It is an idyllic scene, but one that is totally illegal.
Like many others in Greece, the two establishments on Pefkochori beach do not have a licence to set up shop so close to the water.
But after a wave of protests last summer by locals about bars and restaurants illegally covering beaches with sunbeds and tables, the Greek state is taking action.
It is cracking down on rogue tourist practices with surveillance drones, satellite imagery and a special app on which people can complain.
Pensioner Evgenia Rapti, who has a summer home near Pefkochori beach, is one of many outraged by the inexorable growth of Greece’s tourism industry.
“The whole beach has been taken over” with tables, chairs and deckchairs, the 64-year-old pensioner told AFP in the northern resort.
“When we bought our house 40 years ago, it was completely different,” she recalled wistfully. “The beach was empty and it was nice to lie there.”
Greece’s travel sector has rebounded with a vengeance from the Covid pandemic — but the downside is overtourism.
Last year, nearly 33 million people visited Greece, five million more than in 2022.
Renting two mattresses and a parasol for a day on the beach in Greece usually costs between 20 and 40 euros ($21-43).
Prices are much higher still on some top islands.
But a pushback has begun.
“The problem with beaches in Greece is entrepreneurs who, either with a permit or through encroachment, cover parts of the coast with sunbeds, umbrellas, tables and even permanent structures,” said beach activist George Theodoridis, who is part of a Halkidiki group that has over 12,000 members on Facebook.
The first drone flights to spot the rule breakers in Pefkochori began in May.
And some 6,000 complaints from the public have been logged nationally on the new official MyCoast app since April, including 680 for the Halkidiki region east of the second city Thessaloniki.
“I can click directly in the app at the location where I am and file a report saying that (this private operator) does not have a licence,” Theodoridis said.
Under the new rules introduced in March, umbrellas and deck chairs must be at least four metres from the sea. And no rentals are allowed on beaches that have less than four metres of sand.
In some cases, the added scrutiny has borne results.
On the popular tourist island of Rhodes, officials recently suspended the operation of a beach bar who had even put sunbeds in the sea.
