Horseback riding excursion

We will be docking in Falmouth on our Disney cruise in a couple of weeks. My daughter and her husband, along with two grand-daughters, are considering booking the Disney excursion that takes them to Dunn River Falls, lunch, then horseback riding. Any feedback from someone who has done this excursion? Or advise on the horseback riding?

We did this a year ago on our cruise. Well, we made our own travel plans rather than take a ships tour. We went riding first. It was 45 minutes down the hillside to the shore, about 20 minutes in the water where the horses were swimming rather than just walking in shallow water. Then it was another 45 minutes back up. My wife is not much of a rider but she thought it was pretty cool to go into the water. Other than the saddles were English rather than western (naturally in Jamaica) it was good.

We then did Dunns River Falls. That was good other than the tourist aspect of the whole thing. It was also not cheap. The worst part was the tourist thing of pestering us to buy the video and the pressure to buy anything. IT was a warm day by then so the cool water was refreshing.

I am not sure if your question was about the specific Disney tour or just the stops. We hired a driver for 4 of us for the day. We had great flexibility and a good time as well. Enjoy!

I've booked a similar tour (Private tour: Horseback riding + Irie Blue Hole) and we'll be going next week! I'd let you know after I come back but I think we might be on the same cruise! :rolleyes:

Quick question wave rider...

When you did the horseback riding, was it difficult to take photos? Or do they help take photos for you? We're going in a group of 6 people and it'd be great to capture those moments :p

We will be docking in Falmouth on our Disney cruise in a couple of weeks. My daughter and her husband, along with two grand-daughters, are considering booking the Disney excursion that takes them to Dunn River Falls, lunch, then horseback riding. Any feedback from someone who has done this excursion? Or advise on the horseback riding?

Check out this link for cruise shore excursion http://www.courtneytaylortours.com/tours.html

To SESFan:

Found your post about horseback riding and Blue Hole...and I have a few questions:

Did the horseback riding include swimming with the horses?

Did you have time to do both activities (horses and Blue Hole)?

Would you recommend this combination, and which tour company did you use?

Thanks!

Yes, the horseback riding did include swimming with the horses. And there was plenty of time to do both. I would highly recommend contacting Ricardo at LibertyToursJamaica.com. He was fantastic. He knew exactly how to manage your time. He made this the best excursion of our entire cruise. At the Blue Hole, I would highly recommend a point & shoot camera. The guide there will take your camera and take all the pictures of your party enjoying the water.

I was wondering if someone can answer my questions regarding the horseback ride and swim excursion. Is there a changing room/bathroom available to switch from bathing suits to riding clothes? If your taking the ship excursion I would imagine they get you back to the boat on time???

thanks:confused:

I forgot one other question.....Is there also somewhere to lock up your belongings during the water portion of the horseback ride (cameras, cruise information, clothes)?

Sorry for the delayed response! Here's my experience for the above questions:

Did the horseback riding include swimming with the horses?

Yes, the swimming was included. We rode the horses through the nearby village area and then trotted through the beach. The horse "swimming" was more like the horses walking through the water half way up to horse (just below their belly). It was kinda short but cool :)

Did you have time to do both activities (horses and Blue Hole)?

Yes, we had time to do both and we were not rushed during the trip. We had a private van that took us to the horseback riding area, then after that we loaded back up to go to the Irie Blue Hole. We were assigned a guide there who helped us through the waterfalls. So much fun :D Afterwards, we went to Scotchies for lunch (yum!) and they took us to a very touristy/ghetto souvenir shop (not recommended). We were dropped off back at the port with time to spare.

Would you recommend this combination, and which tour company did you use?

I enjoyed the Irie Blue Hole the most out of the tour but I was with friends who enjoyed the horseback riding more. It was a really fun experience though! It was the excursion we spent the most money on but I think it was worth it. We used Ricardo from Liberty Tours.

Is there a changing room/bathroom available to switch from bathing suits to riding clothes?

Nope! We wore our swimwear underneath our clothes. When we needed to get ready for the waterfalls, we just removed our clothes and left them in the private van. We did the horseback riding first and I wasn't really in "riding clothes" ... just a tank top, shorts, and water shoes.

If your taking the ship excursion I would imagine they get you back to the boat on time?

I believe they guarantee that you will make it back in time. But we had enough time, even with all our activities.

Is there also somewhere to lock up your belongings during the water portion of the horseback ride (cameras, cruise information, clothes)?

We left most things in the private van, but if you're only doing the horseback riding, you can probably bring a small pouch with you. I brought along my camera (not waterproof) and a tote bag to hold my wallet and things. The "swimming" isn't like full on swimming. I only got my legs wet while sitting on the horse. The guides were super nice though because they grabbed a couple of our cameras to help take photos of the whole group. I wouldn't be too worried about getting your things wet.