As the mercury rises and patience plummets, the Municipal Beach of Karteros is rejuvenated, organized, and staffed with enough lifeguards to reduce, but never eliminate, swimming’s little hazards. The beach now offers proper access for people with reduced mobility due to the SeaAccess mechanism scheduled to function from June 1st, 2025.
SeaAccess Features
SeaAccess works through a folding ramp guided by a simple remote control. For someone who uses a wheelchair or other mobility aid, this means they can cruise down the ramp on their own, without waiting for help. It can be moved and set up at nearly any spot on the beach within minutes. Its design keeps the user steady and secure as they travel from sand to waves and back again.
- Setup time: About 2 minutes. Blink and you’ll miss it.
- Space needed: Only 2 m². That’s less than some beach bags.
- Remotely controlled folding ramp—you don’t have to chase down a helper.
- It moves easily on sand even if the tide can’t make up its mind.
- It uses a dual-motor system for both ground movement and seating transfer.
- Folded dimensions: 1,616 x 960 x 1,228 mm. It fits anywhere you’re not tripping over.
- Removes every night or at the first sign of storm clouds.
Don’t expect rusty hinges. SeaAccess comes stuffed with over 150 unique parts and high-end materials. It shrugs off saltwater, packs its bags when the weather gets sketchy, and racks up exactly zero maintenance bills. AkriMan, the folks behind it, ensure every system meets EU safety standards and bolts nothing into the sand or seabed. Translation? No holes, no protests from environmentalists, everyone sleeps well.
As the official word from the company goes: “SeaAccess stands out as the only patented, folding, remote-controlled beach access system for disabled users that you can move and install wherever the day takes you.”
Patrons of the Municipal Beach of Karteros can indulge in a parade of coffee and snacks and justification for skipping work as early as nine in the morning, finishing at six in the afternoon. From June 1st onward, the service window stretches mercifully until nine in the evening because nothing quite beats a sunset observed from an ergonomic plastic chair.
With polished facilities, watchful lifeguards, and just enough shade to coax both locals and tourists out of their rooms, the municipal machines have spoken. If the lure of coffee or the threat of yet another summer indoors spurs a visit, at least Heraklion can offer reassurance—no one gets left behind, except maybe sunscreen.
