The rustic Greek island is often overlooked by tourists but well-known to Athenians.

If you happen to have a few days in Athens and want to get out of the city to enjoy the sea and island life, Kea is a great option that is easily accessible.

When

September 6th — 12th

Getting around

• Uber from Athens Airport (about a 30-minute drive)
• Ferry from the port (1 hour)
• Rent a car on the island (4x4 recommended, so you can access the best beaches). We had a small Suzuki. We got ours from here.

Where to stay

A quick search will show you that there is an abundance of beautiful homes on this island. We stayed in a nice Airbnb in the northern part of the Island.

The reading list

• Blood and Thunder (Hampton Sides) — Reading this and driving around the dusty island roads, I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like for Native Americans and the new colonizers navigating the barren parts of the West by horse, and how different life must have been in the 1860s. I am a big fan of Hampton Sides’ style of writing and storytelling.
• The Complete Robot (Isaac Asimov) — Short stories about different types of robots. Loved the format.

Where to eat

There are some great spots on this island. Keeping in theme with this blog, I won’t list them all, but here are the ones that stood out most:

• Taverna “Karthaia”: nice spot for a sunset dinner.
• Το Καμπί (To Kampi): fresh fish. A bit pricy.
• ΤΟ ΠΕΡΑΣΜΑ ΣΤΟ ΓΥΡΙΣΤΗ : hands down our favourite place to eat on the island. The chef will come out and tell you what’s on the menu for the day — usually 4 or 5 dishes ranging from goat and beef to delicious oven-baked vegetables.

• Giristis Market and Coffee to go: You can get a nice coffee here; he’ll even make you a flat white :)
• Aristaios: a cool place to get tea, honey, oil, or lunch to go. You HAVE to try their orange cake — it’s the best we tasted, really outstanding, and we went back almost every day for dessert!
• Αρτοποιείο — Τσούρτης: stop here if you like fresh bread, sandwiches, desserts, and coffee. You’ll get a serious sugar rush from the pistachio-filled croissant.

Beaches and things to see

I read that there are over 40 different beaches/swimming locations on the island. We tried to visit as many as we could. Here are the ones that stood out:

• Archaeological Site of Karthaia: about a 40-minute hike to this beautiful location. It’s worth taking a swim and spending some time here. There were very few people when we visited, and it really felt special. After enjoying the old town, stop by Paparounas for some food. The lovely waiter mentioned that about 80% of visitors to Kea are from Athens.

• Paralia Spathi: We loved snorkelling here — the water was clear and we saw fish around the rocks.
• Pisses: We spent our last full day here. Very nice, clear water, and you can rent umbrellas on the beach if you’re feeling boujee. We went for it on the last day and enjoyed swimming between reading chapters of our books. There’s not much nearby, so bring food and water with you.

• Alekos Fassianos Atelier — Kea: We visited the Alekos Fassianos Museum while in Athens and found out he had a residence on Kea. I would recommend checking out both locations.

• Chora : This is the old town of Kea, its where the Atelier is located. Lovely place for an evening meal and stroll through the old streets.

That's all I got. Thanks for reading.

Here are some miscellaneous pictures for your viewing pleasure :)