Colorful tourist tip: beach flags. Blue Flag: where are the cleanest beaches?

When planning trips, many vacationers are guided by Blue Flag ratings. This is an international award, presented annually since 1987 to beaches and marinas whose water meets high quality standards and is suitable for safe swimming. The Blue Flag category is managed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). More than 40 countries participate in the program.

In 2013, Spain took first place among the countries with the largest number of Blue Flag beaches (550 holiday destinations). The top five also included Greece, Türkiye, France and Portugal.

European countries are leaders in the number of beaches marked with the Blue Flag BlueFlag.Org data (2013)

1. Spain

The Spanish coastline, with a total length of 8,000 km, attracts more than 43.5 million tourists every year. At the regional level, the leader in the number of clean beaches (127) is the autonomous community of Galicia, within which there are especially many Blue Flags in La Coruña. The beaches of Riazor and Orzan are widely known. However, for those who are used to swimming in the Mediterranean, the water here may seem cold.

2. Greece

Among the Greek regions, the most Blue Flags (36) went to Lasithi, a major tourist center located in Crete. There are especially many clean beaches in the capital of this region, the city of Agios Nikolaos. The best is Almiros, a long sandy beach where the cold current flows into the warm sea. In windy weather, it is better to choose pebble beaches, which are abundant here.

3. Türkiye

In 2013, 383 Turkish beaches were awarded the Blue Flag, of which more than half (197) are located in Antalya. Therefore, it is not surprising that this is the most popular region among Russian tourists. The most famous beaches are Konyaalti (in the west of Antalya) and Lara (in the east). The latter is the focus of all-inclusive holidays on the territory of four and five-star hotels.

4. France

In France, every day you can relax on a new beach marked with the Blue Flag, because there are 365 of them. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region is especially rich in them (96 beaches with the Blue Flag). To the west of Nice (Cannes, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Saint-Tropez) there are sandy beaches, while in Nice itself and further towards Italy they are pebble. The shore is not wide - about 30–40 m.

5. Portugal

The Algarve is the most sophisticated and sought-after region of Portugal. Of the 279 Blue Flags, a quarter went to the beaches of this particular area. The main resorts are Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo, as well as the Golden Triangle, which includes Goldra, Loule and Santa Barbara de Neshe. The best beaches in Portugal are also located there. The coast extends 150 km from east to west from Monte Gordo to Lagos. It is protected from northern winds by mountain ranges. In the west there are rocky beaches, in the east there are sandy beaches.

6. Italy

In Italy, the most Blue Flag beaches are in Liguria (35). The best resorts are Portofino, Rapallo and Santa Margherita Ligure. Those who enjoy walking will enjoy walking along the Via del Amore, or “road of love,” a path that winds along the Cinque Terre coastline. Breathtaking sea views will make your trip unforgettable.

7. Denmark

Denmark has a coastline of 7,400 km - about the same as Brazil and longer than India. For every 180 km² of the country there is a beach with a Blue Flag. There are especially many of them (71) in the south of Denmark, where there are many islands where city dwellers go on weekends to relax (which is why so many Danes have a chocolate tan). The calling card of this region is the marina with yachts.

8. Croatia

Little Croatia, whose area is smaller than Krasnodar Krai, has a coastline of about 2,000 km. Moreover, on average, every 20 km there is a beach marked with the Blue Flag. Istria County is especially rich in clean beaches - there are 43 such beaches. This region is located in western Croatia and includes most of the Istrian peninsula on the Adriatic Sea.

9. UK

Unlike, for example, Turkey or Croatia, Great Britain does not have a reputation as a resort country. However, even here there were 95 beaches worthy of the Blue Flag nomination. Among the regions, Wales has the most (33 beaches). Compared to 2012, there are 10 fewer Blue Flags in this part of the UK - last year was too wet, which had a bad effect on water quality.

10. Ireland

Ireland is a little behind the UK: there are 70 beaches with Blue Flags. Most of them (19) are located in the west of the country, in the province of Connacht, in just two counties - Galway and Mayo. The local beaches are famous only in Ireland and are not in demand among wealthy foreigners, as is the case, for example, in Liguria and the Cote d'Azur.

Every tourist, when traveling, enjoys exploring new beach places, but not everyone is aware of the semantic meaning of the color design of the flags installed on the beaches by lifeguards.

According to the plan, the color of the beach flag carries information that is very important for tourists. Flags can be installed in a combined design and then the semantic load increases multiple times.

1. Blue flag.

A blue flag with an image or simply a sky blue flag is most often decorated with beach areas accredited on 27 points. Simply put, such a flag is a symbol of a quality beach in all respects. Every resort dreams of placing a blue flag on its beach, but getting it is not easy. Sometimes the year the flag was received is indicated directly on the canvas. Certification by a special commission takes place almost annually. The beach is carefully inspected and its compliance with accepted standards is determined. In any country with a developed beach tourism industry, the number of Blue Flags is of paramount importance.

A Blue Flag with a white circle and three blue waves means that the beach fully complies with sanitary standards, there are no industrial drains nearby, there are no animals on this beach in summer, the water area is fenced with buoys and fencing zones, the shore is regularly cleaned, there is no excess vegetation on the beach, and the entire territory is equipped with trash cans and information boards.

In addition, there are convenient descents to the water on the territory, and lifeguards monitor the safety of swimmers on the shore.

Inspectors can check the presence and status of all these required attributes at any time, and if something is wrong, you can easily say goodbye to the flag. The Blue Flag award is awarded for a season only. In the future, all procedures will have to be repeated.

Blue Flags mark not only beaches on the seashore, but also areas on the coast of fresh water bodies.

European beaches undergo certification before the start of the summer season. Unfortunately, neither Russia nor Ukraine can boast of having beach areas marked with blue flags.

2. Red flag.

Red flags, in any case, whether there are inscriptions on them or not, mean one thing: entering the water is prohibited. Even if the sea in this place seems quiet and calm to you, you should not think that the flag was installed here by mistake or by an absurd accident.

A red flag is set in the following cases:

• storms or high tidal waves;
• the presence of dangerous predators in the water area (for example, sharks, crocodiles, snakes, etc.);
• emerging strong tidal currents, once caught in which you can quickly find yourself in the open sea;
• the beginning of the hunting period for nocturnal inhabitants of a certain section of the coast;
• presence of areas with quicksand;
• the presence of zones with powerful whirlpools, etc. etc.

If you see a red flag, be sure to ask rescuers or local residents about the reason for its appearance. Always try to ask the locals if you can swim in this place!

It would be useful to remind you of the ban on swimming where there is not even a hint of a rescue booth with a rescuer who could respond to calls for help.

Most often, the distance between red flags is 50 meters. But even if the red flag is in splendid isolation, its menacing appearance should be enough to make a decision.

3. Yellow flag / Orange flag.

These flags indicate that the beach is partially closed and swimming is not recommended.

You can enter the water, but due to large waves, rescuers have the right not to let tourists into the water.

In Ukraine, Russia and other CIS countries, this flag indicates the presence of lifeguards, and, consequently, the absence of a ban on swimming.

4. Green flag.

Swimming is allowed. Usually the green flag is not set.

5. White flag.

Swimming is allowed. Installed as the antipode of the black flag.

6. Black flag/ball.

A black flag with a shark on it is placed in places where sharks are frequent (the flag may be red in some countries).

In Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former USSR, swimming with such a black ball is generally prohibited.

7. Purple flag.

The purple flag is used to prohibit swimming. The reason for the ban is the presence of a large number of toxic jellyfish in the water.

8. Checkerboard black and white flag (usually there are 2).

With the help of this flag (flags) a zone is designated for fans of surfing and other sports.

It is better not to swim in such an area, as the likelihood of a collision with athletes is quite high.

9. Yellow-red flag (usually there are 2).

With the help of this flag (flags) an area is allowed for swimming under the supervision of lifeguards.

In countries such as the USA and Australia, lifeguards try to completely prevent swimming outside the area designated by such flags.

10. Yellow flag with a black circle inside.

This flag is commonly used in the USA. It means a ban on the use of heavy surfboards in areas where swimming is allowed.

11. Blue flag with three shells.

Such a unique flag is not used anywhere on the beach except Ukraine.

It is installed in luxury beach areas, including those for the disabled.

If we consider that the Crimean beaches and beaches of other regions of Ukraine in the near future will not be able to lay claim to blue flags (point 1 of our story), then the use of these signs is explained only by the desire to somehow attract vacationers.

Long-term observations show that people prefer to relax on clean sand and swim in clean water. The French were the first to appreciate this feature and in 1985 they established a certain certificate beach quality in the form blue flag. That's what they called him - .

Since 1987, Europe, represented by the EU, was once again unable to resist French fashion and joined the program Blue Flag.
In 2001, the whole world followed Europe and now about 50 countries participate in the program as of December 2017. Of these, 45 countries have Blue Flag facilities.
Except beaches the program evaluates marinas (moorings for boats and yachts) and ships.

The program is conducted by the International Federation of Environmental Education - FEO (Foundation for Environmental Education - FEE). Only she has the right to issue. The marina or ship receives a flag for one year, and the beach for the swimming season in the current year. After a year, they must all reaffirm their right to fly the blue flag. Update time blue flag certificates in the Northern Hemisphere annually in late May - early June. For the Southern Hemisphere and Caribbean, this occurs around November 1st.

Beach, over which flutters blue flag, guarantees vacationers that

• access to the beach is free
• the water is clean and tested weekly
• garbage is collected and sand is cleared
• there is a surveillance and rescue service on the beach
• if necessary, emergency assistance can be provided right on the beach
• showers are available
• motorized vehicles do not drive on the beach
• pets use another beach

This list can be continued because in total there are 29 criteria for evaluating beaches. The standards contained in them are very strict and tend to become even more stringent over time. You can get comprehensive information about the program on the Blue Flag program website.

We, ordinary vacationers, do not need to study all the intricacies of the program. It is enough to know that Blue flag on the beach this is a reliable indicator and guarantor top quality beach holiday.

Unfortunately, Russia’s position in the Blue Flag is not yet as strong as we would like. But in 2016, it finally appeared the first Russian beach with the Blue Flag. The beach is located in the Kaliningrad region, in the village of Yantarny. The certificate was issued from June 1, 2016 to September 1, 2016.

Number of Blue Flags by country.

In order for you to be able to navigate the situation with the quality of beaches in different countries, I give you a table with the number of Blue Flags by country. Using the buttons you can select the year for which you want to view data. Columns with "+-" signs reflect the change in the number of flags compared to the previous year.

Unfortunately, the Blue Flag program website is not distinguished by its quality and convenience; in addition, it is constantly being “refined” and not always for the better. Therefore, some years are missing from my database, sorry...

Blue Flag 2017

And in conclusion of this completely non-commercial topic, I would like to say this. Friends, believe me, the French are not to blame for the fact that there are no blue flags. If it is within your power, try to make sure that we have them. And if you are lucky and you will rest on beach, already awarded blue flag, try to leave him as clean as he greeted you!

All beaches suitable for swimming have adopted an international safety alert system, which is monitored by coast patrol.

Major flags on the beach

Remembering the flag system is as easy as remembering the colors of a traffic light:

Red flag- danger! Swimming is prohibited! Two red flags - you can’t go into the water at all.
Yellow flag- Be careful, it is advisable not to swim alone.
Green flag— the sea is calm, safe conditions for swimming.

A red flag prohibiting swimming can mean both the risk of strong currents and danger from marine life. Therefore, you should not “by eye” estimate the height of the waves, relying on your own ideas about safety.

However, one should not confuse this red-yellow flag on the beach (usually there are two of them) - encloses an area within which you can safely swim, the area is guarded by lifeguards (see our material “). This rule is common on almost all equipped American and Australian beaches: rule "Swim Between the Flags". The continuation sounds convincing: “If we don’t see you, we won’t be able to save you.”.

Purple/blue flag- meaning the presence of dangerous marine life, these are, as a rule, stinging jellyfish, "Portuguese man-of-war", stingrays - the one who dealt with them does not need to be convinced. The purple flag may be present in conjunction with the flags listed above. Like, for example, in this photo: a yellow flag means medium danger, moderate surf and current, but next to it there is a purple flag, which means that marine life is active. As you can see, people are leaving the beach.

Brown/orange flag may mean that there are problems with the purity of water and the environment, in particular, they are polluted. Remembering this color by analogy with excrement is also easy.
In total, the complete set of main flags looks something like this:

There are minor differences in different countries - for example, blue is used instead of purple (not to be confused with the blue flag, see below), and orange is used instead of brown. In addition to flags, beaches usually post rules for rescue when caught in a “rip current” (see our material) and beach rules, for example: “Diving from the pier is prohibited”, “Dog walking is prohibited”, “You cannot bring food and drinks”, “Nudism is prohibited”, “High risk of sharks”, etc.

Surfer flags

Some beaches, notable for their large waves, are popular with surfers. Surf spots equipped with black and white "chess flag". Just like the Formula 1 flag, it's easy to remember.
There are always signs on the beach where you should surf ( surf), and where to swim ( swim). The surfing area, where lifeguards are on duty, as well as the swimming area, is fenced with flags on both sides. Rule "Surf Between the Flags" works here too.

Danger of shark attacks

Big water, while providing incredible opportunities for surfing and diving, whale and dolphin watching, and diving into the rich underwater world, also poses a danger due to marine predators. In particular, these are the beaches of Thailand, South Africa, Australia, and the USA. In places where there is a danger of human encounters with sharks, there are usually flags warning about the degree of risk.

What to do if there is a danger of a shark attack - you can watch in the cartoon video(English)

Blue flag

And now about the pleasant things. Beaches have their own rating of quality and cleanliness, just like hotels and restaurants have a number of stars. The Blue Flag is the highest international award for a beach.

Historical background: the Blue Flag beach quality certificate was established by the French in 1985. That's what they called it - the Blue Flag. Since 1987, Europe, represented by the EU, has joined the program. The whole world followed Europe and now about 60 countries participate in the Blue Flag program (official website).

In addition to beaches, the program evaluates marinas (moorings for boats and yachts). The program is conducted by the International Federation of Environmental Education - FEO (Foundation for Environmental Education - FEE). Only she has the right to issue the Blue Flag. But only for one year. After a year, the beach or marina must reaffirm its right to hang a blue flag over the clean sand. The renewal time for Blue Flag certificates in the Northern Hemisphere is around 5 June each year. For the Southern Hemisphere and Caribbean, this occurs around November 1st.

A beach with a blue flag flies guarantees vacationers that:

— access to the beach is free;
— the water is clean and tested weekly;
— garbage is collected and sand is cleaned;
— there is a surveillance and rescue service on the beach;
— if necessary, emergency assistance can be provided right on the beach;
— there are showers;
— motorized vehicles do not drive on the beach;
— Pets use a different beach.

There are 29 criteria for evaluating beaches in total. The standards contained in them are very strict and tend to become even more stringent over time. Ordinary vacationers do not need to study all the intricacies of the program; it is enough to simply know that the blue flag is a reliable indicator of the highest quality of the beach. You can try to search for your country and beach on the official website in the list of Blue Flag beaches.

Many tourists vacationing at famous seaside resorts have probably already noticed that lifeguards working on the beaches continually plant flags of various colors on the shore. As you might guess, this is done not for the sake of decorating the coastline, which can already be very picturesque, but for a practical purpose - warning local residents and foreign tourists about the state of the sea on a particular beach and the degree of its danger for swimming. Currently, the beaches of most resorts in the world use a danger warning system, which is generally accepted, so knowing the meanings of certain flags will be useful to you not only while on vacation in Thailand, but also when traveling to other countries of the world.

All tourists vacationing at sea should know that not all of the flags installed on the beaches signal danger, because some of them, on the contrary, indicate that the sea condition is ideal for swimming, and some flags simply inform about certain features of the beach. If we talk specifically about Thailand, for example, then warning and information flags are complemented by inscriptions in seven languages ​​at once, the choice of which is due to the presence of a large number of tourists visiting the country and speaking these languages. Russian-speaking tourists are also not deprived in this regard, because in addition to Thai, Chinese, English, French, Korean and German, Russian is also used. The choice of languages ​​for warning signs on beaches in other countries is often much more limited.

However, it is not at all necessary to come close to the flags on the beach and read the inscriptions, because according to international standards, the colors of warning and information flags are somewhat reminiscent of the familiar colors of traffic lights. Therefore, if you are relaxing on one of them near Pattaya and see a green flag, this means that swimming is completely safe and the sea is calm at the moment. If a yellow flag is installed on the beach, then you should be vigilant while swimming, as there is some danger. If you cannot resist the temptation to swim in the sea when there are yellow flags, try not to do it completely alone, because in the event of an unforeseen situation there will be no one to save you.

A red flag hanging on the beach (as you might guess) means that the current sea state is assessed as dangerous, so swimming is prohibited. Most often, the red flag is flown when the sea is very rough. If not one, but two red flags are hung or installed on the beach (next to each other), then an increased level of danger emanates from the sea. The most common reason for placing two red flags on beaches is the presence of dangerous underwater currents. For example, this phenomenon is often observed on the beaches of Phuket during the low season on this island. You can read more about this in the article. If there are two red flags on the beach, it is prohibited not only to swim, but also to simply enter the water, even if it seems quite harmless on the surface.

The presence of yellow-red flags on the beaches indicates that swimming is allowed within the beach areas fenced by these flags, which are guarded by the water rescue service. But it is better to exercise some caution. Even greater caution should be exercised when a purple (or dark blue) flag is spotted on the beach, which signals the presence of hazardous marine substances in coastal sea water that can harm human health. For example, stinging jellyfish have been spotted near the beach. Often a purple flag may be flown together with flags of other colors, such as yellow. In this case, the meaning of the flags of both colors is combined.

The presence of a brown flag hanging on the beach indicates that the sea water on the beach is seriously polluted, so swimming there is undesirable. Pollution can be either domestic or industrial, so those who care about preserving their own health should avoid water procedures on this beach. A black and white flag often causes unreasonable anxiety among vacationers at sea, but in reality it only signals that surfing is allowed on the beach. The area for this type of water sport is usually fenced on the beach on both sides, and on the beach itself there are signs that explain which areas are reserved for surfing and which for regular swimming in the sea.

And finally, a blue (light blue) flag installed on the beach signals the exceptional cleanliness of the water and the well-groomed territory of the beach itself. Most often, blue flags can be seen at European resorts, seaside resorts in Turkey and Egypt. I didn’t notice such flags in Thailand, although this does not mean that the water is not clean enough. Most likely, the Thais are simply saving money, because due to the huge number of clean beaches with crystal clear water, they would have to produce a considerable number of such flags every year :)

I hope that after reading this article you will always know what certain flags on the beaches mean and will follow their instructions for your own safety and to avoid unpleasant incidents that will mar your independent holiday in Thailand or your holiday at any other resort in the world.

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