My wife and I wanted to go horseback riding while on vacation and Brisas was highly recommended. Transportation was included from Manuel Antonio as well as breakfast and lunch. Jordy was our guide and he was great. My wife is an experienced rider - I am very much not. But it was smooth sailing. Got to see a beautiful waterfall, swim in the river, and Jordy pointed a lot out to us. We'll upload some pictures when we get back, had an amazing time - fantastic food too!!
My family went on the horse ride today but it was so much more. We were served a delicious breakfast first, then paired off with our horses and went on the ride. Jimy was our guide and this young man could not have been more kind and helpful. He made sure all of us were comfortable on our horses, was fun and interesting to talk to and listen to. We arrived at the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen, changed into our swim suites and went for a swim in the pool below. After that we rode back to the starting point and were then served a delicious lunch. Today was Mothers Day in Costa Rica and though we had just met the lady who works or runs this venue she presented my wife and another lady very kind and thoughtful gifts in honor of them being mothers. We were all almost moved to tears by this simple but beautiful and kind gesture. In closure this was a perfect day. Thank you!
My husband had never been on horse and my experience was minimal but these horses are so well trained. They will even pair you up with the appropriate horse, based on your comfort and experience, and the temperment of the horse. We had soooo much fun! Our guide was Alfonso and he was so friendly and accommodating. My husband wanted to swim further down the cliff, past the waterfall, and they went together and just had a blast! They picked us up at the hotel and fed us a typical breakfast and lunch. This was a very special memory of our time in Manuel Antonio.
Took a horseback trip to a waterfall in the mountains near Manuel Antonio today. We opted for the half day tour (although I think the full day is an hour longer and a bigger waterfall) but both include 2 meals. We had the best guide, Jimmy who had been riding since he was five, he rocks! We trotted and cantored while he made sure we were comfortable doing that ( we had ridden before). He pointed out and let us smell the plants that you get citronella, vanilla and Ben gay from. We learned about other plants and trees as well as horses. The family that runs the horse ranch were so nice and helpful and cooked us breakfast and lunch! This is the place to go!
Horseback riding is one of my favourite vacation activities and I had already done a great tour near La Fortuna. I had previously looked for horseback tours when planning the trip to costa rica and this hadn't popped up but my hotel had a flyer in the lobby. I decided on a whim to go on the tour and I am glad I did. I did the half day tour with the waterfall. It was fantastic. There were only two other guests on my tour so it was very personal and the guide was great. We saw a beautiful toucan on the way which was native to that particular jungle and not in manuel antonio. The jungle was beautiful and horses were well trained. I got to go at a faster pace for some times which was nice as I find the nose-to-tail tours can get boring even in the most beautiful setting. Make no mistake these horses are trained to follow the guide primarily though so it's good for beginners. I did this tour alone even though I was travelling with my fiancé as he does not like horseback riding.
We were booked (or so I thought) with another horseback tour company...The morning of our tour, I asked the front desk at our hotel (Verde Mar) to contact the company and see when they would be picking us up. Turns out the other company stated that they didn't have our reservation and was full for the day (not their fault--I'm pretty sure it was a language barrier issue). Anyway, the Verde Mar called Brisas del Nara, who agreed to pick my fiance and I up in 5-10 minutes. A friendly driver took us to the stable house where we were greeted with a delicious desayuno tipico. Our guide helped us mount the horses and took us on an incredible tour through the rainforest. Our group consisted of four younger, fairly athletic riders and we were given a great deal of leeway with the horses...it was a much quicker ride than I had anticipated with about equal amounts of trotting and walking with a good deal of galloping thrown in. However, our guide was quite knowledgeable about the forest's flora and fauna, and always took time to stop and point out wildlife. The halfway point of the ride was a stop at a natural pool. We took a five minute hike to a waterfall, hiked back, and swam in the pool. Dried off and rode our way back to a lunch consisting of mahi-mahi and chicken casados. Fantastic experience through and through. Full day consisted of about 2.5 hrs of saddle time, 5 hours total including transport to and from Manuel Antonio.
The females in our trip, ages 9 to 66, went horseback riding with Brisas del Nara last week on our vacation to Costa Rica (the boys were fishing). There were four of us, and we all agree that it was a fantastic day. The guides, Jimmy and Jordy, were helpful and friendly the entire tour. The breakfast and lunch served were both great, typical Costa Rican fare. The horses were all very very gentle and clearly used to their daily tours as they seemed to know exactly what to do and where to go without any guidance from us. All of us felt very safe the entire time and really enjoyed the ride through a beautiful rain forest, while Jimmy pointed out some different types of trees and information about the rain forest in general. We stopped at a gorgeous waterfall to change and swim (and take pictures of course). The water was cool and refreshing and so clean and clear,and the scenery was to die for. Thank you again for a wonderful and memorable day!
So much fun! We were picked up by Jimmy at our resort and driven via bus to Brisas Del Nara. We met several other couples who were visiting CR for a beach wedding so our group was quite light-hearted and fun. Martin and I were paired with horses (White Foot & Star) after a brief discussion of our riding experience and then proceeded on our delightful journey into the beautiful rainforest. Our guide, Jordy, was a fine young man who is the grandson of Seniora Vicki, owner and chef of Brisas Del Nara. Jordy was on school break where he spends his time in the mountains of Brisas Del Nara learning the business. His knowledge of the forest and his enthusiasm to provide an excellent tour did not go unnoticed. We saw several huge Blue Morpho butterflies and a Red-headed Woodpecker among other small animals. We hiked down to a large, beautiful, waterfall along a ravine of the Naranjo River and then proceeded via horseback to a smaller falls that had pools for swimming. After our ~1.5 hour horseback ride, we returned to the ranch where we were given a choice of chicken or fish for our lunch prepared by Seniora Vicki. It was a delightful experience that I would recommend to anyone. Btw... the horses are unfamiliar with apples so choose another bribe for good behavior if desired.
If you're in the area, I'd highly recommend this. The area is incredibly scenic and horseback is a great way to see it. When you're there, it's very peaceful and there are very few other people. We took the full day tour you ride to a beautiful waterfall. The guide was very friendly and helpful, he made sure our 6 year old had fun. Non of us had any real experience on horses, but theyes make everything very easy. The horses are well trained and the guide pays attention to make sure everyone is having a good time.
The ride is about 45 minutes car from Quepos.They received us with homemade breakfast.The attention was first class from beginning to end.The guide Jimy was very pleasant and knowledgeable.If your going make sure you do the full day it's worth the $10 extra.