Tips for Visit Greece Beaches

How do you choose the right beach for you? Are you searching for activity and services or a quiet and solitude commune with nature?

The Greek islands have beaches galore to suit every preference. They frequently score among the top ten lists for favorite beaches world wide. What makes it interesting is that each beach has its own style and character and even that varies daily with the direction of the cooling breezes or high winds as they are less charitably known. Many beaches along the varied Greece coast are small and remote; just right for the two of you, wink.

But for now I want to write about the popular, full service beaches. This type of beach always has umbrellas for shade with lounges as well as food and drink on offer. Most also provide a mix of activities such as wind surfing, kayaking, banana boats and the like. The last few years we have also seen a new service: Asians giving low cost massages. Personally, I have never had one but they do look like a pleasant way to break up the tedium of sun bathing.

But evidently the bureaucrats don't agree, on Crete at least. In the first two months of the 2011 season on the beaches there they have arrested 25 foreign nationals for being unlicensed masseurs. From my own experience in Greece I know it is next to impossible and very expensive for a foreigner to get a business license. So effectively they are eliminating this service. The local Greeks have jobs that pay much better.

Perhaps this police crack down is a result of some beach goers complaining about having their tranquility interrupted. I know some beach vendors can be a nuisance. My response is to go to one of the more remote beaches if you want total peace.

My all time favorite example of a valuable service offered on the beach was on the party island of Ios; an old man was peddling small watermelons and other fruit from baskets on his donkey's back.

This subject reminds me of the crack down on street performances on our island of Paros years ago. It used to be such fun to stroll along the harbor front watching the jugglers, dancers and musicians. Then suddenly they were gone as the police started requiring a license from every performer. No longer was there much joy or excitement along restaurant row. Thankfully, however, either the license edict was relaxed or the police found something else to emphasize because the performers are back, although in smaller numbers it seems.

So we will have to wait and see if the licensing foolishness infects Greece beaches this year or if it is like most regulation in Greece, seldom enforced.