What it Cost to Travel: Athens, Aegina, plus a Greek Island Cruise

Athens: After the busyness of our Egypt Adventure we traveled to Athens, a city we’ve enjoyed spending time in before. We especially looked forward to eating Greek food.

There wasn’t anything on our To See or Do list, except wander, do laundry, eat and write the Egypt posts.

Still, 8 nights really wasn’t enough time.

Aegina: We decided to visit a Greek Island and Aegina is the closest one to Pireaus, only 17 nautical miles south of Pireaus. We ferried over for 2 nights and enjoyed it.

Some visit Aegina on a day trip, but there is enough to warrant a longer visit. Aegina Town was the capital of Greece from 1827 to 1829 and is a cute town with narrow alleys to wander and a wide harbour-front promenade.

We considered renting a scooter to explore. The island has beaches, trails, museums, and churches, as well as one of Greece’s oldest and most beautiful classical temples, The Temple of Aphaia, built about 490 BC. It served as a model for the Parthenon. On a clear day from atop the hill where it is situated, they say it is possible on a clear day to see the Temple of Poseidon at Sounio and the Athen’s Acropolis.

It’s early October and we’ve been enjoying lovely weather: sunny and not too hot nor too cold. Perfect for outdoor dining!

Our total expenses in Greece came to $1091.21 – on average $109.12 per day.

• Accommodation: $617.90 for 10 nights on average $61.79 per night.
• Food: $367.46 on average $36.75 per day.
• Transportation: $90.31 includes $33.86 for the Metro from the airport, $2.54 for the Metro to the port at Pireaus and $53.91 round-trip ferry tickets between Pireaus and Aegina.
• Tips and Charity: $15.54 or $1.55 per day.

Accommodations:

Athens: Koukaki cosy apartment 5 minutes to metro, Booking.com, $434.71 for 8 nights equals $55.38 per night.

Aegina: Rastoni Hotel Aegina, Booking.com, $174.94 for 2 nights including breakfast equals $87.43 per night.

What We Ate in Greece

Cruise: We cruised on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas from Athens in an ocean view cabin to the Greek Islands of Mykonos, Zakynthos, and Corfu, and Chania, Crete and Kotor, Montenegro before disembarking in Ravenna, Italy.

The total came to $1603.13 for the two of us averaging $229 per day.

Cruise Accommodation and Food: $1323.54 equals $189.08 per day.

Cruise gratuities: $224 equals another $32 per day.

Miscellaneous Port Expenses: $55.59 includes $40 for transfers at Chania and Ravenna.

I really enjoyed the food – especially dinners in the Main Dining Room on the Enchantment of the Seas. Appetizers included Escargot, Shrimp Cocktails, soups, salads, and tarts. The main entrees were good sized portions. Some of my favorites were Osso Buco, Prime Rib, Grilled Jumbo Shrimp, Salmon, and Steak.