Santorini horse riding puts you on the south side of the island, where trails run past vineyards and volcanic ground to a beach, all seen from the saddle. Other day trips sit among our tours in Greece.
This page covers what Santorini horse riding from Akrotiri includes, how long the ride lasts and where it starts, the route between the vineyards and the sea, Vlychada Beach, the village of Akrotiri, how the Minoan eruption shaped the land, who can join and what to wear, the other riding clubs nearby and the questions riders ask.
What does the Santorini horse riding tour from Akrotiri include?
This Santorini horse riding tour is run by Roloas Riding Horse. It goes by horseback to a volcanic beach near Akrotiri. You ride with experienced instructors in a small group, and the operator’s listing limits that group to 7 participants.
Roloas Riding Horse is the activity provider named in the listing. A travel site says the club is based in the Akrotiri area. It offers a wide range of tours and riding lessons. The listing presents the Santorini horse riding tour as a ride and a lesson in one.
On the ride you learn how to ride a horse and hear stories from the old times. The listing says the experienced instructors make sure the excursion is safe and enjoyable. The instructor speaks English and Greek, so you can ask your questions in either language.
Photo stops are included, so the ride pauses for pictures. The listing says food and drinks are not included, so plan your meal around the ride.
If your plans change, free cancellation applies until 24 hours before the start. You get a full refund when you cancel by then.
How long is the ride, and where does it start?
The Santorini horse riding tour lasts 1 hour. It starts at Roloas Riding Horse, about 1 kilometre before the entrance of Akrotiri village. The listing asks you to check availability to see the starting times.
The listing gives 1 hour as the length of the whole tour. It writes the address as Akrotiri village, Santorini, Greece, with the postal code 847 00. That puts the meeting point outside the village, not in its centre. One kilometre is about 0.6 miles.
Arrive 10-15 minutes before the scheduled start. The team uses that time to explain everything you need to know before the ride. It also helps the activity start on time.
The listing allows a delay of 5 minutes, and no more. If you arrive later than that for your Santorini horse riding tour, the team has to cancel the activity. It must keep the timetable so that the rest of the day is not affected.
When there is a heat wave or other weather on the island, the time of the tour can change. The listing names a heat wave as one example of such weather. The listing names a hotel transfer only as an option. Check the starting times for Santorini horse riding in the listing before you plan your day.
What is the Santorini horse riding route like between the vineyards and the sea?
The Santorini horse riding route runs between traditional vineyards and local trails, then on to the volcanic beach near Akrotiri. The operator’s listing also promises views of Santorini from horseback on the way to the beach.
The vineyards on a Santorini horse riding route belong to a very old tradition. Wikipedia says grape growing on the island goes back to prehistoric times. It is the leading sector of farm production on Santorini. The local wine industry is built on the Assyrtiko grape.
Wikipedia says the vines have adapted to their habitat. They are planted far apart, because dew is their main source of moisture. They can be trained into low, spiralling baskets, with the grapes hanging inside to protect them from the wind. Their ground is volcanic ash soil, and the hot, dry conditions give it very low productivity.
Other pages describe the land between the vines and the shore. On its own route, another tour seller writes of small canyons and valleys etched into the volcanic rock. Wikipedia says the ground of the island slopes down towards its outer edge, where the beaches are smooth and shallow.
What is Vlychada Beach, the volcanic beach at the end of the ride?
Vlychada Beach is the volcanic beach that the Santorini horse riding listing names as the goal of the ride. The listing places it near Akrotiri. Wikivoyage lists a fishing village called Vlychada on the southern shore of Thira.
Wikivoyage describes the village of Vlychada as a fishing village with a large marina. Wikipedia has no article on Vlychada. For this beach, the listing and other Santorini horse riding pages carry the facts.
One club’s page writes of black sand and dramatic cliffs at Vlychada Beach. A hotel’s blog calls Vlychada Beach lunar-shaped and says tours also run there.
Wikipedia explains the colours of Santorini beaches. The colour depends on which rock layer is exposed. The island has beaches with sand or pebbles of solidified lava in different colours. Examples are the Red Beach, the Black Beach and the White Beach. The water at darker beaches is significantly warmer, because the lava absorbs heat.
Keep the beach names apart. A travel site’s page on the same club names Eros Beach. It says the excursion programs take place there, with black sand and towering white rocks. That is the page’s claim. The tour listing for Santorini horse riding names Vlychada Beach.
What is Akrotiri, the village where Santorini horse riding starts?
Akrotiri is a village on Santorini, 15 kilometres south of the capital, Fira. The listing for the ride puts the start of Santorini horse riding in the Akrotiri area. Akrotiri sits on the slopes of a hill.
The Greek census counts 515 permanent inhabitants in Akrotiri. On top of the hill stand the ruins of a Venetian castle, Goulas. Wikipedia adds that the town is built around the ruins of a thirteenth-century fortress, the Castle of Akrotiri.
West of the village, on the western tip of Santorini, stands a lighthouse from the nineteenth century. The listing for this Santorini horse riding tour names neither the castle nor the lighthouse. Treat them as facts about the village, not stops on the ride.
Two places share the name Akrotiri. The modern village is where Santorini horse riding begins. The Minoan Bronze Age site lies about 2 kilometres to the southeast. Wikipedia calls it a major site of its kind in the Aegean.
How did the Minoan eruption shape the land you ride across?
The Minoan eruption struck about 3,600 years ago and was one of the largest volcanic events in human history. It created the caldera, and Santorini horse riding takes place on the island that it reshaped.
The eruption lasted for weeks and caused massive tsunami waves. Studies have found four major phases. The first left up to 7 metres of pumice and ash to the southeast and east. The third began the collapse of the caldera, and the fourth completed it.
Its eruption column was an estimated 30 to 35 kilometres high and reached the stratosphere. Pumice covered the landscape. In places, the coastline vanished under thick deposits, and in other places it grew towards the sea. Afterwards, an intense phase of erosion moved the pumice from higher ground to lower ground.
On Santorini, a layer of white tephra, 60 metres (200 feet) thick, lies over the old ground. Its three bands mark the phases of the eruption. The ash entombed the Minoan town at Akrotiri, and only the southern tip of that large town has been uncovered.
No human remains have been found at the Akrotiri site. So the activity before the big eruption probably made the islanders flee. Volcanic activity on the island began about 2 million years ago, with lava from vents around Akrotiri. Santorini horse riding from the village therefore starts on ground with a long volcanic past.
Who can join Santorini horse riding, and what do you wear?
The Roloas Riding Horse listing sets a weight limit of 100 kg (220 lb) for Santorini horse riding. It also names children under 5, pregnant women and people with back problems as not suitable.
The listing gives a reason for the weight limit. It is for the safety and wellbeing of the horses, so the club cannot take guests over that weight. Check your own weight against that line before you pick a day.
The listing also has a “What to bring” list for the Santorini horse riding tour. It names seven items:
- Comfortable shoes
- Comfortable clothes
- Sports shoes
- A T-shirt
- Long pants
- Sportswear
- Closed-toe shoes
Shoes make up three of the seven items. The list also names long pants, so plan for covered legs and feet.
Which other riding clubs offer Santorini horse riding near Akrotiri?
Experience Horse Riding and the Riding Horse Equestrian Club both say they offer Santorini horse riding in Akrotiri. Each page states its own rules, so the Roloas rules above do not carry over.
Experience Horse Riding says it has run in Akrotiri village since nineteen ninety-seven. Its one-hour plan starts at the club’s farm with experienced instructors. In its two-hour plan, instructors give basic training first. The ride then passes local vineyards and volcanic canyons and ends at Vlychada beach.
The same club lists a 2.5-hour ride at Vlychada Beach. Its page limits that ride to advanced and highly experienced riders only.
The Riding Horse Equestrian Club is in Akrotiri in Thira. It says guests can choose riding lessons or routes to the island’s attractions.
A club called Santorini Horse Riding calls itself a family business with tradition in the horse sector. Its page lists horse riding tours and horse riding services. The page states no times or rules.
Efippos Santorini Riding Center says its stable is in Vlychada. It offers private and small-group rides of about ninety minutes from the stable to the black-sand shore and back. The page says a lesson in the basics comes before the ride.
Another tour seller lists a 1.5-hour excursion for Santorini horse riding. Its page recommends a rider weight of no more than 110 kg (242 lb). Children aged 7 and older ride their own horses, and younger children ride with an adult on the same horse. The page lists back problems and pregnancy as not recommended.
A travel site adds that the Roloas club also gives riding lessons to adults and children of every level. The Roloas limit of 100 kg and the seller’s 110 kg differ. Read the page of the club you pick before you book.
What else do riders ask about Santorini horse riding?
A hotel’s travel blog gives riders one plain rule for Santorini horse riding: do not slouch. It tells riders to relax their back and sit up straight in the saddle. That way, the blog says, you can control your horse better.
Which clothes cause trouble, and what is tack?
For Santorini horse riding, the same blog tells first-timers to wear proper riding gear. It says to steer clear of beach sandals, shorts, miniskirts, scarves and anything that can get tangled in the horse. Wikipedia calls the horse’s own gear tack: saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins and bits.
Who answers a rider’s doubts about Santorini horse riding?
The blog says to ask the stable staff for help with any doubt, concern or question. Wikipedia calls horses large prey animals with a well-developed flight or fight instinct, able to move quickly and unexpectedly. A rider’s head can be up to 4 metres (13 feet) from the ground.
Why do riders wear a helmet in the saddle?
Wikipedia says riding helmets lower the chance and the harm of head injuries. A rider who falls with a helmet has a five times lower chance of a traumatic brain injury. Another tour seller lists helmets and half chaps as equipment for its own Santorini horse riding excursion.
What are the four natural gaits of a horse?
Wikipedia lists the natural gaits by speed: walk, trot, canter and gallop. The walk has four beats and averages about 7 kilometres per hour. The trot has two beats and averages about 13 kilometres per hour. The canter has three beats and averages 16 to 27 kilometres per hour.
How do riders reach Akrotiri by public bus from the ferry port?
Wikivoyage says ferries dock at Athinios port, where buses meet each arrival and take passengers to Fira. Fira bus station is the hub of the bus network. One line runs from there to the Akrotiri museum via Megalochori and Akrotiri village. Tickets are bought on the bus, with cash only.