Santorini horse riding puts visitors on horseback in the countryside at the south of the island, and one ride type ends on a black volcanic beach. More routes across Greece are on the main page of tours in Greece.
This page explains what the riding is, how long a ride lasts, where it starts, which routes it follows, when it runs, who it suits and what riders ask.
What is Santorini horse riding?
A ride on a horse over the south of the island, led by instructors, is what Santorini horse riding means. Club pages list short rides, longer rides, beach rides, lessons and private rides, and they describe instruction before the ride.
Santorini horse riding takes place on a volcanic island. Wikipedia places Santorini at the south end of the Cyclades, roughly 200 kilometres off the Greek mainland. It spans about 73 square kilometres. A caldera full of sea water marks an eruption that struck about 3,600 years ago. Wikivoyage calls the result a flooded crescent.
Horse riding is a wide term. Wikipedia says equestrianism, commonly known as horse riding, includes riding, driving and vaulting. It lists trail riding among the recreational uses of horses. Trail riding means riding outdoors on trails and paths, away from roads that carry motor traffic. Wikipedia adds that trail rides come in any length.
Club pages name the ride types of Santorini horse riding. One club offers a basic ride, an extended ride and an advanced beach ride. It adds an extended ride that ends with dinner. Both extended rides start with basic training from the instructors. A second club offers riding lessons and routes to the sights of the island.
A third club lists a private ride for two people and a ride for experienced riders. A fourth club, in Megalochori village, lists traditional, Vlychada and caldera rides. Pages describe the landscape too: one club says riders pass local vineyards and volcanic canyons. Another sends its path through open countryside down to the coast.
How long is Santorini horse riding?
Club pages put Santorini horse riding between one hour and two and a half hours, by ride type. One club puts its basic ride at one hour and its extended ride at two hours. Its advanced beach ride takes two and a half hours.
Other clubs word their lengths in their own way. Another club says a round trip between its stable and the black-sand shore takes about ninety minutes. A tour-listing page names an excursion of one and a half hours that starts at a stable at Vlychada Beach. Santorini horse riding therefore sits near ninety minutes on two of the pages.
The same club adds a ride with dinner, which lasts ninety minutes to two hours and ends at Akrotiri beach. Its beach ride at Vlychada Beach is for advanced and highly experienced riders only, as the page puts it. The tour-listing page adds that its leader shows first riding techniques.
One club sets out its ninety-minute Santorini horse riding in six steps, in this order. Riders arrive at the stable, where the team helps them into the riding equipment and introduces the horse. A lesson in the basics follows, with time to build trust with the horse. Then the ride sets out along the trail.
The trail leads down to the shore at Vlychada, where the horses walk along the waterline. A stop on the beach leaves time for photographs. The return runs at an unhurried pace along the same trail. The ride ends with a farewell and close-up photos of rider and horse.
Length depends on the club and on the ride type. A ride to a black beach runs ninety minutes on two pages and two hours on a third. One club says it paces the ride to the place, not the clock. Read Santorini horse riding as a range, not as one fixed time.
Where does Santorini horse riding start?
Santorini horse riding starts at a stable or farm on the south of the island. Club pages name Akrotiri village, the hilltop of Vlychada and Megalochori village as bases. Riders meet the horses there.
The south is old volcanic ground. Wikipedia dates the start of volcanism here to roughly 2 million years back. Dacitic lavas then left vents around Akrotiri. The village is 15 km from Fira, to the south, on a hill slope above the caldera cliffs. The Bronze Age site that shares its name is roughly 2 km southeast of it.
Two club pages give Akrotiri village as their home. One club says it has run there since nineteen ninety-seven. Its rides leave from the premises of its own farm, with instructors alongside. The other equestrian club lists Akrotiri as its address and starts its trail ride from the equestrian centre.
Santorini horse riding also starts from Vlychada. One club says its stables stand on the hilltop of Vlychada, and that its stables hold 45 horses. Another club keeps its stable in Vlychada too. Wikivoyage lists Vlychada as a fishing village set on the south coast, with a large marina.
A third base is Megalochori village. One club keeps its horses and mules there and starts its village ride in the village. Another club offers hotel transfers on request. The booking-site page names the club’s own stables as the meeting point and places them at Vlychada.
Santorini horse riding has no single timetable, because hours differ by club. One club lists Monday to Sunday, from 8 in the morning until 9 at night. The club in Megalochori lists Monday to Friday, from 8 in the morning until half past eight at night. A third says it is open daily, with rides by appointment.
Which routes does Santorini horse riding follow?
Santorini horse riding routes run from the stables over fields and vineyards. They pass volcanic canyons and end at the black sand of Vlychada. Longer routes add a loop west to Megalochori village or a return by a different path.
Santorini horse riding crosses open country first, and clubs describe that part in their own words. One says its longer ride passes local vineyards and volcanic canyons before the beach. Another says the path runs through traditional fields and open countryside, winding gently down to the coast. A third lists rides over beaches, trails and vineyards.
Santorini horse riding reaches the black beach at Vlychada, which clubs call Eros beach. One club puts its route there at about 10 km. It ends with a walk over black lava stones and into the sea. Wikipedia says volcanic black sand forms when lava meets seawater, and that it holds tiny fragments of basalt.
The land around the beach has its own look. One club names white hills of volcanic ash, plus canyons and cliffs left by the Minoan eruption. It dates that eruption to about 3,500 years ago. Wikipedia gives about 3,600 years and says deep ash deposits, hundreds of metres thick, surround the caldera.
Advanced Santorini horse riding goes further. One club puts its safari ride at about 20 km. It runs from the Vlychada hilltop to Eros beach, then west to Megalochori village. Vineyards lead on to the caldera cliffs. It adds cantering and galloping on the beach. Another club words its beach ride as controlled trots and gallops for experienced riders only.
Wikipedia says speed generally governs gait. Quadrupeds move from a walk to a run to a gallop as speed rises. Sunset rides use the same stretch. The booking-site page has riders return to the stables as the sun sets. Another club describes golden-hour trails from its Vlychada stable.
When does Santorini horse riding run?
Santorini horse riding runs through the day, as club pages list it. One club is open every day, opening at 8 in the morning and closing at 9 in the evening. Its basic and extended tours run all day until sunset. Another club lists Monday to Friday.
The island has a season of its own. Wikivoyage says the tourist season begins around Greek Easter, and seasonal businesses begin to shut as October ends. It treats December to March as the off-season, with cooler air and rain and wind now and then. Wikipedia names tourism as the main business here, above all in the summer months.
Wikipedia describes the climate as hot and semi-arid. Summers are dry and winters relatively wetter. Rainfall adds up to about 270 millimetres a year, and the temperature averages about 19 degrees Celsius over the year. Wikivoyage lists two shoulder seasons, April through June and then September through October. It sees them as ideal for a visit, with milder weather.
Heat matters for Santorini horse riding in summer. Wikivoyage says summers are extremely hot. The UV index, it adds, stays at 9 or 10 in every month and counts as extreme. It tells readers to avoid the midday sun, noon to 3 in the afternoon. Wikipedia adds that heat illness can come from the environment or from exertion.
The listings cover both ends of the day. One club opens at 8 in the morning. Another club’s page lists golden-hour trails from its stable. A booking-site excursion page says riders watch the sunset on the way back to the stables.
Reserving Santorini horse riding works as a request. One club’s page lists four steps: select an experience, pick a date and time, request a ride, then ride. A booking-site excursion page offers private or semi-private time slots at checkout. It names a cancellation policy and says guests pay in the days before the ride.
Who is Santorini horse riding for?
Santorini horse riding fits novices and seasoned riders, because clubs sort their rides by level. One club marks its black sandy beach tour and a private tour as beginner level. It marks its safari tour as advanced.
One club’s safari page says the tour welcomes experienced riders because it includes galloping on the beach. Another club calls its beach gallop strictly for advanced and highly experienced riders. It also says its instructors give basic training before its extended tours start. A booking-site excursion page says the ride suits an experienced equestrian or a novice.
Santorini horse riding also fits couples and families. One club’s private tour is made for them, with two riders or more and the tour leader only. Operators differ on children. One club says riders under 10 years old go with parental responsibility. A booking-site page lets children of 7 or older ride their own horses.
The same booking-site page lists limits for health and weight. It recommends that a rider weighs no more than 110 kilograms. It does not recommend the ride for people with back problems or for pregnant women.
Rider safety in Santorini horse riding starts with the helmet. One club provides helmets and uses western leather saddles. The booking-site page lists helmets and half chaps. Wikipedia says an equestrian helmet protects the head in a fall or a hoof strike. It adds that a bicycle or motorcycle helmet does not suit riding.
For Santorini horse riding, clothing is plain. One club asks riders to wear comfortable pants or leggings and closed-toed shoes. The booking-site page asks for comfortable trousers or leggings and shoes that cover the toes. One club provides cold water at the stables. The booking-site page lists stops for digital photos with the rider’s own camera.
What else do riders ask about Santorini horse riding?
Are mules part of Santorini horse riding?
One club also offers mules next to its horses, with traditional riding instructions. The owner and his family go along with the riders. Wikipedia lists mules among the equids used for recreational riding.
Wikipedia says a mule has a donkey as its father and a horse as its mother. The donkey gives it intelligence, sure-footedness, toughness and endurance. The horse gives it speed, conformation and agility. Wikipedia also calls mules more patient, hardier and longer-lived than horses.
How big is a riding horse and how long does it live?
Santorini horse riding puts a rider on a horse, and Wikipedia has plain figures for the light riding type. It measures a horse at the withers, the point where the neck meets the back. One hand equals four inches, or 101.6 millimetres. Light riding horses stand 14 to 16 hands high, which is 142 to 163 centimetres.
The same horses weigh 380 to 550 kilograms. Wikipedia sets the traditional line between a pony and a horse at 14.2 hands, or 147 centimetres. A domestic horse lives 25 to 30 years on average. It can sleep both standing up and lying down.
How fast is each gait in Santorini horse riding?
Wikipedia ranks the gaits of a horse by speed. The slowest is the walk, in four beats, at an average of about 7 kilometres an hour. Next comes the trot. Its legs move in diagonal pairs, in two beats, at an average of about 13 kilometres an hour.
The canter comes third. It runs in three beats. It is faster than a trot and slower than a gallop, at 16 to 27 kilometres an hour on average. The gallop is the quickest natural gait, a canter with a fourth beat added. Wikipedia gives it an average of 40 to 48 kilometres an hour.
What does a riding lesson involve in Santorini horse riding?
The Services page of one club says its instructors teach all levels, from beginners to advanced. The lessons follow strict safety protocols, as the page puts it. The page says the approach rests on love and trust. The About page adds that the club provides a full training in riding.
The Services page also says lessons for children build concentration, precision, confidence and a sense of responsibility. The About page of the club lists more than 20 horses and more than 15 acres of ranch. It also lists more than 10 tour packages.
Can Santorini horse riding include a wedding photo ride?
Two clubs mention it. One club lists a bridal photoshoot by the sea as a private tour. The meeting point is a black beach at Vlychada, where gentle horses wait for a bride in her wedding dress. A second club lists a wedding photography option that uses its horses and the landscape.
The horses in a Santorini horse riding photo shoot are trained animals. The second club calls its horses well-trained and says skilled riders care for them. For the majority of domestic horses, Wikipedia puts the start of saddle training between ages two and four. Horses reach full adult development by age five.