Alentejo Trails - Portugal

Bottlenose Trail

5 star rating   9 October 2022

Jackie who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. Bottlenose Trail Portugal - A brilliant week of horse riding, scenery, guiding support and fun with friends | Exceeded expectations. I was concerned that it wouldn’t be enough riding as we had chosen a trail of 4-6 hours per day. But actually it was more than enough time in the saddle. Must be getting older! Scenery more varied and remote than expected. I don’t think we met anyone on the whole trail and only very little roadwork connection tracks with some spectacular views.

[In The Saddle replies: We really appreciate your feedback and are so pleased that your holiday exceeded your expectations.]


The Riding

How well were you matched with the right horse for your ability?
5 star rating
How would you rate the variety of riding, pace or terrain?
5 star rating
How would you rate the overall standard of the horses, tack and stables?
5 star rating

The Accommodation

How would you rate your room(s) for comfort and facilities?
4 star rating
How would you rate the standard of the food?
4 star rating

Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?

Although we chose the basic option we appreciated having single rooms. Some were a little tired and you couldn’t guarantee there would be hot water when you wanted it. However all were clean with fresh sheets and always helpful staff. Swimming pools not sparkling clean but maybe that’s acceptable in Portugal and I wasn’t bothered to swim anyway. Food was better in the hotels than the restaurants but maybe because we had to change last minute for 2 nights to a different restaurant. Lunches were adequate compared to previous experiences and a bit monotonous. Same bag of crisps, salad , olives and bread each day. The barbecued fish was excellent though and at no time were we short of food.


Before Your Holiday

Did you have all of the information you needed to:

Plan and prepare for your holiday?
5 star rating
Feel comfortable about your transfers and what to expect?
5 star rating

How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?

E mails were informative.

Didn’t receive the mail pack as I think it went to a local Correos in Spain that wanted 5 Euros for collection the day before we left. It wasn’t important but not worth sending anything outside UK!


How could we improve the way we handled your booking and payment?

No obvious comments.


Do you have any other feedback for us?

It was great to be able to go with a group of friends.
Had been recommended Portugal rides and I now see why. Couldn’t fault the whole experience. The guide Miguel and his support are exceptional. Clearly love their job and go out of their way to be part of your group and help with making it fun for everyone.