We had so many amazing experiences in Turkey – but the horse safari was my absolute favourite and is a memory with our children that I will cherish forever.
I’ll never forget our 4 year old daughter sitting in front of me and stroking the horse’s mane affectionately, speaking encouragement to the horse (“Good boooooy, you’re such a good horsey”) and giggling when the horse tried to eat leaves from the tree rather than following the trail. I guess that’s the thing about animals – they bring out something magical in children that can’t be replicated in a theme park or any other artificial environment.
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We are not a family of horse riders – in fact out of our family of 5, only our eldest child had ever ridden a horse.
Yet, going on a horse safari seemed like the perfect adventure with our children at their current ages – 4, 6 and 8. It meant that our 2 little ones could ride with us parents and there was something so lovely about holding the reins tight with their little hands holding on too.
What’s included in a Happy Tours Horse Safari Turkey?
The pricing depends on the number of horses your family needs. Children over the age of 7 need to ride a horse of their own, but infants (children aged 3-6) ride with an adult.
7 year old – adult costs £19
Infant riding with a parent/guardian is free
For this bargain price you get hotel transfers, full insurance, use of riding equipment and a guided horse safari tour – if you wish to spend time in the stables feeding the horses and chatting to the staff about them then there’s time to do this at the end of the safari. Of course, we were all quite attached to our horses by the end of the experience, so we had a hard time tearing our children away from the horses to go back to the hotel.
You can find Happy Tours Horse Safari here.
What does the Horse Safari involve?
After getting kitted out and a demonstration about how to safely ride our horses, the adventure begins. The trek itself takes about 50-60 minutes and is in a very picturesque rural location. We passed bee hives, a farm, trekked through forest and even through a river! It was beyond exciting to be riding a horse through a river while spotting lots of freshwater turtles in the water and on the stony riverbeds. You can’t get much closer to nature than that! Throughout the trek a photographer captures the adventure, and you have the option of purchases the digital or paper copies of them, if you wish.
My Verdict on the Horse Safari
I can wholeheartedly recommend Happy Tours horse safari. The horses were well looked after and the staff were professional about our safety and the horse’s care. The cost is excellent too, and I loved being able to book online without the hassle of having to shop around with the street vendors in Marmaris, which to be frank is not the best use of precious holiday time.
Cathy who is married to Scott and has three lively little'uns. Aged 5, 3 and 1.
Your nice thoughts honored us. We would like to see you again in Turkey. Thanks. Happy days to you and your beautiful family.
Nice post