Kea Syros Ferry

Kea Guide

The Greek island of Kea is located in the Aegean Sea and is one of the Cycladese group of islands. Kea is roughly 20 km from Cape Sounio and 60 km to the south east of Athens, the Greek capital. The island is not particularly large, measuring 9 km wide and 19 km long, and its main villages are Korissa and Vourkari. One of the most popular visitor attractions on the island is the pretty port of Korissia, which is surrounded by white washed houses with colourful roofs, the enamel factory, winding cobbled alleys and picturesque churches. Visitors will often see caiques and fishing boats in the harbour.

The island's crystal clear waters make it a popular destination for scuba divers. The island's waters have excellent visibility, is rich in marine life and is great for wall diving. Some of the most popular dive sites around the island are the wreck of the steamship Patris which sank in 1868 and also the famous wreck of HMS Britannic, the sister ship of the Titanic, which is located around 1.5 nautical miles offshore. The latter is popular with Tec divers as the wreck is at a depth of around 120 meters.

Syros Guide

The Greek island of Syros is one of the Cyclades group of islands and is unusual in that the island's architecture is more medieval rather than the more typical Cycladic. The island's capital is Ermoupolis and has some fine examples of Venetian mansions to see. In the Vaporia quarter of the capital visitors will find some lovely large churches and impressive neoclassical buildings, such as the Town Hall and Apollo Theatre in the central square. Also popular with visitors are the island's beaches which are well equipped for tourists and have a good range of facilities.

The island can trace its history back to the 3rd millennium BC where signs of inhabitation have been found in the Halandriani and Kastri parts of the island. Artefacts found indicate that there was some kind of metal workshop on the island which possibly had a trading relationship with Asia Minor. The Samians occupied the island in the 6th century BC and is when many of the island's inhabitants moved to the island. At that time, the important physician and philosopher Pherecydis was born in Syros and some years later he went to Samos and became the teacher of Pythagoras.