? about horseback riding in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

[cruzegirl]

I'm looking for some info/input regariding the horseback riding excursion offered by Princess in Ocho Rios at the Chukka Cove Beach.. Is there anyone who's done that who can give some info. regarding their experience? Did you like it? Was it fun? etc.....

And are there any "must do's" in Ocho Rios?? My friends and I will be there in April on the Coral Princess.... any input would be great.... Thanks.......

[lyttleone1977]

I didnt do the horse back riding, but I did do another excursion with Chukka Cove. I did the ATV adventure, which was AWESOME!!! Some of the things that Chukka Cove offers is a beautiful location, bar right next to the horse pen, gift shop, and jerk chicken - to hot for my taste, but hey it was free! I know that the horseback riders were able to go down to the beach also. If I go back to Jamaica I want to do another tour with them!

[lookin4sun]

We just got back from Ocho Rios where we did a horseback riding excursion through A-Z Jamaica planners. It was called Heritage Beach Ride. It was $30 per person cheaper than doing it through Princess! Last year we booked our stuff through the ship but got brave enough to do it on our own this year. Just make sure that the companies you book through offer refunds if you don't come to port (this one you don't pay in advance so there was no worry). Otherwise, transportation met us at the cruise dock and brought us to the plantation and back right after the excursion.

 

We're not serious horseback riders or anything and we enjoyed it. The staff was good, we bought a fun picture of the 2 of us riding the horses into the water. The entire trip was probably an hour or an hour and half and the ride in the water lasted probably 15 minutes.

 

See my full review of our 1/6-1/13 Princess Star for more details on this excursion.

 

Good Luck!

[MikeyP]

Well, I can say that if you're going to Ocho Rios and are using the same folks that RCCL uses (Chukka), you will probably have a good time.

 

We went there this past September and had a wonderful time. I'll find some pics to post later on...

Our guide was great, but I wish I could remember his name. I had some problems with my horse and he helped me out big time. I had a good opportunity to chat with him and we got along real well. He was very safety oriented and very attentive. He also hooked up Wifey and I up with some wild guavas that he picked on the trail. I never had it before and enjoyed it immensely.

 

My only problem was that I didn't much like the horse that they assigned to me. I'm a fairly big guy and they gave me one of the smaller horses that happened to not be as good at following instructions as the others were. On the other hand, my wife's horse was a beautiful and seemingly good-natured animal.

 

Either way, the trip was absolutely beautiful. Also, our guide never once had his hand out and I made sure to give him a very large tip. Other tours I went on during that cruise saw guides asking for tips but providing far less service. It was definitely one of the more costly tours we went on, but it was worth it.

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Hope it helps.