8 Day Atlantic Coast Trail Horseback Riding Holiday in Mimizan, Landes

Day 1 - Sunday: Arrival day

• Transfer by minibus organized by the equestrian center for guests.
• 16:00 Pick up time at Bordeaux airport
• 17:00 Pick up time at Bordeaux railway station
• 19:00 Arrival to Mimizan for all riders coming with or without the transfer.
• 20:30 Departure for the dinner at the restaurant
• 21:00 Dinner

Day 2 - Monday: Mimizan - Bias (20 kilometers / 3 hours on a horse)

Briefing about the week and the horse ride, visit of Mimizan Beach for shopping, free lunch in the city, meeting with the horses, and the first day ride on departure for the six-day trail without coming back to the base with the horses.

• 09:00 Breakfast
• 10:00 Meeting with all riders after the breakfast and briefing time with the guide about the week's program.
• 10:30 The clients are dropped to Mimizan Beach to visit and walk through the village and on the beach for some shopping before the trail and take the lunch in the restaurant of their choice (not included in the price).
• 13:30 Pick up time in front of the tourism office and way back to the guesthouse.
• 14:00 Meeting at the stable for a briefing about the horses, the equipment, and the itinerary.
• 16:00 The ride starts in the arena for 30 minutes, this enables the riders to get used to their horses and discover the French way to ride them. It also gives the opportunity to control different levels and expectations of each rider, putting them on the horses that suit them best over the six following days. Then it’s time to discover carefully the different paces, walking and trotting, one by one with hacking out. Centre Équestre le Marina is not riding nose to tail during that week, giving the opportunity for each rider to keep control of his own horse at different paces. This way of hacking out offers every rider to avoid the dust made by the riders in front, to choose the speed of the pace each rider wants to have, from slow to a quick trot and from canter to quick gallop! Centre Équestre le Marina's horses used to be independent of the others and may stay walking when other horses are starting to trot or galloping in front of them! They stay under the control of the riders and not under the group of horses. It avoids having horses trotting all the time if some walk slow when some are walking quickly! Centre Équestre le Marina's short surroundings are very beautiful and the very wild landscape offers, from the top of natural dunes, some nice views above the ocean.
• 19:00 Transfer back to the guesthouse and its swimming pool by minibus (8 minutes)
• 19:30 Relaxing time
• 20:30 Departure for the dinner
• 21:00 Dinner at the restaurant

Day 3 - Tuesday: Bias - Contis - St. Julien (30 kilometers / 5 hours on a horse)

Five hours to discover an original forest, coast landscape with high sandy dune (up to 150 meters over the sea level), and first beach ride either in the morning or in the evening, according to the tide of the ocean.

• 08:00 Breakfast
• 09:00 Transfer to the horse’s field of the night
• 10:00 Start of the trail ride
• 13:30 Lunchtime and resting time
• 16:00 Start of the ride
• 19:00 Transfer back to the guesthouse and its swimming pool by minibus (8 minutes)
• 19:30 Relaxing time
• 20:30 Departure for the dinner
• 21:00 Dinner at the restaurant

Day 4 - Wednesday: St. Julien - Mezos - Levignacq - Lesperon (35 kilometers / 5 hours on a horse)

The landscape and nature are changing every day, offering all the various views of “The Landes”, wild nature and wonderful ground for galloping. During the next two days, you'll spend as much time walking than with trotting, cantering, or galloping. Visit of the most beautiful village of Landes “Lévignacq".

An afternoon adventure trip in the wild along a clear and fresh river. Arrive at “Moulin de Caremonge”, a wonderful and unexpected place where you’ll leave the horses in their field beside a lake for the night. Have a relaxing evening time in the garden or beside the swimming pool; have dinner and overnight at a Manor House.

• 08:00 Breakfast, time to prepare small luggage for the next night in the Manor House.
• 09:00 Transfer to the horses' field of the night
• 10:00 Departure on a horse
• 13:30 Lunch at Lévignacq and resting time
• 16:00 Departure on a horse
• 18:30 Short transfer by minibus (5 minutes) to the Manor of Tireveste
• 20:30 Dinner

Day 5 - Thursday: Lesperon - Uza - Bias (30 kilometers / 4.5 hours on a horse)

Wild nature and wonderful ground for galloping. Visit a bird reserve crossing and Uza village belonging to Mr. le Comte de Lur Saluces, owner of the famous Château Ychem Sauternes Vignard. Have lunchtime at Uza Lake in a typical restaurant with Landes specialty. Various landscapes and ride along the river in the original forest during the afternoon. Dinner at the equestrian guest house.

• 08:00 Breakfast
• 09:00 Departure to Caremonge, the horses’ field of the night (5 minutes)
• 10:00 Departure on horse
• 13:30 Lunch Time at Uza and resting time
• 16:00 Departure on a horse for a 2 more hours ride
• 19:00 Transfer back by minibus (10 minutes) to the equestrian guest house and its swimming pool
• 19:30 Relaxing time at the guesthouse
• 20:30 Departure for the dinner
• 21:00 Dinner at the restaurant

Day 6 - Friday: Bias - Lespecier - Ocean (19 kilometers / 4 hours on a horse)

Half day rest and half-day ride in the morning or in the evening depending on the low tide. Enjoy a natural forest crossing and access to the beach, spend two hours on the beach. This half-day trail gives riders the opportunity to enjoy the Atlantic Ocean and have some more exciting gallops along the beach. The other half-day gives riders time to relax beside the swimming pool at the guesthouse. If the weather is fine, from June to the end of September, riders have the opportunity to play and swim in the ocean with or without their horses.

• 08:00 or 10:00 Breakfast
• 20:00 or 21:00 Dinner

Day 7 - Saturday: Mimizan Village - Aureilhan Lake - Mimizan Beach (30 kilometers / 5 hours on a horse)

Full day ride, ride in the forest and along Aureilhan Lake (a protected area). Ride along the river to Mimizan Beach, forest and beach ride with the sunset. According to the tide schedules, this program can be reversed.

• 08:00 Breakfast.
• 09:00 Departure to the horses' place
• 10:00 Departure on horse
• 13:00 Lunch along the river
• 15:30 Departure on horse
• 19:00 Arrival at the guesthouse

Day 8 - Sunday

• Departure after breakfast
• A transfer is organized for guests from Mimizan to Bordeaux airport or Bordeaux railway station. Departure from the guest house will be according to the flight or train schedule of the first client.

Trail

This is a sporting trail for experimented to advanced riders in good physical condition! This trail requires good and fit riders, confident at all paces and able to ride several hours over varied and sometimes challenging terrain. For security reasons and for everyone's comfort, Centre Équestre le Marina asks riders to be confident enough to walk or trot independently through the forest, to canter or gallop alone on the sandy ways in the forest, in order to avoid the dust made by front riders. On the beach, riders must be able to gallop alone or by groups of two or three riders and to leave and come back to the group under good control.

Riding pace

Moderate with lots of fast sections.

Distances

• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD), 70 miles - 1.5 hours
• Morcenx, 20 miles - 30 minutes

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All meals are included from Sunday evening to Sunday morning, except on Monday for lunch, to give you the opportunity to visit Mimizan beach and find some nice restaurants according to your preference or to have lunch on the beach. Lunch and dinner are a planned menu for everybody.

Dinners are organized at the guesthouse, according to the program of the day where Centre Équestre le Marina will provide local specialties or in different restaurants, where guests will have the possibility to taste food from different countries (seafood, Spanish cuisine, Moroccan food, etc.). ¼-liter wine or soda and coffee are provided in all restaurants during the week and on the way. Other drinks are considered extra and have to be paid directly to the restaurant.

Centre Équestre le Marina offers special meals for vegetarians or vegans. The lunch provided on the way is a real meal served with tables and chairs and French aperitif and appetizer, Bordeaux red wine, soup or salad according to the weather, chicken or meat and veggies, French cheese, dessert, and coffee or tea. A car follows the group for lunch and carries the luggage of the riders to the manor house on Wednesday evening or for the bivouac.

• 5 days with full horse riding activity (2 days passing by the beach)
• 1 day with half-day horse riding activity
• 7 nights accommodation
• All taxes
• Full board on all whole-day rides
• Half a day of test riding in order to find the best horse for the rider

• Airfare
• Airport transfers
• Lunches on Monday
• Non-rider rate in a double room

Recommended Airports

• A reservation requires a deposit of 30% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 21 days before arrival.