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Portugal - The Atlantic Trail
A beautiful trail ride from the Ribatejo region of Portugal to the Atlantic sea on beautiful Lusitano horses!

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We GUARANTEE you won't find the same horse riding holiday at a lower price through any other source... and if you do, we promise to refund the difference!

from £1,485 or €1,695

Horse Riding Holidays Portugal – The Atlantic Trail

The Atlantic Trail: Prices 2023

GBP, £ EUR, € USD, $
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  • 5 nights – $1,860
    • GBP: 1,485
    • EUR: 1,726
    per person sharing, $238
    • GBP: 190
    • EUR: 221
    single supplement

Note: Rates are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations, please refer to our ‘Terms & Conditions’ for full details.

Included – All your riding, full board accommodation, drinks & airport transfers (set times Lisbon airport).

Excluded – Flights, tips & airport transfers outside set times.

Getting There
International flights to Lisbon Airport.

Transfer
We arrange to pick you up and drop you off at the airport at set times, a 45-minute transfer to the Quinta. 2pm day of arrival and you are dropped back at the airport at midday. If the set times don’t work, we can easily arrange private transfers at an extra charge.

The Atlantic Trail: Dates 2023

20-25 February
6-11 March
20-25 March
24-29 April
8-13 May
5-10 June
19-24 June
4-9 September
25-30 September
2-7 October
23-28 October

Remember our Horse Riding Holidays GUARANTEE. You won’t find these Horse Riding Holidays (or any of our Horse Riding Holidays) at a lower price through any other source… and if you do we will refund the difference.

SUMMARY OF THE TRIP top

HIGHLIGHTS

  • 4 full riding days, between 4 and 6.5 hours riding per day on one of our very well-schooled and friendly Lusitano horses
  • Arrival day 1.5 hours riding getting to know your horse!
  • Ride directly from the stables near Santarem to the Atlantic!
  • Amazing views, varied terrain, over hills, through typical Portuguese villages, hidden places you would never see if you were a tourist, this is the real Portugal!
  • Final destination, the lagoon and the Atlantic Sea, absolutely stunning scenery
  • Experienced and passionate trail guide, back up vehicle

The ride begins at your hosts Kristin & Pedro’s home the farm of Quinta dos Pinheiros, from here you will travel through open countryside, cork forests, medieval villages, onto sandy lanes, bringing you on the final day to the Lagoon of Obidos and the Atlantic sea! Here you will marvel at the vast beach and canter along the shore with your beautiful Lusitano horse! Along the way, you will be welcomed by locals for lunches, dinners and overnight stays! The riding is well paced, plenty of cantering with 4 – 6 hours in the saddle per day.

Your Hosts

Kristin is a passionate horsewoman originally from Germany. Her love of the Lusitano horse, brought her to Portugal and after leaving her job in 2011 she trained as a certified guide and began her journey creating fabulous trails rides from the Quinta, she shares with her husband Pedro.

Pedro is a professional rider and instructor. In addition to the trail riding, we can also create a bespoke itinerary for you if you would like to add in some training in both classical dressage & working equitation.

Lusitano’s for Sale
Pedro also has Lusitano horses in for training and sale, so if you are looking for a beautiful Lusitano horse from a trusted producer, we can set up a trip over to stay and view their horses.

THE RIDING top

Horses – A beautiful herd of well-trained Lusitano horses.

Level of Riding & Pace – Intermediate to advanced riders. You must be able to canter in control in open countryside with an independent seat and hands. You should have good fitness and be able to ride for up to 6 hours per day.

Tack – English style, with traditional Portuguese tack, which is handmade locally for each horse.

Weight Restriction – 90kg / 198lbs / 14.2 stone.

Maximum Numbers – 6 Riders

ACCOMMODATION top

You begin and end the ride, staying at your hosts farm, the Quinta dos Pinheiros. Once out on the trail you stay in rural guesthouses, chosen for their location and charm. Most nights you have ensuite but there could be a couple of nights, depending on availability you may need to share bathrooms. The Quinta and most of the properties on the trail have swimming pools!

You can expect a very high standard of freshly prepared local food.

Breakfasts are continental style, with a picnic style lunch, finishing off in the evenings with a delicious 3 course Portugese style dinner. Beer & wine included with meals.

Horse Riding Holidays like our Atlantic Trail ride holiday are part of the Zara’s Planet collection of Horse Riding Holidays Portugal.

SAMPLE ITINERARY top

Day 1
Meeting and pick up at Lisbon airport. Approx. 50min drive to the farm ‘Quinta dos Pinheiros’. After a welcome snack we will get straight onto the horses to enjoy our first ride. By riding through beautiful cork trees and eucalyptus trees you can start to relax and get to know your horse who will be your friendly partner for the week. Back at our Quinta you have time to relax before we have our dinner, during the winter in front of our fireplace, and during the summer months in our garden.
Overnight in Quinta dos Pinheiros or a lovely guesthouse nearby. (Depending on number of participants and availability).

Day 2
Quinta dos Pinheiros – Asseiceira, Casas de Sao José
After breakfast we leave our farm to start into a beautiful trail day with almost 6 hours riding time. The start takes us through a beautiful forest of pine trees and cork trees. Then we leave civilization more and more passing some villages and reaching the beautiful valley of Rio Maior. Antonio will welcome us with a lovely picnic table in the shade of a big cork tree.
After a tasty lunch for us and our horses we continue our ride through the green valley on a former train line enjoying the peaceful nature and the lovely views to some small villages on the top of the hills. After another 3 hours riding time, we reach our home for tonight, Casa de Sao Jose, a beautiful rural place with an inviting swimming pool and comfortable paddocks for our horses as well as comfortable guesthouses for the riders. The owner of the place welcomes us for dinner.

Day 3
Asseiceira – Santana, Quinta do Vale Formoso
Today completely different scenery is waiting to be discovered: We ride in the direction of Rio Maior and follow some winding and sandy paths perfect for some lovely canters. Following a romantic track along a little river which soon we are crossing, before climbing up to the west of the Serra dos Candeeiros with some spectacular views. This mountain range, beginning near the parish of Arrimal and extending southwest for about 22km until below Rio Maior, has a maximum altitude of 485m and the vegetation which it covers it is rare and spaced, reflecting its limestone nature. After 3hours riding we have a lunch-buffet at the castle! The afternoon ride is a little shorter about 1 hour ride, first along a quarry then into a eucalyptus and cork tree forest before reaching our destination, the private estate Quinta Vale do Formoso, beautifully restored by our friends Nick & Vicky, passionate and well known in the eventing and show jumping world. After having taken care of our horses the owners welcome us with a drink on their terrace and you have some relaxation time to enjoy the pool or rest in the charming guestrooms before having dinner.

Day 4
Santana – Obidos, Quinta da Torre
The beautiful ‘roller-coaster’ day. Leaving through thick forests of cork and eucalyptus we have a wonderful long riding day waiting for us. Today again and again climbing up some hills and riding down into valleys passing the ‘Valley of the Mice’ and the ‘Valley of the Germans’ along some enchanted ruins and sleepy villages. We are feeling the power of our horses going up and down and together we admire the lovely views from the top of some panoramic ways. Our lunch place today is a carefully chosen picnic spot, where a royal picnic is waiting for us.
We cannot yet see the Atlantic Ocean but yes, we are approaching. And the afternoon ride with about 3h will bring us to the medieval village of Obidos. We stay in the beautiful Quinta da Torre guesthouse with its charm, run by the owner. In the evening we enjoy the visit of the romantic and cobblestoned little roads of Obidos before dinner in a local restaurant. Not to miss the speciality ‘Ginja de Obidos’.

Day 5
Obidos – Silver Coast, Atlantic
Today we are going to reach the Atlantic! After breakfast we mount our Lusitano horses which have become our trusted partners over the past days, and we now ride through sandy lanes and pine trees smelling the salty Atlantic air already. We reach the wonderful Lagoon of Obidos: it’s the most extensive lagunar system in the coast of Portugal. It has an approximate area of 6.9 square kilometres and an average depth of two meters, with a quota that goes from half a meter to five meters. The lagoon has a maximum length of 6km and a width that varies from 1 to 1,5km, with a NW-SW orientation. It was actually much larger having reached, in earlier times, the Castle walls of Obidos. Appreciate the beautiful scenery, let your eyes wander over the lagoon water to the rustling
Atlantic. The ways around the lagoon invite us for some long trot and canter. Lunch we enjoy in a restaurant with view over the lagoon and our resting horses. In the afternoon we continue the path along the lagoon until we reach our destination: The Atlantic Ocean! The sand under the hoofs of our horses, it’s always a highlight to ride along and through the water. Sandy beaches stretch invitingly before us, we marvel at the power of the Atlantic with its natural force and the roar of the waves.
We will have time for some photos while riding along the beach and to proudly think back of the past 5 days that we rode until here.
We are picked up with the horse trailer and drive back to our farm Quinta dos Pinheiros. After taking care of the horses, we meet for a tasty dinner in our cosy gallery and indulge in fond memories of our ride.
Overnight in Quinta dos Pinheiros or a nearby farm (depending on group size and room availabilities).

Day 6
Departure after breakfast, transfer back to Lisbon airport.
It’s time to say goodbye for this time but you can also stay on another night or two and add on some Classical Dressage lessons.

DESTINATION MAP top

Zara’s Planet Horse Riding Holidays Guarantee:

All our horse riding holidays hold a price guarantee. We believe in your piece of mind on price when you book one of our horse riding holidays and will refund the difference should you find the same horse riding holiday elsewhere at a lower price.

If you are having trouble finding exactly the right horse riding holiday for you from our horse riding holidays collection, please contact us directly using the form below and tell us in your own words what you would like to do and we will use our extensive knowledge to make sure we find that perfect horse riding holiday.

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