Horse safari or jeep safari?
Both take you inland behind Side, and in both of them somebody else is in charge of the moving. That is where the resemblance stops.
A jeep safari carries you on forest tracks in a vehicle, with a driver, in company. The horse safari puts you on a horse for about 1 hour at a relaxed walk, with a guide alongside the whole way, for €40 per rider including round-trip hotel transfer and about 3 hours from your hotel door and back. If you want to be driven, take the vehicle. If you want to be carried by something that breathes, take the horse.
Carried by an engine, or carried by an animal
In a jeep the vehicle does the work and you are cargo with a view. It is restful in the way being driven anywhere is restful, and the track decides how much you get shaken about.
On a horse you are also being carried, but not passively. You sit up, you hold the reins, you feel a slow rolling motion through your seat and your legs, and the animal underneath you responds to how you sit. It is not difficult — the pace is a walk and the guide is with the group from start to finish — but it is participation rather than transport.
The criteria, laid out
| What you are weighing up | Horse safari | Jeep safari |
|---|---|---|
| What moves you | a horse at walking pace, with a guide beside you | a vehicle on forest tracks, with a driver |
| How much you do | sit up, balance, steer gently with the reins | sit, hold on, look out |
| Between you and the place | nothing at all — open air at riding height | the vehicle you are travelling in |
| Company | the group rides together and the guide stays with it throughout | shared with the others in the vehicle |
| Scenery | pine-forest shade, open countryside, a stretch of Mediterranean shoreline | the tracks their own route takes |
| Price | €40 per rider, one fare for everyone | published by whoever runs it |
| How long | about 1 hour riding, about 3 hours door to door | on their record, not on ours |
| Hotel transfer | round trip, included in the fare | a question for the people who sell it |
| Minimum age | generally 6, at the guide's discretion | their rule to state |
| Rules out | pregnancy, serious back or mobility problems; recommended maximum rider weight around 100–110 kg | their own conditions, set out by them |
Look at which half of this table carries figures. Ours does, because we would have to answer for every one of them on the day you turn up. Theirs does not, because a number nobody can be held to is worth nothing to a reader, however much tidier it would make the table look.
Who the horse safari suits
- Anyone who wants to be in the landscape rather than looking at it through glass. At walking pace you hear the place — hooves on sand, wind in the pines — instead of an engine.
- People who like animals more than machines. Half the pleasure is the horse itself, and treats are allowed — apples or carrots — provided you ask the riding staff first. They decide which horse it suits, and when.
- Couples who want something quiet. A walk is slow enough to talk over, and steady enough to photograph from — one hand stays on the reins, so bring a strap.
- Anyone with about 3 hours to give and no wish to lose a day. The pickup, the drive, meeting the horses, the briefing, the ride and the return all sit inside that.
When the vehicle is the honest answer
There is a real case for it, and it is not a matter of taste. Pregnancy closes this ride off. So does a serious problem with your back or your mobility, and the recommended maximum rider weight is around 100–110 kg. If any of that applies to you, a seated, vehicle-based excursion is the obvious alternative: nothing depends on your balance, and nobody has to lift anybody anywhere.
The same goes for anyone who simply would rather not be close to a large animal, or who is travelling with somebody who would not enjoy it. What that kind of tour costs, how long it runs and who it accepts sit on sidejeepsafari.net, where the people who operate it keep them current. Hold them to what they publish, in the way you can hold us to what we publish here.
Booking, if it is the horse
Date, number of riders, your hotel and pickup zone, and that is the booking. Nothing is charged online and no card details are asked for; you pay on the day. Your exact pickup time is assigned from the day's schedule and sent to you before the day, so please be ready shortly before it. In bad weather the ride is moved to another time or refunded in full. The ride's own page has the dates.
Ready to ride?
One ride to book, three to request, hotel transfer included, nothing charged online.
Book the horse safari