Discover Kea

Kea is one of the largest islands of the Cyclades and the one closest to Athens. Yet due to its mountainous landscape and the fact that “locals” prefer their privacy vs. the influx of tourists (either from Greece or abroad), the island isn’t on a lot of people’s radar. Yet the Daily Telegraph discovered it and included it in their “secret” beach holiday resorts in Europe.

So I thought that it was high time to post photos from my latest visit in Kea (also known as Tzia) here on the blog, back in 2012. I stayed over at a family friend’s home, which deserves its own post on the blog and will follow shortly. I’ve visited Kea many times (always staying at the said house) in the past 10 years. It has many small, clean beaches that are usually hard to approach (with a conventional car) as there aren’t many asphalted roads. Koundouros (in the south) is the most well-known beach  as well as Otzias (but it’s in the north, so when wind blows that way, it’s not ideal to swim there). But there are other beaches as well, like Spathi and Sykamia two beautiful, rather quiet beaches in the northeastern part of the island.

Now, as food+drink is concerned, Vourkari and Korissia (the port) are the most popular choices.  Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of Ioulida, which is the “capital” of the island, but it’s worth the visit. An important sight of the island is the monastery of Panagia Kastriani which has spectacular views over the Aegean Sea.

How to get there: Ferries for Kea depart from Lavrio port. You can find information and book tickets here.

Where to stay: There aren’t many hotels to stay in Kea and you’ll have to choose from either expensive ones or basic bed and breakfast ones. Of course you can also check out AirBnb as there are many homes available for rent.