Ikos Olivia
Ikos Olivia is the flat Ikos resort, laid out at ground level among olive groves near Gerakini on the Gulf of Toroneos, in Halkidiki in northern Greece, with single-storey bungalows, a 450-metre Blue Flag beach straight off the gardens and the restaurants, branded drinks and children's clubs folded into one premium all-inclusive price. The draw is the level, pram-easy site, the splash pad, six à la carte restaurants and a crèche that takes babies from six months.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who this resort suits, what is folded into the price and the facts to skim first.
Ikos Olivia is one of the more expensive family all-inclusives in Greece, with six à la carte restaurants, premium wine and spirits, round-the-clock room service and a day with an electric car all in the price, no per-restaurant supplements and little upselling. What marks it out from the rest of the group is the flat ground: single-storey bungalows, with level paths straight to the pools and onto the beach, and no slope or road to cross. There's a splash pad for toddlers too, which its hillside sister Ikos Oceania doesn't have. You'll get the most from it if you're travelling with a baby or toddler, want to use a pram all week, and would otherwise pay out separately for good dinners, childcare and a hire car.
Best for
You want flat, pram-easy ground, a sandy beach off the gardens, a splash pad and crèche for the youngest, and you'd otherwise pay out for meals, a babysitter and a car.
Maybe not for
You want a sea-view hillside setting, a small intimate resort, or you're on a tight budget.
Best ages
Babies and toddlers especially, with shallow water and level ground throughout. A paid crèche from six months and a free club from four.
What stands out
The flat, single-storey layout, a toddler splash pad, and crèche and kids-club staff that guests single out.
What to check
The crèche age floor for a young baby, and which room gives a separate bedroom for naps.
Where is it?
On its own beach near Gerakini, on the Gulf of Toroneos in Halkidiki, about 45 to 55 minutes from Thessaloniki airport.
Quick facts for families
The resort and its setting
Where Olivia sits, how it's laid out flat across the gardens and what that means for getting around with a pram.
Olivia sits flat on the shore of the Gulf of Toroneos, the bay between Halkidiki's Kassandra and Sithonia peninsulas, with the resort itself on the Sithonia side near the village of Gerakini. It runs across 22 acres of old olive and fir trees, and the rooms are mostly single-storey bungalows spread through the gardens at ground level, with a main building holding the rest. There are no terraces or slopes to manage, so the walk from a bungalow to a pool or a restaurant stays level. That flat ground is the main reason families with a pram pick Olivia over the rest of the group. For how the Ikos brand and its Infinite Lifestyle all-inclusive works across the group, see our guide to Ikos and the group behind it, and for the wider region our Halkidiki guide.
Every restaurant and bar
All six dining rooms, the seven bars and how the à la carte booking actually works.
Every restaurant is included with no per-restaurant supplement, and so is the wine, the branded spirits and the cocktails across all the bars. There are six restaurants and seven bars. The buffet runs all day and takes walk-ins; the five à la carte rooms need a reservation for dinner.
Flavors is the Mediterranean buffet, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it doesn't need a reservation. It's the most practical room for a baby or toddler, with broad choice, no fixed sitting, high chairs and child cups, bowls and cutlery, and you walk in whenever a small appetite arrives.
Ouzo is the Greek restaurant, à la carte and sea-facing, with dinner by reservation. High chairs and a children's menu are on hand, and the outdoor tables suit a meal with small children.
Provence is the French restaurant, à la carte for dinner with a reservation. Its menus are designed by Pascal Barbot, who holds a Michelin star at L'Astrance in Paris, though the kitchen here isn't itself starred.
Fresco is the Italian, à la carte for dinner with a reservation. Its menus are by Ettore Botrini, who holds one star at his Athens restaurant, Botrini's, rather than at the resort. The pasta and pizza make it an easy one for children.
Anaya is the Asian restaurant, drawing on Chinese, Thai and Indian cooking, à la carte for dinner with a reservation. It's the more grown-up room of the evening choices, so it suits an older child who'll sit through a longer meal more than a restless toddler.
The Garden is the international room, Mediterranean cooking with a French bistro edge, à la carte for dinner with a reservation, set out among the trees. There's no equivalent at Oceania, so it's one of the things that marks Olivia's line-up out from its sister.
Dress code
At dinner, shorts and flip-flops aren't allowed in any of the restaurants, the buffet included. Days are casual, including lunch by the pool and beach.
The seven bars
The Lobby Bar is the main one and keeps the longest hours, to 02:00, for coffees by day and cocktails late. Potami runs into the evening, the Pool Bar and the Beach Bar handle daytime drinks at the pools and on the sand, and the Deluxe Bar is for Deluxe Collection guests. The one to know about with children is the Gelaterie, an ice-cream and gelato counter open through the day. The Teatro Bar by the theatre opens only on show nights. All the drinks, including the wine list, are included.
How restaurant booking works
You choose your à la carte dinners when you book the holiday. A standard room comes with a set number of pre-booked dinners; Deluxe Collection guests can pre-book every night. The early-evening sittings that suit small children fill first, so claim those when booking opens. The rest you arrange with Guest Relations once you arrive, where tables also free up through the week. Walk-ins to the à la carte rooms are rarely possible, so the Flavors buffet is the no-booking fallback every evening.
Rooms and suites
Every room category with its official size, the pools and splash pad on the level, and the Blue Flag beach off the gardens.
Where you'll sleep
Ikos lists twelve room categories across two tiers, five standard and seven in the Deluxe Collection, the Deluxe suites splitting the one- and two-bedroom bungalows by setting, a private garden, a beachfront spot or a private pool. Because the resort is bungalow-built and flat, ground-floor rooms with a private garden are widely available, which is a real advantage with a pram and a toddler. The table below is the full line-up with the official sizes; the guidance after it is which suit a family with a baby or toddler.
| Room | Size | Sleeps |
|---|---|---|
| Double Room | 28 m² | 2 |
| Double Bungalow | 25 m² | 2 |
| Superior Double Room | 33 m² | 3 |
| Panorama Junior Suite | 37 m² | 4 |
| One Bedroom Bungalow Suite | 55 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Bungalow Suite | 55 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Bungalow Suite, Private Garden | 55 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Bungalow Suite, Beachfront | 55 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Bungalow Suite, Private Pool | 55 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe Two Bedroom Bungalow Suite, Private Garden | 90 m² | 6 |
| Deluxe Two Bedroom Bungalow Suite, Private Pool | 90 m² | 6 |
| Deluxe Two Bedroom Bungalow Suite, Beachfront | 90 m² | 6 |
Tap a room name to see its photos and floor plan in the gallery.
For families, the choice comes down to whether you need a door to close on a napping baby or toddler. The Double Room at 28 m² and the Double Bungalow at 25 m² sleep two and are open-plan, so they're tight once a cot goes in and aren't really family rooms. The Superior Double at 33 m² sleeps three but is still one room. The cheapest layout with a separate bedroom you can shut off is the One Bedroom Bungalow Suite at 55 m², which sleeps five, sits on the ground floor and opens onto a private garden, so a toddler can be let out without stairs. For two children in their own rooms, or to bring grandparents, a Deluxe Two Bedroom Bungalow Suite at 90 m² sleeps six.
Because Olivia is bungalow-built, ground-floor garden rooms are common rather than rare, so you can usually get one without paying for a top tier. Some Deluxe suites come with a private pool. A private pool by the room is a drowning risk with a crawler or toddler, so think hard before choosing one with a very young child. Cots are available on request, and you ask for the room setup before you travel rather than at check-in, since the rooms are allocated and made up in advance.
What the Deluxe Collection adds
For families, the most useful thing Deluxe adds is the dinner booking. Deluxe guests can pre-book every à la carte dinner rather than a capped few, so you don't compete for the early sittings each day. On top of that, Deluxe brings a private beach section and the Deluxe Bar, in-suite check-in and concierge, complimentary short massages, and a second day with the electric car. Standard guests get the same clubs, beach, splash pad and restaurants, so with Deluxe you're paying for more space, a quieter corner and the booking certainty.
The pools
The resort has four outdoor pools, all reached on the level. The centrepiece is a large lagoon-style freshwater pool with a swim-up bar, the main family pool, edged with sunbeds and olive trees. There's a separate children's pool and an infant paddling pool, both shallow for babies and early walkers, and a Deluxe pool with its own children's section. There's also a children's splash pad, a shallow water-play area by the pools where a toddler can splash about while you sit alongside. Inside the spa there's an indoor heated pool, which is adults-only, so children can't use it.
The beach
The beach is a 450-metre stretch of sand, kept for guests and holding a Blue Flag, with sunbeds, umbrellas and drinks brought to your spot, and a quieter section for Deluxe guests. It sits straight off the gardens at ground level, so unlike the hillside Oceania there's no slope and no road to cross to reach it. The Gulf of Toroneos is sheltered, and the water is shallow and calm, shelving in gently for a long way out. Non-motorised water sports are included: paddleboards, canoes and pedalos, each bookable once a day for a short slot, plus an hour of windsurfing per stay if you hold a licence. There's an introductory diving lesson in the hotel pool too, and motorised sports cost extra.
Babies and toddlers
The crèche and clubs from six months up, everything that fills a family day, and the days out beyond the gate.
The crèche, clubs and the baby kit
The Heroes Crèche takes children from six months to four years for an extra charge, run to UK Ofsted standards in small groups: roughly one carer to three for the babies, one to four for two-year-olds and one to six for three-year-olds. There are three sessions a day, 10:00 to 13:00, 13:00 to 15:00 and 15:00 to 18:00, with the short early-afternoon sitting the cheapest, so it's worth lining a session up with the nap you'd take anyway. Families praise the staff for settled, attentive care of very young children. Spaces fill fast, so book by email before you travel.
The free Heroes Kids Club covers four to twelve year olds through the day, with games, arts and crafts and a playground. There's a Just4Teens club for over-twelves, and an evening Heroes Supper Club for four to twelves for an extra charge, so parents can have an evening to dine alone. Over-fours also get a short stretch of supervised beach childcare. For an adult dinner without the children, there's a babysitting service for an extra charge, subject to availability, so ask early if you want it.
The room is set up for a baby or toddler before you arrive if you ask in advance: a cot, a baby bath, a monitor, baby sets such as toilet-seat adapters, and small tables and chairs, with nappy-changing facilities in the public toilets and high chairs and child tableware in every restaurant. The kitchens prepare fresh baby food on request, and there's a children's menu everywhere. Baby basics like nappies and formula are stocked in the resort mini-market, and pram hire is available for a charge if you'd rather not bring your own. There's an indoor playroom and an outdoor playground for wet or hot afternoons.
On resortThings to do
Plenty is included with no extra charge, and it's all easy to reach on the flat ground. On the water, the non-motorised sports are free: paddleboards, canoes and pedalos, each bookable once a day for a short slot, an hour of windsurfing per stay if you hold a licence, and an introductory diving lesson in the pool. On land there are two floodlit tennis courts, five-a-side and mini football, beach volleyball and tennis, badminton, basketball and table tennis. For downtime there's giant chess, darts, boccia and board games, with kids' karaoke and a mini disco. Bike hire is complimentary for the family, with a beachfront trail nearby. The daily programme covers all ages, with live music, evening shows at the resort theatre and an early children's show.
Several academies and lessons cost extra. There are coached programmes in tennis, football, windsurfing and sailing, and advanced or motorised water sports from water-skiing and jet-skiing to scuba, plus catamaran and inflatable rentals and private boat and yacht excursions. Football Escapes runs a five-day camp for five to fifteen year olds with top coaches, ending in a kit, medal and certificate. The Ikos Spa, by the Paris house Anne Semonin, includes use of the adults-only sauna, steam room, indoor heated pool, relaxation area and gym, with treatments charged on top. There are fitness classes from TRX and HIIT to aqua aerobics, and wellness sessions of beginners' and children's yoga, Pilates and stretching.
Your booking also includes a Culture Pass for sites in Thessaloniki, covering the White Tower, the Museum of Byzantine Culture and the Archaeological Museum, plus a tasting at the Gerovasileiou vineyard. The Dine Out scheme covers set dinners at two traditional Greek tavernas a short flat walk away, Four Seasons about 200 m from the resort and Mouragio about 220 m, both an easy stroll given the level ground. The Dine Out tavernas suit a child old enough to sit through a longer meal.
The area and days out
Gerakini is the immediate village, a small coastal spot with a beach, a few tavernas and basic shops rather than a resort strip. For a proper supermarket shop, nappies, formula and sunscreen at normal Greek prices, the bigger towns are a short drive: Polygyros, the inland regional capital, and Nea Moudania over on the Kassandra side, both roughly fifteen to twenty-five minutes, easy with the included day in an electric MINI. Olivia sits at the base of the Sithonia peninsula, the greener, less-built-up middle finger of Halkidiki, with pine-backed coves and clear water down its coast. Nikiti is the easiest family stop, around fifteen to twenty minutes, with Neos Marmaras a little further; Vourvourou and Sarti are further still but worth the drive once a child travels well.
Among the day trips, Waterland near Thessaloniki is a large water park with a children's pool, about half an hour away. The Petralona Cave, with its stalagmites and a small museum, is around half an hour and suits a walking toddler more than a crawler, given the steps and the dark. Thessaloniki, Greece's second city, is about 45 to 55 minutes for the White Tower, the seafront and the museums on the Culture Pass. Seasonal boat trips run from the Sithonia ports down the coast for a view of Mount Athos, the monastic peninsula women aren't allowed to land on, so they stay out at sea; worth it once a child sits happily on a boat, and check the operators locally. Mount Olympus is a view across the gulf rather than a day trip, since by road it's a long way round. For the wider region, its beaches and seasons, see our Halkidiki guide.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what frustrated them, how it stacks up against its sister, the journey in and the weather by month.
What families love, and the gripes
What families love
- The flat, single-storey site, the easiest of the Ikos resorts with a pram.
- The beach off the gardens, with no road or slope between you and the sand.
- The splash pad and shallow pools for toddlers.
- The crèche and kids-club teams, for settled care of babies and toddlers.
- The food across the six restaurants.
- The Dine Out tavernas a short walk away.
Common gripes
- Sunbeds run short at the busiest pools and beach in the August peak.
- The bungalows are blocks of units rather than detached villas, so set expectations on privacy.
- The à la carte restaurants need booking, and the early tables that suit small children are the first to go.
- Very much a family resort, so couples without children may find it busy.
How it compares
The closest comparison is its Halkidiki neighbour, Ikos Oceania, across the gulf on the Kassandra peninsula. The clearest difference is the ground. Olivia is flat, with beach access that needs no road crossing and a splash pad, so it's the easier choice if you're pushing a pram all week or have a toddler who wants water play. Oceania has the sea-view hillside setting and a smaller, more intimate scale, so it suits you better if you'd rather have the view and don't mind slopes. Olivia is also usually one of the more affordable resorts in the group. The food and service feel much the same across the brand. For how the whole group works, our Ikos guide goes into the brand in more depth, and our Ikos Oceania review covers the sister resort in full.
From the airportGetting there
Thessaloniki airport is the arrival point, around 45 to 55 minutes away by road. With a pram, luggage and car seats a private transfer beats a coach, and you arrange it yourself rather than it being laid on automatically: request it through Ikos or your operator at least a couple of weeks before you travel, with a child seat on request. It's complimentary on a direct booking of five nights or more, and on any Deluxe Collection booking. Your stay also includes a day with an electric MINI, two days for Deluxe, enough for a supermarket run and a trip down the Sithonia coast, with a child seat to request for that too.
When to goWeather, April to October
Ikos Olivia is open from around the start of April to the end of October, and the figures below, long-term averages for Gerakini, cover the main season. The warm, low-rain window for a family is roughly June to September, when days sit in the high twenties to low thirties, the sheltered gulf reaches 23 to 26°C and rain is occasional. The easiest weeks with young children are late June and September, warm enough to swim but short of the July and August peak for heat, crowds and price. April and May are cooler shoulders with a sea still too cold for small swimmers.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 20° | 8.5° | 35 mm | 6 | 15° |
| May | 25° | 13.5° | 37 mm | 8 | 18° |
| June | 30° | 18.5° | 31 mm | 7 | 23° |
| July | 32.5° | 21° | 24 mm | 6 | 26° |
| August | 32.5° | 21° | 21 mm | 5 | 27° |
| September | 28° | 17° | 22 mm | 5 | 25° |
| October | 21.5° | 12° | 25 mm | 4 | 22° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
How young will the crèche take a baby?
From six months. Spaces are limited by the carer ratios and the morning sessions go first, so email the Heroes team to book the moment your dates are firm rather than waiting until you arrive.
Is it easy with a pram?
Yes, more so than any other Ikos, since it's flat end to end. The one thing to weigh is how far your bungalow sits from the pools and beach, as the site spreads across 22 acres, so ask for a closer-in room when you book if you want shorter walks.
Does it have a splash pad?
It does, and Oceania doesn't. Set by the pools, the water sits at ankle to shin height, shallow enough for a toddler to play in while you sit alongside.
Do you need to hire a car?
No. You request a private transfer from the airport, your stay includes a day with an electric MINI, and the Dine Out tavernas and Gerakini village are a short flat walk. A car of your own is only worth the cost if you want several separate days out down Sithonia.
Which room works for a baby or toddler?
A One Bedroom Bungalow Suite: a separate bedroom with a door to close on a nap, on the ground floor with a private garden you can let a toddler into. The Double Room and Double Bungalow sleep two and are tight with a cot.
Can you book the à la carte dinners before you go?
A set number, yes, with the rest arranged with Guest Relations once you're there. Deluxe Collection guests can pre-book every night. The early sittings that suit small children fill first, so claim those as soon as booking opens.
Are the transfers laid on automatically?
No. Complimentary transfers come with a direct booking of five nights or more, but you have to request one about two weeks ahead, and a child seat is on request rather than standard, so ask for it when you arrange the pickup.
When is the best time to go with little ones?
Late June or September. The sea has warmed enough to swim by then, the days are comfortable rather than baking, and you sidestep the August rush. It's open from around April to the end of October.
See more resort photos
Open the photo gallery →
Useful links
- Ikos Olivia: the resort's own site for rooms, what's included and the children's clubs.
- GOV.UK Greece travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Halkidiki with little ones: our guide to the wider region, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 21 June 2026.
