The beach of Gournes is found at the homonymous village, 2 kilometres eastern to the tourist resort of Chani Kokkini and 17 kilometres far from Heraklion at the East. It is a sandy beach open to the North and affected by the northern winds.
Gournes is a well organised beach, close to Heraklion; it offers full accommodation facilities in the hotels, food and drink in several fish taverns, restaurants, beach bars and cafes of the nearby tourist resorts.
Facilities for swimming and sunbathing (sunbeds, umbrellas, showers), safety (lifeguards) and sea sports are also available on the beach. The short distance (approximately 1 kilometer) from the beaches of Gouves at the East and Chani Kokkini at the West provide good alterntives for swimming.
Apart from the marvellous sea, at Gournes it is worth seeing one of the most modern Aquarium in Greece, with a Research Centre of the Mediterranean Sea life. The Centre has been inaugurated in 2005 and it is already open to visitors.

Access from Heraklion is very easy by public bus, running very frequently, taxi from Heraklion and rented and private car and motorbikes.