Traditional Olive Grove and Dragon Fruit Farm Tour
About This Experience
At $10 this is the cheapest way to spend time in a Cretan olive grove, and it is one of the most direct. The farm has been in the same family for more than five generations and has grown olives for over five decades; the tour is given by the people who work it rather than by a guide brought in for the season.
What you get for ninety minutes is a walk through the trees with the whole cycle explained — how a tree is cultivated, when and how the fruit is taken off, and how the oil is extracted. The tools are handed to you rather than displayed, and you are invited to try them. Then oil is tasted the way it is actually eaten here, not as a formal flight.
The second half is the oddity, and it is the reason to come rather than a reason not to. The same farm now grows dragon fruit, a crop that has only recently found a foothold on Crete, and the tour covers how that works alongside the olives. When fruit is ripe you can pick your own. The visit ends on the patio with an espresso, a Greek coffee, or a tea infused with dragon fruit and Cretan herbs.
The practical catch is access. Prassas sits in the hills south-east of Heraklion, there is no pickup, and you will need a car or a taxi. Factor that in and it is still the lowest-cost olive tour in this catalogue by some distance.
Highlights
- Walk a grove worked by the same family for five generations
- Handle the actual harvesting tools and try using them yourself
- Follow the full cycle — cultivation, harvest and oil extraction — explained by the grower
- Taste olive oil the way Cretans do, rather than from a tasting flight
- See dragon fruit under cultivation, a crop new to the island
- Pick your own dragon fruit when the season allows
What's Included
- ✓ Guided tour of the working farm, roughly one to two hours
- ✓ Olive cultivation, harvesting and extraction explained by the family who farm it
- ✓ Hands-on time with the traditional harvesting tools
- ✓ Olive oil tasting
- ✓ Dragon fruit cultivation tour
- ✓ A drink on the patio — espresso, Greek coffee, or dragon fruit and Cretan herb tea
- ✓ Dragon fruit picking when fruit is in season
Not Included
- Transport to the farm — there is no pickup service
- Any products you choose to buy, including oil, olives, tea and picked fruit
- Meals
What to Bring
- Sun hat
- Comfortable shoes
- Cash or card for farm purchases
- Your own transport
Good to Know & Caveats
- This is a working family farm, not a visitor centre — the tour is given by the people who grow the crop.
- Dragon fruit picking depends on what is ripe, so it is not guaranteed on any given date.
- Prassas is in the hills south-east of Heraklion and there is no pickup; you need a car or taxi.
- At $10 this is the cheapest olive experience on the island, and the tour runs about one to two hours despite the listed 1.5.
- Oil, olives and tea can be packed for travel if you want to buy.
Not Suitable For
- Babies under 1 year
- People over 95 years
Meeting Point
Traditional Olive Grove and Dragon Fruit Farm, Evangelismou 135, Prassas 715 00 — in the hills just south-east of Heraklion. Make your own way to the farm.
What Travelers Say
Rated 4.8/5 by 202 verified GetYourGuide travelers.
Excellent tour in local farm, wonderful guide Alex, it’s was very interesting and informative, with amazing tasting experience and you can buy local farm products, highly recommended! Thank you!
— Giedrė Liugaitė, July 24, 2026
My family loved this tour. It was myself, my husband and our three children ages 21, 18, and 14. Alex is full of knowledge and kindness. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours getting to know some specifics of olive and dragon fruit farming. The samples we tried were amazing and had I had a checked bag I would have bought more than I did for sure. Thank you Alex for your time and generosity.
— Shanna, August 22, 2026
Great, def recommending! Get a taxi from center and go :)
— Irem, April 5, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it only $10?
Because there is no transport, no meal and no third-party venue. You make your own way to a working family farm, spend ninety minutes with the growers, taste their oil and have a coffee. Everything a coach tour spends money on is absent, which is also the trade-off — budget for a taxi from Heraklion.
Can I actually pick dragon fruit?
When something is ripe, yes — the operator lists it as subject to availability rather than guaranteed. Dragon fruit is a recent arrival on Crete and the farm grows it commercially alongside the olives, so what is on the plant depends on when you come.
Is this a real working farm?
Yes. Five generations of the same family, more than fifty years of olive cultivation, and the tour is given by them. You handle the harvesting tools rather than looking at them behind glass, which is the main difference from a mill visit.
How do I get to Prassas?
Car or taxi. The farm is at Evangelismou 135 in the hills south-east of Heraklion and no pickup is offered. This is the one significant cost the $10 ticket does not cover.
How long does it really take?
The listing says an hour and a half, and the operator's own inclusions describe the farm tour as roughly one to two hours plus the drink on the patio. Allow a relaxed two hours rather than treating it as a tight ninety minutes.
Other Crete Olive Oil Tours
From Chania: Olive Oil, Wine, Cheese & Honey Tasting Tour
From Chania: Wine and Olive Oil Tasting Tour with Snacks
Crete: Buggy Safari Olive Mill & Tasting & Ghost Village
Crete: Full-Day Cretan Wines, Olive Oil, Raki and Food Tour
Rethymno: Olive Oil Tasting with Cretan Food Pairing
The Terra Creta Olive Oil Experience Tour
