Enjoyed the most:

I loved the fast gallop beach ride AND scenery on DAY 1 along the coast...I wish we had more of the actual coastal beach ride BUT the other days were very scenic as well! The Guide was very knowledgable & explained all the surroundings to us constantly. The food & accommodations were amazing and we had fresh fish most days grilled/BBQ for lunch served by our cook Anwar, who also was very helpful with helping us with our horses and tack up!

Bothered you:

We had 6 other riders in our group of 9 riders & 1 guide, that were trained in Dressage & Arena riding & were NOT able to keep up with the fast, long TRAIL rides through all kinds of different terrain and had issues staying in the saddle, it slowed down our rides pace and we actually had most of them drop out of the ride throughout the week, whereas we were left with only the 3 of us riding + 1 guide. I felt the 1 Guide was NOT enough to handle the experience level of the majority of these riders. He didn't "check-In" with them enough throughout the day or even look back to the followers, enough. We did have an additional helper with our horses for tack up, etc..who was also our cook & helper of all things required.

Comments:

I highly recommend this trip...a real rush during the day and super relaxing at night with amazing food & accommodations!

Even though the other 6 riders, could NOT keep up the pace, the Guide was correct in explaining this was a fast & intermediate trail ride, and that we had to ride this way to get from Location A to B for our accommodations during the rides. 

I find the riders that are booked through Hidden Trails are Excellent, however, riders from other companies tend to be NOT as well informed AND/OR able to endure the pace of the rides. 

Enjoyed the most
The beach gallops and extended fast canters through varied landscape on Mistral, an experienced Lusitano. The warm friendship of fellow riders, our capable and amiable guide Miguel and his helpful assistant Balazs make this ride an excellent one.

Bothered you
One of the inns do not have wi-fi and I had to inconvenience the owner to view my emails with her computer.

The meals at lunch prepared by Miguel and Balazs were all excellent.  Dinner of suckling pig at local restaurant was great too.  Meals at local inns/hotel were generally good, the quail dish by owner-chef Nuno was excellent.

The ride was better than expected because of the many opportunities for canters and gallops, and I had a very nice horse that helped me to catch up with other more experienced riders.

Enjoyed the most
The fine, experienced horses and long canters. The beach was very pretty. One of the hotels was outstanding, though we were only there for one night. The guide, Miguel, and his assistant, "John" ,were very entertaining.

Bothered you
I had a simple dietary request, no fish, which was ignored several times. Not that I went hungry as there was plenty of other food. Another rider with a more peculiar set of dietary requests was not forgotten.

Comments
I would recommend taking this trip in the Spring rather than Fall. September is near the end of the dry season and it is extremely dusty....can also be quite warm, and at least one hotel did not have A/C. To be fair, we also had some nice cool evenings. Also, BRING PLENTY OF CASH, some hotels do not take cards and you need cash for the bar bill and tips. WiFi was available at two hotels but not the third one; it would be a nice improvement if they added WiFi.

Enjoyed the most: Cantering along the beach....and the day we had to make a detour.

Bothered you: My not being in shape.

Miguel and Ricardo were wonderful.

Enjoyed the most: The guides, Miguel and Ricardo made us so at home and made the trip so enjoyable that I'll certainly return back for another trail ride.

Bothered you: Absolutely nothing!