Santorini (Thira) Kea Ferry

Santorini (Thira) Guide

Located in the southern Aegean Sea is the Greek island of Santorini and lies around 200 km to the south east of the Greek mainland. It forms part of the Cycladic group of islands and is the only location in Europe to have a hot desert climate. A popular pastime for visitors to Santorini is to take a cruise to the island's three islets, which were created in ancient times during a volcanic eruption. The islets are called Nea Kammeni, Palea Kammeni and Thirassia and provide an excellent vantage point for visitors to see the volcano, being located to the west of the island. The island's capital is Fira and is full of typical Cycladic houses with whitewashed walls, blue domed churches and stepped streets full of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars.

The island of Santorini has two ports. The main port is Athinios, where all the ferry and commercial boats arrive. There is also the Old Port which is mostly used for cruise ships. From the main port, ferries can be taken to Piraeus, Rafina and to the other islands in the Cyclades. Both conventional and high speed ferries operate on these routes.

Kea Guide

The Greek island of Kea is one of the Cyclades group of islands although it is interesting in that the architecture of its buildings or its landscape has little similarities to the other islands of the Cyclades. The island is also called Tzia, and lies to the south of Attica and is opposite the town of Lavrion on the Greek mainland. Due to Kea's proximity to Athens it is popular with many Athenians who visit the island for weekend breaks. The island's port is in the pretty little town of Korissia which is also one of the island's most popular visitor attractions. The town is characterised with its white washed houses, complete with colourful roofs, its enamel factory, its winding cobbled streets and lovely churches.

The island is also popular with scuba divers who love the island's crystal clear waters and rich marine life and amazing wall dives. A popular dive site is to the wreck of the steamship Patris which sank in 1868. Also located around 1.5 miles offshore is the HMS Britannic, the sister ship of HMS Titanic, and is popular with Tec Divers as the wreck lies at a depth of around 120 meters.