Hurghada, Egyptfrom $20
Cappadocia, Turkeyfrom $19
Punta Canafrom $58
Reykjavik, Icelandfrom $142
Red Rock Canyon, Nevadafrom $199Beach at first light, desert at dusk, and a horse that knows the way.
What an hour in the saddle actually costs. Which stables put beginners on a lead rope and which let you canter. What the horses are allowed to carry, and how early the sunrise ride really leaves.
Four rides that talk everyone else into learning to ride.
The four most booked horseback days on the site, what each costs and what you actually do once you are up.
01Sea and sandRed Sea & Desert Horse Riding Tour with SwimmingAlong the Red Sea shore, then out into the desert behind it. The horses go into the water at the end.
02Fairy chimneysHorseback Riding Adventure TourTwo hours through the Cappadocian valleys. Take the sunrise slot and the rock towers are yours.
03The fifth gearIcelandic Horse Riding Tour & Pickup Option from ReykjavikIcelandic horses have a gait no other breed keeps, the tolt, and lava country is where you feel it.
04Before the heatMorning Horseback Ride with Breakfast from Las VegasOut of Las Vegas into the Mojave at first light, with breakfast cooked when you come back down.
Ranch, canyon or desert sunset. Pick the ground you want under the hooves.
The USA is the biggest riding country on the site, and it rides in four quite different ways. What each kind of day costs to join, and where it happens.
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · Half-Day Thoroughbred Horse Farm Tour in Kentucky
Canyon and mountainRed rock, switchbacks and a long view at the top.
Desert out of Las VegasMojave scrub at sunrise or sunset, dinner cooked on the fire.
Working ranchCattle country, real wranglers, a saddle that has done some work.
Trail rides near a cityAn hour or two in the hills without leaving town for a week.
All 135 rides across the USA →
Six countries that keep a horse saddled all year.
Cabo sand, Cappadocian tuff, Jamaican river trails, Punta Cana surf, the Red Sea shore and the red rock west. Six places to ride, and the best day in the saddle in each.
A horse at a canter through surf is the reason most people book one.
Wet sand takes a hoof better than anything else, which is why the beach ride outsells every other kind on this site. Warm water, a wide firm strand and, on the good ones, the horses go in with you.
The horseback rides more travellers take than any others.
Every ride on the site →Rides that book out weeks ahead, and what earns each of them the slot.
1
Luquillo Beach Horse Ride from Carabalí Rainforest Adventure Park
Ride from El Yunque foothills through the Mameyes River to Luquillo Beach, with friendly guides, gentle horses, and time to relax.
From · $164
Read our review →
2
Red Lava Horse Riding Tour
from $142
3
Red Sea & Desert Horse Riding Tour with Swimming
from $20
4
El Salobre: Horse Riding Adventure with Transfer Options
from $44
5
Half-Day Thoroughbred Horse Farm Tour in Kentucky
from $45
6
Horseback Riding Adventure Tour
from $18
7
Horseback Riding and Cenote Swim from Cancun or Playa del Carmen
from $120
8
Horseback Tour with Sunrise and Sunset Options
from $6
What an hour on a horse actually costs, country by country.
Every ride on the site, grouped by price. Egypt and Turkey run a beach hour for the price of a sandwich. Iceland and the western USA do not.
Hurghada beach hours, Cappadocian valley loops and short trail rides out of town.
The half-day standards: Caribbean beach rides, cenote combinations, canyon trails with lunch.
Icelandic lava days, private guides, ranch mornings and sunset rides that end at a table.
Every stable has a scale, a shoe rule and an age on the door.
Riding is the one activity where the operator gets to say no at the gate. Most stables cap the rider somewhere between 90 and 100 kilos, because the horse carries it. Under-eights usually ride led, closed shoes and long trousers are non-negotiable, and a helmet is either provided or required. Say honestly how much riding you have done. Put yourself on a walking trail if the answer is none, and you will enjoy it more than the people who bluffed.
Three rides that no other way of travelling gets you.
A jeep reaches most places a horse does. It does not get through the fairy chimneys at walking pace, it cannot do the tolt, and it will not swim into a cenote with you.
Riding the fairy chimneys
The soft tuff of Cappadocia erodes into cones and hoodoos that jeeps cannot enter and balloons only look down on. Horses walk the valley floors between them, which is how the region got its name: Cappadocia is usually read as the land of beautiful horses. Sunrise slots put you under the balloons; sunset puts the rock in colour.
- 1Horseback Tour with Sunrise and Sunset Options★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 1,755 reviews
- 2Horse Riding Tour with Sunrise or Sunset Options★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,377 reviews
- 3Cappadocia Sunset Horse Riding through the Valleys and Fairy Chimneys★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 386 reviews
The gait nobody else has
The Icelandic horse has been bred in isolation for a thousand years and keeps two gaits other breeds lost. The tolt is the one you feel: a four-beat run so smooth that riders are photographed holding a full glass. Tours run across lava fields outside Reykjavik and no horse that leaves the island is ever allowed back.
- 1Red Lava Horse Riding Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 2,383 reviews
- 2Icelandic Horse Riding Tour & Pickup Option from Reykjavik★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,662 reviews
- 3Icelandic Horseback Riding Tour with Pickup Option from Reykjavik★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,145 reviews
Riding to a cenote
The Yucatan is limestone with a roof that collapsed in places, leaving cold freshwater sinkholes in the jungle. The tracks between them are sand and root, easier on a horse than on foot, and the ride usually ends with the swim. Bring a towel and leave the good camera behind.
- 1Horseback Riding and Cenote Swim from Cancun or Playa del Carmen★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,780 reviews
- 2Horseback Riding plus ATV, Cenote, Ziplines, and Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 822 reviews
- 3Extreme Horses Adventure with ATV, Ziplines & Cenote★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 590 reviews
By what you ride through
An hour, a morning, or the whole day in the saddle.
One hour
Two hours
Sunrise or sunset
A full day outThe newest horseback ride reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
Zanzibar: Swimming With Horse and Clear Kayaking Tour
Read our review →
Zanzibar: Horseback Riding and Turtle Swimming Tour
Read our review →
Zanzibar: Horse Riding and Kayaking with Video and Photos
Read our review →
Zanzibar: Horseback Riding and Turtle Aquarium Visit
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Zakynthos: Yotomu Horse Riding and Swimming Experience
Read our review →
Xi’an: Half-Day Terracotta Warriors & Horses Museum Tour
Read our review →
Westport: Beach and Countryside Guided Horse Ride
Read our review →
Vrede en Lust Wine Estate: 1h30m Horse Trail Ride
Read our review →
