Many people in wheelchairs find organizing a vacation to be a true challenge because they have difficulty obtaining accurate information about accommodation and beaches adapted for people with disabilities.
The following text, taken from Marko Veličković’s blog Samo kolica i put, describes the organization of vacations from the personal experience of a person with disabilities and illustrates the difficulties that a person in a wheelchair faces when choosing a travel destination.
“Anyone who lives their life in a wheelchair knows how difficult it is to organize a trip. It is even more challenging to obtain accurate information because people all over our global village do not know what accessibility truly means in practice. That is why every summer, the entire family turns into a detective agency and embarks on a search that lasts for months. Forums are read, reports are watched, and all pictures and catalogs are scanned with a magnifying glass so that we don’t miss any steps, and so on. Then we have to check the width of the doors, if the wheelchair can fit through, we check the surroundings, if there are pathways or if the apartment is surrounded by gravel. If I can even approach the bed, and so on. Then comes a quiz of questions that no tourism employee is able to answer because they simply do not know what to pay attention to.
The biggest problem in Greece is the bathrooms. They are always small, and sometimes it requires heavy gymnastics to reach the toilet. I understand the Greeks. Space is saved in bathrooms. In essence, I have to choose accommodation based on this room as long as the apartment is on the ground floor. Over the years, my family and I have developed countless creative solutions to overcome these obstacles, but we are not omnipotent. I don’t even know how many other people’s photos I go through, searching for smiling tourists in the background, while a ramp at the pool becomes an elusive noun. It would be nice if everyone who travels could be a source of information. Somewhere, someone saw a ramp, somewhere someone was accommodated in an apartment with a decently large toilet. That would mean a lot to me and others like me. It is not true that wheelchair users do not travel, they just lack accurate information. In the meantime, I continue on, sometimes getting burned and sometimes not. But the Veličković family loves Greece so much that we forgive it everything.”
The majority of beaches in Greece are not adapted for people with disabilities, but the good news is that more and more municipalities are getting involved in projects to enable easier access to beaches for people in wheelchairs, those with limited mobility, and the visually impaired.
In recent years, the number of beaches with access for people with disabilities has significantly increased (around 250 beaches have implemented temporary mechanisms for autonomous access to the sea, as well as additional facilities such as portable changing cabins, toilets, and corridors).

Which beaches have ramps and accessible access to the sea and beach for people with disabilities?

By clicking on this LINK, you can view a map of all beaches in Greece with accessible access that have been built in the past two years. As part of a large project for people with mobility difficulties, about 200 ramps have been installed for people with mobility impairments (who use wheelchairs) on the beaches shown on this map in Greece in the past two years, so the number of beaches is now significantly larger compared to previous years. The map is interactive, and by clicking on the region and the “cloud,” you can see details.

On the Seatrack association website, by clicking HERE, you can also see ramps on the map without all the new ones included.

Remote control for ramps

You will also need a remote control to start the ramp. It is with the lifeguard and its use is free. All lifeguards should have it, but in any case you have alternative solutions.
- Find out if there is a remote control on site at the beach by checking the SEATRAC site. If the remote control is not available on site\, please call +302610876000 to have it delivered to you (1-3 days in Greece). All remote controls are waterproof.
- Another option for securing a remote control is to send it to your accommodation for free! Send an e-mail to seatrac.previev@tobea.gr with the name of your hotel, your name and the date of arrival ((Delivery 1-3 days in Greece). This way you can provide a remote control that you will use during your vacation, which will be left behind at your accommodation so it can be used by other people who need it.

In the following text, we will endeavour to list as many beaches with ramps as possible.

Beaches with ramps on Thassos

-Tripiti has a movable ramp and path.
-Prinos
-Limenas (near Aqua and Island beach bars).

Beaches with ramps in Kavala and the surrounding area

-The beach in Kavala (municipal), located east of the port.
-Kalamica Beach located in Kavala, west of the port.
-Nea Iraklitsa
-Nea Peramos
-Eleofhori Beach (beyond Nea Peramos towards Thessaloniki).
Keramoti beach also has a ramp.

Thessaloniki region - Strimonikos Gulf

-Orfani Beach
-Stavros, Platani Beach
-Nea Vrasna (Kiklades bar)
-Asprovalta

Athos beaches with ramps for people with disabilities

-Jerisos
-Nea Roda

Sithonia - beaches with ramps

-Metamorfosi
-Gerakini

Kassandra - beaches with movable ramps

-Nea Moudania
-Nea Flogita
-Nea Kalikratia, municipal beach.
-Siviri
-Nea Potidea
-Nea Plagia
-Skala Furka, on the beach near Babewatch beach bar (accessible ramp to the sea, toilet, and shower)
Nea Propontida is a municipality that has provided and installed toilets and showers adapted for people with disabilities, as well as wooden paths, rail tracks, and amphibious wheelchairs on the beaches of Mikoniatika, Agia Mama, Dionisiou.
Perea, a suburb of Thessaloniki, also has a ramp.
Nea Epivates next to Thessaloniki.

Olympus region

-Korinos Beach
-Nei Pori also has adapted ramps and toilets, and cafes in Leptokaria have wooden paths to the water.
-There is a movable ramp at Olympic Beach, but it is not in operation. However, there is a wooden path to the sea that can be used by people in wheelchairs.
-At Akti Aphrodite bar.
-Paralia at Papu beach kiosk;
-Platamon on KAAI beach;
-Leptokarya
Kala Nera in Pelion also has a ramp.

Ramps on the Ionian coast

-Vrahos, in front of Serbas cafe on Vrahos-Loutsa beach.
-Vrahos-Loutsa beach, Ligia.
-Parga, Ammoudia beach.
-Igoumenitsa
-Sivota
-Karavostasi
-Preveza, Kastrosykia
Peloponnese
-Mesto Stupa
-Kalamata

Islands and beaches with ramps for people with disabilities

-Lefkada: Ligia, Ammoglossa, and Mikros Gialos
-On the island of Alonissos, there are paths for people with disabilities to the water on two beaches (Milia and Glifa).
-Kefalonia, Lixouri Lepeda
-Manadendri beach on Paxos.

In the Northern Aegean, 20 beaches on 15 islands have two amphibious wheelchairs, one rail track, a path to umbrellas and sunbeds, as well as one changing cabin and toilet.
The islands that have all of the above are:
-Sifnos (Kamares Beach),
-Thira (Kamari Beach),
-Naxos (Agios Prokopios Beach),
-Ios (Milopotamos Beach),
-Paros (Chrissi Akti),
-Mykonos (Kalafatis),
-Antiparos (A’Psaraliki),
-Syros (Kini),
-Andros (Batsi),
-Tinos (Kinia),
-Rhodes (Ialyssos, Tsambika, Faliraki, Elli),
-Kos (Kritika, Kardamena, Tigaki),
-Patmos (Kampos),
-Kalymnos (Kasonia and Nea Paralia - Pothia),
-Lesbos (Agios Isidoros).

In Crete, the municipal beaches in Ierapetra, Heraklion, Rethymno, and Chania (Agia Marina) have rail tracks and wooden paths to the sea, as well as toilets and changing cabins.
Since 2016, Neraida Beach in Loutraki has had a ramp.

The island of Corfu is the most advanced when it comes to caring for tourists and the local population with disabilities.
By 2019, almost every beach on Corfu will have amphibious wheelchairs, a path to the sea, and a ramp.
At the moment, the following beaches have them:
Dasia (next to Malibu),
Gouvia (central beach),
Alikes Potamos (municipal beach),
Ipsos Beach, Mon Repos, Bouka Lefkimi, Agios Georgios Argiradon (before Akvis),
Moraitika next to Golden Beach, Sidari (next to the municipal parking lot),
Agios Georgios Pagon (central beach), Roda, Kassiopi, and Arillas (central beach).
Several more amphibious wheelchairs have already been ordered, and plans are underway to install wooden paths and a sound system for people with hearing impairments.

In Cyprus (Greek part), all 48 beaches have fully or partially accessible access for people with disabilities, with ramps (railway tracks) and amphibious wheelchairs.

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