Crete Finikia and Giouchtas Mountains Horse Riding Tour with Lunch

We were picked up and taken to the horses, and everyone was very friendly from the start. They also take care of the stray dogs and make sure they are fed. The horse ride through the mountains was a lot of fun and had beautiful views. Afterwards, we had a great meal with plenty of food. They also gave ride back and we really recommend it!

The horses were nice and well-fed so that was great. The trail itself was alright. Mostly it was on paved roads and not too adventurous. Personally I wasn't a fan of the humour of the boss man and daughter. Please don't give your horses full-on terrorists' names, it's offensive, really. Also many sexist and racist remarks. The lunch was OK, but not great per se. And it was a bit strange that you still had to pay for fizzy drinks and bottles of water. I mean, we paid 80 euro's pp. Is a bottle of water for 19 cents really too much?

The horse riding was one thing, but the owner of the stables and his lovely daughter were what sold the experience. After a quick banter and short, basic introduction to how to properly steer a horse, you get a hand picked mount (often with a ridiculous name 😂) and off they go! The horses all have big personalities, but they are clearly used to the mountain route - so even a true beginner can enjoy the ride, as the horses will take you in the right direction almost by themselves. The white speckled girl I was given was a little stubborn, and kept randomly stopping - but a quick tap on the sides and she kept going, so I think she was just testing me! The ride is quite long - over an hour up the mountain and back down - so comfy clothes, sturdy shoes, long sleeves, lots of sunscreen and a generous coating of insect repellent are all musts. Atop the mountain the hosts provide juice and water to rehydrate, and the views are absolutely stunning. One thing to be careful of... The horses are all used to people and acclimated to riding, but some of them are left to free reign during the down time. I went to pet my horse (being careful to give the other steeds a wide berth), turned around, and a different horse had cornered me. She lunged and tried to bite me and, failing that, turned and kicked me, leaving a huge, nasty bruise on my knee! Now, I won't detract from the owners for this as it was probably my fault for approaching the wrong way, and I was not seriously injured. The man who actually rode Maria (the aggressor in question) the entire way was uninjured, so I can only speculate that this mare had some sort of grudge against me specifically! Simply put, be very careful when interacting with the horses, as I think the heat after a long walk makes them grumpy! Everything was forgiven once we got back and were fed an absolutely delicious home made lunch, with beef meatballs, chips from Lidl (as the owner kept stating 😂) and freshly grown garden salad. We were filled with all the food and white wine we could stomach, then placated with some fresh oranges. The hosts really made you feel like family, and it was lovely getting to bond with some of your fellow riders. Don't let my slightly frightening injury story put you off, as the experience was still very fun and rewarding overall. My only recommendation would be to avoid Maria - 'the bitch' according to the owners! 😂

Amazing family-run experience. As a beginner, I felt relaxed riding the horse thanks to the help from the hosts and the views were amazing. The horses were clearly very well taken care of. They kept us hydrated with water and juice and gave us a really nice homemade lunch. Highly recommend.

We were picked up by the owner who was very friendly and chatty. The location is beautiful in the countryside and the horse are very well looked after and treated with respect. A nice two hour trek around the countryside in formation with the option to gallop in the middle for the experienced riders. The lady who runs the trek is the daughter of the owner and was super friendly, very helpful and respectful to all the horses throughout Recommend long trousers sun cream and also sunglasses as I forgot mine be and the lady kindly let me use hers which was above and beyond what I would I expect. Lunch afterwards was very nice sat in the shade eating meat balls, chips and local food and the homemade white wine was very drinkable probably a bit too much. The horse riding trek comes highly recommended and I felt safe during the whole trek, as an inexperienced rider as they had good control of the horses throughout.

Great experience! I certainly recommend it if you are in Crete. 💕 Lovely horses and great views on the way up and back down, each horse has their own personalities with some being chilled out, others wanting to eat a bush every 5 mins and a couple that enjoy annoying the other horses around them 🤭. There are guard dogs from other properties on the way up/down the trail (near the start) that the horses are totally unfazed by when being barked at or by the owners bike riding near them. Some of the finikia stables' own dogs sweetly follow along for the rides and the horses seem very aware of them and make sure not to step on them also. The people there are lovely and I can see what other reviews mean when they say the owner and host Gregory is great, very much an entertaining guy who put any nervous people at ease 😄 and his daughter Irene is also great and helpful with a basic lesson on what to do, the guys who help out and that come with you along the trail are also nice and check up to see how you are and they know the horses. The food and drink after is great and also filling so the dogs got some of our leftover meatballs 🤭. It's a nice relaxing ride for both first time riders and basic riders/advanced riders. Granted it can be a little scary for first riders (like my mother who they kindly swapped horses for the journey back after the mountain stop), all our riding group had varied experience but chose to stick with the basic ride (gallop section available) as we likely all thought a relaxing ride would be the best choice to enjoy the views 😄, we got some juice and water during the stop and horses got to have a snack. I was unlucky in that I did fall off on the way up, but got right back up and back on my horse. It wasn't a bad fall as I just slide sideways and landed on my butt 😆. (my horse just wanted to be near their friend horse who had pulled ahead...so he suddenly sped up wanting to catch up and I didn't grip tightly in time to stay on). I wasn't a beginner so knew how to fall via watching others do it (though it was my first time so, I guess I got christened in that area of riding now 😆) don't let this put you off, it certainly didn't for me who would glady do it again!

Great fun, picked up by Irene 5 mins away from where our cruise ship had docked. Friendly fsmily run business with beautifully cared for animals. Make sure you book the home cooked lunch and try their own wine. Thank you for a wonderful day!

This could have been 4 stars, except for our pick up was forgotten. We were supposed to be picked up at 8.10, at 8.30 I called and it was clear that they had forgotten, eventually they showed up 45 min late. When it was time to mount the horse, the daughter was quite rude towards me and after that she couldn't care less about me. She was nice and considerate towards others but I was 'air' to her, not very Greek.

Lovely family, good food, well trained horses and beautiful views. Sometimes I get used to the Greek sense of humour. But all in all highly recommended. Thank you Gregori and family.

We loved our day in Crete and riding the mountain horses. There were a few very experienced riders but most had little or no experience on horses at all, but Gregory and his daughter selected the appropriate horse for each rider. The ride was fun and the scenery was beautiful, but as much as we enjoyed the ride, our lunch might have been our favorite part. There was an abundance of great food and wine, and our host, Gregory was a hoot! He good naturedly cajoled his guests to keep eating more food and drinking more wine! We wholeheartedly recommend this tour!