Loutraki - A Blue Flag Resort

http://www.blueflag.org/

The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to 3849 beaches and marinas in 46 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean.

The Blue Flag works towards sustainable development of beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with Water Quality, Environmental Education and Information, Environmental Management, and Safety and Other Services.

The Blue Flag Programme is owned and run by the non-government, non-profit organisation the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).

Beaches are awarded the Blue Flag based on compliance with 32 criteria covering the following:

1) Environmental Education and Information

2) Water Quality

3) Environmental Management

4) Safety and Services

All Blue Flags are awarded for one season at a time. If the criteria are not fulfilled during the season or the conditions change, the Blue Flag may be withdrawn.

Loutraki beach is at the southeast part of the Municipality (Corinthian Gulf) and its south part ends to the Corinthian Canal. The access to the beach is easy, since town and pedestrian roads end up to the coastal pedestrian road. More to that near the beach you can drive along the coastal Poseidon Street which connects Loutraki and Korintho and which lots of people use in order to get to the beach. The whole beach consists of pebbles and gravel of small and medium size while at some parts of it, to the south part of it mostly, small rocks exist giving a diversiform to the coastal environment without opposing the swimmers to use the beach.

During the European Blue Flag Campaign, lots of environmental education activities have been organized, cleaning of the beach, speeches, painting competitions etc. with the contribution of the Schools of our Municipality.

As far as it concerns the water sports there is one site on the beach which is used exclusively to rent a waterbike, a windserf or a canoe and to enter or to exit the sea. In the region of the beach and inside Loutraki the visitors are offered the opportiunity to rent cars and motorbikes if they want to get to know the town, visit the sightseeings (Vouliagmeni Lake, Iraion, Corinhtian Canal etc.) and the other beaches (Vouliagmeni, Isthmia, Kalamaki, Shinos). In the town of Loutraki during the summer operate about (60) sixty hotels most of which are build near the coast. At the natural environment of the beach the following plants grow :- Cupressus sempervirens- Nerium oleander - Limonium sinuatum - Glaucium luteum while members of the animal populations belong to :1.- Phylum Chordata Class Aves Genus :Larus Species : argentatus2. - Phylum Mollusca Class Lamellibranchiata & Class Gastropoda.