Bus Tours
1–2 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
£18
per adult
Big Bus Tours Athens
Big Bus Tours Athens
3.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Full view
About
Explore Athens on a hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tour by open-top double-decker bus and enjoy access to three routes covering all the city’s top sights and attractions. Marvel at ancient Greek landmarks including the Acropolis, Parthenon and Panathenaic Stadium
Tours and Tickets by Big Bus Tours Athens
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Bus Tours
50 minutes
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
£13
per adult
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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3.5
447 reviews
Excellent
151
Very good
101
Average
54
Poor
59
Terrible
83
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Jo_and_Tom
Anna, OH2,049 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
We have used Grayline tours in past to get general information and location of sites which we may want to visit. Unfortunately we had been in Athens for several days, with tours around town and outside of town so we didn't get chance to use Grayline until last day. We booked with our Hotel Achilleas for two days minimum 44 euros for us.and headed to bus stop. We boarded but were not given a head set which would have been useful. It was March and got rather chilly sitting on top. The map we were given helped but the bus didn't stop or guy buy sites in order. We went from number 10 to 14, then 13 etc. I am not saying bus isn't the way for general overview rather it was confusing with only map and no head set.
Written 30 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nick M
Haversham, UK545 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
We were stopping in a five star hotel, went to the concierge and were given brochures for both companies (red and yellow). The concierge said there was nothing between the two companies and helped us by directing us to the nearest bus stop. (A2 opposite Hadrian's Arch). When we arrived we started talking to the Yellow bus rep. Who was charming, friendly and helpful. Within a minute we were approached by the red sales representative who had a major problem. She interrupted was rude, abrupt and she harassed my wife to the point of tears. I had to tell her to keep away. She ranted about the hotel not liking her and offered us all sorts of incentives to go with her. We could not keep her away. She threatened to phone the Police and we told her to. so she did. They arrived and basically ignored her by talking to the bus driver. We have never seen such behaviour and cannot compliment the yellow sales rep enough for her attitude in trying to manage the situation. The yellow tour was excellent and the people knowledgeable and friendly. We would not have got on the red bus if it had been free!
Written 16 April 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thomasito
Chicago, IL147 contributions
Instead of our Cruise Tour (Costa Luminosa) we decided to follow TripAdvisor recommendation and book local service. We paid €15 per adult, both kids (12 & 8) went free. 3 bus tour companies offered their services 150 meters away from the cruise exit. This was the cheapest offer. We only used the transfer to Akropolis and back. They offer much more but we had not enough time to try the others. My recommendation: ask and compare price and pick the cheapest. A competitor at this place asked for €20 per adult and additional €5 per kid...
Written 10 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VladBucharest
Bucharest, Romania42 contributions
Sept 2022 • Friends
Stay away from this bus....the worst organised hop on hop off!
I waited for almost an hour the bus at tge Acropolis station....the lady selling tickets there kept telling that the bus will arrive in 5 minutes and it was close to an hour.
The red line runs smoothly with a lot of buses coming and going.
They wasted my time as a tourist in Athens!
Don't use this line!!!!
I waited for almost an hour the bus at tge Acropolis station....the lady selling tickets there kept telling that the bus will arrive in 5 minutes and it was close to an hour.
The red line runs smoothly with a lot of buses coming and going.
They wasted my time as a tourist in Athens!
Don't use this line!!!!
Written 20 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kevin W
1 contribution
Jun 2024 • Family
Terrible experience. Purchased through one of the sponsored links via Turbo pass. The Parthenon pass didn't work on the date we believed we had booked for some had to go to the other sites and lost most of the first morning.
The bus stops are poorly marked and with multiple different bus lines it's difficult to tell what bus you should even get on. We ended up taking a taxi back from Monastiraki Square instead of waiting for a bus that didn't seem to be showing up.
If you have the time an patience to catch the bus at it's start point at the designated your starts, it may be a worthwhile pass. The live bus app also isn't available on newer Android and crashes on an updated iPhone. Live chat sent us to the website which is buggy and doesn't provide an ideal realtime location, or any idea how to tell which bus is which on the map.
It may cost more to buy tickets separately, but it'll save you some stress. The biggest selling point was the combined tickets and ideally being able to catch the busses more frequently to get around. I couldn't even tell you how to get between the different routes if you miss the acropolis starting point and the limited routes that run Piraeus and Riviera.
So, if you are planning this out weeks in advance, or know Athens well already - it may work out okay for you. If you're trying to add this in ad-hoc to your city adventure after you've already arrived, you're in for a challenge.
The bus stops are poorly marked and with multiple different bus lines it's difficult to tell what bus you should even get on. We ended up taking a taxi back from Monastiraki Square instead of waiting for a bus that didn't seem to be showing up.
If you have the time an patience to catch the bus at it's start point at the designated your starts, it may be a worthwhile pass. The live bus app also isn't available on newer Android and crashes on an updated iPhone. Live chat sent us to the website which is buggy and doesn't provide an ideal realtime location, or any idea how to tell which bus is which on the map.
It may cost more to buy tickets separately, but it'll save you some stress. The biggest selling point was the combined tickets and ideally being able to catch the busses more frequently to get around. I couldn't even tell you how to get between the different routes if you miss the acropolis starting point and the limited routes that run Piraeus and Riviera.
So, if you are planning this out weeks in advance, or know Athens well already - it may work out okay for you. If you're trying to add this in ad-hoc to your city adventure after you've already arrived, you're in for a challenge.
Written 24 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elmira D
4 contributions
Jun 2024 • Friends
There were 4 of us women and we paid €25 per person to see all 4 areas of the Grayline. We first took the bus towards the beach... And that was it. When we waited at the bus stop in Edem for the next bus, no bus came. We stood there for 1.5 hours. We even wrote an email. The answer was that the bus was 10 minutes late, so supposedly at 3.20pm! We wrote the email at 3.45pm and had already been standing there for over an hour. No bus in sight! Then we got tickets and took the tram back. By chance we saw the seller and complained, he said we should contact the company. We did that again, no response! Instead of €1.20 (tram ticket for the return journey 12 stops), we paid €25 per person to get to the beach! What a cheek! That was very annoying, as we were only there for 4 days and had planned the days beforehand with great joy. Don't go! The times are bad and the buses just don't come. And you'll never see the money again! We were dropped off and thought it was the red bus hop-on... Wrong thought
Written 7 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beril C
3 contributions
Nov 2023 • Family
We bought the tickets without much research. The price was more affordable. The seller also gave an extra discount. But the flights end before the others. We didn't pay much attention to it. The most annoying part is that the Turkish narration is very bad. They gave a young girl a text full of errors, and she read it hastily and soullessly. They made mistakes while reading and didn't even bother to correct them. The words are used incorrectly. You suffer while listening. They put it in Turkish just for the sake of it. It also has an app, but it closes when you want to see the real-time movement of buses.
Written 17 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lois M
Tauranga, New Zealand2 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
The map provided is tiny so hard to read. It is also misleading as the numbers on the listed sites are not the same as numbers on the map. Bus stops have no English. The only site we saw was the Acropolis. We wanted to go to the Temple of Zeus. It was listed as no 5 on the Athens line list, but on the map it was no 7. We looked at bus stops for either a 5 or a 7 or a sign we could read. No luck. Often the bus stop sign was obscured by other buses. The driver announced something at each stop but could not be understood. We got off twice to ask attendants who were unhelpful. One said get off at bus stop 2. That turned out to be a museum. After wasting 2+hours we gave up and went back to the ship. We never got to use the unlimited attraction pass. We saw little more than endless rows of tenement buildings.
Written 8 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ulrike
Cavallino-Treporti, Italy1 contribution
Nov 2023 • Couples
In Athens it may be OK. I can't judge that, as we did the tours to Piraeus and Beaches. So the rating is based on that. But if you want to go to Piraeus or the beach, you should choose public transport. Athens Open Tours has a bus for each. And it takes a while for it to do the round trip. Officially 80 minutes for the Piraeus tour and 100 minutes for the beach tour. Plus traffic, which nobody mentions. So you just wait again. Plus some buses don't run. Really cool, they don't necessarily stop either. It happens too!! So you wait another 80 to 100 minutes.
The audio guide: on the tours mentioned there is a lot of Greek traditional music and little information. The music gets annoying very quickly.
Conclusion: save money and use public transport. They run much more often.
The audio guide: on the tours mentioned there is a lot of Greek traditional music and little information. The music gets annoying very quickly.
Conclusion: save money and use public transport. They run much more often.
Written 3 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Robert
5 contributions
Oct 2024 • Friends
Bigbus has less busses than the others main course is ok but the Beach it's only every 2 hours , other every hour. Personally I'll skip this one and take one that are frequently go. It seems the red lines drove more frequently
Written 3 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Robert, Big Bus Tours here!
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your honest feedback, and we're sorry to hear that you felt the buses were not frequent enough.
I will gladly share your feedback to our local team to ensure that we improve in the future.
Wish you an amazing day ahead!
Best regards,
Eugen
Big Bus Tours Customer Care Team
Written 6 October 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
It Was very nice tour thank you but May i learn your musics names thanks again
Written 7 November 2016
We will be arriving on Ncl on Nov 25, 2016 which routes are available at this time? Are they run at a full schedule?
Written 22 October 2016
MarinakisSA
Athens, Greece
Dear Mrs Carol,
Greetings from Athens!
Regarding your question, we kindly inform you that all our tours run all year round and from 15th November we operate the winter schedule. Since you arrive by NCL cruise, we will have extra departures every 30 minutes from the cruise ship port for the cruise ship passengers.
We hope you enjoy our tours & we remain at your disposal for any clarifications.
Written 24 October 2016
we are a family of six that will be on a cruise stop in athens in july. we are weighing whether to take ho-ho bus city tour or just take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the acropolis then return by taxi from the acropolis to the ship. i read somewhere that the city center is pedestrianized and the sights easily accesible by walking (for the ablebodied members of our family. what would be your advise. thank you in advance for your help.
Written 23 June 2015
MarinakisSA
Athens, Greece
Dear Sir/Madam,
Greetings from Athens!
Regarding your question, I kindly inform you that the ho-ho open bus is the perfect choice for you and your family to get in touch with our civilization, history and architecture and combines pleasure & education with the audio commentary on board. Our tourist-friendly city tours cover all major sights & attractions and many of our bus stops are connected with pedestrianized streets and especially at the area of Acropolis and Parthenon which is full of archaeological sites, souvenir shops and restaurants of all types.
Thank you for your interest in our company and we hope you enjoy our tours.
We remain at your disposal for any further information you may need.
With regards,
Athens Open Tour Team
Written 29 June 2015
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