Review: Shore Excursions Group (Hop-On, Hop-Off Athens Highlights Tour)

This is a review of an excursion I booked through Shore Excursions Group during my family’s Mediterranean cruise. You can read the entire report, starting HERE.

Website Description

Hop-on Hop-off Athens Highlights Tour (Athens, Piraeus & Beach Riviera)

On this hop-on hop-off Athens sightseeing tour, you can travel between Piraeus, Athens, and the Athens Riviera at your leisure, allowing you to view ancient sites such as the Acropolis and Parthenon, as well as world-famous museums. Hop on in Piraeus, the main port of Greece and the biggest port in the Mediterranean, and hop off at any stop to explore on your own!

In Athens, you will experience the contrast between ancient history and modern architecture and culture. Don’t miss the stop at the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy views of an ancient citadel located on a high rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, which contains the remains of many ancient structures, the most famous of which is the Parthenon. The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. This spectacular structure is regarded as the symbol of democracy and is one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments. Continue on to enjoy all that central Athens has to offer – hop off the bus to shop, eat, and indulge in Greek culture. This tour provides easy access to the city’s best sights and the flexibility to explore as you please.

Travel past the Marina Zea Harbor with its myriad of tall mast ships, schooners and cruisers, and enjoy views of Microlimano Harbor, a pretty fishing port. This is where Themistocles’ victorious Triremes were berthed before the epic, history-changing sea battle of nearby Salamis. The archaeological and nautical museums located here are definitely worth visiting. You can also view the Hill of Mars or the ancient court of Athens, the area around the Ancient Agora. Travel down through the Plaka and around the Roman Agora, which includes the famous Tower of the Winds. You’ll see it all on this hop-on hop-off tour of Athens.

On the Beaches and Riviera Route, go beach hopping at several of Athens’ best beaches, including Vouliagmeni Lake, Agios Kosmas, Asteria, Glyfada, and more. You will have the option to enjoy the sun and sand or just take in the scenery – making this Athens tour perfect for everyone.

Please Note: There are 3 bus routes with varying schedules and tour durations. The Piraeus Route (from 12:15pm – 6:15pm) runs hourly and it takes approximately 80 minutes to complete the route without getting off. The Beaches and Riviera Route (from 9:35am and 5:35pm) runs every 60 minutes from April to October and it takes approximately 110 minutes to complete the route without getting off. The Athens Route (from 8:30am – 8:30pm) runs every 30 minutes and takes approximately 90 minutes to complete the route without getting off. Last departure is 7pm. The tours are narrated in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Greek, and Turkish. First and last tour times vary by route and will be detailed in your electronic ticket.

Process/Booking

I found several of our excursions through Shore Excursions Group. It’s an easy website to navigate, as you put in your exact itinerary and it pulls up all of your options. The checkout process is super simple, as well. I received a separate voucher for each excursion purchased, with details/instructions.

A few planning notes:

The website has you pay in USD, so there’s no exchange rate.
I did plan a few Euros for tip when I ordered them from my bank.
WhatsApp is majorly used in Europe, so I had that downloaded. As soon as we got into port, I checked it for messages from the tour operators. This was the form of communication for all of our transfers/excursions/tours.

Excursion Recap

Note: Most of this portion is the same as my trip report. If you’ve already read that, you can skip along to my overall thoughts below!

The port was fairly easy to navigate and the bus was right there. I will say that when we got on the bus, we waited quite a while before leaving…. then, we went to another dock and waited a while. Eventually, we got going. We rode a bit around Piraeus before getting on the road to Athens proper.

We rode along, just listening to the audio guide and looking out. The weather was pretty iffy, so we didn’t want to get out too much. We eventually got off the bus at the Acropolis. Jen decided to stay at ground level, where there was a pretty garden. Emily, Megan, and I walked up to the ticket gate to get pictures then up to the free observation cliff to get more. Just a note – this was, per usual, a bunch of old, cobble stone, steps. It’s not an easy climb.

After a bit, we walked back down. As we were coming up to the bus depot, we spotted Mom and Jeff on an arriving bus! They got off, walked around for a few minutes, and then we all got on the Athens route. This took us around to see many areas of interest. If I ever make it back to Athens, I would like to walk through the Plaka and a few of the museums.

About an hour or so into the ride, we made a sinking realization. The description of the tour wasn’t super clear and we didn’t realize until that point that the bus wasn’t going to take us back to the ship (we would need to go back to Acropolis and get back on green). My parents and Jen started to get a little nervous, so Emily, Megan, and I came up with a plan. While we did have enough time to get back to the ship before last call, we also had dinner reservations at Cagney’s and wanted to freshen up. We decided to call two taxis…. we put the older group in the first taxi, while the younger group got in the second.

Overall Thoughts

Here is the review I left on the tour website:

This was a convenient way to get on the Hop On Hop Off. The tour was standard for any HoHo buses, so no complaints there.

Cruisers… pay attention to the lines and the fact that only one of the lines actually takes you back to the cruise port. There aren’t very many “crossover” stops between the lines, so you have to be very strategic on your timing. We did have enough time to make it back to port in time, but had specialty dining reservations and decided to taxi back to be safe.

This still applies. The biggest downside was the issue with only one line going to the port. I’d also recommend price comparing with the cruise line and other websites. For some odd reason, I don’t have a note of how much we spent. In June 2025, it’s priced at $62 (currently discounted to $50).

Things I Might Do Instead If I Go Back to Athens:

Plaka – What I saw if it seemed fun with plenty to see and explore. I’d choose an excursion that included either a guided tour through it or free time.
Acropolis Tour & Museum – I’d want a guided tour of the Acropolis with time to visit the museum.
Museums – There are a lot of museums in Athens. I wouldn’t mind just exploring those!

Italy/Greece 2023 Trip Report (September 1 – 15, 2023)
– The Beginning (Vivi Alla Giornata!)
– The Planning Process (Rome)
– The Planning Process (Greece Ports)
– The Planning Process (Italy Ports)
– Flight Confusion
– Day 0: Leave for Rome (September 1, 2023)
– Day 1: Rome Arrival and City Tour (September 2, 2023)
– Day 2: Board the Breakaway (September 3, 2023)
– Day 3: Sea Day (September 4, 2023)
– Day 4: Santorini, Greece (September 5, 2023)
– Day 5: Athens (Piraeus), Greece (September 6, 2023)
– Day 6: Mykonos, Greece (September 7, 2023)
– Day 7: Olympia (Katakolon), Greece (September 8, 2023)
– Day 8: Valletta, Malta (September 9, 2023)
– Day 9: Messina (Sicily), Italy (September 10, 2023)
– Day 10: Naples, Italy (September 11, 2023)
– Day 11: Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy (September 12, 2023)
– Day 12: Disembark and Vatican City (September 13, 2023)
– Day 13: Rome (September 14, 2023)
– Day 14: Leaving Rome (September 15, 2023) and Some Final Thoughts