Guti Tours Horseback Riding — Local services in Veintisiete de Abril

Before I give my long handed account of our experience with Guti tours let me say, flat out, AMAZING EXPERIENCE! We were in Costa Rica for nearly two weeks and we were extremely active. Andrey took first place in all of our adventures by leaps and bounds. I must add, our other adventures were tough competition but THIS, this was a life time moment. We'll likely tell this story to our kids and their kids. The story will start, "The way we met Andrey..." Because I assure you, we will be back. Made a memory and made a friend.

Brief tip: wear briefs

The day started in Tamarindo at our Resort Jardin Del Eden. We drove south to Playa Avellana to meet up with our guide Andrey. Today's adventure would entail horse back riding through the jungle and possibly the beach if we got lucky. What was expected versus what happened are in stark contrast. Let me say that I'm not a big rider. I grew up with horses and I'm comfortable enough but I'm no expert. My wife on the other hand, lives for horses and that's her bag. So we pull up to Lola's and meet Andrey for the first time. Great big smile, calm demeanor, confident and fun. He ushers us to follow him on his dirt bike up to the ranch. As we arrive at the ranch his father is rounding up horses and saddling them up for the trip. He introduces us to both his sister and father. Andrey explains that his dad is the reason they have what they have. Proudly, he shares videos of his pops as a bull rider. Tough as nails. After introductions and saddling up we take off. Through the local countryside, down the dirt roads, through the jungle. Andrey and I got to know one another a little more. Talking about his travels to the states, real estate, narcos, and whatever else. Before I know it we're out of the jungle and onto a beach. You look down to see beautiful white sand, as you look out there's 10-15 ft surf kicking up mist. The horses are happy because the sand is soft on their hooves and water cools their skin. Off we go, galloping down the beach. I can see my wife is in her element. We ride down the beach for roughly an hour when Andrey leans over and says "I may a surprise. I'm not sure but maybe"... I won't ruin it for you but I assure you it's not lunch and it's not cervesa fria. Mind blown! After we experience the surprise he says "you ready for a cervesa" and he brings us a little further down the beach to a friend's house. Perched on the top of a hill over looking the ocean we sat on the 2nd floor open patio sipping beverages, sharing stories, listening to vintage Marley. We're already talking about the 'next' trip. We road back on the beach and called it a day. We had originally booked roughly 2 hours but given we were having such a good time Andrey just kept going. It ended up being close to 4 hours. Absolutely amazing way to start off our marriage. Making memories, making friends.

Andrey went above and beyond for us. This man is extremely kind and genuine. Rather hard to capture the moment in words but I cannot express just how heartfelt...

This was the most incredible 2.5 hours of my life. If you love horses then this is a MUST. It was both thrilling and relaxing, the views and scenery unmatched, the horses were an absolute joy to ride, and the people were professional yet so much fun! Thank you so much Andres and Jesus for an amazing afternoon that we will cherish forever.

I would have been happy with any sort of horse excursion and simply being on the beach was my only requirement. Having done a handful of vacation horserides before, I was expecting to simply walk along the beach, calmly enjoying the views. I had accepted that unless I took proper lessons, that I would never gallop or go any considerable speed. But with Guti tours my wildest horse dreams came true. After walking and even trotting a bit to the beach, we picked up the pace and were encouraged to run free! My horse, Ceniza, galloped smoothly over the sand and it was such a freeing, wild experience!

For about 2-2.5 hours we did a combination of walking, trotting and galloping over a variety of terrain: sand, volcanic rock, up and down steep dirt trails, grassy hilltops overlooking the ocean... For a rest stop we had a few drinks at a local bar that had beautiful views of treetops and the ocean.

I am not an experienced horse rider by any means. Honestly before this trip, my horse riding was limited to just sitting on a horse while it followed in line. Before we took off, Andres clearly went over simple riding instructions/commands and made sure we all were comfortable and confident on our horses. I would like to think that I had somehow managed to establish a bond of trust and communication with my horse, but I think my horse's obedience and attentiveness is more likely due to the excellent training. Not going to lie, I was a little nervous at first when my horse picked up speed! But I never felt unsafe or out of control as my horse was very in tune to my body language and verbal commands.

Our group started off with 2 guides (Andres and his dad Jesus) and 5 inexperienced riders, myself included. We ended up splitting our group into two. Myself and my companion went with Jesus and we enjoyed galloping and had a more exciting journey. The other group was a family and they preferred to walk so they went with Andres. I really appreciate how they organize this so everyone of all levels can enjoy the rides. Like I said before, I am always happy to be on a horse, but it can be a little boring if you are just walking in line when you would rather try to push your limits a little.

Anyways, if you've read this far, just stop now and go book this tour. You won't regret it and I bet it will be one of the best things you...

Listen, this was one of the most fun experiences of my life. I’ve only been on a horse a few times so this was exhilarating. The full galloping on the beach was so much fun and the guides are incredibly skilled at what they do.

I haven’t seen a review talk about this yet which is confusing but the toll this took on my body is wild. The insides of my legs (calves and thighs) have some pretty major bruises on them and I don’t know if I’ve ever been this sore. The trotting and galloping caused a significant amount of pain for me while riding. Again, im not an experienced rider but im a decently athletic dude in my 30s and this just beat my body to a pulp. So while I will highly recommend doing the ride I feel like I have to do my duty to let you know that there’s a chance your body will be in a noticeable amount of pain.

Like, for real, my butt is pretty raw and sleeping was not the easiest thing to accomplish night one. I have higher hopes for night two so we’ll see.

Also, if you’ve never done a full gallop before and have some weight to ya it can feel like you’re gonna fall right off these beautiful creatures. A little terrifying but again, 10 out of 10 would recommend.

Ps. Wear some good jeans and not thin hiking pants. This could be the reason for the majority of my bruising and the raw spots on my tush so I’d highly recommend wearing some...