Afternoon horse-back riding tour

[Schnugelli]

Hello.

I'll be in Playa del Carmen for my honeymoon from Feb 7 to 17h. The 12th is my husband's birthday, and I intended to reserve a horse-back riding trip for him, as a surprise. However, since he likes chilling out, I'd like to find an "afternoon-only" alternative, so that we don't have to leave the resort before noon that day (I'm already killing him with 4 others all-day trips).

So yes, I did a lot of research: Rancho Loma-Bonita, Rancho Tres-Rios, Rancho Punta Venida... even X-caret... And I'm a little lost now. My point is that we're not so much interested in the eco-tours (since we're gonna do X-Caret and Xel-Ha), just the 2 hours horse-back riding in the jungle and on the beach. We'd like to leave after noon. I would like this to be the only special trip that day. I don't know which to reserve.

Could you please help me with advice ? thanks.

[squish]

Great idea for a BD gift! FYI... the afternoons are hot! We went first thing in the morning and the horseys were tired and sweaty even then. They will be even more tired, hot and sweaty in the afternoon.

[Anna]

Rancho Loma Bonita is no more. Rancho Grande is, as the name implies, big. Groups often reach 30-40 people. Rancho Punta Venado does small tours with maximum 9-10 people. It's likely that you don't get to canter at Punta Venado; they take safety very seriously. At Rancho Grande they devide the group so the people that can ride can go for a gallop. I'm an experienced rider so going for a run on the beach is nice, but I would still go for the smaller operation at Punta Venado, which is more personal and relaxed. If you contact me I can help you book it if you want.

[Schnugelli]

Hi again. Thanks for the replies. I still got some questions though. I did find some web-sites, and they do have online reservation possibilities. Anybody knows anything about that ?

Loma Bonita: Anna, you said that it's not in function anymore. I saw you already said that in a post in 2002. However, I was very surprised to find a web-site with coyright 2004 on it:
http://www.lomabonitamex.com/
http://www.lomabonitamex.com/ingles/contactus.html
Any chance you would have a look (on the website) and tell me what you think about it ?

Rancho Grande: is this the same as Tres-Rios ? This is what I found about Rancho Tres-Rios :
http://tres-rios.com/
http://tres-rios.com/reservations.html

I went on the web-site mentioning Punta Venado:
http://www.trek-trail.com/popup_new/punta_venado.html
but it seems to be an all-day trip, and I'd really like something shorter.

Any opinions about all that ?

[Becky]

Based on my recollection from last spring, Rancho Lomo Bonita and Rancho Grande are the same thing. It used to be called Lomo Bonita, and you can still find it by that name in some places. I started to book a riding tour here last year, until I found out that you can have up to 100 people in your group! I definitely wanted something smaller and more intimate.

Tres Rios is something completely different and has more activities than just horseback riding.

Rancho Punta Venado is the best, in my opinion. When I was there, we had a tour all to ourselves, and there were only 3 of us. The owners are wonderful and will really take care of you. And no, it's not an all day tour. Just a couple of hours. I highly recommend it. If you search the forum for Rancho Punta Venado, you will find my trip report from last April with more details about it.

Becky

[denisea]

Becky is correct. Rancho Lomo Bonita and Rancho Grande merged together a year or so back. They are indeed one and the same.

Personally, I prefer a place like Rancho Punta Venado over a place like Rancho Lomo Bonita/Rancho Grande. I find riding in a small intimate group to be more enjoyable than riding with a whole cattle herd. The atmosphere is completely different because the smaller group caters more to the individual experience. I've also found that typically horses at smaller ranches are healthier and better cared for than those of the larger tourist oriented operations. If this is the type of experience that you seek, then I highly recommend Rancho Punta Venado. Reservations are not required way in advance, however, if you want to do so then I recommend having Anna arrange them for you.

If you're interested in seeing some photos from our recent riding tour at Rancho Punta Venado, simply click on the "www" icon at the bottom of my post.

[Schnugelli]

OK, I made up my mind. We're be going to Punta Venado. Denisea, thanks for the link with the pictures, I'll have to show that to Milan tonight.

Anna, could you please help me arrange that ? Should I call them ? What's the number - the international one ? I would like something just after 12:00 noon though, just the afternoon, you know ? With round-trip transport from the hotel (Riu Tequila) (or even Playa) would be best. PLease let me know how to do deal with that... Thanks.

[Schnugelli]

Of course, if other people would like to join us, that would be great !!!!
It's just that because it's Milan's birthday, it should be on Feb 12th in the afternoon...

Denisea, the pictures are GREAT !!!

[denisea]

Gabriella mentioned that it is also possible to bring a picnic lunch and hang out at their beach after your ride. Seeing as it's a special occasion you might ask about that as well when you make your reservation. Would be a nice way to make the outing extra special.

[Schnugelli]

May somebody please give me the phone number (international) of Rancho Punta Venado, so that I can reserve my 2 spots ? Thanks. I just found the Trek-Trail web-site, and they say horse-back riding is in the morning, and I'd still be interested by the afternoon.

[denisea]

You might want to reconsider the time of your ride. You'll have a better experience going for a ride early in the morning for two reasons.

1. The horses will be rested and not tired from earlier rides.
2. It will be much cooler riding in the morning as opposed to the heat of the midday/afternoon sun.

Rancho Punta Venado:

• 52-984-877-7604
  52-984-877-9701

[Schnugelli]

Thanks Denisea. I'll keep in mind your advice.

[montsue]

I just got back from Riviera Maya and attempted to book with Punta Venado for the full day of horseback riding, kayaking, snorkling, etc. for $75 as advertised on trek-trail.com website. They don't offer that package anymoe, they also don't limit the horseback riding group to 6 people max , they charge $75 for approx 2 hours of horseback riding, and that doesn't include transportation from Playa Del Carmen. I am not saying that it still isn't worth doing, just that the info on that website is outdated and the price is a bit higher.

I ended up going to Loma Bonita, mainly due to price ($60 which included transportation and lunch). It was a large group but still enjoyable. They also have a spot were you can ride bareback swimming with your horse in the ocean.

[denisea]

Originally posted by "montsue"

I just got back from Riviera Maya and attempted to book with Punta Venado for the full day of horseback riding, kayaking, snorkling, etc. for $75 as advertised on trek-trail.com website. They don't offer that package anymoe, they also don't limit the horseback riding group to 6 people max , they charge $75 for approx 2 hours of horseback riding, and that doesn't include transportation from Playa Del Carmen. I am not saying that it still isn't worth doing, just that the info on that website is outdated and the price is a bit higher.

I ended up going to Loma Bonita, mainly due to price ($60 which included transportation and lunch). It was a large group but still enjoyable. They also have a spot were you can ride bareback swimming with your horse in the ocean.

First, Rancho Punta Venado does not have it's own web site. The trek-trail web site is just a tour company.

Rancho Punta Venado does limit it's horseback riding group to 10 people maximum. The normal ride is 1 hour. The hourly rate is $50 USD/person. I know this because 1) I arranged for 8 of us to do this trip on Dec 27; 2) I arranged for another 10 people to do this trip on Dec 31; and 3) I have a flyer with the rate on it that was given to me by Gabriella when I was at Rancho Punta Venado.

For the Dec 27 trip, the cost to ride was $50 USD/person. We hired 2 taxis to take us to Rancho Punta Venado and pick us up. Cost was $200 pesos roundtrip/taxi. So the total cost including transportation was $55 USD/person. For the Dec 31 trip, the cost to ride was the same, however, there were no transporation costs to anyone because Michael Holmes graciously offered to drive everyone in his rental car.

The time spent at the ranch is really closer to 2 hours as opposed to an hour. Drinks and snacks are also served after the ride --- we were offered sandwiches and various chips along with water, juice or soda.

You can also arrange to swim with the horse in the water --- but this is dependent upon the experience of the riders in your group. You can also arrange with them to spend time at their isolated beach after your ride. Next time we plan to bring a picnic lunch with us and spend the afternoon at the beach.