What happens on a horse riding tour in Side
Most people book this without knowing what the outing looks like. Here it is in order, including the unglamorous parts — the waiting, the helmet, the getting on — because those are the bits that decide whether you enjoy the hour.
A vehicle collects you from your hotel and drives inland to the riding centre. You meet the horses, staff pair you with one, a helmet goes on and someone explains how to sit, steer and stop. The group then rides for about an hour — pine woodland at a walk, then out to the shoreline — before returning to the centre. The same vehicle takes you back. Door to door, about 3 hours.
Before you leave the hotel
- Wait at your hotel's main entrance — the gate on the road, by the security barrier — a few minutes before your confirmed time. The vehicle is collecting several hotels and cannot wait long at any of them.
- Wear the long trousers now rather than carrying them. You will not be changing anywhere.
- Take water, sun cream and your phone. Leave anything you would hate to drop.
Arriving at the riding centre
You will not be put straight on a horse. There is a gap between getting out of the vehicle and getting on, and it is doing real work: the staff are watching how people move around the animals, who is relaxed, who is not, and which horse suits whom.
Use that time to go near a horse and touch one. If you have never done it, the size is the surprise, and it is far better to have that surprise on the ground than in the saddle.
Helmet, briefing, and getting on
A helmet is fitted for every rider. Say something if it rocks or pinches — there are other sizes, and a helmet that moves is not doing its job.
The briefing covers the basics: sitting, steering, stopping — and what to do when the horse ahead of you stops first. That last one is the one beginners forget.
Then you get on, usually from a mounting block, with a hand from the staff. Nobody is expected to vault.
The hour itself
The first stretch is under pines on soft ground, in single file, at a walk. This is where everyone stops gripping and starts looking around — usually within the first ten minutes.
Then the track opens out and the ride heads for the coast. The shoreline stretch is what people book this for and what they photograph. After that the group turns and works its way back the way the ground allows.
A guide rides with the group the whole time, not behind it in a truck. If your horse does something you do not understand, say so out loud; that is what the guide is for.
The route is not fixed. Weather, ground, the group and the horses' condition all change what is sensible on the day.
Afterwards
You dismount at the centre, and it is worth spending a minute with the horse you have just spent an hour on. You may bring an apple or a carrot for it — ask the staff first, every time, because not every horse should have every treat.
Then the vehicle takes you back. You will be dustier than you expect and you will smell faintly of horse for the rest of the day. Both are part of it.
Ready to ride?
The standard hour has a price and a calendar. Sunset, sunrise and private rides are arranged with the riding centre.
Book horse riding