Horseback Riding Tour in Cabo San Lucas

We booked the Pacific horseback ride for my daughter’s birthday, and unfortunately, it ended up being a very disappointing experience. For context, I’m an experienced rider and horse owner, so I had fairly reasonable expectations for safety and basic horse care — but this outing fell short on almost every level. We originally booked a 3:00 PM ride and were told we’d be picked up at 2:00 PM. However, on the day of, we received a last-minute message saying pickup would now be at 3:00 PM. What followed was a frustrating 90-minute journey: 30 minutes to pick up another group, 30 minutes waiting for them to wander back from the beach (clearly intoxicated), and another 30 minutes to the ranch. Once we finally arrived, we were greeted by three staff members who gave a rushed and minimal explanation of riding commands. Helmets were visibly filthy, stirrups weren’t adjusted for individual riders, and many of the horses had poorly fitting bridles. For anyone with even the slightest knowledge of horse care and safety basics, it was uncomfortable to witness — and for beginners, it was borderline unsafe. The ride itself was underwhelming. About 20 minutes were spent walking through a cactus field, another 20 on the beach (which was the only somewhat scenic part), and then 15 minutes back the same way. It felt more like a box being checked than a thoughtfully guided experience. Back at the ranch, the “refreshments” offered were $8 (USD) beers, while staff circled around encouraging everyone to purchase overpriced photos taken during the ride. Overall, it felt disorganized, careless, and not at all what was advertised. I wouldn’t recommend this tour — especially not for a special occasion activity. Bottom line: Do yourself a favor — book elsewhere. This was an embarrassing excuse for a horseback ride and a complete waste of what was supposed to be a special day.

will preface by saying I don’t remember the last time I left a review for ANYTHING. but overall, weird experience here. everybody working there were white and speaking French. where were the people from mexico? they were also physically pushing the horses around from the sides of their bodies instead of guiding them with a strap and saddle. they were also clamping metal clamps into their mouths to get them to move, and a lot of the horses seemed to dislike the clamping, obviously, which was frustrating the workers. only a few of them seemed experience with horses, but they didn’t seem very intentional. on our tour, two of the workers were talking loudly in french the entire time, making the experience not very relaxing. considering I’ve had better and more tranquil horseback riding experiences, I recommend spending $ somewhere else.

Rancho Carisuva legitimately offers one of the most genuine experiences in vacation excursions. The staff is lovely and so accommodating. The ranch is a legitimate ranch that focuses on conservation and protection initiatives for the endangered sea turtles. The horses are so well trained and easy to handle, even for us inexperienced riders. This was our second visit as we came in March '23. This 2nd visit was especially fun as after the horseback tour was over, we planned for a picnic lunch on the beach, which is an easy and quick walk from the ranch. It was a perfect outing and we will return again the next time we are in the Cabo area.