights, not 5 hours. But unless OP is willing to invest €€€s for a long sleep at the Sofitel, spend the whole time at the airport will be worse than walking like a zombie in Athens ;)

Thank you. I will be doing Egypt and Israel tour with a group. Each individual is responsible for transportation to get from Cairo to Egypt (we have 2 days (sunday and monday )in-between the two locations. As there are limited flights between the two countries (Aegan or Royal Jordan seem to be the airline with most flights), it is likely someone else within the tour group may also be on the same flight. The tour is scheduled in early/mid July.

Are there lockers in the airport to put my carry-on bag? Do I need to get cash in local currency or will I be able to use my credit card for the transportation and sight seeing?

OP posited an option with a 5 hours layover as well.

But the OP does not have 10 hours at all. (or 5 if they chose the shorter layover)

OP need to allow time to clear Greek immigration for starters. I've no idea how efficient (or not) it is at the arrival time of the flight from Cairo. US citizen will likely be in the non EU passport line which can take longer.Then find the locker for your bag - check ATH website for left luggage facilities.

Then you will need to be back at ATH however long before your departing flight your airline requires you by to clear security for your flight to Israel.

Further subtract the time taken to get to/from wherever you want to be in Athens city. On the return you'll want to allow extra time to allow for transport delays

OP has a lot less time than they think they have.

Well, in my first answer I had written: At any rate, considering your trip into the city and the trip back, you're left with about 7 hours for your visit. And my answer concerned the 10 hrs layover that was mentioned in the thread's title.

There is a baggage storage facility (but not lockers - more like a bag check) on the arrivals level at the very end of the arrivals hall by the extra-schengen arrivals zone (where you should be arriving from Cairo). I've never used it, so I have no idea the cost of the service. Personally, I would get some Euro for the trip into Athens. There are plenty of ATMs outside of customs on the arrivals level.

OP are you on a group flight to CAI and from TLV? if not have you already gotten your tkt. Reason I ask is I did ATH returning from TLV a couple of years ago I flew UA non-stop to TLV but my return was AE TLV-ATH & UA ATH-EWR.

I am not on a group flight. Some of the group will be doing only Egypt or only Israel, therefore the flight portion for people doing both Egypt and Israel is dependent upon us.
The flight options from CAI-> TLV are:

• Aegan 1hr or 10hr 20min layover in Athens
• Royal Jordan 7:30hr layover but get into TLV at 11:30pm, or
• Royal Jordan 2:09hr, or 7:10 hr or 8:25 hr layover in Amman arriving TLV 6:25pm. I believe the 8+hr layover would qualify for hotel by Royal Jordan

I have not been to either Athens or Amman so I am thinking of choosing the longer layover option if I it is allows for sightseeing in relative safety & comfort (I do not want to lug around the carry-on suitcase).

Thanks I will look into the baggage storage facility. Would it be safe to leave my passport in the luggage or take it with me (I've heard about pickpockets).
Any specific banks offer a better rate? I have Chase bank, and they will waive 5 ATM non-Chase trans fees / month and no foreign exchange fees, but I was told each foreign bank has their own rate. I was told to investigate ahead of time the different bank exchange rates.
Also any recommendation on the amount of Euro's I should get from the ATM for a day trip (do not want to take too much or too little as I do not travel much internationally, and will not be able use it in TLV or locally in US).

Amman has less to see than Athens IMHO.

Thanks. Athens it is :-).

Get to the Acropolis at opening if you can (8am I think)....you’re already at peak season, and the cruises start to infiltrate the historical center around 10a-11a...plus, the low rising sun from the Acropolis or Areopagus is a beautiful scene

after that the Acropolis museum and Plaka are doable in your timeframe....maybe even the Agora, Roman forum, and a relaxing lunch if you hustle....everything is very close together so it just depends on the crowds