Horse Riding Stays: Turkey (2023)

Narköy is a quite unique, eco-friendly hotel on an large organic farm in the province of Kocaeli, Turkey, about an hour east of Istanbul. It’s more a countryside retreat than a hotel though and has a range of workshops in everything from permaculture and bread making to yoga and stress management. And guests are welcome to get to know the farm, help milk the cows, collect eggs or gather fruit, herbs and vegetables. There’s lots to explore in the surrounding area too, with plenty of swimming and hiking to be done, and you can enquire at reception about horse riding and their free bicycle rental. The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable and all come with private bathroom and WiFi, and instead of air-con the hotel uses an ecologically more friendly natural ventilation system. There is a very good on-site restaurant too, with a range of Turkish dishes, most of the ingredients of which come straight from the farm. Breakfast is included in the room rate and is, as you might expect, top quality.   READ MORE

Just outside the city of Kastamonu, in the Black Sea region of Turkey, Sadibey Hotel has B&B accommodation in a beautiful 130-year old farmhouse mansion surrounded by acres of farmland with horses, sheep and fruit and vegetable gardens. All its rustic, atmospheric rooms come with WiFi, flat screen TV and private bathroom. There is a top quality restaurant and bar at the property too, serving a traditional Turkish buffet breakfast and other meals throughout the day with some of the ingredients coming fresh from the farm. And in the grounds you’ll find a Turkish bath/hamam and also horse stables where you arrange horse riding lessons. The surrounding area is beautiful and great for hiking and cycling, and you can hire bikes from the farm if you need. There are winter sports too at the Ilgaz Ski Centre about 50km away. READ MORE