Athens Piraeus Cruise Port Disabled Access

Athens Piraeus Cruise Port
Disabled Access
www.sagetraveling.com/Accessible-Cruise-Ports-Athens-Piraeus-Greece

www.sagetraveling.com
Disabled cruise passengers who arrive in the
wheelchair accessible Piraeus cruise port have multiple options to travel
into Athens.
Some disabled and elderly visitors will be able to take public
transportation into the city, while electric wheelchair users and other
people who can not step onto a bus need to book private accessible
Athens transportation.

The vast majority of cruise passengers have the Acropolis and
Parthenon at the top of their list. Wheelchair access to the Acropolis is
possible via an elevator, although you may need to give advanced
notice to use it.

With a full day in port, Piraeus disabled cruise passengers will be able
to see many of Athens’ top attractions: the Acropolis, the
Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Acropolis Museum, the Plaka
neighborhood, and the National Archaeological Museum. Private
transportation and a tour guide is necessary to make the most of your
shore excursion in Athens.

I gave Piraeus cruise port a 3 Star Sage Accessibility Rating. While the
bus to reach the cruise terminal has a wheelchair ramp, the bus from
the cruise terminal to the train station does not have a ramp.
Consequently, I could not give it a higher rating like the ones I gave
to Istanbul cruise port, the Mykonos cruise port, and the
Naples cruise port.
Sage Travel Tip: Don’t miss the
National Archaeological Museum…
it’s one of the best museums for
ancient artifacts you’ll find
anywhere!

11 km (about 20 minutes) from the Piraeus cruise dock to central Athens

Getting from the Cruise Ship to the Cruise Terminal in a Wheelchair
When you disembark your cruise ship, you will be met by a port shuttle
to bring you to the cruise terminal. The shuttles are equipped with a
wheelchair ramp.
Your cruise ship will use one of the many Piraeus docks. You won’t know
which dock, and the route could be as long as 1.4 km…I was glad that
shuttle has a ramp!

1.4 km (0.9 mile) route from cruise ship to Athens cruise terminal

After getting off the shuttle bus, you will enter the cruise terminal
where you need to show your cruise card (your cruise line may still have
your passport and this substitutes for it). You can declare any goods that
you are bringing into the country (which is unlikely) then you will exit
the Cruise Terminal. The photos below show the door that you will exit.
Tour guides for private accessible Athens cruise excursions will meet you
here.

Disabled Travel from Piraeus to Athens by Bus #843 & Metro
When I visited Piraeus, I wanted to see if reaching Athens by accessible
public transportation was possible (after all, it’s my job!). Unfortunately,
there is no step-free accessible transportation option from Piraeus to
Athens. The details of the route are described below.

After you exit the cruise terminal, stay on sidewalk to the left (photo on
left shows the view you will have when you exit). Four door taxis
available at the cruise terminal (none with wheelchair ramps) which
may be enticing, but there are multiple reasons to book private
transportation. The photo on the right shows the accessible entrance
that you will use when returning to the cruise terminal.

After leaving the accessible Piraeus Cruise Terminal exit, you will go
along a flat smooth driveway with a fence on your left. The photo on the
right shows the view looking back towards the cruise terminal.
You will pass through a parking gate, and outside the gate one block ahead on
your right is the location of the ΤΕΛΩΝΕΙΟ bus stop. You need to cross the
street to get to the public bus stop. The total distance from the Cruise Terminal
Exit to the bus stop is 350 meters.

350 meter (0.25 miles) accessible route from Piraeus cruise terminal to
bus stop.
Not sure if it was broken or just laziness on his part but two passengers helped
carry me onto the bus. It didn’t really matter because, as you’ll see below, the
bus returning from Athens did not have a wheelchair ramp at all.
The Bus #843 goes to the train
station. The bus had a
wheelchair ramp but the bus
driver said it “was impossible”
to extend the ramp.

1.5 km (0.9 miles) bus route
from Piraeus cruise terminal to
Athens Metro Line 1

To determine which bus stop to get off at to reach the accessible Piraeus
Metro, just look for the overhead pedestrian walkway shown in the
photo on the left. As soon as you go underneath it, get off on the next
stop. The pedestrian walkway has escalators and elevators at each end
of it. You won’t need to use the pedestrian walkway when arriving at the
Metro station (since the bus will drop you off on the same side of the
street as the Metro station), but you will need to use the pedestrian
walkway when you are returning to the cruise ship.

When you are heading to the Metro station from the pedestrian
walkway, the accessible entrance with a ramp is located on the left.
Photos of the accessible Piraeus Metro entrance are shown below.

Unfortunately, the ramp doesn’t lead into the ticket office. You’ll need
to send someone down the 6 steps to purchase the ticket (shown on the
left). The interior of the station is wheelchair friendly and is shown on
the right.
The Metro Line Number 1 takes you into Central Athens. The best station to
get off is the Monastiraki Station which is near the Ancient Agora.

There is a very small gap (less than 3 inches) between the platform and
the train. Wheelchair users should not have any problem with it. The
gap in Piraeus is shown on the left and the gap at Monastiraki is shown
on the right.

Athens Metro stations have no barriers for wheelchairs. When you get off
the train, look for a wheelchair sign pointing to the elevator. The elevator
will take you up to the ticket level where you will take a different elevator
to the surface.
The tour guide for your
private accessible Athens walking tour can
meet you in Monastiraki Square.

Disabled Travel from Piraeus to Athens by Bus #040
While the Metro takes only 20 minutes to get from Piraeus to Athens,
the Bus #040 is another alternative but it takes a little longer. The Bus
#040 stops at the same place as the #843 bus.

The bus was designed for a wheelchair user and has a space for a
wheelchair and a sign indicating that it is reserved for disabled
passengers (shown in the photo on the left). Unfortunately, the bus
does not have a wheelchair ramp on it. A photo take from the
wheelchair space back out the bus gives you a sense of the height to the
ground. It is about 0.5 meters (1.5 feet) from the ground.

The #040 bus can also be used to return from the Syntagma Square in
Athens. If you are standing in Syntagma Square with the Parliament
building behind you, walk/roll to the street in front of you and turn left.
Proceed a half block off of Syntagma square and the bus stop will be on
the right side of the street. There is not enough space for the bus to pull
up close to the curb.

Location of Bus#40 stop near Syntagma
Both group accessible Athens walking tours and
private accessible Athens walking tours start from Syntagma Square.

Call Us: 1-888-645-7920
We look forward to making your accessible dream vacation a reality!
Contact us at info@sagetraveling.com
www.sagetraveling.com/Accessible-Cruise-Ports-Athens-Piraeus-Greece

Athens Piraeus Cruise Port Disabled Access

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Athens Piraeus Cruise Port Disabled Access