Greece Travel: Traveler's Reviews
George the Famous Taxi Driver
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If I was held at gunpoint and told I had to to take every business off my site except for one, the one service I would keep would be George Kokkotos, knoan far and wide as George the Famous Taxi Driver of Greece.
In my opinion George provides the best and most personalized service of anyone in Greece. I first met him at the
airport. We stood on line at the taxi stand and by chance he was our driver. At first we spoke to him in Greek
but when he began answering us in excellent English we asked his story. He had just moved to Greece from New York
where he had his own restaurant and drove a Good Humor ice-cream truck in the summer. He also had experience as
a machinist and was planning to do that part time while living off the money he made off the sale of his restaurant.
But Greece had become expensive and there were no jobs for machinists. So he was driving a taxi. It was a VW Jetta.
I think I had heard an Anthony Robbins infomercial the night before leaving the USA and I gave George a little
speech about how if he had to be a taxi driver then he should make himself the best taxi driver in Greece. He took
us to our hotel and we took his card to give to Andrea's aunts for their yearly trip to the Health spas at Edipsos.
A couple weeks later I was approached by some guy who wanted me to see his bar. He spoke English, had relatives
in Chicago and everything, but it seemed like visiting his bar might not be a good idea so I declined and continued
on my way. A half a block later someone was calling in English "Excuse me...hey...excuse me..." and of
course I figured it was this bar owner still trying to convince me, so I ignored him. Then I heard him say "Mr
Barrett!" and I knew I had not given the guy my name so I turned around. It was George. He was dressed up
and had a big brand new Toyota parked on the corner. He had taken my advice and was on his way to becomming
the best taxi driver in Greece. 15 years later and there is no doubt about it. I have heard of people crying
at the airport when they said goodbye to George. His trips are wonderful and packed with fun and adventure, and
there is no better feeling when you are getting off a ferry in Pireaus with hundreds of other people and you see
only three taxis but you know one of them is George and he is waiting for you. Mr. Barrett, My wife and I just returned from a week in the Greek islands plus a I give you, George and his team, full credit for making our trip to Athens Please feel free to use me as a reference for George and your Survival With best wishes, many thanks, and if you would, please forward this to Henry S. Reeder George, Hello there. George’s Famous Taxi Service My wife and I took George’s 5 Day Argolis Tour. Our experience was simply superb… a true 5 star adventure. From the moment we met George at our Athens hotel to the moment we part with hugs at the Athens airport five days later, it was a time of becoming friends and having a most memorable experience of ancient sites and related museums. George is so very engaging, both personally and professionally. His main concern was our enjoyment and discovery of Greece’s rich heritage. He would take us to a site and then allow us to spend as much time as we wanted exploring. In Olympia, we were getting a little tired and were going to skip the main museum, but George strongly urged us to visit the museum saying that we would regret it if we didn’t… and, was he ever correct!!! So, from then on we followed his guidance very closely. After the day of touring, we would get settled in our hotel and would have the rest of the evening to ourselves… George certainly respected our privacy. The hotels he reserved for us were within our price range and were very comfortable with great view especially Hotel Europa in Olympia and Hotel Varanos in Delphi. Ancient Greece: Corinth, Mycenae, Epidavros, Olympia, Delphi, Meteora, Thermopylae and more made their lasting impression, and we now carry these treasures with us. However, the best treasure of all is to have shared these 5 splendid days with George… his fame is well deserved. I suppose that is why there was sadness when we shared hugs at the Athens airport. Many, many “Thank You’s” George!! Dear Mr. Barrett, Hello Matt,
After extensive research and planning on the web for about six months, my companion and I (recently retired) completed an extended European adventure, June 21-July 16, 2012, which included an Oceania cruise, from Barcelona to Athens, a taxi tour of the Peloponnese Peninsula, flight from Athens to Milan, train to Grenoble, France and by rental car from France through Switzerland and to Munich( for flight back to LAX). We had a truly wonderful trip, without mishap, and a major highlight was the Peloponnese Peninsula tour for 4 days with Makis Kourtis of George's Taxi Tours. He was a terrific guide, driver, conversationalist and now we consider him a friend. Our every need was met and when we requested something different than the original plan, he made it so! He said "take your time, I will wait as long as it takes, it's your vacation". He even got our laundry done overnight in Gythios! We had great, family owned, hotel stays, which were reasonable in cost and lovely meals in small tavernas, as requested. We saw awesome scenery and ancient ruins, had history lessons from Makis, both recent and distant past, learned some Greek and met wonderful people at "off the beaten path" stops. We visited the Diros Caves and went to a beautiful beach in Messina. The side trip to the Mercouri Winery, near Olympia, was another spur of the moment highlight. The Europa Hotel in Olympia was particularly splendid, beautiful pool and their restaurant on the lawn had wonderful food and the prices were reasonable! I will eagerly recommend this tour service to anyone who wants a worry free, economical and personal tour of Greece. Thank you, Matt, for the recommendation and the posted reviews, which I did read, before making my decision to use George's Taxi Tours.
Sincerely, Patti Reese & Rich Varela Anaheim, CA PS:
You may of course use all or any part of this correspondence on your
web site review. If you would like a more in depth review of the places
we visited in the Southern Peloponnese, I would be happy to give it a
go. Frommer's only mentions the Northern Peloponnese in their travel Europe book!
H i Matt My wife and I want to thank you for providing such great information on Greece AND for telling us about "George Kokkotos". We just spent five wonderful days with him in May (07). He picked us up right on time from Princess Cruises, "wowed" us with Athens, delivered us to great places like Corinth-Mycenae, Epidaurus, Nafplion (really loved this), Olympia, Delphi, and more. He arranged our excellent "colorful" hotels and impressed us with his choice of unique restaurants, and finally delivered us to the airport at 5am so we could catch an early flight. We put our complete trust in George and he made this trip PERFECT! Always on time, very informed, funny with his jokes, and assisting with every request we made. He is a hard worker and I can see why you list him on your website. He was so great we are going back to tour the north of Greece with him next year. My only question: How do you do all this for free? Regards Gary & Claudette Worthington PS: Feel free to use this in your "testimonials" if you wish. Mr. Barett,
In early October 2011 my husband
and I had the great pleasure of taking an all-day tour to Marathon and
Sunion with George Kokkotos, the owner of V.I.P Taxi – Limo – Bus
Service. We learned about George from highly positive reviews written
online by satisfied customers, and we found those reviews to be
completely accurate. When George picked us up at our hotel, we were
impressed to meet a professionally dressed, neatly groomed driver whose
taxi was clean and spotless. More importantly, it quickly became
apparent that George isn’t in this business simply to make money. He
genuinely likes people, is a great conversationalist, and clearly wants
his customers to enjoy their outing with him. We thought that we were
only going to go to Marathon and Sunion, but George stopped at several
interesting places in Athens as we left town, places that we had missed
last year on our first trip to Athens, including the site of Aristotle’s
Lyceum and several places that offered breathtaking panoramas of the
city. He took us to a beautiful beach with good restaurants at lunch
time, and because we told him how interested we were in the ancient
history of Greece, he surprised and delighted us on the way home by
stopping to show us a model of a trireme used in the battle of Salamis.
As soon as I mentioned that I was learning Greek, George began to tell
me the etymology of Greek words and names, starting with the fact that
Marathon comes from a Greek word meaning “fennel”, a plant which grows
abundantly in the region we visited. After just a short time with
George, it felt as if we had known him for years. The day we spent with
him was one of the highlights of our recent visit to Greece, and we
certainly won’t forget it or George. In fact, we learned that George
also takes people on extended trips, and we’d love to visit other parts
of Greece with him. We can’t recommend him highly enough.
Kathy Roig
Santa Barbara, California
Dear George, We wanted to write to you to tell you thank you so much for your taxi services! You and your crew were wonderful. We met the "other" George and think he is wonderful. He said to write you if we wanted to book a boat cruise with you next year in June. How much would it be if we had four of us on a boat with a captain? We are thinking for two weeks next June and of course we would want you for meeting us in Athens and taking us to the boat! You are the best and we will tell everyone about you! Thanks for everything...Ron and Anneke Schieberl Hi Matt, Well, our whirlwind tour of the Mediterranean ended on the 14th. I came back George was everything you'd said he would be, and MORE! He was right there George took us to this great little Greek taverna on the road to the Temple All in all, it was a delightful day. The women will never stop talking about Thanks again, Rick Holmes We just recently returned from our Greece/Turkey trip. One of the best things we did in advance was to "book" George ("The Famous Taxi Driver"). He certainly made our short visit to Athens everything it could possibly be in two short days. We never could have seen so much with a large group tour. He had all the Guide Books and let us take them to our hotel room over night so we could prepare in advance for the following day's trip. All his suggestions on where to go and what to see were perfect. His suggestions for small countryside restaurants were so unique, local and inexpensive. I highly recommend George as a trustworthy, knowledgeable and (very important) nonsmoking, taxi driver guide. Thanks for making a great trip even better! Renee Latty, Colorado, USA I also took your advice and contacted George Kokkotos. He arranged all of our transfers, and if he was not available, he sent another driver equally professional, English speaking, non-smoking, with an immaculate Mercedes. I totally agree that the extra few Euros you pay are worth it. We also took a private full day with George to Delphi. This may have been my husband's favorite day in Greece. George
gave us a
comprehensive introduction to Greece, the language and its history, as he showed us the countryside, a monastery, the ruins at Delphi, and took us to a wonderful little restaurant. Since this was our second day, it really set the stage for an enjoyable vacation. Now that we have returned home, we feel like we have a family friend in Greece. The “best” thing I have ever found on the internet was Matt Barrett’s website and “George the Famous Taxi Driver”. My wife, daughter and I spent a week from March 26 - April 2, 2006, in Greece with George’s son Billy as a guide. It was more like traveling with a nephew than a hired taxi driver. Billy was very personable, polite and went above and beyond the call of duty to make our week pleasurable. We not only learned about the ancient sites but about life in Greece today. Billy was very candid with answers to any and all questions about him, his family and Greek culture. It was the best of our 4 European vacations and in my opinion the only way to see Greece. We met George while in Delphi and George was there to say goodbye after the changing of the guard on Sunday. George, you and your family are the best and we'll recommend your services to all. Dale W. Dear Matt, I found your site only upon the last minute change of the Seabourn Spirit`s final port. What you supplied was wonderful and can help all who travel! Yor are to be commended for such a thorough newsletter. My wife and I have traveled to all the continents in the last four years and are fortunate at our age to know more about travel than most. Your supply of information was excellent for this independent traveler. One of the best finds is George Kokkotos. He and his son, Dennis, were excellent and I thank you for planting the seed that makes him what he is today. I would like to help those who see your site to and want to visit Athens to know about George. What can I do to spread the word and help his exposure in this time when few travel? Ken Dr. Ken E. Edwards III My family and I went to Greece for the first time this summer. I Hi Matt for your swift reply. I was wanting to send your websight to a friend so they can contact you for information on there next vacation. I never did tell you thank you but this seems as good a time as ever as my mom always said better late than never...... My son,dad and I arrived in Athens dec 18 2004. We were greeted at the airport by George co worker(John) and what a pleasure he was. It was about 2am. We almost felt like we were coming home with having someone there to meet us. He spoke very clear english and knew just how to get to the Cecil Hotel. The streets were full of Christmas lights and when he told us to take note of the deserted streets for the next day would be full of life. We had a very confortable nite and were up the next day greeted by George himself and taken on a private tour of Athens one we will never forget.... We were in Athens for three days then rented a car and drove to Patra(TimeShare) then found our way to Olympia, Kalamata, and to Pylos finding the family we were in search of in Meshori. By the end of our stay we found our way to Delfoi, all the way to Sounio. Eight days we will never ever forget..... With your help we started our venture with great ease..George helped guide my son to feel comfortable in his driving thru the country. I really appreciate all his advise. Hope to return in the summer to see new sights. I will be in touch and share your websight to my friends. Thank You Glenna Matt, Before we departed Virginia, I came across your home page searching the Jack Sabia Dear Mr. Barrett, I just read Albert Harris' posted letter to you praising George the Famous Taxi Driver. I can only say, that I wish I had written it. We spent one day in Athens last year while on a cruise. It was amazing what we were able to see in one day, with George as our driver. I had read about George on your web site, and from there was able to follow the link to George's web page. I too, like Albert Harris, had been hesitant about putting our only day in Athens in the hands of a taxi driver. It was the best decision we could have made. George was there waiting for us as we left our ship at 7:35AM in the morning. He made sure that we were back on board, long before our ship sailed. With George, we saw much more than what all the tours promised, and we never felt rushed. We too, now feel like George is a friend. We will be taking another cruise of the Mediterranean this year, with our daughter and son-in-law. Yes, we will be spending another day with George. Our daughter is a classics scholar, and this will be her first visit to Greece. As we will, again, have only one day in Athens, I wouldn't consider trusting anyone but George with this precious day. Thank you so much for recommending George on your web site. Vicki Trenten Dear George, I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get this thank to
you, but we came home to our daughter in the hospital with her pregnancy for 6
weeks during which I've been there taking care of my grndsons. Good news is -
we have a new one and he's healthy!
Please feel free to use any of my comments on your website. I have already
posted info on tripadvisor.com and aol.
We were delighted with all your services from transfers to tours! The tour
with Kristos to Mycenae, Corinth, and Epidaurus was so comfortable, and the
video on the dash board to prepare us for our visits was real bonus! We cannot
say enough good things about your son Billy who took us on a tour of Delphi and
Meteoras. He is extremely knowledgeable, very thoughtful, and fun to be with!
We were introduced to some areas and aspects of Greece we would have never seen
without his guidance.You take such good care of your clients, too, even calling
ahead to tell Billy to take us to a new restaurant you had just discovered. We
left Greece with such wonderful memories of the country and its people, in large
part because our experiences with your "family."
Thank you so very much!
Lynne Harris
P.S. Could you send Billy's address? We discussed a book I'd like to send him. Dear Billy,
Thank you so much for a wonderful trip to Delphi and Galaxidi
last week. I think those two days were the highlight of my trip to Greece this
year. I miss Greece already and it was very hard to leave. It was even harder to
go back to work yesterday! I am already planning my trip for next year! I saw
some places that I'd love to visit next time. How was your trip to Italy? I have
some pictures to send you from the trip. Is this the best e-mail address to send
them too? Please also tell Dennis thank you for getting us to the airport at
such an early hour and for doing such a great job squeezing all of our luggage
in! Next year there will definitely be less luggage!
Sincerely,
Shari Taylor
Dear Matt, On behalf of our traveling companions, (Ken & Sharon), my husband Terry and We took your advise and hired George - what a sweetheart and a great idea. The Hera was one of the recommendations made by Aliki and although at first After a long journey via Frankfurt, we arrived in Athens mid afternoon and George met up with us early the following day, and we set out to tour the One more day in Athens, mostly window shopping and a walk through the park Thanks Matt and keep in touch, Hello Matt and thank you! We are now back from an awesome time in Greece !!! What a great country! We went with George’s taxi service and had Makis Xilagouras as our taxi driver. He made our trip. I mean that totally. On the 26th , he took us to Corinth and I knew it was closed but he made it incredible even taking us around beaches and getting cheese pies and baklava. So we signed up for Sounio and he even took us to an authentic Greek restaurant and ordered for us and we signed up then for Delphi and he took us to an incredible restaurant with an incredible view. Our trip was made by Mr. Makis Xilagouras . He showed us what Greece was really all about, not just Athens . I just want to express my gratitude for you and your recommendation of Georges Taxi , our family had a trip of a lifetime. Thank you. Karen Dunn To: georgetaxitours@yahoo.com Hi George, To: "George Taxi & Limo" <georgetaxitours@yahoo.com> Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2010, 10:34 AM Good morning from the USA, George!
I wanted to let you know that my wife and I decided to hire Makis
Xilagouras for a private tour of Athens after he picked us up from the
airport when we landed in Athens in the middle of May.
In short, he was absolutely amazing, made our trip and was truly
an incredible person. Without him, Athens wouldn't have been the same.
We will forever remember him and his great service.
In fact, we recommended him/your company to another couple we met in Santorini.
Please feel free to post this message on Matt's site, which is where we found you originally.
Congrats on having the best taxi driver ever.
-Josh and Kristin Lord To: georgetaxitours@yahoo.com Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2010, 1:46 PM Hi George,
My group and I would like to say how much we enjoyed our time in Athens. Mike (Mykos?) was absolutely wonderful! He made our stay so enjoyable and special. Please let him know this and also how much we enjoyed his wine! Mike was very entertaining and knowledgeable about Greece. He took us to some very special places that made the trip even more enjoyable. If any of our friends travel to Greece, we will definitely recommend you and your associates. Thanks again! Jane Shuh Dear Matt:
I just wanted to take this opportunity to send you (and George) a quick thank you.
I
found George through your Greece Travel website, and even though I had
never done anything like it in the past, went ahead and contacted
George regarding his services for our trip to Athens. What a great
experience it was!
George' s response to my
initial inquiry was very prompt and he proposed an itinerary that went
way beyond what we thought we could see in one day. All of our emails
went very well and my wife and I were looking forward to our Athens
excursion and meeting George.
Business being
what it is (very good I guess), George had a prior commitment and was
not our driver. His associate, Nicholas, though was a worthy
replacement, and met us at the agreed time at our hotel. A native
Athenian, Nicholas spoke excellent English and his knowledge of the
city and surrounding area was superb!! He provided us with excellent
information about the sites we were touring and never made us feel
rushed. While we saw quite a bit in one day, we never felt that we were
shortchanged in the amount of time we spent at each site. It was clear
that we could take as much time as we wanted - Nicholas would be
waiting for us when we were ready to move on.
He
followed the same itinerary that George had proposed and even took us
to some additional sites that George had not mentioned. (In this case,
Athens traffic worked in our favor!) Nicholas was articulate,
interesting and smart enough to know when no commentary was necessary -
allowing us to simply absorb the beauty and culture that is Greece! He
made our day one of the most enjoyable ever.
We
did meet George later in the day at a restaurant near the Temple of
Poseidon in Sounion. He was as nice as the other testimonials led us to
believe. He wanted to make sure that we were having a good time and
that Nicholas was taking good care of us. We assured him that he was
and offered many compliments.
I
hope that you are able to add this testimonial to George's page as we
are extremely pleased that we found him. We would highly recommend him
(and Nicholas) to anyone looking for a fabulous sightseeing adventure
in Athens and surrounds. Should our travels take us back to Athens, we
will happily use George again!
Thank you as well for the wonderful website - it gave us everything we needed for a very rewarding stay in Athens.
Sincerely yours,
Jerry and Kerry Park
Simi Valley, CA
Message for George Kokkotos: You drove my 14 year old daughter, Elizabeth, and me from the Herodion Hotel in Athens to Delphi (via the Monastery of Hosios Lucas) on Saturday, August 5. I have just discovered that the paperback book on Delphi which you lent us came home with us in my backpack. I shall send it back to you in the next few days. Thank you again for the wonderful tour - and all those fresh figs! We also appreciated Tom meeting us at the airport very early in the morning on Friday and Chris taking us back to the airport on Sunday afternoon. We loved Greece - it was the best part of our trip. Karen Crow Greetings, George, Billy and Family: I hope this e-mail finds you all well and that you remember us. We visited Greece this past June and you handled our many airport, ferry and hotel transfers…but most importantly, you took us to visit our relatives in Doreza. We wanted to thank you for your professionalism, reliability, and compassion. You were there when you said you would be; every driver we had was knowledgeable, courteous and personable; and Billy…you took wonderful care of us and our older Cousins on our memorable trip out to the Peloponnese. We hope to return to Greecein June 2007. If we do, we will certainly call upon you again. We still have not had the opportunity to meet the famous George, so we have to come back! We wish you and your family all the best. With kind regards,
I made most of our travel arrangements (except for Athens hotel) through Dolphin Travel who proved to be very responsible. I faxed George and though it seemed like a lot of money to pay a taxi driver for a ride from the airport, we did book him to pick us up, as we were arriving in Athens on a Saturday night at midnight, and needed to see a friendly English-speaking face. We arrived exhausted after a day of travel that had included a 5 hour layover in Zurich, and there was George
with a big sign with our names on it. My boyfriend, who never believed that the people I talk to on the internet
really exist, was astonished and happy. George took us to the hotel we had booked ourselves(as we always stay there
in Athens) only to find that they had never received my deposit and had given away our room a few hours before.
So And it was through George that I learned that Matt was in town. We spoke on the phone - met for ouzo at Bretto's
and had a wonderful dinner with Matt and Andrea and their friends in the Plaka! That evening we met an old school
friend of Matt's (he and Matt both speak fluent Greek, by the way) who was going to Santorini with his mother and
staying a few doors from the lovely villa we had booked through Dolphin/Hellas. With another couple we all rented
And that's my story of Matt and George - the people in my little black box who came to life and enriched our
trip so much. When George returned us to the airport for our very early morning flight back to the states 3 weeks
later, he told us that he would have taken us home with him that night had we not been able to find a room. He
remarked as to how rested we looked now, and that I had "some sunset in my face." How poetic and priceless
- that was Shailami Hi Matt--You had a wonderful message on the Greek board called the Situation in Greece, on your return this week. Then, overnite it disappeared, as you see in the letter following. Maybe you can zap it back on. How does stuff just disappear like that?? Anyhow, I'm totally enthralled with George and his family. If they'd rent me a room, I'd move in. Our Easter dinner was 10 hours long, and I could never stand to be with any other friends for that much time. On both sides, we all could have sat there all night. An amazing coincidence--amazing closing of a circle. I asked them about my childhood favorite song, Herakina, by Tsintsanis. Not only did I finally get the translation I've been looking for for 30 years, it turned out to be the very same song George used to have his mother sing to him when he was little and couldn't sleep. Talk about small world. If Loula lived on my street, we would hang out in each other's kitchens. Their 3 sons and all the rest of the family, even Mom who is 80+ and spoke no English were wonderfully hospitable to us. We're going to stay in touch for sure, as friends. Anyhow, we thank you for being instrumental in arranging this new contact for us. Oh yes, almost forgot--the liquor shop Brettos or similar name, with the casks and the colored bottles. They know you well. I made a toast to you with their nice fresh ouzo. I want to go back so badly--if you ever need an unpaid assistant, just let me know!!! This was the last "family" trip before my daughter goes to college, and it was a total success. . . Matt, Thanks again, Matt Having just come back from 2 weeks in Greece I feel like I know you since it was your guide that helped make this one of our best vacations ever. First of all there was George the Taxi Driver. He was outstanding and I hope you will pass this on to him. We spent 3 days with George one in the Peloponnese and 2 in Delphi and Meteora. By the end of 3 days I felt like I was saying goodbye to a member of my own family. He was very knowledgeable and gave us an insight into the Greek culture that you just can't get from tour books and huge bus tours. Plus he knows the best place to stay in Meteora!! Not some chain hotel in town but a wonderful spic n' span clean inn in the mountains called Arsenis. When I walked out onto our balcony the mountain view was so beautiful I wanted to sing out a chorus from the Sound of Music! By the way, no one should go to Greece without Meteora on their tour. In all our travels I have never experienced any natural beauty like it not to mention the spiritual aspect. Thanks again for all your recommendations! We cannot wait till we return to Greece with all its beauty, history and warm and friendly people!! Yassu, I want to thank you for providing Chris as our driver and guide while we Again, thanks ever so much. My wife and daughter and I have been Take care, Brad Hanson Hello George,
We have just arrived back from Europe and this is
my first opportunity to tell you that without the excellent service and
hospitality of Makis, our experience of Greece would not have been so thorough
and rich. Having him as our guide was like having a long lost family member
showing you around his homeland. At every opportunity and in every way, Makis
showed his country with pride and excitement. He was full of information about
all of the places that he took us. He always dressed very sharp and spoke great
English. He also brought us to some excellent restaurants and places that we
never would have known about. He was always extremely punctual, dependable and
patient. I would never hesitate in recommending him to any of my friends and
look forward to having him as our Greek host the next time we come. We love you
Makis!!
David, Kerstin, Valerie and Lukas Franco Hello!
My name is Eva Zakariasson and I live in Sweden. I just have to
send you a "thank-you" e-mail because you have helped me so very much...
Yesterday me and my family came back from a vaccation in Greece.
I´m sure you have heard about all strikes that´s going on there right
now... We almost missed our flight home because the busses and trains
where on strike. Not the taxis however... Suddenly I remembered that I
read about "George the taxidriver" in your fantastic Athen Survivel
Guide... So I gave him a call and he (or one of his drivers) drove us to
the airport in time so we could catch our flight just 15 min before
they closed for the day...
I really like your Survivel Guid a lot!!! I read it over and over
again, specially in the long cold Swedish winter...And this time it
really helped me to "survive". For that I will tank you a lot!
I hope you forgive my poor english, I´m not so used to write in
english... I whish you all the best from Eva Z in a rainy Sweden...
PS. We even had time to visit Mellisinos Art and bought a pair of sandals to my husband..
My family and I traveled to Greece in summer of 98. Your quide was The night before the first day of really sightseeing, we got out George's As we were walking by the Grande Bretagne a man called to us to see if we We used his services that night as he drove my husband, me and our 2 small He is a godsend in a city of smokers!!! As with all the people we met, he We thank you for all your incredible tid bits of information. It made our We thank you! Heidi Evans Matt Barrett: hello george - sorry we did not get to meet you during our recent visit to athens. I would not hesitate to recommend your services in the future. bob berman George was VERY kind to me and the other 3 people who were with us. He spoke very good English (he drove a cab in NYC for years). All Greeks can be short at times, but George was very polite and courteous. He treated us like royalty. After my first full day with George, I decided to use him a second day. I also recommended him to a friend who tried to use him but George was already booked. Greece is not the cheapest place to travel to. I was going to rent a car for one of the days I was in Greece because I needed to go from Athens to Patras. I told George this, and he said that his fee would actually be cheaper than a car rental. Showing him a disbelieving face, he insisted that I compare and stopped at the Hertz counter. He was right. His services were cheaper than renting a car. We are all in our own financially driven life style. I enjoy paying a little more for something that is a little better because I can afford it. But George was inexpensive to the other comparison I had. Because he was such a good driver and because his fee was very reasonable, we tipped him extra, and I still feel like I should have gave him a bigger tip. In fact I purchased him a Christmas present that I haven't sent yet. George was very concerned about our comfort and safety. He had a wonderful newer car with GREAT air-conditioning. He insisted that I not touch any of my bags. He let me spend many minutes (long distance I add) on his cellular phone. He did not charge me for this. I have traveled around the world and use personal tour guides often. George is the best I have ever had. He made sure we always had water and would bring food for us to munch on. He always arrived early to be sure his windows were clean. I found George to be reasonable and a very kind driver. Dear Matt: My husband and I were planning a Mediterranean cruise and I happened upon your web site.
I found it to be the most well written, helpful site. We were planning to spend a couple of days in Athens
so I called George the taxi driver and although he wasn't available for the dates we were going to be there, one
of his other drivers was. We arrived in Athens on April 20 and Christos met us at the airport and took us
to our hotel. He picked us up the next morning and we spent the day touring Athens and Sounion. He
then took us to the ship. What a great time!! Christos was a wonderful tour guide. We also followed
your advice and went to Brettos where we got Ouzo and brandy. You were right about the Ouzo. There's
no comparison with what one gets in the states. We haven't tried the brandy yet. Anyway, I wanted to let
you know how much we appreciated your hard work and your wonderful web site. Thanks! I wanted to thank you for your help. As per your suggestion I contacted George Let me tell you about George! We just got back from two days in Athens and a week in Crete. We had originally contract George Kokkotos, VIP Taxi Service, to have him take the three of us to Delphi and back on Sunday April 11. We had already been to Athens' other main sights, all the Delphi sightseeing tours were overnight trips, and we had only one full day to play with. So we decided to splurge on a private tour, and reserved George well in advance. As we got closer, George found out that Delphi would be closed that day for Greek Easter Sunday, as would everything else and sent us the most amazing invitation: he asked us to spend the day, Easter Sunday, as his guest, with his family. Of course, we were thrilled and accepted with great pleasure. From the moment he met us at the airport with our names on a sign, to the minute we said good-by-until-next-time,
we were welcomed as if we were family. It was as if we had all been friends for years. His whole
extended family, and even some neighbors, made us feel more than just welcome, they made us really feel happy to
be there. George and his lovely wife, lived in New York for some years, so they speak good English, as do
his three handsome We're going to stay in touch and will surely get together again. The day with George set the tone for our continuing trip to Crete, where the magic continued and we have memories that the three of us will never forget. A fantastic, safe, staggeringly beautiful visit to Greece. Crete has very dramatic scenery and is filled with history back to the Minoans. So, if anyone wants to know the best person for taking care of you in Athens, talk to me about George.
If you don't want to have to re-contact me, here's his number. He does his work only by advance reservation
and books up fast during the peak months. It's only him and the one car, so plan ahead. Mention
me, please. George Kokkotos. VIP Taxi Service. Phone and fax: from US: 0113015024482.
Mobile phone 0110932205887. Incidentally, he must Note to the cynics out there, I am not a travel agent, no I don't work for Matt, or for George, or for the Greek Tourist Office, or anyone. . .just a person passing along a tip. . . Marie Troxell just thought you'd like to hear some feedback re.: you're website recommendation Dear George: Dear Matt,
Before leaving for Greece, a friend recommended your website and I believe it made all the difference in how much my daughters and I enjoyed our time there. Because one of my daughters was studying in Athens, we chose to stay there and take day trips from our hotel.
On your recommendation, we contacted George, the famous taxi driver of Greece, and were treated to the services of his son, Dionisis (Dennis, to us). He was a wealth of information not only while we were with him, but also for suggestions of activities and places to go while we were on our own. He took us to restaurants and shops that had specialties we would never have known without him, all the while answering any questions we had regarding his limitless knowledge of Greek history, sites and his amazing country. When we told him that we wanted to visit Rhodes, he took us to a travel agent that fit into our busy schedule and helped us negotiate our arrangements. He even contacted another recommended driver, Nick, in Rhodes and arranged for him to meet us at the airport, and then called the next day (while we were with Nick) to be sure things had gone smoothly.
In Rhodes, Nick was his equal in every aspect: caring, informative and also a fabulous guide with an obvious love of Rhodes and its unique history. ( I told Nick that I thought Greece should give him an award as a Good Will Ambassador. Dennis also would qualify out of Athens.) Their knowledge and personalities magnified our experience by sharing so much background information about Greece's rich history, that we came home with not only wonderful memories and fabulous pictures, but also a deeper understanding of life in Greece from ancient times to the present.
Thank you so much for sharing your love of Greece on your amazing website. I can't imagine what we would have missed had we not visited it before we left New York!
Sincerely,
We've just come back from Greece. Just to tell you that DolphinHellas (Uli), George Kokkotos and his group of taxi-drivers, the phone service from Tom and also the pizza and pasta from his brother were all great. Beautiful Old Town of Rhodes; we were in the Nikolis Hotel, just beside the wall. Fascinating by night! Ana Maria Orsatti Hi Matt, We just returned from an unforgettable trip to Athens. Your website was invaluable as I booked my trip 9 days before my departure and didn’t have much time to prepare. We fell in love with the food, wine, people and city. The best information obtained from your site was “George the taxi driver’. While we never actually got to meet George, the services were out of this world. Our flights were delayed and another friend’s luggage was lost, yet when we came through customs on three separate occasions, there was someone to meet us and take us to our hotel. Talk about stress free! We toured 1 ½ days with George’s son, Dennis. He was amazing! He was professional, friendly, very knowledgeable and fun. We wouldn’t have had the same experience in Athens without using this service. Thanks for the tip. We can’t wait to go back. Thanks again, Tammy George, the best taxi in Athens, was the best. He was not able to meet our flight, but he sent Toni,
who was delightful. George took us on a tour of Athens on Tuesday and then took us to Voulagmeni, where Kate
was staying. We then had dinner in Glyfada. Toni again took us to the airport at 6:30am on Wed for
out flight to Santorini. Hello, We cannot express enough how wonderful Constantinos was during our trip to Greece these last 2 weeks. Please pass
on our email to him. Becky & Mike Janssen Had a great time in Greece and hope to see you the Donna & Susan For what it's worth, I used the information on your page to contact We were met promptly at our hotel by a man named Christos who told us Upon returning to Athens on the day long excursion, Christos showed us On the second day, Christos was again prompt and conducted a four hour He did an exceptional job and we'd highly recommend his services. Hope this was helpful. I also used the information on your page and found it to be an excellent
We just wanted to say THANKS! for the safe trips to Panos, John and Amy Swadner Hi Matt,
I arranged the
tour with the Dimocks and Sullivans in Athens through your web site, and we all
wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our time in the limo. Dennis
was so informative and friendly that we felt quite at home, although we couldn't
speak the language. In a half day, we felt as if we had a chance to see
the best of the city with explanations along the way.
Keep up the good
work. We envy anyone who has the opportunity to see Greece through your
eyes!
Warm
regards,
Suzanne Pearson
Cape Cod, MA USA
P.S. Please give my best wishes
to Dennis and tell him to wait for the "magic!" He'll know it when it
happens.
Thanks to George for sending Nick to pick us up at the airport. He was Dennis, Hi Matt Barrett, I had the privledge of having George Kokotos as my driver for 3.5 days. He was wonderful! There were three of us. Actually, I only had his services for 3 days as I got very sick on and had to stay behind on the last half day trip to Cape Sounion. He took my friends to his home and his wife cooked lunch for them. She sent back a bowl of chicken/lemon rice for me since I had been unable to eat anything else. If you haven't gone yet, definately hook up with George! And tell him his "angels" from Ohio miss him! My daughter and I used one of George's drivers, Vangelis, and although I'm sure George is wonderful, I don't see how he could possibly be better than Vangelis was! I highly reocmmend you use George's service - especially Vangelis! My wife, mother, father, and I were in Greece and Turkey from late October to mid November
in 2001. Matt Barrett, who has created the page Greecetravel1@aol.com introduced me to the marvelous find
of George Kokkotos. He has a V.I.P. Taxi Service and is tagged with the distinction of "The Best Taxi
Driver in Greece". The title does not give justice to his ability! Hi George(my newly adopted Greek son), HI MATT, MY FAMILY JUST GOT BACK FROM 2 WEEKS IN GREECE. A FEW DAYS IN THE ATHENS IN ATHENS WE USED GEORGE'S TAXI SERVICE FOR AIRPORT TRANSFERS AND A 1 DAY INLESVOS WE WENT ON THE GREEK VILLAGE TOUR, WITH
ANDREANA. A US NATIVE WITH Dear Christos, Please pass along to George, his wife, son and colleagues our thanks for We very much enjoyed Greece in spite of the horrible tragedy back here in Regards, Dave Michela Dear Dennis, Hi George, Anabelle and I would like to thank you for making the Athens portion of our Anabelle and Glenn Susser George, Sorry we did not have a chance to meet, but I wanted to thank you for sending Vegales in your stead. We
had such a wonderful time with him. He was si courteous and kind. And always looking for ways to help
us during our stay. I do not suppose we were the easiest to tour and transfer around, as we had a lot of
baggage due to out sailing excursion. In the wake of the World Trade Center bombings ( we arrived home the night before that happened), we are even more thankful to have had the opportunity to see some of Athens and Greece in a more settled time. Sincerely, Susan & Tim Kirkpatrick, travelling with Scott & Linda Hiltgen Hi Matt - thanks for all the helpful information on your website. My wife and I just returned from a two week trip to the Greek Isles. We had a couple of days in Athens and, upon your recommendation, arranged for George to pick us up at the airport. We got in two hours late (2am, local time) and fortunately our driver was still there to meet us. George
wasn't available, so he sent one of his associates, Vagelis Kollias. Vagelis was a terrific help and we ended
up hiring him for a tour of Athens the following day. It was great riding around in a brand new, air-conditioned
Mercedes and avoiding the heat of the day. We'd highly recommend him to anyone in case George is unavailable.
Jason & Patti Bell Just a note to thank you for making my vacation such a wonderful experience. You, your wife Lulu and your son Nick made me feel more like a visitor to your home than a first-time visitor to your country. Your warmth and hospitality got my vacation off to a great start. And what can I say about Nick . . . not only was he a great conversationalist and driver, but gorgeous as well. I would love to visit your country again, and you can be sure that when I do, you'll be the first person I call. Thanks again! -Gwen Carter Hello George.Just to say thank you for your services from and Dear Matt: Thanks for your help and advice. I used George last year for a trip to Meteorea and he was FANTASTIC! I plan to use him again, this year. Thank you so much for everything. Sincerely, Sherry Hello George,
Sorry, we didn't get to meet you last week but thank you very much for sending the other George to take care of us. We enjoyed our trip there and my 4 1/2 month daughter was comfortable with the car seat you provided. She slept most of the time on our way to and from Delphi.
Could you please give our thanks to George. He was very nice and kind to us specially with my daughter. Could you also please forward the attached picture of him with my daughter.
To Mr. Barrrett, thank you very much for your Survival Guide and Greece Traveling with Children site. Traveling with our baby was indeed an adventure. And you were right, it can be done.
Again, thank you very much!
Eileen Dear Matt---All the information from your web pages was such a great help on our trip to Athens and the Pelopennese
last spring--Thanks so much!! George met us at the airport and took us to Delphi the next day. When he heard we(my
sister-in-law, daughter and myself) were renting a car from Swift to go to the Peloponnese for a week+ he told
me the rules(understood but not written) of driving in Greece. We did great--only tried to go the wrong way once
on the one way street--even getting lost in Piraeus for a couple of hours was not awful. Anyway all in all the
whole experience was just about perfect--only met 3 "tacky" people--everyone else was so nice--especially
in the small out of the way places on the back roads and I can't wait to come back-this time with my husband, hopefully
for a longer time. So when we figure out when and where and how (the yacht sounds like a great way to get a different
prospective) we'll be getting back to you-maybe next year or after the Olympics. Hi George, Dennis, george-thank you for such a great trip --renee and i talked at dinner Home safely 24 May. You know this, but it is so true that Christos is Dear Matt, I got back last week from Greece and had a great time. Your website helped out tremendously, however the best recommendation that you gave was George the Taxi Driver. George didn’t actually pick us. Instead we were greeted by a young man named John. John was great. He was patient, knowledgeable and reliable. The taxi was spic and span clean and very comfortable. John proved most valuable on the day of our return home. The same day that we were scheduled to fly home a strike with the public transportation and some of the air traffic controllers took place. I called to check on our flight and it had not been affected, however I was told by the hotel front desk that getting a taxi would be practically impossible. When I told them that I already had reserved a taxi they said that it was a smart move. John was going to pick us up at 930am, however about 850am I went outside to call George on my cell phone. I spotted John and his taxi in front of the hotel. Bless his heart, he had shown up early and was waiting for us. We were ready, so he called some other people to find out the best route to get to the airport. Thanks to him, we got to the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight home. I will most definitely recommend George and his taxi service to our executives, corporate clients and anyone that I know traveling to Athens. Although I have traveled internationally for the past 22 years for business and pleasure, this was my first time going to Greece. Your website helped me to prepare and George’s taxi company gave us a true sense of security. Sincerely, Pam Hi ! Matt, Based upon your expertise on Greece, we booked our land trip of Athens-Delphi-Meteora and hotel in Athens through Aegean Thesaurus Travels June 10-13. It was by chance that the travel Agency has contract with George to provide transportation, so we had the opportunity to experience what you rave about George on your website. The two day Athens-Delphi-Meteora tour was in care of Makis (also known as Mikey), and we couldn’t have found a better guide. Makis was knowledgeable, helpful, and funny. We were amazed at his command of English, and complimented him for that. We were originally planning to take a group tour, but since tours did not leave on Sundays, we had to book a private tour, and we were fortunate to get Makis as our guide. He showed us places that group tour would not have covered, e.g., the amazing, over five-feet tall nest on top of a church that was built by storks during their annual migration. When we visited, the mama stork and babies were present in the nest. What a sight to see! Knowing that we were vegeterians, Makis took us to a great restaurant near Meteora. In two short days, we had formed such a bond with Makis that when departing we felt like we were leaving a family member, and so did Makis. We would like to share with you our attached photo with Makis, which he may also like to have. Please convey our thanks to Makis for the great time in Athens, and tell him we want to taste pomegranate from his home garden on our next visit. Our whole trip from June 1 to June 18 was wonderful. Luckily we had left Athens before riots began. Prafull & Lata Shah, Satish & Rashmi Shah Dear Matt, THANK YOU FOR A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hi george Dear George & Loula: GEORGE AND COMPANY,,, Matt: Dear George, Dennis and Chris, Thank you all for your hospitality and providing RobinAnn and I with piece of mind. We had a beautiful time and look forward to visiting again. If you are ever in New York City please conatct us via e-mail or by phone 646-286-2830. Thank you all again and best wishes and good health. Yours, Michele McGonigle Hi Matt just a short note to say thank you, your site has helped me and my wife have another great holiday in Greece,
we also used George's taxi. Picked up by Nick he was just great, Dear George and Loula. Thank you for making our vacation in Greece so memorable. It was a wonderful way to see the mainland. We George - I am finally back in the US, and I wanted to write and say thank Hi Matt! Dear George, Hey Billy,
We made it home on the 30th with perfect flights.But nothing was so perfect
as our wonderful week guided by you in Greece. We will never be the same. Our
experiences were life changing and enriching. We know so much more about our
lives by learning about the past.
Thank you a million times over.
I got my glove and the chocolates from your mother. I am afraid to say
that only 3 of the chocolates made it to the US. We enjoyed them the entire
flight. The 3 chocolates left were saved for midnight new years eve.
Emily has only 2 chapters left in the book, but has to stop for now because
she has a major test on Saturday and has spent her hours studying. We have
already had one snow storm since arriving home and are expecting another 5-8
inches tonight. Emily is hoping for a no school snow day.
We all like those. We have had greek salad, but are having trouble finding good greek cheese.
We will keep searching until we find it.
Hope you had a great New Years celebration and that you have all the best
for the new year.
We have also searched for the cookbook with no luck.
address
Tamara Gibbs
George, Hello there.
Matt. Thank you for great guide. Also, thank you for recommending George. To our favorite Greece Guides: George, Dear George and Dennis,
George, I remembered to write and thank Matt for his web site and its advise but I do not believe I ever wrote to you to say Thank You for Nic. My husband and I took a two week trip to Greece in Sept. that was absolutely wonderful. The trip really started off well when we had Nic to pick us up at the airport. My husband had been hesitant about the trip with concerns about language and getting around. But, with Nic's help from our arrival at the airport, to the wonderful 10hrs we spent with him the next day as we explored the city of Athens, any hesitations or concerns were gone. We tell people all the time how wonderful it was to have a personal guide who was both knowledgeable and a really nice guy. Thanks again for your help and services. A & J from South Carolina 09 July 2003 My family and I were scheduled to visit Athens for a full day. Unbeknownst to us, the tour company that we had booked with only allowed us six hours in Athens before we had to be on the road again. We had tried to book George in advance but he was already booked for the day we would be in Athens. However, we were able to book with one of George's associates. When four persons turned into 17 persons, George was able to accommodate us all in a mini-bus with the most courteous and very knowledgeable driver by the name of Aristotle. Aristotle was at our hotel right on time (early actually) and the second you met him, you couldn't help but like him. He was friendly, spoke excellent English and Spanish and was very accommodating. When I told him about our limited time in Athens, Aristotle quickly suggested an alternate itinerary and in a few minutes all 17 of us were on our way. Of the 187 people on our tour that traveled with us to Greece, only the 17 of us got to see more sites in Athens and enjoy an authentic Greek meal thanks to Aristotle. We were the envy of the entire group!! During one of our stops we got to meet George in person. He was with the family that had booked him earlier. George introduced himself, spoke with us a few minutes and was quickly on his way to be with his customers. George was also very warm, courteous and friendly. My family and I plan on returning to Athens and when we do, we will definitely book their services once more. I know that we can count on Aristotle or George to shows us the true sights and sounds of Athens and beyond. Next time we will plan on spending several days in Greece, not just six hours in Athens. Whether you stay six hours or six days, the services that Aristotle and George provide will definitely make your visit more rewarding. I'd recommend them to anyone. Thank you Aristotle for making our trip most excellent!!! The Tapia Family, DENNIS, THANKS FOR PROVIDING SUCH A WONDERFUL SERVICE TO THE FOUR OF US, VISITING ATHENS ON OUR WAY TO CEPHALONIA. THE TRIP TO THE TEMPLE OF POSEIDON WAS WELL WORTH THE TRIP TO ATHENS. THANKS FOR PROVIDING LIMO SERVICE TO THE AIRPORT, TOO!! I WILL BE SURE TO RECOMMEND YOU TO ANYONE VISITING ATHENS. REGARDS, MATT AUGUSTINE VERONICA VALENTI CONNIE AND BILLY COLEMAN Christos, could you forward this to Dennis? I lost his card but wanted him to get our feedback. George: Dear George, One of the highlights of our cruise was the tour of Athens with George; George, Hi Matt ,I just found your web page whilst surfing the net . As I have had Hi Matt: I just wanted to thank you for your website. I found it a few days before leaving for Greece as I only had a week to prepare for the trip. The best thing that I did was hire George. However, he was unable to help me and assigned another taxi driver to me who was fabulous. His name was Thanos. Thanos met me at the airport (thanks for informing me about the airport) and took me to the hotel. The next morning he picked me up early and we drove to various sites associated with Oedipus, Delphi, Metsovo, and Meteora. Yes, a long long day, but it was a dream come true for me, particularly seeing greek shepherds with their goats in the Pindos Mountains. We spent the night Pension Arsenis. At the Pension, we were given a true greek dinner with everything being raised or grown by the owners. The rooms were modern and very comfortable (reminded me of Italy). The Pension is very close to Meteora in Kalambaka. A wonderful breakfast was included. The owners were very hospitable and courteous. The next day, I was able to tour the monasteries at Meteora -breathtaking! Thanos made sure that I did my tourist shopping and then we drove down the coast and back to Athens. The following day, Thanos picked me up and took me to the airport to meet a friend and then took us to the temple of Poseidon, to lunch at a little restaurant at the base of the temple and back along the coast to Athens. Thanos was both knowledgeable, courteous, and told wonderful mythological greek stories based on our locale. He went out of his way to please me and his company was easy and pleasant. I would go back to Greece in a heartbeat! And will...I want to see the northeastern area and at least get to one island. Thanks to Thanos, the Pension Arsenis, beautiful weather, the natural beauty of Greece, and above all the information obtained at your site, my time in Greece was unequalled (and I travel nationally and internationally a lot for work and play)... Gratefully, Louise :) Thanks, Matt. When I was in Athens this last December I found myself in the middle of a taxi strike when I was supposed to get my flight home. So, I went to your site, then called George and I was at the airport in an hour! That tip alone was worth more than you'll ever know! Cheers, Richard Absolutely Fantastic! What a terrific experience! Elegently attired in suit, Hi,
I just wanted to thank you for your advice and
for all of the information on your website. Though our trip was short,
we really enjoyed it. Being winter, the airport was not that crowded
and though it would probably not have been too bad waiting for a taxi,
after the long flight, it was nice to see Spiros, one of George's
associates, standing there waiting for us. He even gave us a little
area tour and lots of good information on the way to our hotel. Later
in our stay, he gave us an excellent tour of the sites of Athens and
recommended a wonderful restaurant.
Once we arrived
and got 'our bearings", we realized that you were right, that it is
quite safe there. The people are very friendly and most speak English
very well. I wish we could have stayed longer. The Hotel Grande
Bretagne was very special, and we loved walking around the Plaka.
Perhaps we will get back there someday. In the meantime, I am
directing any interested persons to your site should they wish to plan
a trip. It's really a one-stop central information place if you are
visiting Athens.
Sincerely,
Mary Kiewlak
Dear Matt, We can't thank you enough for recommending "George the Taxi Driver." We arrived home yesterday after a very brief trip to Greece. We had arranged a full day trip to Corinth, Myceneae, Naphlion, and Epidavros as well as a return airport transfer. We did not meet George as he was on a 3 day tour, but we had the pleasure of being with his associate, Nick. What a wonderful person and great guide! We have never enjoyed sightseeing as much as we did with Nick. We are pretty well-travelled, but this was the experience of a lifetime. No tour buses to board. No waiting for the inevitable person who is late because he knows you won't go anywhere without him. For the four of us, this day trip was actually less expensive than buying a bus tour. The airport transfer was probably a little more, but we had a very early departure and no worries about whether or not someone was going to show up . We have never met a more courteous, kinder, or friendlier person than Nick. Also, what a sense of humor! The Athens Metro was the cleanest, safest, and easiest to use of any public transportation system we have encountered anywhere in the world. And what a bargain! Do you notice a lot of superlatives in this message? We can't say enough good things about this experience. Our sincere thanks for all of the good advice. We hope to return to Greece when we have more time and we will certainly use the services of George and his associates. Best regards, Hi George. Thank you for having Dennis pick us up at the intercontinental....We had a great trip with him.....And enjoyed talking about NYC and the Bronx.... I have told my Beverly hills travel agency about you both.....so you are in their computer system... Thanks again. josh levin I recently brought my family to Athens for our first ever vacation to Greece. We emailed you to arrange transfer from the airport to hotel, etc. We were met at the airport by Christofer and I was hoping you could pass on to him our many, many thanks. He made our whole trip stress free. He made us feel welcome and comfortable and knowing he was going to get us from place to place on time made all the difference. He spent a whole day with us touring outside of the city and made for an unforgettable day! We are very indebted to him - please let him know if possible. Tony Hursey Matt & George,
I just completed a cruise with my
wife, brother and his wife that included a stop in Piraeus on December 8,
2009. We had arranged for George Kokkotos to provide a taxi for us for a
day of sight-seeing in the Athens area. We were promptly met at the dock
by george and his associate, Simon Tzagos. George insured us that we were
in good hands with Simon and indeed we were.
The entire day was superb.
Simon was not only polite and knowledgeable but he was very personable and a
pleasure to spend our time with. He clearly explained the significance and
history of each of the sites we visited speaking perfect English. Simon
was very focused on insuring we had the best possible tour in the short time we
were in your fine city. He recommended that we stop for lunch at a small Greek
bistro frequented by the locals. The food there was excellent and the
atmosphere great.
And lastly, the taxi we rode in was
spotlessly clean and Simon's driving skills allowed us to ride with total
confidence in our safety.
When I hear of friends planning to
visit Athens, I will strongly suggest that they contact George for their
transportation needs.
A very happy tourist,
Rodger
Fry
Hello George and Loula, Greetings George, Hello George, This is Debbie Steil. On July 18th Kristos escorted my two friends and I on a wonderful day in Athens. We would like to thank you and Kristos. It was so nice to be met at the ship and not to have to deal with all the drivers vying for our business at the port. We really enjoyed beating the crowds up to the Acropolis. When we were coming down the tours from our ship were first going up. The trip to Souion was great, especially in the
air conditioned
car. It was exciting to see some of the venues for the Oympics and all the preparations going on. And, of course, shopping is always fun. Thank you again for a fabulous day in Athens. dear George, now that we are back in Belgium, we would like to thank you again for the perfect service that you have given to us. Our day trip to old olympia with Kristos was something we will never forget. He was the perfect driver and guide and through him we have learned so much from Greece. We will recommend Kristos and you to all our friends and relatives who will come to Athens. Thanks again, you helped to make this perfect holidays in Athens. Mary Jane & Ghislaine Hello, George. Hi, Please let George know that my recent experience in Athens (11/12-14) with Demetrius was outstanding. Demetrius did an excellent job in picking us up at our cruise ship, touring Athens and the environs, and delivering us to our plane early on the 14th. Demetrius was always prompt, courteous, informative, and easy to work with. Our lunch on the 13th was especially good. W. Pinsky Dear Mrs. Kokkotos; George, We rode with John, one of your drivers, when we were in Athens in September 2004 from the cruise ship, Millennium, and were very happy with him and his tour...so we have recommended your services, along with John, to our friend, Jim & Regina Cornwall, who are coming to your city in May, so take good care of them...we gave you the utmost recommendation and now you will take good care of them for us. John A. & Carolyn L. McGirr Dear George/Dennis, Dear George, Subject: RE: George taxi & limo service Dear Dennis: I just wanted to say thank you to you and your Team for helping to make Hello George; Had to write and thank you for sending us Dimitrios. We first booked "George" for a trip to Cape Sounion with some swimming on the way Sunday July 10th. We were so impressed with Dimitros' professionalism, knowledge and service that we booked him for a full day trip to the Peloponnese. What a magical day. Dimitrios picked us up from the cruise ship and we just sank into the very clean, airconditioned Mercedes and let him take us away. Dimitrios answered all our questions and was so knowledgable about history, culture, Greek life. We learned so much about Greek life. Always professional, he watched out for my daughter and I at all times so that we felt very safe to just let our guard down and wander. Honestly, our last day with Dimitrios was the best day we had on our holiday. We saw and did so much but ended up back at our hotel feeling relaxed and pampered. From swimming at Nafplio to shopping in the supermarket for olive oil Dimitrios went out of his way to ensure we had the experience of a lifetime. It was great to meet you George at Mycenae. You provide an excellent service and have obviously chosen your associates carefully. I will be recommending your service to anyone I know visiting Greece. Thank you Maggie Kelly and her daughter Bonnie. Hello to Matt Barrett and George Kokkotos ! I have to tell you, some people told me that I was crazy to make reservations with a private taxi service that I had found on the Internet. Now I can tell them that they would be crazy not to use the services of such a pleasant and top-class professional. Please see below the letter of thanks that I am faxing to Thanos, who was referred to us by George Kokkotos. Thank you sincerely Matt for the reference to George and for all of the extremely useful information on your website. I referred to your information throughout our trip - whether it was for food, sites to visit, what to expect on the ferryboats and much much more ... Thank you sincerely George for choosing Thanos to take our family on such a perfect tour. And we are very happy that we decided to use your services instead of the tour operated shuttle to go from the Athens airport to our hotel on arrival. It made a difference for those first few moments in a new country. John was very helpful and entertaining! Best regards, Suzanne and family. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fax to : Mr. Thanos Papanikolaou Fax : 210 6517503 (Greece) Hello Thanos, We have just returned from our fabulous Greek vacation. As promised I am sending you a few words on your exceptional excursion. I am also sending this review to George Kokkotos, to Matt Barrett, to our travel agency and to our local newspaper travel section. I’ll let you know if an article on you appears in the newspaper! Let me try to tell you how much we appreciate your good work. Our goal was to get a top quality tour with some information on Greek history and mythology. Mission accomplished ! My boys Samuel and Simon are telling everyone about you and the sites that you showed us, as well as the detailled information on history and mythology : the Corinthean Canal, Epidavros, Nafplion, Ancient Corinth and the castle of King Agamemnon. Thanos, not only were you able to answer all of our questions and to keep us very interested during the entire day, we noticed how you savoured each question, especially from the boys. You took pleasure in sharing your extensive knowledge and you did so in a very pleasant and professional manner. And you arranged all of this according to our personal selection of sites in addition to allowing us enough time to shop for souvenirs. Later during our vacation we visited other sites such as the island of Delos and Akrotiri (in Santorini) but the day spent with you remains the highlight of our trip. The boys are already planning their next trip one day, with an excursion to Olympia … We met other travellers from Quebec who were going to Athens. I gave them your business card with our best references. As these people listened to Samuel and Simon talk about your talents, they planned to make time for an excursion with you. I hope that they were able to do so ! Please let me know if I can do anything in Montreal to help promote your business in Greece, whether for vacation travellers or business. It would be a great pleasure for me to do this and to help others benefit from your professional services. Please do not hesitate to let me know. Thank you, Thanos ! Best Regards from your most appreciative fans : Suzanne, Rémi, Samuel and Simon Montreal, Québec (Canada) dear matt just a short note to thank you for two things.. your travel and George, Thank you for you assistance & kindness in meeting and helping our granddaughter, Amanda, & her classmate, this morniing. Amanda left me message about your kindness. I am most appreciative & hope to meet you personally later in the year. Pls tell me if you received the proper fee for services. I spoke w/ your son on telephone this morning.Again, thank you. Regards, Ralph Earl Hi George - Marg, Jenny & I really enjoyed meeting you and Dennis personnally during our 4 day visit to Athens last November 25-28th - it was also great getting out into the country with you for one full day and one half day when you took us to our ship. Next time we shall certainly take an over-night trip to Delphi and surrounds.
Marg would also like you to thank the man at the olive oil factory who gave her a sample bottle of his product. We got it home in one piece and it is terrific.
Don't know if you can receive pictures but here are a couple we took - you may recognise the man picking the olives ! The other was taken of us at Poseidon.
I have sent your card to our Brisbane travel agent for future reference. On this note our next door neighbour, Joan Miles is flying Singapore Airlines to Athens on May 29th, arriving May 30th for a short stay before visiting Mikanos & Santorini. She is an elderly lady probably in her late 70's or early 80's and wants to do a return trip to Greece while she is still fit. She is on a tight budget but would like to use your services to meet her at the airport and take her to her hotel. Can you maintain the 55 euros costing for her ?
She can speak some Greek and is actually something of a Greek scholar with a good knowledge of your history.
Our best wishes... Duncan McMurtrie Hi Matt, I've just returned from a conf in Greece Crete to be exact,but we did follow some of your suggestions especially to have George show us around Athens. We were 7 people in my group so George suggested we call his son Dennis,which I did & we had a wonderful tour with him. We had 5 college students with us so they just enjoyed Dennis all the more, he was so knowledegable & fun to be with. Thanks for your suggestions we'll suggest your web site to others when needed,thanks again,Sandy Good day,
Billy!
I had the
best time seeing your wounderful country and city! Thank you for such an
enjoyable and informative tour.
I have told
so many people about you and you father's outstanding service. Get ready for
more e-mails and calls!
Thank you again, Billy.
Regards,
Bill
William G.
Schmidt
Advertising and Public
Relations, Inc.
Billy,
We just wanted to say hello and to wish you a Happy
New Year. We are sending you a couple of pictures and we wanted to thank you
for giving us a most memorable vacation in the Peloponnese. We hope to return
someday and if we do we will contact you.
Sincerely,
Anne & Deane Christopolis
Dear George and Billy,
We are back home in Los Angeles and have been sharing some of our
adventures in Europe with friends. Though we didn't get to meet you, George, we
did have the enormous pleasure of having Billy drive us around your beautiful
country. We were telling our friends what a charming and polite young man Billy
was and it was such a pleasure to have him share such amazing places with us. He
was knowledgeable about the history and took us to some amazing vistas and
lesser known places that we might never have seen had we gone with a regular
tour guide.
George, you and your wife have raised such a gentleman and you should be so
proud of your son. Billy, thank you so much for the wonderful experience and you
know that you are welcome to stay with us when you visit Los Angeles.
Nick and Sangeeta and I send you our best wishes and thanks. Do stay in touch. Thank you again.
Nalini
Dear Billy: I sent you an e-mail to your yahoo address and it came back.
Do you have a new e-mail address. Let me know. Hope you and your family are
well. We are doing good here. Busy!
We will never forget our time in Athens and especially your kindness and
help to find our family village of Vervena. That was an exciting day. That was
the highlight of our trip to Greece. Finding where our Italian grandparents
came from was also very special.
Hope things are going well for you and your father's business. Let me hear
from you, o.k.
All the best, Georgia from New Mexico
P.S. please remember if you come to the States, please call me.
Dear Billy and Dennis, Hello from Columbus, Ohio.
Richard and I just wanted to thank Dennis & Billy so much for the great
time we had in Greece! Our trip couldn't have been better.
Thank you,
Heather Kile & Richard Hunter Hi Matt,
My name is Guy, from Perth Western
Australia. I spent hours on your site before heading off the Greece and
wanted to drop you an e-mail thanking you for the recommendation to George the
Famous Taxi Driver.
While we didn't get George (I guess he gets pretty
busy as his reputation spreads), we did get one of his drivers, Mike who picked
us up from the airport and took us on the Sounion half day trip.
Mike was an absolute hoot. Very entertaining,
with many comments, anecdotes, tips for things to do and places to go to
eat.
Our trip into Athens from the airport was manic -
he detoured into the Plaka area on the way to our hotel in Makrygianni to show
us the restaurant Psarra's (dragged me out of the car to run up the steps and
grab a handful of cards and show me the menu), gave us a card for Phannasas
("the best souvlakis in Athens), explained all about Athens", Athens traffic and
drivers, places to go on the map as we were driving along the motorway at about
120 km/hour, and spent half his time raising or lowering the sunvisor on my side
depending on whether the sun was in my eyes or not.
Our trip to Sounion was as
entertaining.
I've sent George a quick e-mail thanking him and
giving Mike a good rap.
Thanks again. I love your website and will be
digging into it's depths over coming months.
Our trip to Greece was a bit short. Mainly in
Athens, and we only got to Aegina (for a day at Marathonas which was wonderful)
and Santorini (for 3 days which was also wonderful), but I am pretty taken
by the idea of myself and my wife taking time off in a few years to spend
maybe 6 - 9 months in the Greek Islands.
best regards,
Guy Good afternoon George; We arrived back home last night, thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Greece and plan on a return trip very soon, to see the half of that wonderful country we missed this time. I just wanted to send you a quick thank you for the transportation services offered from the airport to our hotel upon arrival in Athens last Saturday. It was great seeing John waiting with the sign as we were leaving the arrival gate area; he was very pleasant and cordial, with lots of local information, depositing us at our hotel in a most efficient manner. I would not hesitate to recommend your service to anyone; most especially folks arriving fresh from a 16 hour flight, lucky enough to make certain they have all their personal belongings and getting through passport control, without having to worry about the "next step" (finding their way to a hotel). To be able to relax with no concerns regarding waiting in a taxi queue or figuring out the bus/metro process while the brain is still ten time zones away is most definitely worth the fair and reasonable price of your service. Again; I would like to compliment John on his professionalism and attention to detail; as we were leaving his car at the hotel, he had the presense of mind to check the back seat to make certain we left nothing behind. I have never seen a taxi driver do that; more often than not, I expect they would hope that some valuable article was left behind!! Feel free to use this e-mail, excerpts from it, or my name as a testimonial, if you so desire. r/Bill and Linda Rys |
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