A Greek Night in Crete or Cretan Night always includes a costume show and local cuisine. Traditional costumes, dancing, roast lamb, beef, pork and homemade wine – you can’t miss it! However, there is a very important point. This tour does not replicate a Cretan folklore night in other villages. The Lyrakis Olive Oil Factory has decided to organise a more varied programme and not only to delight the guests with a feast, live Cretan music, songs, dances and delicacies, but also to diversify their Greek Night with informative and educational part. This time you are visiting a true Hellenic family, a Greek family that has been in the olive industry for three generations and knows a lot about both delicious and healthy food and entertainment. The tour will certainly be very interesting!
During this tour you will visit the following sights:
The Cretan Night at Lyrakis begins with a visit to an authentic olive oil factory. You will learn the history of olive oil production from ancient times to the present day. You will see the ancient tools and presses as well as the modern high-tech factory.
This Greek Night will first give you new knowledge, experiences and tastes: there is a tasting room in the factory halls and degustation is included in the price of the trip. As the sun goes down, the evening turns to more like a traditional Greek Night – with a performance, dancing, fun and treats cooked in front of you in ovens and on open fires. Let’s just say we’ve visited them from time to time just to have dinner, and we’ve seen for ourselves – the Lyrakis family cooks deliciously!
Greek Night? Sirtaki! But you already know that the Sirtaki dance is not (or not at all) a traditional Greek dance, although it contains elements of the ancient Hasapiko dance. At the Lyrakis Oil Factory you will see the traditional Cretan dances and, if you wish, you can join in!
You can drive from Ammoudara to the Cretan Night in some village by yourself, or you can combine business with pleasure, visit a real olive mill factory and go with Crete.Life to the Cretan Night Olive Mill Festival!
If you want to go to Cretan Night and be part of the Olive Oil Festival, the price of the trip in 2025 is:
This tour is sometimes included in special promotions and sold cheaper for our followers – keep an eye out for discounts on Instagram!
Are you traveling as a big family or a group? Contact us in advance or visit our offices and we will try to make you the best offer.
You can book an excursion to the Cretan Night at the Olive Farm of the Lyrakis family from Ammoudara online (see “How to book excursions in Crete”).
In 2025 you can go to the Greek Night by the Lyrakis family from Ammoudara from 21/05 to 29/10. Available trip days – Wednesday.
Please note that trip schedules are subject to change, including cancellation. This is extremely rare and may be due to weather conditions. For example, heavy rains at the beginning (April and May) or end of the season (September and October) and other force majeure situations. If there are any changes, we will try to let you know as soon as possible.
Please make sure that you have correctly identified your vacation area in Crete and read the cancellation and refund policy.
If there is less than 24 hours before the trip, please contact the manager to check availability before you make a booking!
Firstly, you can come to one of our offices where booking for all services is available and payment can be made either by cash or card.
Secondly, in case of online booking you can choose cash payment (which is available for some areas only) or you can pay online by card. In the case of cash, we will arrange a meeting with our courier in advance, who will bring the prepared documents to your hotel or villa and collect the cash. Please note that this option is only available for bookings made well in advance (days or weeks before the trip!). In case of online payment, you will receive the tickets by e-mail or WhatsApp – as you prefer.
Please keep all documents and tickets until the end of your trip!
It depends on the location of your hotel or villa. In some cases a tour bus will literally stop at the front door of the hotel and you just have to be there, in others it may be a short walk to the nearest pick-up point. This is usually a large central street, bus stop, square, car park, etc. – somewhere where there is no risk of the tour bus getting stuck on a narrow one-way street or stuck in traffic.
You will receive full details of the time and place of the pick-up with your travel documents when you make your booking. Please read it carefully before the trip.
Just in case, you might want to bring some warmer clothes for later in the evening if it gets chilly outside. Please also wear appropriate footwear if you plan to dance. Don’t forget your camera!
There are no specific restrictions. It is not recommended to bring very young children (0-5 years) as there is a lot of music, songs and dancing and they may get tired.
The second part of the trip is the Cretan Night – and this is also dinner time! Plentiful and very tasty. Lyrakis cooks excellent lamb, beef, pork, salads and the menu includes just about every traditional dish.
Yes, but keep in mind that this is more of an entertainment trip than an excursion to an archaeological site or museum. It’s also important to note that the factory tour is usually given by the owners and key employees themselves – Elektra Lyrakis and Manolis Faitakis (they’re in our photos above). It’s always interesting to learn about things first hand!
Languages: English, German, French on any available day. On some days we can also organize excursions with Italian, Polish, Romanian and Russian speaking guides, so check the booking calendar or send us a request.
All trips are made in a large comfortable air conditioned bus. Depending on where you are staying, you will arrive at your hotel around 23:00.
Please note that this is an approximate tour schedule. Times may vary depending on traffic and pick-up and drop-off locations. Exact times will be sent to you along with other information when you make your reservation and specify your hotel.
| Schedule of the excursion program | |
|---|---|
| 17:30 - 19:10 | Departure from hotels |
| 19:30 - 20:00 | Arrival at Lyrakis Olive Factory, guided tour at the factory |
| 20:00 - 22:30 | Cretan Night: live cretan music, costume performance, traditional dances and dinner |
| 22:30 - 23:00 | Return to hotels |
| Duration and travel time | |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 hour | From hotels to the place where the Cretan Night takes place |
| 40 minutes | Guided tour of the olive factory |
| 3 hours | Cretan Night show |
| Up to 1,5 hours | Return transfer by bus to hotels |