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Agence France-Presse

Bloomberg

The Acropolis in Athens, one of the world’s most visited ancient monuments, has begun offering private visits for €5,000 (US$5,400), setting off protests from the site’s guards.
Meanwhile, Greece’s other main draw – its many Mediterranean islands – are becoming more accessible this summer, with the nation’s first helicopter airline offering scheduled flights, Hoper, taking to the air.
According to the official website of the culture ministry unit that manages the hilltop Acropolis, the new group visits will be held outside normal opening hours and be limited to a maximum of five people each.
Normal visits cost €20, or €30 for a combined ticket giving access to other sites.

Up to four Acropolis Experience group visits can take place at a time, beginning at 7am or 8pm on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
According to Greek media, the first such private visit took place on June 29, and involved a Russian couple and their private guide.
We can understand that there is a financial need behind this measure, but it could have been organised differently
Georgia Kondyli
On July 2, the site was offering unguided private visits starting on July 12 and with guides starting on August 2. The site says tours can be conducted in English, French, German, Greek, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish.
The programme set off controversy when it was announced last year, and the union that represents guards at archaeology sites said it opposes these private visits that bypass the usual official guides.
The union had not been “given any information about how these visits are organised”, said the union’s president Georgia Kondyli.
“We can understand that there is a financial need behind this measure, but it could have been organised differently,” Kondyli added.

Ranked as a Unesco World Heritage site and built in the fifth century BC, the Acropolis has attracted ever growing number of tourists, driven in part by cruise ship passengers.
The site includes the celebrated Parthenon temple, built to honour Athena, the Greek capital’s patron goddess.
It received a record four million of Greece’s total 33 million visitors last year, with up to 23,000 a day during the summer, forcing the organisation that manages the country’s historic sites to institute timed visits.

The rise in visitors came even as the Acropolis closed for several days during a severe July heatwave.
Greece’s centre-right government has been accused of trying to introduce more private management into the country’s museums and antique sites, which brought in more than €120 million to the state coffers in 2022.
For those wishing to make a quick exit to the islands, Hoper is now selling tickets to 11 destinations, including harder-to-reach spots such as Antiparos, Folegandros, Ios, Kea, Patmos, Sifnos and Spetses. All connect to either Athens, Santorini or Mykonos, which serve as the carrier’s hubs.

Fares start at €160 per one-way ticket, but they will often climb higher based on demand.
On the airline’s website, a 42-minute helicopter flight in August from Athens to the beautifully rugged island of Tinos currently costs €380. A ferry journey from Athens on the same date can take about four hours and cost €35.
With few islands benefiting from international airport access, ferries are practically a requisite for exploring the country’s most scenic summer spots; most passengers embark at Athens’ main port, Piraeus.
The main benefit to this alternative is the reduced transit time – the fastest ferry to Santorini from Athens takes more than four hours, versus one hour by helicopter.
“We turn hours into minutes,” Demitris Memos, chief executive officer of Hoper, said in a press release. “Travellers earn up to a full day of vacation.”

Luxury hotels such as the newly opened One&Only Kéa Island do offer helicopter transfers for their guests, at an additional cost, and time-strapped travellers have always had the option of booking helicopters via private charters. Hoper’s flights, by contrast, are scheduled – not operated on demand – so they are far less expensive.
A private charter from Athens to Mykonos can run to €2,775 for a single seat in high season. For a family of four flying with Hoper, it is roughly €1,490 at similarly peak-demand times.
The country’s tourism minister, Olga Kefalogianni, describes the service as a “unique step” for Greek tourism. But a ferry might still be a more convenient option; Hoper is going to Mykonos from Athens only three times a week in August, for example, and there are generally four daily ferries in high season from the capital.
Hoper’s flights depart from Koropi, a 10-minute drive from Athens International Airport, which is more conveniently situated than the ferry port, which is some 50 minutes from the airport.
The fleet consists of five Robinson R44 and R66 helicopters, each with three or four passenger seats and cockpits with panoramic windows.


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Frustrated by tourists photobombing your Acropolis photos? Greece is now offering tourists private visits – at US$5,400 for up to five people. Meanwhile, helicopter flights to Greek islands have just got cheaper with the launch of airline Hoper. Photo: Reuters

Tourists take photos of the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Private group visits will be held outside normal opening hours. Photo: Bloomberg

Helicopter airline Hoper’s scheduled flights to various Greek islands, some hard to reach, are a much faster option than ferries. Photo: Hoper

Manganari beach on Ios, one of the islands served by helicopter airline Hoper’s flights. Photo: Shutterstock

The island of Spetses, now reachable by scheduled helicopter service as well as ferry. With few islands having airports, ferries have until now been practically a requisite for exploring the country’s most scenic spots. Photo: Getty Images

Hoper is now selling tickets to 11 destinations, including Folegandros, an island between Paros and Santorini. Photo: Getty Images

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Travel & Leisure

Private visits to the Acropolis in Athens are now available for US$5,400, as are scheduled helicopter flights to Greek Mediterranean islands


Frustrated by tourists photobombing your Acropolis shots? Have a private visit – yours for US$5,400 for up to five people. In a hurry to reach your dream Greek island? A helicopter airline can help.


Greece

Aviation

Luxury travel