Kea or Tzia as the island is also commonly known, is the westernmost island of the Cyclades group. Its shoreline is 85 kilometers and its surface area covers 131 square kilometers.The port is just 40 miles from Piraeus and 16 miles from Lavrion, making it the closest island the Cyclades group to Athens. There are daily sailings from Lavrion, and travel time is about one hour. There are also boat connections to Syros and Kithnos from the island.  

Kea stands out for its rich flora. Visitors can admire its woods of royal oak, one of the few remaining oak woods in the Aegean. Acorn oaks grow in the central and eastern parts of the island. The island claims 16 of the 1,300 plant species endemic to Greece. Five of these have been designated rare, and southeastern is protected under the Natura 2000 program.  

Wild orchids, medicinal herbs, aromatic shrubs, rare mushrooms, multicolored lichens, chestnut trees, maples, Phoenician junipers, terebinths, Judas trees, crocuses, irises, bellflowers, anemones, wild roses, hyacinths, wild gladiolas, asphodels, and Spanish broom carpet the island, creating a unique palette of colors and perfuming the air with their fragrances to the delight of all nature-loving visitors and inhabitants.  

Kea's coast curves into small bays and coves; it's also riddled with sea caves. The expansive Ayios Nikolaos Bay, one of the Mediterranean's largest natural harbors, is on the island's northwest coast while Otzias, on the east, is open to northerly winds. Harbors on the island's northwest are at Koundouros, while there is also anchorage at Poles and Spathi coves on the eastern coast and Poisses on the western coast. The seabed off the coast is carpeted by large fields of marine seagrass or Posidonia.