Greek law targets crowded beaches with drones and citizen reporting App

If you are used to walking on the beaches of Greece and seeing that the landscape is dotted with sunbeds? Prepare to be surprised. Greek beaches lined with deck chairs are becoming a rarer sight after authorities began using drones patrolling the skies to enforce new rules.

The drones, which are located in tourist centers, bars and restaurants, are designed to "handle" establishments that place seating too close to the sea - after a law approved in March 2024 stated that deck chairs and umbrellas must be at least four meters from the beach. This means that it is forbidden to place and rent chairs on beaches with a width of Less than four meters. Also, by law, beaches in Greece must now be at least 70% free of sunbeds.

So that the drones know where to sail, locals report violations using the MyCoast app. Apparently the locals are really in favor of the law, because earlier this month, local news outlets reported that over 1,000 complaints had been received, leading to over €350,000 in fines for violations in just five days.

At the moment, there are 14 beaches at the center of violations. For example, Creonari beach on the northwest coast of the country has already received 169 complaints. The nearby Valtos beach also received a high number of complaints. The beaches of Lagunisi and Nea in Halkidiki have also received similar complaints, along with Kalima beach on the island of Aegina and Masuri beach on Kalymnos. Also on the beaches of the destinations of Corfu and Rhodes you can see drones in action.

The biggest fine given to a sunbed renter so far is 220 thousand euros. The fine was given to him because he was caught working without a license at Timari Beach in Anbissos (south of Athens).