We spent 7 nights in Gournes in Crete in September 2014. Here follows an account of our trip:

The Journey

We flew out from East Midlands to Heraklion with Thomson. Both flights were pretty much on time but meals, drinks & entertainment weren’t included. Pretty much a typical charter flight then! We had a short wait for our luggage at Heraklion and then a 20 min transfer to the hotel.

The Weather

The forecasts had shown mainly hot weather in the weeks before we travelled, but we knew that we were going towards the end of the season (last week of September) so we were prepared for some bad weather. It was actually very warm when we first arrived, reaching 37c one day, but a storm blew in on our last afternoon so we flew home in quite cool and windy weather. In hindsight, I think it would have been better to have gone the previous week (in mid-Sept).

Accommodation

Golden Bay Apartments, Gournes Pediados

This was our final holiday of 2014 and we wanted somewhere hot and cheap with weekend daylight flights in both directions. After a bit of research, Crete had the best flight times from East Midlands airport and we picked the Golden Bay because it was cheap and near to the airport (so had a short transfer time). The reviews we had seen were mixed, but we really just wanted somewhere where we could relax so we decided to take a chance on it.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were immediately impressed with the warm welcome we received from Rani and Yasmin. I had emailed in advance to request a quiet room on a high floor, and was delighted to be shown to room 106, which was at the back of the complex with lovely sea and sunset views. The apartment was larger than we expected and had more than enough room for 2 people. The décor was a bit shabby, and the beds were a bit hard, but other than that it was fine. We decided not to pay for the air conditioning and decided instead to just leave the windows and balcony door open all the time, which was fine apart from the day it reached 37c! Even though we were on Half Board, it was really useful to have the kitchenette so we could make things like sandwiches and drinks ourselves. There were a couple of mini markets within walking distance, which were fine for our needs – if you wanted to self-cater then there were bigger supermarkets in Kokkini Hani and Gouves.

Being on Half Board meant that we could have breakfast in the pool bar, plus a 3 course dinner in the on-site taverna each night. Breakfast was ok but there wasn’t much variety, dinner on the other hand was excellent every night and we ended up eating far too much. The Moussaka and the Kleftico were particular highlights for both of us. Shame the Greek Night was cancelled due to low numbers though! If we go back again, I think we would go Bed and Breakfast instead so we could try out some of the local restaurants as well. The drinks were well priced, especially the wine and the Happy Hour cocktails, and the service was always excellent, even on busy nights. Special mention has to go to Effi and Ari for their endless good humour, but all the staff were pleasant and friendly all week and always seemed to be busy with their work. There were no issues with sun bed reserving, despite the apartments being full for most of the week.

Gournes itself is a very small resort, with only a handful of bars and restaurants plus an excursion agency, but this was fine by us as it meant that it was easy to find somewhere to drink, and also that the beach was always very quiet. We took the tourist train (Noddy Train) on our 2nd day and found it useful in allowing us to see the nearby resorts. You can also walk to them or get a taxi. As other reviewers have mentioned, this area is under the flight path for Heraklion airport, but we never found this to be an issue. We ending up spending most of our time at the hotel, but we did fit in a trip to the Lychnostatis Folk Museum at Hersonnissos by bus, which was quite interesting. We didn’t like Hersonissos though – too noisy and busy! All in all, we had a very relaxing and cheap week at the Golden Bay apartments and were really sorry to leave. If we want to do a similar holiday in future, we would definitely consider going back!

Thomson Excursion Prices as at September 2014

- Spinalonga – 68 euros
- Minoan Magic – 46 euros
- 4x4 Adventure – 79 euros
- Aghois Nikolaos Market & Kritsa – 36 euros
- Myths & Legends – 48 euros
- Pirates Ahoy – 49 euros
- Water Water Everywhere – 43 euros
- Acquaplus Premier – 45 euros
- Watercity entrance & transfer – 33 euros
- Samaria Gorge – 59 euros
- Imbros Gorge – 51 euros
- Scuba Diving – 75 euros
- Go Greek – 49 euros