The Temple of Poseidon at sunset
A Cape Sounion sunset tour from Athens takes you down the coast to the Temple of Poseidon for the end of the day. Three trips do it: a 5.5-hour half-day trip with a guide, a small-group tour with hotel pickup and a 4-hour sunset experience. Here is what each price covers and which one to book.
Quick answer
The short answer. For most people, the Cape Sounion sunset tour from Athens to book is the half-day trip at $31 per person: 5.5 hours, a live guide, about two hours at the temple and 10,222 reviews at 4.7. Want hotel pickup? The small-group tour at $40 per person picks you up in central Athens. Short on time? The 4-hour sunset experience costs $31 per person.
Side by side
The Cape Sounion tour from Athens price is per person on all three, before the temple ticket.
| Trip | Price | Length | What you get | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset half-day trip | $31 per person | 5.5 hours | Bus from Metaxourghio metro, a live guide, about 2 hours at the temple | 4.7 · 10,222 |
| Small-group tour | $40 per person | 5 hours | Pickup in central Athens, a local guide, a swim stop from May to October | 4.7 · 2,242 |
| Sunset experience | $31 per person | 4 hours | Start near Acropolis metro, time on your own inside the site | 4.5 · 1,949 |
The most-reviewed trip
Rated 4.7 from 10,222 reviews: a bus, a guide and time at the cape.
At $31 per person, the sunset half-day trip is the Cape Sounion sunset tour from Athens with by far the most reviews: 10,222, rated 4.7. You meet your guide outside Metaxourghio metro station, 8 minutes from Syntagma Square by metro, and ride to the cape by bus along the Athenian Riviera.
The guide covers the myths and history of the area on the way, and an English audio guide is included. At the cape you get about two hours on your own around the Temple of Poseidon, high above the Aegean.
The temple entrance, twenty euros per person, is not in the price. As a Temple of Poseidon sunset tour from Athens, it is the proven choice, and it shares the lowest price here with the sunset experience. See dates and times for the half-day trip.
At the cape
Two frames from the cliff top on a Cape Sounion sunset tour from Athens, two from a catamaran deck. The sky depends on the clouds; no listing promises the view.
The sun sinking toward the hills across the bay, a rock islet just below the cliff.
The sun touching the hilltop, with sailboats moored in the bay below.
The sun low over the water, seen past the rail of a catamaran.
A sailing catamaran in still water as the sky turns orange.
With hotel pickup
Pickup in the centre, a guide, and a beach stop in summer.
The small-group tour costs $40 per person and is rated 4.7 from 2,242 reviews. Pickup is included in central Athens: Syntagma, Plaka, Monastiraki and the Acropolis area. Hotels outside that zone get a meeting point near a central metro station.
The 5-hour tour follows the south coast of Attica, with a photo stop at Vouliagmeni Lake and a local guide. From May to October it adds a beach stop for a swim and a seaside lunch, paid separately. It is the day trip to Cape Sounion from Athens for anyone who would rather not hunt for a meeting point.
There is a morning version too, which makes it a Cape Sounion day trip from Athens; for the evening light on the temple, pick the sunset one. A private option is available, and only that option collects from the airport. See dates and times for the small-group tour.
Timing the sunset
Start times move with the sunset, so plan your Sounion sunset Athens day trip around them.
5 pm from 29 March, 6 pm from 1 June to 19 July, then 5 pm until 13 September.
4 pm from 14 September, 3 pm in late October, 2:30 pm from November, then 3 pm from 19 January and 4 pm from 23 February.
About 4 pm, or about 3 pm from November to March; the listing says the time shifts with the sunset.
No fixed hour on the listing: check the start times for your date.
Clouds are up to the day: treat the colour as a bonus.
The shorter evening
The shortest of the three, starting near Acropolis metro.
The sunset experience is the shortest Cape Sounion sunset tour from Athens on this page: 4 hours for $31 per person, rated 4.5 from 1,949 reviews. You meet at the operator’s office, a 3-minute walk from Acropolis metro station, 15 minutes before departure.
At the cape the temple stands 70 metres above the sea, and you get time on your own inside the archaeological site. The listing names a live English guide and an audio guide in the operator’s app, and the operator offsets the trip’s carbon emissions. It uses the Greek spelling, Sounio: a Cape Sounio day tour from Athens goes to the same temple.
The listing does not say whether the temple ticket is included, so budget twenty euros. For the shortest evening of the three, ending in the heart of the city, it is the Sounion tour from Athens to book. See dates and times for the sunset experience.
Before you book
Four things to know before you book any Cape Sounion sunset tour from Athens.
Twenty euros per person, say two listings; the third does not mention it, so budget for it.
EU citizens up to 25 and non-EU visitors up to 18 are exempt from the ticket, says one listing. Carry ID.
EU citizens 65 and over get a reduced ticket outside summer, says one listing; its October dates disagree, so expect the full price then.
Only the small-group tour collects you; the other two start near a metro station.
Our verdict
Book the sunset half-day trip. At $31 per person with 10,222 reviews, it is the Cape Sounion sunset tour from Athens with the most travellers behind it. Want pickup and a summer swim? The small-group tour at $40 per person is worth the extra. Short on time? Take the 4-hour sunset experience. Whichever you choose, carry twenty euros for the temple.
None of the three is an Athens Acropolis Cape Sounion tour: each covers the cape alone. Join a guided Acropolis tour in the morning, then take an afternoon departure south.
Acropolis tours→Book direct
Three ways to make the day trip to Sounion from Athens, each priced per person, plus a sunset catamaran.
★ 4.7 · 10,222 reviews
★ 4.7 · 2,242 reviews
★ 4.5 · 1,949 reviews
★ 5.0 · 174 reviews
Pair it with a boat trip
After the cliff top, see the Saronic Gulf from the water: the afternoon sunset catamaran sails from Alimos Marina for 4 hours with Greek food and wine, at $151 per person. Our top pick, the catamaran with a Greek barbecue cooked on board, costs $191 per person for 5 hours with two swim stops. Compare all ten in our list of catamaran cruises.
Common questions
The three trips here cost $31, $40 and $31 per person: the half-day trip, the small-group tour with pickup and the 4-hour sunset experience. Budget twenty euros more per person for the temple ticket.
Not on two of the three: the half-day trip and the small-group tour put it at twenty euros per person, paid separately. The sunset experience listing does not say. EU citizens up to 25 and non-EU visitors up to 18 are exempt, with ID.
It depends on the season: the sunset experience leaves between 2:30 pm in winter and 6 pm in early summer, the small-group tour at about 4 pm, or 3 pm from November to March. Check the half-day trip’s times for your date.
Only on the small-group tour, at $40 per person, in central Athens; hotels outside the centre get a meeting point near a metro station. The other two trips start near a metro station.
Between 4 and 5.5 hours. The sunset experience runs 4 hours, the small-group tour 5 and the half-day trip 5.5, with about two hours on your own at the temple.
Go deeper
Day cruises from Athens to Aegina, Agistri and Moni or Metopi compared: swim stops, lunch, length and price.
Hydra, Poros and Aegina cruiseThe one-day three-island cruise from Athens to Hydra, Poros and Aegina: time ashore on each island and what the price covers.
Private catamaransPrivate catamarans along the Athens Riviera and to Aegina: group size, hours, pickup and what each price covers.
Sunset catamaranThe afternoon and sunset catamaran sails from Alimos Marina: timing, food and price.
Acropolis toursGuided tours of the Acropolis, the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum compared: length, tickets and price.
Food toursAthens food walking tours compared: tastings, length and what each price covers.
Luxury Athens Catamaran Cruise with Greek Meal & Drinks
★ 5.0 · 395 reviews · 5 hours