TRAIL RIDES IN SICILY.
Unforgettable Experience – Trail rides in Sicily? Most seasoned riders who have been on trail rides will tell you it is an experience never to be forgotten. And the Sicilian mountains are perhaps some of the best places to do it. They offer spectacular scenery combined to a sense of freedom and space not easily found in Europe.
Best weather in Europe – Our 10 months of almost summerlike weather means that you are practically guaranteed great weather (can’t promise though!), whilst the altitude also means that the hot days turn into lovely cool night in the hottest of months.
Superb Horses – Our horses are well trained and friendly. Just take a look at our riders comments on TripAdvisor!
Lovely stays every night – At the end of each day we arrive at beautiful rural accommodation in the countryside and relax with dips in the pools followed by proudly prepared Sicilian multi-course meals accompanied by wine and laughter! What better way to finish the day.
Two Types of trail rides – We are offering 2 types of trail rides in Sicily – “Standard” and “Soft“, described below. (Our trail rides in Sicily don’t demand that you have done trail riding previously but they do require you to be a fairly competent rider, confident in all gaits). Standard Trail Rides (over 4 days) cover a distance of aprox 120 kms averaging 30 kilometers a day, that is 6/8 hours riding depending on terrain. We will be doing trotting and some even speedy gallops along the way and guests need to be comfortable with all gaits and the hours in the saddle. Please note that this is not a “hard” trek as most other local treks are harder going. If you desire a really tough one perhaps it might be worthwhile looking at some of the other available treks. We have chosen to go for an average rate of travel enabling more “everyday” guests to be comfortable at the pace. Soft Trail Rides are very similar to the standard ones except they will be between 60 to 80 kms, that is more like 3 / 4 hours riding. We will be arriving at our destinations earlier and relaxing more around pools etc. On some evenings, we shall even arrange visits to the nearby towns for short sightseeing tours.
Our Trail Rides in Sicily Details and Information
PRICE – 1355 euros per person. Group discounts are available (please email for details on group discounts). It is worth noting that this is excellent value. Just check what these trek holidays go for… This price includes – all accommodation, airport transfers, all riding, all meals including wines (excellent house wines), beverages liquors etc, all excursions and visits, all transport for these visits. Price does not include flights and drinks at late night bars, not consumed with meals. Remember, this price is for the full 7 days here. The other days are filled with local riding and excursions to interesting locations and dining out.
DURATION – The Trail Ride in Sicily is a 1-week holiday, 7 nights 8 days. The holiday includes the 4-day trek and other leisure days as described in the itinerary below. We are quite flexible and will accommodate your available flights. We actually allocate 9 days space for the holiday so people can join us 1 day early or late (or vary the length of stay) to enable best flights and travel arrangements.
ITINERARY – (subject to minor changes due to arrival/departure times etc… You can arrive at any of the Sicily airports to suit availability and schedules from your country)
Day 1 – (depends on arrival time etc…) Assuming morning arrival at Catania this day includes: breakfast at a Catania caffe, Lunch at Pippa’s Paddock (PP), short afternoon ride (time permitting), and a lovely dinner at a rustic local restaurant in a nearby town.
Day 2 – Morning ride, lunch at the ranch, afternoon visit Caccamo with castle tour , visit to a horse training centre, drive down to the lake and see the dam, dinner in the castle and (if we are all up for it) pop into a local nightspot for a drink or two…. (drinks here not included)
Day 3 to 6 – Our trek of 4 days. Approximate length of ride should be around 25 to 30 kilometres (around 8 hours including a one or so hour break for lunch). The trek goes through gorgeous scenery in the Sicilian hills. Each day ends with a stay at a local agriturismo, most if not all should having swimming pools so we can have a dip and refresh. Evening dinner (with all wines, beverages and liquors included) will be served. (Drinks after the end of dinner and late into the night not included in price) Lunch on the trail will be a packed lunch. Our services will include car backup on call, transport of your personal belongings from one agriturismo to the next, one of us (Pippa or Mark) accompanying the group and a local knowledgeable guide. Our guide was born and raised on these hills. He loves horses and riding and has ridden these mountains for the last 40 years. The last evening we arrive back at PP and dinner will be a grand affair at a nearby restaurant where we celebrate in style.
Day 7 – This will be a relaxing day…. I propose either a lie-in with a late brief tour of Alia, Late lunch will be a sumptuous BBQ on our terrace with views of the Gurfa valley and loads of excellent food and wine etc…
Day 8 – Departures…. There will be breakfasts, lunches etc depending on departure times for all individuals.
People we work with…
