Bird Away Beach Bar Restaurant — Restaurant in Municipality of Kissamos

None of the businesses that are suffocating and destroying the Natura area with the giant sunbeds are legal. And yet they all work unimpeded.

According to a recent news article on Lifo.gr : Occupying with umbrella seats one of the most beautiful Greek beach, in Falasarna, Crete, is completely illegal. After the complaints of the municipal authority and the opposition and the revelations by the Citizens' Initiative Save Falasarna, the autopsy carried out the day before yesterday by a team of inspectors of the State Land Service revealed extensive occupation of the public area of the beach, without any lease of a beach concession permit.

In the autopsy in the area of Falasarna in the municipality of Kissamos, a count was made of the entire occupied area of the shared area of the beach and it was found that not a single lease of beach concession has been made in the area.

Despite the suffocating tourist exploitation of the beach, there are only 3-4 leases, which, however, relate to the exploitation of marine recreational equipment (e.g. water sports, bicycles, jet skis, etc.) which were drawn up by the Real Estate Service itself after by auction. On the contrary, none other than those professionals and operators of the beach where the team conducted an autopsy had a permit to occupy the beach and the beach for sunbeds and umbrellas.

In a recent announcement by the Citizens' Initiative "Save Falasarna" there is talk of small-four-wheeled-vehicles that "harvest" the sand dunes, jet skis, umbrella seats on 80% and not the 30% of the beach defined by Natural Environment & Climate Change Agency, and a scandalous rent of 10 euros per per square meter per year plus beach bars and decibels above the permitted limit. In addition, the Initiative states that it is now questionable whether there is a license for all of this. In the announcement, among other things, it is mentioned that "recently there was a police check all over the Falasarna bay and 13 businessmen were arrested (we learned about workers who are getting paid from the business owners to pretend that they are responsible for the business there when police comes for spontaneous arrest) because they did not have a license for the umbrella seats they were renting" and continues: "The invitation of the Municipality of Kissamos to businesses for a simple beach concession was made on April 11 and the deadline expired on June 23. The intervention of the Police took place a month later and it was found that no one had a permit, while most of the umbrella seats have been in since May. The first question is whether they had all applied to the Municipality by June 23 or whether they took advantage of the "loophole" given to them by the law, to apply through the Real Estate Service from July 1 onwards."

In another part of the Falasarna Movement's complaint, it is stated that, "even if they had a permit, the concession contract defines a specific area (usually 500 sq.m.), of which, because it is a Natura area, it can be occupied with umbrella seats 30%, i.e. around 170 sq.m. Falasarna beach has sand dunes that are plowed daily by small-four-wheeled-vehicles.

The last thing that shows the magnitude of the scandal is dedicated to those who believe that if we give our beaches to private initiative, this will bring development and therefore revenue to the public coffers. The companies in question, even when they get permission, will pay to the Municipality and the Greek State, based on the contracts we have seen, a price of around 10 euros/sq.m. for a whole year. That is, for a contract concerning 500 sq.m. they will pay 5,000 euros/year. The specific umbrella seats are charged from 20 to 80 or even 300 euros if they are in the first row. Do the multiplication for a business that has 100 umbrella seats (100x80 = 8,000 euros, i.e. the annual rental cost is the collection of only half a day) and you will see that we are talking about a robbery at the expense of Kissamites, Chaniotes and all visitors." the...

My boyfriend, a friend, and I spent the last 8 days at this fantastic beach bar, and we couldn’t be happier with our experience. From the moment we arrived, the staff was incredibly welcoming and attentive, making us feel right at home. The service was impressively fast, and the staff always went above and beyond to ensure we had everything we needed. Their attentiveness and warm hospitality truly stood out. Now, the food – absolutely delicious! Every meal we had was a treat, full of flavor and beautifully presented. Whether you’re grabbing a quick bite or enjoying a leisurely meal by the beach, you won’t be disappointed. Overall, this beach bar made our vacation extra special. We can’t...

We were supporting this beach bar from the very beginning and this is the only reason I give a 2 stars review. We spend 31€ for 2 club sandwiches with chicken and 2 draft beers which was for take away, so no service included. 10€ was the cost for a normal club sandwich, so we are talking about the materials that are needed for two normal toasts and some potatoes, so everyone has an idea what’s the cost here. The bread was not properly baked and the sauce was literally not enough. The general rise in prices has to be controlled eventually and not to be used as an excuse over the consumers. Especially with the salaries that we...