WHERE TO GO IN MARCH
Europe is waking up from winter hibernation and George Scott has begun his bohemian rides in Andalusia.
In Namibia the first safari of the year is setting off along the Skeleton Coast. These are fast and full of adrenaline. All adventurous riders should do this ride, we love it.
Nurpur Noon in Pakistan is ideal this time of year. This brand new safari in Pakistan is the new gold standard for riding safaris. In March 2025 Nurpur will be closed for Ramadan.
This is the last chance to catch the warm weather in New Zealand. Each year our partner finds new routes to explore. Escape the northern hemisphere winter and come explore the Southern Alps.
Now is the time to head to our beloved estancia’s in Argentina - Los Potreros with it’s old world Argentine charm and Don Joaquin, more modern and super social, are both incredible crowd pleasers with loads wonderful holidays had with the Begg and Solanet families.
In Southern Africa summer has arrived bringing afternoon showers and cooler, more comfortable temperatures. We call this the green season. It’s an excellent time to visit with low season pricing. The rain never lasts long and everything is green and lush.
NAMIBIA
9 Nights | From £6,200 | Max 12 Riders | Mobile Speed Safari
Is this the best safari in the world for fast riding? Andrew Gillies is the horseman in Southern Africa and has perfected the art of the safari. With one of the highest rebook rates of any safari worldwide this should be on everyone’s bucketlist. The horses are athletic and a joy to ride, the going is fast and varied, the scenery changes moment to moment.
March is still summer in Namibia and the temperatures can be high which is why the team have created this itinerary that hugs the coast and the cool ocean air.
Gallop across the Namib Desert on a fast horse, kicking up dust behind you, sleep under the stars, indulge in incredible food (often featuring local game) cooked up by the two chefs and immerse yourself in an old school adventure style progressive ride that dramatically finishes at the Skeleton Coast. Thrilling, life affirming riding and one of our all time favourites.
20 - 29 March 2025 - Skeleton Coast
NURPUR NOON ESTATE | PAKISTAN
7 Nights | £4,950 | Max 12 Riders | Luxury Private home stay + 3 night mobile tented safari
February makes for excellent riding in Pakistan punjab. The orange groves are laden with fruit. Temperatures average 23°C (73.4°F) during the day, perfect riding weather on this brand new safari that we regard as the new gold standard in the industry.
You arrive to Nurpur Noon Estate in Pakistan as if you were a visiting head of state. Dancing horses, camels, wreaths of rose petals around your neck and loose petals thrown all around you filling the air with their heavenly smell. Drummers lead you through the giant wooden gates and you’re escorted to the house by armed guards.
You’ll spend a week in dazzling Pakistan riding fit and forward polo ponies. Swimming rivers, jumping ditches and forever searching for the golden jackal. Nurpur Noon is one of the grandest private family homes in the country. Local Taimur and Brit Bertie have created a wild, romantic, sporty, electric, whirlwind of a safari.
Suitable for adventurous, capable riders and trail hunters. Perfect for those that have already done everything else.
Nurpur is closed for Ramadan in March 2025. Ride with us here on a Black Saddle exclusive ride in October and January.
SERENGETI GREAT MIGRATION | TANZANIA
7 Nights | US$8,585 | Max 10 Riders | Mobile Canvas Wildlife Safari
You may know about the Great Migration hitting the Masai Mara each year but did you know that the huge herds of wildebeest and zebra live most of the year in Tanzania? February is in the middle of the short three month Serengeti season on the Serengeti. The plains are the wildebeests’ favoured birthing spot - it is one of nature’s miracles that females delay giving birth until the rains and grass arrive in an effort to ensure their newly born young get the best start in life.
The average temperature in Serengeti National Park in March for a typical day ranges from a high of 83°F (28°C) to a low of 61°F (16°C)
Explore Africa in the shadows of the snowy peaks of Mt Kilimanjaro, encounter wildlife, raw and genuine tribes, the true and traditional mobile safari, where you cover great distances on the back of a horse.
28 Feb - 08 March 2025
14 - 22 March 2025
26 March to 04 March 2025
OFFBEAT | LAIKIPIA | KENYA
7 Nights | From US$9,870 | Max 12 Riders | Mobile Canvas Wildlife Safari
Offbeat Riding Safaris have been operating since 1990 and have a stellar reputation for providing unrivalled mobile horseback safaris amongst big game. Riding up close to elephant, lion and buffalo, or galloping with wildebeest and zebra are life changing experiences. If you are a rider, there is simply no better way to see Kenya than from the back of a well schooled and fit horse.
One of the original riding safaris and very highly regarded in the industry. We know you’ll have the time of your life with world-class guiding and more close calls with wildlife than you can crack a stock whip at!
08 - 15 March 2025
ESTANCIA LOS POTREROS | ARGENTINA
From three nights | US$560 per person per night | Max 12 Guests | Dreamy 6,500 angus beef farm stay
March in Cordoba is lovely weather for a visit to the very highly regarded Begg family estancia Los Potreros “the Paddocks”. Argentina. ‘Los Pots’ is a 6,000 acre working Black Angus cattle farm that has been in the Begg family for four generations. The landscape feels like Dartmoor in the UK, misty, moody with vast grassy hills and rocky outcrops.
One of the major draw cards of a visit to Los Pots is the varied riding. You’ll ride out twice a day, once on the local criollos and once on the very flashy gaited paso horses. Riding a paso is a highlight for many of our riders.
You’ll be accommodated in beautiful converted farmhouses. Each room as it’s own bathroom and fireplace. There is no internet in the rooms but you can get online at the main house.
Minimum three nights
Discounts for stays of 7 nights +
MACATOO | OKAVANGO DELTA | BOTSWANA
7 Nights | From US$6,580 | Max 7 Riders | Luxury Tented Fixed Camp
March is the final month of the low pricing of the Green Season in the Delta. Rainfall decreases from the peak in January and February and it steadily cools. The nights tend to be cooler but the days are very temperate at 30°C/87°F. Riding is organised around any rains which don’t usually last long. Now is the best time to travel to take advantage of low season pricing. You can travel in March for 60% of peak season pricing.
The wildlife viewing is always good in the Delta. A visit during December means you will be there when all the baby animals are being born. If you’d like to travel at prime time during the iconic floods visit August.
Botswana is one of if not the best place in the world to see a wide array of wildlife. There is no better way to savour the Okavango Delta and experience its unparalleled wildlife population than on horseback.
Accommodation is in a lovely luxury tented camps with real flushing loos and wonderful hot showers. The ideal wildlife safari for someone who isn’t keen on camping. This is an excellent honeymoon destination. Non-riders very welcome.
Arrive any time for a minimum of three nights
THE GREEN SEASON: £585 per person per night sharing, £4,095 for 7 nights
Discounts on the charter flight transfers for long stays (7 nights is 50% off and get free transfers when staying 10 nights).
KUKUTANA | SPAIN
Minimum Three Nights | From €900 per person per night | Max 12 Guests and 6 Riders
In February the average the daily temperature is still warm at 17C with some rain 14 out of 31 days. This beautiful cortijo, a Spanish country house, is available for private hire for groups of one to twelve people. You will have exclusive use of the house and its six ensuite bedrooms, swimming pool, stable of horses and excellent kitchen.
Kukutana is situated within the Donana National Park, once a hunting park for the Spanish royal family. The town of El Rocio is within riding distance, and all of our rides include a visit to the town built for horses with sand streets and ride up cafes with hitching posts out front. Just 45 minutes from Seville, this is sherry wine country and you will have multiple opportunities to try the local fare!
Non-riders welcome. Up to six riders per group, intermediate and above. Perfect for groups of friends or family get-togethers.
Arrive any time for a minimum of three nights
CASTLE LESLIE | IRELAND
3, 4 or 5 Nights | From €1,200 per person sharing | Cross Country or Hacking Holidays
Incredibly popular Castle Leslie rides in all weather. They have an indoor arena for lessons if things get very cold and wet. Why not hone your jumping position and warm up with a hot drink at one of the two onsite restaurants afterwards. In March you can expect average temperatures of 13°C with 11 rainy days expected out of 30.
The hotel is stunningly beautiful, you’re accommodated in a stone mansion with the stable just next door. The Irish horses live up to the reputation being sporty and forward with a few school masters in the mix. The riding is adapted to all levels with riders on the sport programme popping over the 300 jumps on the 1000 acre estate, the pleasure riders enjoying gorgeous hacks at great pace and you can even learn to ride here.
Something for everyone - even your non-riding companion is welcome. There’s plenty for them to do, just ask us!
Arrive any time for a minimum of three nights.
Good availability in March 2025
ANTS SAFARIS| SOUTH AFRICA
From 3 Nights | From £350 per person per night | Lodge based wildlife safaris
Only a 3 hour drive from Johannesburg, you’ll find twin properties, Ants Hill and Ants Nest. Situated on a private game reserve in the spectacular, malaria-free Waterberg region of South Africa, created by Ant Barber, who built the properties and still calls the Nest home. This is one of the best places to see rhino from horseback. Add three nights here onto the end of your safari in Botswana to guarantee another Big Five sighting.
Throughout the daytime, temperatures typically settle at around 32°C. But by evening, they drop to around 19°C. Rain is expected on roughly 16 days.
Ants is the perfect base to learn to ride, they will take you from whoa to canter.
Experienced riders will have fun galloping up and down the reserve dirt roads and relaxing with a G&T at one of the many viewpoints for sundowners.
The villas are excellent for honeymooners with private locations, heated pools and romantic outlooks.
Arrive any time for a minimum of three nights. Choose between entire villas at glamorous Ants Hill or lovely rooms or suites ranging from cute to grand at Ants Nest.
March 2025 bookings now open
ESTANCIA DON JOAQUIN| ARGENTINA
From 4 days | From $210 per person per day | Estancia based stay
February is a brilliant time to visit Don Joaquin in north of Argentina in Esquina. Temperatures range from from 24°C to 27°C, rarely falling below 19°C or exceeding 32°C. Typically around 8 days of rainfall is expected but it rarely lasts long.
Visit equestrian shop, Arandu, in Buenos Aires on your way up north and you’ll pick up incredibly stylish, well made gaucho riding kit to make you feel like you’re the real deal. A wetland, with flamingoes, capybara and loads of birds to view, there is a wildlife safari feeling here though most people come for the great weather, gaucho culture and splashy canters. It’s not just Botswana that has amazing fast riding through wetlands.
Angie, Diego and Josefina - your hosts - are so welcoming. Don Joaquin is very social, warm and has a cosy feeling. The rooms are excellent, recently refurbished to a high standard, meals are authentically argentine and meat heavy (though vegetarians you are welcome too).
This is a great place to learn to ride, they’ll have you cantering on day one. The saddles are deeply cushioned so you have great stickability. Don Joaquin is excellent for riders of all levels and you will be taken out with riders of a similar ability.
Arrive any time for a minimum of four days. Getting there is quirky, you take a luxury, lie flat overnight bus from Buenos Aires. It’s a bit of an adventure, like travelling business class on a plane.
WILD HORSES PHOTO TOUR| BOSNIA
3 Nights | Cost TBC | Hotel based stay
We are developing a brand new tour - and it doesn’t involve riding. Visit the wild horses of Livno, spending two day photographing them and half a day exploring the town of Livno by quad bike.
Our accommodation will be in a newly developed mountain adventure lodge.
No riding experience necessary.
Arrive to and depart from Split, Croatia.
You can express your interest here. We will email you once the details are finalised.
