Athens Accommodation

cimea

Myself and a friend are heading to Athens to start off island hopping this summer. Looking for accommodation for 2 nights in athens and will get a boat from Piraeus to our first island at 7am the 2nd morning there. Any advice on where to stay in Athens? Have looked up accommodation but all seem to be located in dodgy areas! Any help would be greatly appreciated on either the best areas to stay or any recommendations!

auntienic

Hey,
On the way back from island hopping last year we stayed in the Athens Gate hotel for 2 nights. It was a nice hotel in a good area, within walking distance to Syntagma Square and all the touristy stuff. Got a good deal on booking.com

cimea

Thanks for your reply. Unfortuntately there isnt any good deals on that hotel at present..very pricey! Is that the best area to stay in Athens? How long would you need to see Athens before heading to the islands? What islands would you recommend visiting?

rossie1977

we stayed in the jason inn, its a budget hotel but its an great location and it was clean, around the corner from the subway station and a short walk to acropolis and the main nightlife/shopping

3 days and you will see most of the main sights in town, we didn't do the islands

auntienic

2/3 days is plenty to see all of the sights in Athens. Island wise we went to Naxos, Paros, Ios, Santorini and Mykonos. I really liked Naxos- lovely beaches, good nightlife, nice places to eat. Mykonos was lovely as well, a bit pricey though. Depends on what you are looking for-Santorini is full of couples, honeymooners and families, Ios is the crazy party island!

cimea

Thanks for those hotels, however they seem to be booked out. I think we will just spend 1 full day in Athens before leaving it so will only need accommodation for 2 nights. Just about the island hopping, did you have the ferries booked in advance or just turn up at the ports? It seems hard to find concrete information on ferry times and prices on the internet as lots of companies and lots appear to be outdated prices. Did you pre-book accommodation for the islands or just find accommodation once arrived on the islands?

Unshelved

Athens is an expensive city - really it's not much cheaper than Dublin. Plus I know that the Special Olympics are on in Athens this summer, which may coincide with your trip and which will mean that hotels will be full. I've styaed in both of these hotels and they're fine, if basic, with a good location - www.attaloshotel.com and www.cecil.gr . If you're stuck you could try booking somewhere in Piraeus - I've hear that the Phidias Piraeus Hotel is pretty good and transport to your boat is included in the price.

You will probably need to book accommodation and ferries in advance if you're travelling in July or August. June should be quiet enough though and you'd be safe enough winging it.

Try these websites for ferries - http://www.hellenicseaways.gr/index.asp?a_id=219 and http://www.bluestarferries.com/site/content.asp?sel=812&loc=2 .

carrick76

Try the Acropolis Museum hotel, 48 Sygrou Av, Athens, 11742 Greece

Stayed there last September, basic but centrally located was 97euro/night for 2 of us

carrick76

Piraeus is dodgy apparently, stayed there for one night in Piraeus Dream Hotel, nice hotel, cheap as chips if i remember correctly, handy if you are getting an early boat which we were.

We didn't venture too far from the hotel, there is a bar across the street

Pythia

I stayed in the Esperia Hotel when I visited. It was about 7 years ago however! Reviews on tripadvisor seem average but I really liked it. I was able to walk to the main shopping street and I had a view of the acropolis from my window as far as I remember.