8 Days Point-to-Point Trail Riding Adventure in Melides, Portugal

Day 1 (Saturday)

• Arrival and transfer to the hotel
• The accommodation will be at Uva do Monte or Serenada in Grândola
• Dinner will be at the hotel

Arrive at 5:30 p.m in the meeting point at Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) for your transfer. You will travel south for approximately 120 kilometers to your accommodation in a rural comfortable house called Uva do Monte or Serenada, located in Grândola, one and a half kilometers from the sea. Uva do Monte or Serenada is a very pleasant and charming rural house with pleasant staff and equipped with the comfort of a modern hotel. There, you will find a relaxed atmosphere where you can swim in the pool or rest in the comfortable rooms before your first day on horseback. Dinner will be at the hotel, so you can relax and rest. After dinner, you will enjoy your first night in Portugal.

Day 2 (Sunday)

• Ride through the hills of Grândola
• Have a picnic lunch
• The accommodation will be at Uva do Monte or Serenada
• Dinner will be at Fadista, a restaurant located in Melides

Today, Portugal Horse Adventures will take you by car to Passeios a Cavalo Melides, where the horses are stabled. You will start from there to go through the hills of Grandola where you will enjoy a beautiful cork tree landscape scenery. After the first few canters, you will notice that horses' sure-footedness and wonderful characters. For lunch, you will enjoy a delicious picnic prepared with typical Portuguese food, accompanied by fresh bread and good wine. You will rest for a while after lunch then you will ride back through the forests of centenary cork trees. You will reach Coudelaria Quinta do Almargem where you will stable the horses. A short 10-minute car transfer will bring you back to the hotel, Uva do Monte or Serenada, where you can refresh and prepare for dinner at Fadista, a restaurant in Melides.

Day 3 (Monday)

• Ride through Eucalyptus forests
• Lunch will be at the Lagoon of Santo André
• Dinner will be at Melides
• Spend the night at Uva do Monte or Serenada

Today, you will traverse forests of eucalyptus, cork, and wild trees; enjoy their distinctive scent and hear the sound of their barks crunching underneath the horses’ hooves. You will stop for a lunch picnic in one of the most beautiful panoramic views in the area where an old church ruin is located. After the picnic, you can have a relaxing siesta. Afterward, you will have the opportunity for some fast canters on the sandy trails that cross this part of the Portuguese countryside. Dinner will be at Quinta do Lourenço and you will spend the night at the hotel, Uva do Monte or Serenada.

Day 4 (Tuesday)

• Early ride to the beach to watch the sunrise over the dunes
• Have a picnic lunch
• Ride through the dunes
• Have dinner and spend the night at Uva do Monte or Serenada

Today, you will ride from Uva do Monte or Serenada to the beach. It will be a beautiful ride at first light as the sun rises over the dunes. There is the possibility of a beach canter before reaching a lovely picnic spot in the pine forest where your horses rest while you may swim in the sea. After lunch at Melides, Santo André Lagoon, you will ride through the dunes and reach the beach stables where the horses will rest. After riding, you will enjoy a short transfer to the hotel, Uva do Monte or Serenada.

Day 5 (Wednesday)

• Rest day at Uva do Monte or Serenada
• Walk through the pine forest, ride a bike, or just relax
• Optional visit to the historical village of Alcácer do Sal

The rest of the day will be at Uva do Monte or Serenada. After breakfast, you will pack your bags and around 12 noon, you will have a short transfer to the new hotel where you will rest and sleep. Nômade or Pinhal da Coutada is a small countryside resort where you can walk along the pine trees, ride a bike, or just relax in the biological pool. You will spend the night and have your dinner at the hotel. Tourist visits can be organized upon your request to the old village of Alcácer do Sal, one of the oldest handmade saddleries in Portugal.

Day 6 (Thursday)

• Ride to the beach of Comporta through the rice fields
• Have a picnic on the dunes
• Dinner will be at a local restaurant
• The accommodation will be at Brejo da Amada or Nômade

Today, you will ride from Nômade or Pinhal da Coutada to the beach of Comporta through the pine forest and vineyards. It’s a beautiful ride at first light as the sun rises over the dunes. There is a possibility for a beach canter before reaching a lovely picnic spot in the forest area where your horse will rest while you may swim in two natural lagoons. After lunch, you will ride through the forest to the vineyards of Brejinho da Costa winery. Nômade or Pinhal da Coutada is where you will spend the night and your dinner will be at a local restaurant.

Day 7 (Friday)

• Ride to the Sado River
• There will be an opportunity for faster riding on red earth paths
• Lunch will be at a local restaurant in Carvalhal
• Enjoy a refreshing swim on return
• Have the farewell dinner and spend your last night at Brejo da Amada or Nômade

Today, you will ride from Brejinho da Costa winery to the Sado River. Opportunities for faster riding will occur today; your horses will carry you safely through rive fields. Sandy paths will be found in the place where you can ride with the sound of the sea closer to you. On your return, you can enjoy a nice refreshing swim before arriving back to Nômade or Pinhal da Coutada. The farewell dinner and your last night will be in Nômade or Pinhal da Coutada.

Day 8 (Saturday)

• Transfer to Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) and departure

After breakfast, you will be transferred back to Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) for your departure.

Safety when riding

Portugal Horse Adventures recommends that you wear a hard hat that meets current standards for your own safety. It is important that your hat fits properly and that you feel comfortable and secure with it. Whilst riding or while in the vicinity of horses, you must comply with the instructions of your guide.

It is a condition upon booking that you accept the guide's authority to require you to dismount or to refuse you to ride if for any reason he considers that you may endanger your safety, the safety or welfare of the horses, or any other person. There is an inherent risk involved in horse riding and even the best-trained horse can put a foot in a hole or be startled by an animal out of the bushes, you may fall and get injured; therefore, you are requested to sign an acknowledgement of the risks associated with riding and acceptance of personal liability.

If you are not allowed to ride because you refuse to sign this disclaimer or if you refuse to use a hard hat you will have no claim against Portugal Horse Adventures.

Horses

The horses that Portugal Horse Adventures use in trails are Lusitano horses. The head is medium, slim size, guiding the eye to the medium and fine ears. The eyes are slightly oblique with a lively and determined expression. The chest is deep and well-developed side. The shoulder blades are long and the croup is strong. Any horse is well muscled, with rounded lines and comes adorned with a thick mane, long and silky. Dapple or brown, are the most colors seen in the Lusitano. Also accepted are the bay, the Laza and black. The Lusitano temperament is often described as noble, the Lusitano is sometimes fiery, others docile, but always struggling and even suffering. It does not lack courage and agility, being a good representative in all forms of equestrian sport.

Portugal Horse Adventures horses are Lusitanos and half Lusitano & half Arabian horses, because they breed Arabian horses in their stud. They are really essay horses to ride. Females horses are: Uiva, Zagira, Basofia, Quitana, Quevista, Cenoura, Fibra, Bisquit, Amarela. Male horses are: Polo, Gaio, Risonho, Ulisses, Nero. They are almost all family because most of them are born in Portugal Horse Adventures stud.

Note

Upon booking, please provide Portugal Horse Adventures with information about your riding skills and experience to help them to establish your ability for the holiday. You are not allowed to bring your own horse.

Portugal Horse Adventures has two different stable, one on the hills and one on the beach. The stables of the hills are located only 15 kilometers from the sandy beaches of the Atlantic Ocean and the beach stables located only 500 m from the beach.

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Selected meals are included in the package. Please advise Portugal Horseback Adventure in advance for your special dietary requirements.

• Swimming in two natural lagoons
• Visit one of the oldest handmade saddleries to the old village of Alcácer do Sal (it can be organized upon request)
• Dolphins trip on the rest day (it can be organized upon request)

• Massage (it can be organised at your request)

• 5-day horse riding
• Be assisted by an English and French-speaking guide
• 7 nights' accommodation
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner on select days
• Water, wine, and soft drinks
• Transfers from and to Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS)

• Other drinks and meals not mentioned

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• A reservation requires a deposit of 16.94% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 8 days before arrival.