rancho la merced national wildlife refuge

我和我丈夫刚刚结束了这次精彩的旅行,回到家,那里的马饲养得很不错,看起来很健康,那里的景观,天空,大海还有森林,所有的一切都堪称完美。一定要去的地方。

我不爱骑马,但是这次经历确实很棒。我们“走”到沙滩上,我先让马沿着沙滩跑了一会儿,第一次骑马跑了一会儿,特别刺激。导游停下来爬到一颗椰子树上,摘了椰子下来喝,我觉得超赞!

我们骑着自行车在夕阳下游览牧场,看到很多猴子,之后我们骑车到海滩看日落。真的是太壮观了!看完日落后,我们伴着满月的光回到牧场。一切都如画一般。

我们骑的马不是最漂亮或者最花俏的,但是他们都很快乐,很健康。我们在去海滩的路上骑了20分钟,经过了牧场和池塘。我们的马儿们毫不犹豫的欢快的跑过了泥地。我们听到了鹦鹉的声音,还看到了鬣蜥蜴和一些鸟。我们一到海滩,我们的马儿就想奔跑。我们走着,小跑着蹚水,然后在沙滩上奔跑飞驰。我们骑的马是瑞艾拉,一匹灰色的小母马,还有季坦诺,一匹有黑白花纹的公马。我们的马在沙滩上奔跑飞驰,玩的很开心。我跟我的女儿克莱拉在海滩上比赛。真开心!我们的马不好看但是很快乐。我们骑回去的时候,主人允许我们把马拴好。我的马很疯狂,我女儿不得不把她的小马冲干净。他们给了我们免费的饼干和柠檬汁,算是我们旅程中的一部分。再说一次,我们的马看上去像是脏兮兮的老马,看上去只会慢悠悠的走,但是他们很棒,被训练的很好,不需要一直催促他们。马儿们看上去不像是那些演出的马,但是他们很快乐,很健康,很可靠,也很喜欢奔跑。

我和妻子在夕阳下的普拉亚艾尔摩萨海浪中梦幻般的骑了一次马。海滩空荡荡足以让我们策马奔腾。海克特是我们的导游,他见多识广且低调。我们在去海滩的途中看到了吼猴,巨嘴鸟和鹦鹉。在回来的路上,我们的马带我们走过了牧场,那里星星点点的到处是萤火虫。只能说是无比壮美。我永远不会忘记这个地方。

Galloping in the surf on the beach, need I say more? The horses were well cared for, the staff was friendly and you had the freedom to ride at your level regardless of others in the tour. $45 for 2 hours seemed reasonable. Very happy! Would recommend!

I ride on almost every vacation I go on, and this is hands down the best place to ride. Their horses are very healthy and it's obvious they take very good care of them. Our group had experienced and first time riders and everyone loved it! We did the beach ride where you wind through the forest path to get there. We saw monkeys and lots of different birds. We spent a lot of time on a gorgeous beach where you could trot, canter, and gallop if you wanted to...or not if you just wanted to walk. The beach had no one else on it so the views were uninterrupted. Perfect!

Quick note: I am sure this place is lovely for horseback riding, and they really do seem to take good care of the horses there. And the people are very nice. That's the only reason this is a two-star instead of one-star review.So, we booked a night hike (not cheap at $35/person here) last week. The details:Length was two hours. About half of that was on a severely sloped beach with roaring waves and no forest close by. The other half was through pasture land with electrical fencing. And not only that, but there was a stream that was about knee deep we had to cross on the way back (far enough along that turning around wasn't really an option). No warning to bring rubber boots, let alone providing them on sight. Hopefully our hiking boots aren't ruined (our mood certainly was, walking in soggy socks and boots is not a bonus).And, of course, we saw NOTHING. Heard a few large leaves falling. Our guide was a ranch hand (a very sweet young man who did his best) who could not name a single animal he had seen at night on the property--he said every once and a while he heard coyotes there. Not surprising given that the course was around areas where animals would not be present (beach, electrified cow pastures) or even detected if they were there. So, this wasn't a just a 'slow night'--this place is simply not a good choice for any kind of night hike, being worse than a waste of time, it's an actual unpleasant exercise.

We found Rancho la Merced by driving by and I am sure glad we did. The horses are very well behaved and well cared for. Our guide Evaristo was the best. He was very knowledgable about everything around us on our ride to the beach. He was always watching and making sure our horses were behaving and watching for things that may upset them. The sunset was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen. Evaristo will take pictures, if you bring a camera. The pictures are great with you standing in the ocean with your horse and the sunset behind you. I can not say one bad thing about this experience.

We have visited Rancho La Merced on three occasions. It is a very beautiful and well maintained ranch housing approximately 40 horses. They offer beach rides and a jungle waterfall tour. We have experienced both, but our favorite is the waterfall tour. Their guides are very cordial and well informed of the plant and wildlife encountered along the tour and good about pointing things out. I found our most recent guide, Evaristo, to be just superb. He made our trip most enjoyable. And upon our return, we were offered cold lemonade and banana bread, while we watched them hose down the horses before returning them to their pasture. Just a very well run and managed facility - worth the money!!

Went horseback riding through the jungle and onto the beach. Our guide Evaristo was very informative and spoke English very well. Horses are different, they are a little bit this and a little bit of that. Very well behaved and trained, no bits, just halters. Riding on the beach was great. Very hot, need a sun hat. Sun was very intense on the beach.

Rancho La Merced was highly recommended by the hotel we stayed at and it did not disappoint. My wife and I enjoyed several pleasant hours riding through forests led by Hector our Cowboy / Naturalist. We took the waterfall ride through forests, crisscrossed a small river and finally ended at a beautiful water fall with a lovely pool for swimming and wading. Hector was a wonderful guide. He went to great lengths to make sure we were comfortable and safe on our horses. We stopped a number of times so that he could show us interesting plants and trees. We were able to see several Howler monkeys up close. It was a lot of fun and I would highly recommend Rancho La Merced.

The owner of the resort where we were staying recommended Rancho La Merced because they do not overwork their horses like some other tours and you do not ride along any cliffs (I do not enjoy looking down at sheer drops from the seat of a horse). I had not ridden in a long time and felt rusty, but our guide, Everisto, made us feel completely comfortable and it was not long before I had the horse cantering in an open field. We also rode along paths through the forest and stopped at a beautiful waterfall where we were able to swim and take photos. I highly recommend this tour.

I went on a tour twice, once with my inexperienced partner, who enjoyed it very much and had a really great horse! Mine had a bit more temperament but was also well schooled. The waterfall is really beautiful and the beach is just stunning! Risto, the guide was taking very good care of us. The second time I went on a beachtour with Hector, he is a very kind person and it was a beautiful tour with nice gallops! We even spotted a few monkeys on the way to the beach, not to forget the beautiful butterflies and huge trees!

I decided at the last minute to do Rancho La Merced's sunset ride on the beach my last night in Costa Rica and I'm so glad I did! The horses are in lovely condition, well groomed, and well trained. My horse was forward and very responsive. We rode through some rainforest cover to the beach (where we were able to get some cantering in) and around in a big loop back to the ranch. The ride took about 2 hours total, and even though we were caught in a downpour the entire time, it was a blast.