Horseback Riding Holidays in Honduras

By: Pablo Imberti Posted: 15/05/2020

Our next destination is Honduras, the country that mixes together mountains, rainforests and the Caribbean Sea to offer us an unforgettable horse riding holiday.

Vast expanses of jungle, coastal lagoons and beautiful beaches that you can explore following some lonely, hidden trail.

There are two climatic seasons in Honduras: a rainy period, from May through October, and a dry season, from November through April, so it is easy to select the dates for your trip and, in that way, there will be no surprises as far as the weather is concerned.

Honduras is one of the gateways to the ancient Mayan World. Discover the Mayan ruins while exploring the jungle on horseback!

Honduras as an equestrian destination

The mountains and the idyllic Caribbean beaches of this country can be better explored on horseback.

We can choose from a wide range of tours: jungle trails; beautiful secluded beaches with white sands; wetlands of rich biodiversity and, of course, its well-kept national parks

Honduras offers many different equestrian tourism alternatives. We will now describe two of them, selected by our content team for informational purposes.

El Rancho Barrio Dorcas

Its exact location is in “Paradise”, in the little town of Roatan in Honduras. They don’t provide accommodation but they recommend several places they are associated with. All of them are very near their operational base. What they do have is lots of horse rides!

Explore Roatan on horseback

The place is the beach of Sandy Bay and the itinerary is very varied, challenging sometimes, but incredibly beautiful. Its scenery will leave you with your mouth open more than once.

During the rides you will see mangroves, trees that live right in the ocean and are the nursery for many of ocean creatures, and the ironshore (coral reef that emerged from the ocean centuries ago). You can walk, trot or gallop.

Depending on your riding abilities, there are long stretches of secluded beach, with palms and pines on one hand and the crystal ocean on the other, so you can loosen the reins of your horse and go for a breathless race against the wind.

Along the way, you will see a myriad of fruit trees - almond, cashew, banana, coconut, seagrape, guava, mango, papaya, to name a few.  Your local guide will identify them for you. Beautiful flowers you may have never seen before on other horseback trips.

In some other parts of your ride, if you keep your eyes open, you will see lizards, iguanas, and birds such as parrots, frigate birds, pelicans, and woodpeckers.

Honduras is a paradise, whose magnitude can only be appreciated on horseback.

This ride is suitable for all levels of experience and riding skills, from the first time rider to the highly experienced.

You can agree with the guide to change the itinerary to visit the mangroves, ride through the jungle, or do a beach tour. These options will depend both on weather conditions and the riding abilities of all people in the group, and your guide will have the last word.

Moonlight ride

Photographers, artists and admirers of the natural world will appreciate this evening ride. The island is bathed in a rosy-orange glow as the sun sinks into the ocean. When the sunlight wanes, it is supplanted by the bright moonlight, and the island takes on a different palette.

With the absence of street lights, the night sky sparkles with an abundance of stars "city folk" rarely get to see. Sounds become more pronounced; the songs of frogs and crickets fill the air, along with the steady clop of the horses' hooves.

Who is your tour guide?

He has witnessed the island's transition from a sleepy farming and fishing community, with only cow paths and foot trails connecting its inhabitants, to the bustling tourist haven it has become today.

With his anecdotes, he remembers the arrival of the first foreign tourists in search of real and secluded adventures. He will tell you how the first tents were built, the only accommodation option at the time.

Full of anecdotes and local history, Shrike entertains and informs in addition to showing you the sights. He will tell you every detail of this region in his fluent English. Shirkie loves horses and riding around Roatan on them. He will be at your service all the time. With him, you are in good hands!

General information for your consideration

Is there a weight limit? Yes, there is. Like all equestrian tourism suppliers they care about their horses. The limit is 115 kg or 250 pounds, more flexible than in other rides you may have done before.

Age limit: they do not have an age limit as such. Children 6 years and up can ride on a horse by themselves. Very young children (1-4 years) can double-ride with their parents provided the total weight on one horse does not exceed 115 kg.

Seniors, however, should be in reasonably good physical shape. If you do not ride regularly, you will be stretching and using muscles and ligaments that you have forgotten you had.

What about the horses? All their horses are very friendly and easy to handle. They have been trained to that end. The guide goes at the pace that the least experienced riders can handle; in this case, it would be a walk. The guide will point out places where any experienced riders in the group can ride on ahead.

If you want to know more about the options they offer for your horseback riding holidays, and see photographs of the beautiful places where they invite you to ride, go to their web site: http://barriodorcasranch.com/

Omega Tours

Omega Tours Eco Jungle Lodge houses some of the most stunning accommodations found in Honduras with beautiful views, tasteful artistic details, great bathrooms and private porches with hammocks.

The whole lodge is designed to let the natural airflow breeze through the rooms. Everything is original and carefully designed that will allow you to fully enjoy the beautiful nature that surrounds the lodge.

All construction and furniture are designed and crafted using recycled materials and are built on site with the help of local workers. They have their own solar hot water system, which allows them to save energy and provide their guests with hot water. Besides, their used water gets recycled and fresh water is treated with one of the most effective systems found in Honduras.

A great variety of rooms and outstanding surroundings in which their guests spend a lot of time. You can relax and unplug in their cool freshwater pool, hammocks or on the comfortable armchairs outdoors.

Non-riders traveling with you can also go hiking in their exclusive trails, practice yoga on their platform or explore the nearby creeks and the river.

It is a pure natural and truly inspiring environment with lots of birds, tropical plants: fruits, flowers, medicinal, ornamental and orchids.

El Omega Tours Eco Jungle Lodge is strategically located: secluded in the jungle, away from road and modern civilization. The lodge is nestled between two impressive national parks, at only 10 km from the Caribbean coast. In the middle of the rainforest with one of the largest collections of different fruit trees and ornamental plants in Honduras.

Catering in the routes of Omega Tours

This agent provides a combination of German, Caribbean and Latin American cuisine. They use organic and seasonal products whenever possible. All their tours include lunch, which are generally (unless you request a special menu) sandwiches made of homemade, wholemeal bread, mustard leaves or fresh mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and then you have other options such as bacon, chicken, pulled pork, egg, vegetarian or vegan.

Adventure Tourism

They have several adventure tourism alternatives such as tropical adventure, rafting, jungle hike to Bejuco Waterfall, kayaking in the Cangrejal River and, of course, horse riding.

Although some of the options are for half a day or a full day, if you combine them you can spend more than a week enjoying this fabulous area and relax in this lodge that is so well designed.

Now, let’s talk about what we like doing the most on our horseback riding vacations!

Horseback Riding in the Cangrejal Valley

In this ride you will explore the charming nature of the gorgeous Cangrejal River valley and get to know the local culture. Interacting with them will give you a complete idea of what life is in this interesting part of the world.

Their trails will take you around various indigenous villages settled in the middle of the jungle, you will visit two national parks, which are very well developed and kept, learning about this pristine nature always on horseback and with a local bilingual guide, an expert in horses.

These national parks and horse riding trails are a part of a sustainable tourism project and the tourist visits help them progress and expand in the whole country. Every now and then, the trails will delight you with spectacular natural pools.

Take into account that their horses live in a herd in the jungle and they are used to the surroundings. They are friendly and easy to handle, and they love to take you out to discover the valley.

A really magical valley with its beautiful views everywhere you look around and with small villages along the way, which will make you appreciate how life was in this country before the arrival of the first tourists.

The ride starts at Omega Jungle Lodge, where you meet your horses, they help you find the perfect match and get ready for the ride.

You leave the lodge and head further up into the valley through the village of El Naranjo and Las Mangas.

You ride in the jungle but you are safe with the company of your guide and horse.

Riding a bit into the jungle you find a nice shady spot to leave the horses and meet up with their nature guide. He or she will take you on a very interesting little hike, telling the history of the place and the ancient local culture, pointing out many plants, trees and possibly animals.

Along the way, for a refreshing break they stop at an inviting, crystal clear, natural pool along a hidden jungle river for a cool swim, and to take in the breathtaking scenery. Perfect time to cool off, enjoy a tasty picnic lunch and remember that these are the things that we love doing when riding around the world!

You return to your refreshed horse who is waiting with great patience and keen to show you more incredible views of the valley of the Cangrejal River on your ride back through the nearby villages to Omega Jungle Lodge.

Learn more about this gorgeous hotel in the middle of Honduras rainforest, meet its staff, its horses and see all the activities they offer on their web site: https://www.omegatours.info

/ Photos from: http://barriodorcasranch.com, https://www.facebook.com/BarrioDorcasRanch/ y https://www.omegatours.info /

Are you also passionate about the idea of travelling Central America on horseback?

In addition to Honduras, discover other destinations in Central America; in all of them, you will find rainforests, beaches or volcanoes where you can enjoy new horseback routes.

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