We are from Washington DC area with three teenage boys. Took Athens insiders private tour , Yannis arrived at the right time and drove us to Delphi, 3 hours ride from Athens.
He kept us and the kids completely engaged with Athens' historical, political, economic, agriculture, and educational system. Yannis is very knowledgeable, funny, and friendly guy. Took a pit stop at a good place to grab food. Also stopped at a nice scenic spot for my Nikon D750.
On the way back stopped at an authentic Greek restaurant Kalpamis, great food. We loved the food.
Great trip. Highly recommend Yannis.
The Athens Insiders Tour I took with my family was the best tour I've ever been on. Not only was the tour itself fantastic and interesting, but our tour guide, George, was spectacular. George was extremely friendly, very knowledgeable, and intrinsically motivated to help my family have the best time possible. While we signed up for the food tour, our family decided last minuted that we wanted to see more history than food so George happily tailored our tour to what my family wanted. Even though my family was difficult at times, he was incredibly professional and it was clear that giving tours is something he loves doing---not just his work. By the end, George even stayed with my family for an hour longer than what we paid for to make sure that we could check off every box on our Athens bucket-list. If I return to Athens, my first stop will be to see George and go on one of his tours.
If you go on a tour with Athens Insiders, I STRONGLY recommend that you request George to be your tour guide. He will be the highlight of your trip like he was for ours.
I've visited 13 countries and our Athens Insiders tour was the best I've ever done. George was an extremely knowledgeable tour guide and I will personally recommend that each one of my friends take this same tour when they visit.
Our tour guide George made the experience. He knows so much about the city and gave us an amazingly local experience - and he even stayed with our family for an extra hour. Would give him 6 stars if I could!
Well over a year ago, my wife and I booked a small ship based expedition that began in Athens and took us up the coast to Croatia. Has this trip had minimal time in Greece’s capital city, we opted to arrive a day early and choose “Athens Insider” as the provider of a “private” guide that would show us Athens in a manner than what one would experience in a large group.
My initial positive impression of the organization was driven by its web site. More specifically I was very impressed with their interactive online form that begins the process of one’s tour. Very intuitive, this forms requests one’s desires in a wide array of interests and available time. It is from the output of this form that Athens Insider created an initial travel plan for us and then, based on an exchange of emails, massages the plan to get just the right mixture of activities. There were several exchanges between us as our travel date neared with confirmation that our guide would meet us in the lobby of our Athens’ hotel.
On the appointed day, we were downstairs to meet our guide but our guide never showed. A phone call to Athens Insider but a number of wheels in motion…it was clear they owned the situation and were extremely apologetic. They were not able to locate our guide but did arrange for another, very good guide (Yannis) who was able to join us at ten rather than the original time of eight. Athens Insider offered to extend our time into the evening but we were unable to do so because of prior commitments. They also refunded us funds associated with the time we missed because of a no show employee.
Long story short, I would not hesitate to recommend Athens Insider to another traveler. This recommendation is based on…
- Their ease of setting up the tour and adjusting to our desires and not their wants
- Their ownership of the issue when our guide failed to show…no excuses, they simply set to work to find a replacement
- Continuing with the ownership theme, their willingness to compensate for time lost
- The professionalism and knowledge of their guide Yannis who found himself “on deck” at the last minute
It truly is refreshing to find an organization that is focused on the customer…in any line of work. It was clear to me that that Athens Insider worked to provide us a quality experience and when that was jeopardized, they worked to make it right. Many could take a lesson from their efforts and their results!
We had an Athens Insider driver & guide for our full day tour. Both were very knowledgeable. Both knew how to 'hit the highlights, but keep us moving through the day. Also they arranged a beautiful lunch near the Acropolis with great food...
Highly recommend them for your tours in Athens!
