Cape Sounion - holiday at the southernmost tip of Attica

Arrival

We flew with the airline Swiss from Zurich to Athens. As taxis are very cheap in Greece, we decided to take one to get to the hotel. When you get to the airport exit, turn left. You will see a queue of people who are waiting for a taxi, but it goes very quickly because there are a lot of taxis. The drive to Cape Sounion takes about 40 minutes and costs about EUR 60.

Our accommodation

We spend our holiday in the Grecotel Cape Sounio. At arrival at the hotel, we were heartly welcomed with a delicious welcome drink. In general, I can say that the hotel staff is very friendly.

A good tip from me is to download the Grecotel App from the App Store. You will find many useful tips for your stay. You can see the hotel map, all restaurants, what they serve and some more information about what could be explore or visited during your stay.

For our room we chose the Deluxe Bungalow with sea view. I liked the room very much because it was spacious, there was enough room, and the bathroom was good too. Honestly, I have to say I was surprised how well the shower worked. We also had air conditioning which is also very pleasant in warm temperatures.

Restaurants

Our hotel has several restaurants, and I would like to introduce these to you below.

Buffet Restaurant for Breakfast and Dinner: The breakfast was just awesome. The selection was unbelievably huge and everything is very nicely arranged. My daily highlight was a freshly prepared omelet. For dinner, I would not recommend the buffet restaurant. Sure, it is very tasty too, but there are a lot of people and to make the price worthwhile, you must eat a lot. For me, it’s not worth it, but everyone is different.

Aegean Grill – is the restaurant by the pool and only open until 18:00. For a small snack in the afternoon, I can highly recommend the restaurant. And be sure to try the specialty Dakos. Very tasty!

So Oriental – the Asian Fusion Dining. This was my favorite restaurant. We ate incredibly good there. The restaurant belongs on the to-do list.

The Restaurant - is the Mediterranean and Greek cuisine restaurant and it is very good too. It’s on the roof of the hotel and you have a great view.

Yali – the waterfront seafood restaurant. The location is directly on the beach and of course it is beautiful and it couldn’t be more romantic. But unfortunately, the food got cold very quickly because the hotel doesn’t have the kitchen directly on the beach and it had to be brought to us first.

I have another important tip for you. When you arrive, I would book the a la carte restaurants in advance or as soon as possible. They are booked up very quickly.

Beach

The hotel beach was just great. It had lots of sunbeds and plenty of space. There was always a decent distance to the next hotel guest. There is also no race for the best sunbeds, as every guest has their own sunbed. When visiting the beach for the first time, I would be there relatively early in the morning, then you can choose a sunbed and you will have it for the whole week. A parasol is also included.

The water is very clear and it is a sandy beach. The beach has two showers in case you don’t always want to cool off in the sea.

Athens

As we were only 67 km from Athens, we decided to do a day trip to the capital of Greece. The city has some great sights. In advance, the city is very hectic. Specially to get to the city by car. Therefore, I would like to introduce you to some points in the city that are a little quieter.

We walked directly in the direction of Plaka. Plaka is the oldest district of Athens. The pretty alleys of Plaka lie directly at the foot of the Acropolis. Pastel-coloured houses from the 18th century characterise the image of this quarter. This area of the city centre is traffic-calmed. At the end of Plaka there is a staircase with restaurants. Just seeing it gives you a holiday feeling.

Immediately afterwards you will reach the neighbourhood Anafiotika. When you are there, you completely forget that you are in the middle of a capital.

After visiting Plaka and Anafiotika you can finally go to the top of Athens and see the Acropolis. The walk to the top was a bit strenuous, but only due to the heat. I recommend going up there in the evening or later afternoon as it is known to be very crowded. 

I can also give you two culinary tips of Athens. If you like delicious gyros, go to Tylixto in the quarter Monastiraki. We got some for the road and they were just delicious.

There is also a great bar / restaurant which is located central but somewhat hidden. The bar called six d.o.g.s. After passing through an inconspicuous backyard, you are greeted by a green oasis of well-being. The atmosphere at six d.o.g.s. is unique and cosy. Chilled music plays and you sit on chic wooden furniture. In the evening, the bar is beautifully illuminated by the numerous light bulbs.

Temple of Poseidon

One of the most celebrated archaeological sites in Greece and one of the most important ancient temples in Attica located opposite the Grecotel Cape Sounio. It took us only 5 minutes by taxi from the hotel to the temple.

The temple of Poseidon in Sounion was a site where sailors could seek the favor of the sea god for a voyage. Above all, seafarers or entire city states brought animal sacrifices or offerings in order to please Poseidon or to thank him for a happy crossing.

Many people go up there to watch the sunset, but I recommend you go at least 1 hour earlier. We were almost alone, one hour later the place was full. So while many people walked up the hill, we took a seat in the restaurant Naos Café and ate our dinner. The restaurant offers classic Greek specialties.

Lavrio

Lavrio is a small harbor town about 9 km from the hotel. There is not much to see, but I would go again. The harbor is full of ships of all kinds. From very small sailing boats to huge yacht, Lavrio have them all.

There are countless restaurants at the harbor. When we were there, we first had the feeling that there were very few people outside. About 9 in the evening the life started and the streets filled up.

Which is also typical for Greece, we have seen a lot of wild cats. But they seemed to be doing well. Otherwise, I would probably have felt the need to take them home.

Public transport

The roads are generally in good condition, but the unpredictable behavior of many road users poses a considerable risk of accidents. There are only railway lines between the big cities and the buses do not run regularly so you must drive by taxi. Try to find out in advance, how much the trip should cost approximately. Even better, I noticed that it is better to let the taximeter run. We always travelled cheaper than when the taxi drivers gave us a flat rate.

Currency and means of payment

In Greece you pay in Euro (EUR). You can pay everywhere with credit cards. It is accepted as a means of payment in all shops, Restaurant or Hotels. If you’re driving by taxi, you’ll need some cash.

But it doesn't hurt to have some cash with you. Taxis and smaller shops sometimes do not accept credit cards.

Tip

Usually, the bill is rounded up. The tip of up to 10% of the amount is left on the table. The price is also rounded up in the taxi.

Language

Greek is the official language in Greece. In the popular resorts and on the large islands, tourists have no problems in terms of communication, as German and English are widely spoken. A Greek dictionary will be of little use, as it also depends on pronunciation and intonation to be understood correctly by the locals. However, anyone travelling by car in Greece should familiarize themselves with the Greek alphabet in order to be able to read the road signs.

Opening hours

Many restaurants do not open until 20:00. We noticed that many Greeks don’t eat dinner before 21:00. There is often not much going on before or the restaurant are even still closed.