1-Hour Side Horse Safari with Hotel Transfer

What the hour in the saddle looks like

The riding centre sits in the countryside behind Side, and the route uses what is around it. It starts on soft trails through pine forest, where the shade is welcome in summer, opens out into countryside, and reaches the part everyone remembers: a stretch along the Mediterranean shoreline with sand underfoot and the sea beside you.

The pace is a relaxed walk, with the guide alongside the group from the first minute to the last. Riders who can show real experience may be offered a controlled faster stretch where conditions allow — at the guide's discretion, never guaranteed, and never forced on anyone who would rather keep walking.

The exact route may vary depending on weather, ground conditions, horse welfare, safety, the group's ability and operational conditions. That is not a disclaimer for its own sake: the guide reads the day and adjusts.

Before you mount

An air-conditioned vehicle collects you at your hotel's main entrance gate and drives you to the riding centre. There is no rush on arrival: you meet the horses, and the instructors match each rider to one that suits their build and confidence. Riding helmets are handed out.

Then the short lesson — how to sit, how to steer, how to stop — and only when everyone feels settled does the group move off. Young or nervous first-timers can have a staff member walk alongside holding the horse's head for the whole ride.

Where we collect you

The pickup covers the whole Side resort strip: Gündoğdu, Çolaklı, Evrenseki, Kumköy, Side, Sorgun, Titreyengöl, Kızılağaç, and Kızılot and Çenger in the east. If your hotel is in any of those, the round-trip transfer is in the fare.

Your exact pickup time is assigned from the day's operational schedule and sent to you before the day, on the number you give us. We do not print a time on this page because there is no single time: which hotel you are in, and how that day's route runs, decide it. Please be ready at the main gate shortly before your confirmed time — here is how that works.

Staying outside those zones? Ask us first. We will not auto-accept a pickup we have not confirmed, and we will not quote a transfer we have not agreed.

What the €40 buys, and what it does not

The whole ride, not an entrance fee: the transfer both ways, the helmet, the briefing and short lesson, a horse matched to you, and about an hour of guided riding with the guide alongside.

What it does not buy: professional photos and videos, which are available to purchase at the riding centre and paid there; food and drinks; personal expenses. We do not print a price for the photos because we would rather you ask at the desk than find a figure here that turns out to be wrong.

Who this ride suits

Beginners are the rule here, not the exception — the lesson, the helmet and the guide are what make that true. Children generally ride from age 6, subject to the guide's assessment on the day, and can have a staff member at the horse's head. The recommended maximum rider weight is around 100–110 kg.

Pregnancy rules the ride out, and so do serious back or mobility problems. If you are unsure, the eligibility page lists the recorded limits with their qualifiers, and the contact form is there for the questions it does not answer.

Riding time is not excursion time

You ride for about 1 hour. You are away from your hotel for about 3 hours. The difference is the pickup, the drive, meeting the horses, the helmets and the briefing, and the drive back — and we would rather you knew that before booking than discovered it in the vehicle. The timing page walks through it.

Sunset, sunrise and private rides

These are separate, special bookings — not part of this ride and not included in its price. The sunset ride and the sunrise ride are requested through their own pages, and a private ride for your own group, a special occasion or photography is arranged on request. In each case we reply with availability and the price before anything is booked.