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Acropolis Tour: Early Bird Access to Parthenon
4.9
26 Ratings
Athens
Join our Early Bird Acropolis Tour and beat the heat and crowds! Explore iconic monuments, enjoy panoramic views, and learn fascinating myths and historical facts.
Duration:
1 hour, 45 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Propylaea - The Propylaea serves as the entrance gate to the Acropolis, impressively framed by a marble structure that adds to the grandeur of this sacred monument. With the guidance of your expert tour guide, you’ll gain insight into how the Propylaea may have appeared in ancient times, allowing you to visualize the splendor and significance of this iconic gateway.
What's Included
- Earsets for clear audio from your guide
- Complimentary Athens map
- Guidance from a professional local licensed guide
- Free Athens Guide magazine with local tips
- Skip-the-line ticket service for faster access
What's Not Included
- Entrance fees (can be booked as an option at an additional cost)
- Gratuities
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off service
- Food and beverages
Additional Information
Embark on our Early Bird Acropolis Tour to stay ahead of the heat and the masses. Starting our journey from the primary entrance, we’ll make a beeline for the Parthenon and get a closer look at the well-known Caryatids at the Erechteion. With our certified guide offering intriguing stories and historical details about these legendary landmarks, relish the breathtaking 360-degree views of Athens. Afterwards, we’ll proceed towards the southern entrance and along the way, stop by the Asklepeion, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, and Dionysus Theatre to soak in more captivating visuals and learn deeper about the Acropolis’s rich past. Do note that despite our morning timings, the place can get busy and hot. While we offer a skip-the-ticket-line service, some wait time might be required for security checks due to the unpredictable number of visitors daily. The usual waiting time ranges between 0 to 10 or 30 minutes, though in some rare cases, it could be longer.
- Strict Acropolis entry times mean we can’t wait for latecomers. No refunds will be given.
- All visitors undergo airport-style security; expect peak season waits of up to 30+ minutes.
- Cutoff times sync with Athens local time.
- Tours run rain or shine.
- If you selected the WITHOUT ticket option it’s up to you to purchase your admission tickets from the official site—a simple but important task to ensure your spot on the tour. This means you’ll need to carefully choose the right date, time slot, and ticket category (for example, adults, students, etc.).
- The tour starts enters the Acropolis right after the start of the tour. (Book your Acropolis ticket independently It’s crucial to ensure your tickets’ entry time corresponds with our tour’s specific schedule. Pre-Purchase Tickets: To ensure your participation, you must purchase your tickets prior to booking our tour. This step confirms the availability for your chosen tour date and time.
- When entrance to the Acropolis is free, the cost of the entrance fee is already deducted from the tour price
Location
XPCF+G9
ACROPOLIS MAIN ENTRANCE
Our staff, holding the orange Athens Walking Tours sign, will be waiting for you at the main Acropolis Entrance, across the canteen. Please be at the meeting 15 minutes prior to tour departure time.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(26 Ratings)
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Cendall_c
Jul 22, 2024
Loved this tour! - A great tour, especially to beat the summer heat! Well organised, a great mix of free exploration and walking/listening to the guide. Never stood still for too long (very important for us as we travelled with a 4yo) and our guide (Adonis) gave us great recommendations for things to do after the tour (particularly the things to do before it got too hot!)
Very easy to find - we used the Uber app to drop us at ‘Acropolis - West Canteen’ and then walked up the little road to the hill and found the tour guides very easily.
Review provided by Viator
Annakk8069ui
Jul 15, 2024
The best way to see the monument- avoiding the crowds and the heat! - We went on the tour July 13, and Athens weather was swealtering! So glad that we got up early to be there first thing! It was a treat to see the monuments before it became crowded with lots of people (and before it became unbearably hot!). Our guide Niobe was also fantastic and made the history of the place come alive and made the visit even more worthwhile! Meeting the crowds as we made our way down the hill convinced us even more that it was really worth being up early for the tour! /Anna and Henrik
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katelynn_t
Jul 12, 2024
Worth it! - Best way to beat the crowds. We were one of the first groups to enter.
The tour guide Niabi was wonderful!
Review provided by Viator
Chris_l
Jul 10, 2024
Great way to beat the crowds! - What a great tour! Being among the first into the acropolis for the day meant not only beating the crowds, but the heat, too!
We were even given 20 minutes once on top of the hill, to explore and take photos (without a million people in the background) before the formal tour started.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave great insight we would not have otherwise had.
The tour ended within the gates so we could explore on our own.
Highly recommend !!
Review provided by Viator
Graeme
Jul 4, 2024
Fantastic tour of an amazing place - We had heard that the Acropolis in Athens gets very busy so we decided to book onto this early tour. It was worth setting the alarm clock even though we were on holiday!
What a great experience. Our guide Hermes really brought the history to life and was full of stories about the time, the people and their culture.
As we left the Acropolis, it was very busy snd we were so glad we took an early tour. Fully recommend this your tour to anyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary_g
Jun 22, 2024
Acropolis Tour - Excellent tour! I suggest the early morning tour to avoid the large crowds and heat! Our tour guide, Dimitris was very knowledgeable and shared some great stories. We enjoyed our tour very much! Highly recommend them.
Review provided by Viator
Marco_l
Jun 15, 2024
Best time to vistit the Acropolis with a great Guide - Extremely knowledgeable and friendly Guide. Its really the best time of the day the visit the Acropolis seeing the temperatures and crowds of visitors.
Review provided by Viator
Natalie_m
May 31, 2024
Acropolis in the morning - the best! - The early access skip-the-line tour of the Acropolis is the way to go. Our guide, Angeliki, was excellent. Our tour was in English, which she spoke clearly and was easily understood. Angeliki was a wealth of information and brought the magnificent views to life. Early access meant we were the first up the hill. By the time our tour was over, the area was very crowded.
Review provided by Viator
Arizonagirl57
Jun 4, 2024
GO EARLY with this tour! Especially since it is getting hotter now in Athens! - great tour mainly because we were the first ones in the gate and up the path to the Acropolis/Parthenon. Our guide was very knowledgeable and nice. She took her time and gave the group (not too big luckily) time to absorb everything. My husband and I ended up going in on a day where it was free admission to museums in Greece and we were told we'd get a refund of the ticket part of our portion but that has not
happened. Perhaps it still will?
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Navigate56039253256
Jun 9, 2024
Beware - This tour was advertised as though there wouldn't be many at the Acropolis because you would be going early in the morning. Actually, there were many groups and individuals entering at the same time and it didn't take long for the place to fill up.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
