A rewarding weekend on Tzia

I always had a ready excuse for not visiting the island of Kea, also known as Tzia, which lies a convenient one-hour ferry ride away from the coast of Lavrio in southeastern Attica: "It's so close; we'll go another time." Well, the years went by and that "other time" only came one weekend earlier this summer. Friends and colleagues had all sorts of recommendations that would ensure my family had a lovely time, with the list of suggestions growing so long we'd need well over a week to cover them all. So, we whittled it down to size and had two absolutely wonderful days on the Cycladic island that is closest to Athens.

We started our first day with a swim at Xyla Beach, on the island's east coast, which is partially serviced with umbrellas and loungers but still had plenty of room for us to set up our own beach tent. Sykamia and Spathi are also gorgeous, though none offers any...