Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
132km²
Area
99km
Coastline
560m
Highest point
2,394
People
25°C
Warmest sea
August
18km
To the mainland
When to go to Kea
Best for the beach from July to September.
The sea is warmest in August (25 °C) and coolest in February (15 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the Cyclades, Greece
Kea is an island in Greece. It covers 132 km², with 99 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 560 m. About 2,394 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 18 km away.
Getting there
- Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (ATH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 50 km in a straight lineCar hire at ATH airport (Spata-Artemida)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLavrio - Kea, Kythnos - Kea
- 18 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Kea.
- 54beachesOtzias, Spathi beach, Psathi and 51 more
- 2lighthouses
- 1ferry terminals
- 1named peaksProfitis Ilias
- 2castles and fortsMonastery of Episkopi, Agia Marina Tower
- 9ruins and archaeological sitesKephala, Lion of Kea, Kea Karthaia and 6 more
- 16waymarked walking routesKea Trail 01 - Leon, Kea Trail 02 - Elixos, Kea Trail 03 - Aristeos and 13 more
- 1campsitesCamping Kea
- 14hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 33restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 209 m above the sea. 51 % of it is below 200 m.
- 14 %0–50 m
- 37 %50–200 m
- 48 %200–500 m
- 1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Kéano census figure
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 15 |
| Night low (°C) | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 13 |
| Sea (°C) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 17 |
| Rain (mm) | 93 | 77 | 58 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 57 | 81 | 101 |
| Wet days | 14 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 14 |
| Sun h/day | 3.8 | 4.7 | 6.8 | 8.6 | 10.2 | 12.0 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 9.3 | 6.9 | 4.9 | 3.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 24 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.3 | −0.4 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +0.6 | +0.8 |
| 2021 | +1.6 | +1.5 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.5 | −0.3 | −0.6 | +0.1 | +1.1 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.7 |
| 2023 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.4 | −0.5 | −0.7 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +2.2 | +1.8 |
| 2024 | +1.9 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +1.3 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +1.4 | +1.7 | +1.8 | +0.8 | +1.5 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.5 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.9 | +1.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.

Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q214109) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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