First light
Sunrise horse riding in Side
Out before the coast wakes up, when the air is still cool and the light is only just arriving. It takes an early alarm and it is the ride people talk about afterwards.
On request
- Quoted per booking, not sold at a fixed price
- Transfer and conditions confirmed with your quote
- Guides ride with the group throughout
- A riding helmet for every rider
Sunrise rides are arranged by request. Give us a date and a rider count and the riding centre comes back with the pickup time, the price and whether that morning is available. There is no price on this page: a sunrise ride is quoted per booking and no figure has been given to us to publish.
Why bother getting up
Because a horse at six in the morning is a different animal from a horse at two in the afternoon, and so are you. The air is cool, the flies are still asleep, the ground has had all night to lose yesterday's heat, and the working beach — hire boats, a jet-ski pontoon, swimmers — has not started its day yet.
In July and August it is also, quite simply, the sensible hour to be outdoors on this coast. The summer heat page is blunt about why.
What an early start really means
- A pickup earlier than any hotel breakfast. Take something with you, or eat when you get back.
- Bring a layer. First light on the shore in spring and autumn is colder than the brochure photographs suggest.
- You are back at the hotel with the whole day still in front of you, which is the quiet argument for this one.
- The same helmet, the same briefing and the same matching of rider to horse as any other departure.
How to ask
Send a date and how many of you are riding. If you can be flexible by a day either side, say so — it makes a yes much more likely.
You will get back a pickup time, a price and a confirmation, from the riding centre itself.
Prefer the other end of the day? Sunset riding is the same arrangement in reverse.
By request
Ask about a sunrise ride
Give us a date and a rider count. We come back with the pickup time, the price and whether the morning is available.
Questions guests ask
Can I ride at sunset or sunrise?
Yes, but not as part of the standard hour — they are separate departures the riding centre arranges for the date you want, and it quotes the price when it confirms. Send us a date and we will come back to you.
How long does it take?
About an hour on horseback. Door to door — collection, the road out, the introductions, the briefing and the road home — allow roughly 3 hours away from your hotel.
Do I need riding experience?
No. Most guests on this ride have never been on a horse. The staff pair you with a suitable horse, explain how to sit, steer and stop, and a guide rides with the group the whole way.
What should I wear?
Long, comfortable trousers and closed shoes you can walk in. Leave the flip-flops, sandals and anything with a heel at the hotel, and skip loose scarves or anything that flaps.