Sumba Island | Horse Riding Holidays in Indonesia | Globetrotting

The Sumba Ride, Indonesia

4 NightsIntermediate to AdvancedFrom $4,694 USD?Tour costs $4,694 USD which is approximately $6,961 AUD

Sumba is a Globetrotting destination that has our hearts racing with excitement! Its thrilling, wild and colourful horse culture will leave you bug-eyed and gasping for more.

Known as the forgotten island, it’s more than likely you’ve never heard of Sumba until now. Closer to Australia than Bali and also bigger in size, Sumba is a Globetrotting destination that has our hearts racing with excitement! It’s got an ancient, wild and colourful culture in which horses play a vital role. Whether it’s the friendly locals, the spirited horses or the spectacular landscapes, we have NO doubt that this island will weave its magic around your heart.

Mounted on native Sandalwood horses, you will have the unique privilege of traversing the varied landscapes of West Sumba the way the local horsemen do. You’ll become spellbound by their mystical horse culture, ancient beliefs and timeless traditions.

Throughout the ride, you’ll feel as if you’re stepping into a forgotten world. You’ll creep through palm tree groves, experience wild and free canters along pristine coastlines, sit cross-legged with locals in their homes chewing betel nut while learning about their daily existence, swim bareback in shimmering turquoise oceans, interrupt herds of water buffalo as they wallow in the rice fields, and trot through lush, fragrant rainforests.

And the fun doesn’t stop there! When you’re out of the saddle you’ll fall head over heels in love with the luxurious tropical surrounds of your five star resort, Nihi Sumba. This is where you can soak in your own private pool, have cocktails at the bar, and opt for a massage, an early morning yoga session or a canoe adventure down the Wanakaka River. It’s certainly worth considering spending some extra days at Nihi Sumba after your riding itinerary, since you’ve travelled this far.

As globetrotters, we’re constantly searching for new destinations where the horse culture is rich, varied, wild and completely removed from our everyday existence. With the horse being spiritually connected to Sumba’s culture and history, we can’t wait to share this special island with you! 

Fast Facts

  • Horse Breed:Sandalwood ponies and Sandalwood-Thoroughbred crossbreeds.
  • Pace:Variable depending on the terrain, with opportunities to trot and canter.
  • Weight Limit:A maximum of 75kg / 165lbs for the full program. If wanting just beach or swimming rides, can take a maximum 85kg / 187lbs.
  • Type of tack:English all-purpose saddles. Bitless rope bridles.
  • Seasons:Available year-round, with GREEN & HIGH season rates outlined in the departure table below.
  • Group size:This ride is perfect for couples or small groups.
  • Time in Saddle:On average, 1 to 2.5 hours each day.
  • Riding Ability:Suitable for beginner, intermediate to advanced riders. Beginners will have daily lessons on the beach to allow them to go on the trails. There are plenty of activities for non-riding partners to keep them occupied while you ride! Not sure what your riding ability is? Watch THIS video to find out.
  • Accommodation:Luxury 5 star, air-conditioned villa accommodation with your own private pool. Your villa includes butler service, private in-villa dining, and a daily laundry service.
  • Ride Length:5 days, 4 nights but can be customised if required.
  • Inclusions:

    The price includes a tax and service charge of 21%, riding activities as outlined in the itinerary, 3 daily meals, non-alcoholic beverages, wifi internet, minibar (1 full re-stock per day), tour of the Sumba Foundation, activities by sea (stand-up paddle boarding, snorkelling), group yoga and meditation classes, and round trip airport transfers in shared car.

  • Exclusions:

    The price excludes alcoholic beverages, international and regional flights, travel insurance (compulsory) and additional activities outside the itinerary (contact us for a list of included activities for non-riders).

 

DEPARTURE DATES & RATES

Departing Total

HIGH SEASON*
April 1 to October 14, 2024
December 16, 2024 to January 14, 2025.

From: $11,170 USD ?Tour costs $11,170 USD which is approximately $16,564 AUD - Single Rider?Happy to pay a booking supplement for own room
Booking Request

2.5% credit card surcharge

From: $6,146 USD ?Tour costs $6,146 USD which is approximately $9,114 AUD - Couple Share?A suitable option for couples or friends who are willing to share a bed
Booking Request

2.5% credit card surcharge

From: $5,025 USD ?Tour costs $5,025 USD which is approximately $7,452 AUD - Non Rider?To twin-share with a riding guest
Booking Request

2.5% credit card surcharge

GREEN SEASON*
January 15 to March 31, 2024.
October 15 to December 15, 2024.

From: $8,266 USD ?Tour costs $8,266 USD which is approximately $12,258 AUD - Single Rider?Happy to pay a booking supplement for own room
Booking Request

2.5% credit card surcharge

From: $4,694 USD ?Tour costs $4,694 USD which is approximately $6,961 AUD - Couple Share?A suitable option for couples or friends who are willing to share a bed
Booking Request

2.5% credit card surcharge

From: $3,573 USD ?Tour costs $3,573 USD which is approximately $5,299 AUD - Non Rider?To twin-share with a riding guest
Booking Request

2.5% credit card surcharge

*PLEASE NOTE: These ride prices are to be used as a guide only and subject to change due to resort availability. Non-rider rates are also available, please contact us for further information.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE?
The price includes a tax and service charge of 21%, riding activities as outlined in the itinerary, 3 daily meals, non-alcoholic beverages, wifi internet, minibar (1 full re-stock per day), tour of the Sumba Foundation, activities by sea (stand-up paddle boarding, snorkelling), group yoga and meditation classes, and round trip airport transfers in shared car.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE?
The price excludes alcoholic beverages, international and regional flights, travel insurance (compulsory) and additional activities outside the itinerary (contact us for a list of included activities for non-riders).

Accepted payment is by credit or debit card only. Depending on the ride you choose to book and your country of residence, there will be a 1.2% to 2.9% surcharge.

Click HERE to read more about our fees and charges.
Click HERE to read our recommendations on which cards are best to use to avoid international transaction fees.
WHY IS THE PRICE QUOTED IN USD?
With our riding destinations, the currency is dictated by our ride partner in that country. Therefore due to fluctuating exchange rates we have to quote in the same currency.

Itinerary

Expand AllCollapse All

*Please note, this is a suggested itinerary only and subject to change at the discretion of your guides due to weather and other influencing factors.

Expand AllCollapse All
  • Day Before

    We ask globetrotters to fly into Denpasar City, Bali the day before the ride begins, so that you’re ready to take your flight to Sumba on day one at around 1pm. Globetrotting can book your accommodation in Bali on request.

  • Day 1

    After touching down in Sumba, you’ll be met at the Tambolaka airport by a grinning Nihi Sumba staff member, then you’ll be driven for approximately 1.5 hours in an open-air safari car across the island to Nihi Sumba. You’ll get a real sense of island life on this drive as you watch scooters whizzing past carrying entire families (including the odd chook or goat), pass villages with their unusual peaked bamboo and thatched houses, and spot plenty of Sandalwood ponies tethered to trees and water buffaloes being taken for a drink. After coming from Bali, you’ll appreciate that Sumba is far less populated, with only 700,000 residents. It’s at the edge of the wilderness that your five star resort appears like an oasis crouching sensitively on the pristine coastline. You’ll be welcomed by the staff and shown to your gobsmackingly bespoke villa, where you’ll be met by your own personal butler who will take care of your every need throughout your stay.

    You’ll have a chance to take a swim in your own private pool and unpack before getting ready to meet at 5pm for a sunset welcome drink or a sunset beach ride at the Sandalwood Stables. *The sunset beach ride will depend on how late you arrive into the resort. Rest assured if you can’t fit it in on day one, you’ll be able to do this on another day of your itinerary.

    You’ll be met by the happy-go-lucky Sumba grooms. If you have time for a sunset ride you’ll be paired with a Sandalwood pony, and once comfortable in the saddle you’ll head out to the beach. There is something truly magical about riding a native horse on this vast, magnetic coastline as the colours of the sunset dance across the sky. It’s also a brilliant way to blow out the jet lag blues and reinvigorate the mind and body. These ponies love to splash in the water, so some salty canters along the shoreline are a MUST.

    Dinner at the resort’s wonderful Ombak Restaurant.

  • Day 2

    Today you’ll experience a very special ride out from the resort of Nihi Sumba, where you’ll get a sense of traditional village life and glimpse the stunning beaches surrounding the island. After breakfast at Ombak restaurant, you’ll leave the stables and ride from the beach overland through palm groves, rice fields and rainforest alleyways. You’ll no doubt pass herds of placid water buffalo wallowing in the muddy rice fields, wave to excitable village children, and dodge yapping dogs and tooting scooters. There is never a dull moment when riding in Sumba, that’s for sure!

    You’ll be riding through traditional villages on the island, welcomed by the villagers along the way to view first-hand their everyday life, which has been unchanged for generations. The Sumba people mostly live by farming, cattle breeding, rice field farming and trading. It’s quite common to see an entire family in the paddocks planting corn by hand. It’s a far cry from our cluttered and complicated life in the western world and certainly gives perspective, that’s for sure.

    After visiting the village, you’ll ride back down the mountain to the beach, finishing with a windswept beach canter. This will be a two hour ride today, leaving plenty of time to enjoy all the off-the-horse activities Nihi Sumba has to offer.

  • Day 3

    Today you’ll be riding to Coconut Cove, which already conjures up images of some magical tropical oasis. I promise you one thing: it won’t disappoint.

    At the crack of dawn you’ll meet down at the stables, have a small breakfast snack with the horses, then mount up and set off for Coconut Cove, which sits at Rua Beach. En route, you’ll cruise through the local village of Gallowatu. Going from our personal experiences, you’ll never get tired of peering into the world of the Sumbanese, and no doubt you’ll have a trail of excitable village children waving as you walk on by. You’ll ride over grassy hills and through paddocks of alang alang grasslands, which are used to construct the traditional huts in Sumba, before reaching the coast. Arriving at Nihi Sumba’s Coconut Cove Boat House on Rua Beach, you can cool off your horse by taking it into the ocean for a swim, before enjoying a nutritious lunch.

    After some relaxing beach time, you can remain on in this pocket of paradise and sign up for a surf lesson depending on the tides (this is the best spot to book a beginner’s surf lesson, at an additional cost) or take the lazy route back to Nihi in a car.

    Today’s ride lasts approximately 2.5 hours.

  • Day 4

    Wake up to another day in tropical, pinch-yourself- paradise! You’ll be itching to get back into the saddle after yesterday’s exhilarating encounter, and you’ll definitely have a thirst to learn more about the wonderful people of Sumba. Today you’ll ride to Nihioka, which is an award-winning spa destination that is completely unimaginable until you see it in the flesh. Perched on a dramatic, rocky escarpment overlooking the sea, you’ll leave your horse in the capable hands of your guides, who will take them back to the stables while you make your way to the Nihioka tree house which is suspended above gigantic boulders.

    After a well-earned cooked breakfast, you can relax in the pool or wander through the manicured gardens that surround the spa. Now if you’re up for an extra cost, you’ll have the opportunity to add the option of a spa safari, which gives you unlimited spa treatments for the remainder of the day. It’s a little unbelievable, right? You’ll have your own private bale suspended over the clifftops, where your own personal therapist will pamper you with a choice of facials, massage, reflexology – the list goes on! Should you not wish to add the spa safari onto your stay, you’ll be transported back to Nihi paradise, where you’ll have the afternoon to ponder, relax and explore.

    Final farewell dinner at Ombak Restaurant.

  • Day 5

    After your final breakfast, and in a dream-like state, you’ll say goodbye to all the wonderful people of Nihi Sumba. Once you’ve settled your account, you’ll take the two-hour drive back to Tambolaka airport in time for your flight off the island.

    You’ll soon come to realise it’s nearly impossible to describe this awe-inspiring, out-of-your-skin experience to family and friends, no matter how many photos you show them. Nihi Sumba is a place that certainly touches your soul, embedding memories that last a lifetime!

  • Transfer Information

    Sumba is 400 kilometres east of Bali and 50 minutes by air from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport. There are regular daily flights with two domestic airlines between Bali and Sumba. The flights will arrive at Tambolaka, the closer airport in West Sumba.

    Flight schedules (subject to change without notice):

    Arrival: Denpasar, Bali (DPS) to Tambolaka, Sumba (TMC)

    Wings Air IW1832 ETD Bali 1045 hrs ETA Tambolaka 1215 hrs – Propeller plane

    OR

    Wings Air IW2832 ETD Bali 1415 hrs ETA Tambolaka 1545 hrs – Propeller plane

    OR

    Nam Air IN280 ETD Bali 0900 hrs ETA Tambolaka 1000 hrs

    Departure: Tambolaka, Sumba (TMC) to Denpasar, Bali (DPS) 

    Wings Air IW1833 ETD Tambolaka 1235 hrs ETA Bali 1355 hrs – Propeller plane

    OR

    Wings Air IW2833 ETD Tambolaka 1605 hrs ETA Bali 1755 hrs – Propeller plane

    OR

    Nam Air IN281 ETD Tambolaka 1600 hrs ETA Bali 1700 hrs

    **If booking connecting flights home from Bali, we recommend a minimum 3-hour transit time to avoid missing your connection.

    Private airport transfer:

    Round-trip transfer in a shared open safari car from Tambolaka airport to Nihi Sumba is included in the ride price.

  • Horse History

    For the people of Sumba, their life is inseparable from their horses. After spending time on the island you’ll soon realise that the Sumbanese soul is spiritually linked to the horse, and that’s why this island excites us here at Globetrotting to no end. The horse culture is wild and exciting, and the backbone of this ride. It’s believed that horses have been part of Sumbanese life since the mid 18th century.

    The Sumba pony breed is named after the island itself. These horses are quick, agile, athletic and fast, with great endurance and a willing temperament. Sumba ponies have a heavy head, a short, muscular neck and low withers. In village life, they are used for packing, riding, light draft work and of course for Pasola.

    The other local breed of horse is the Sandalwood pony, which is named after the sandalwood trees, which were one of Sumba’s major exports. The Sandalwood breed is one of the finest in Indonesia, partly due to the Arabian blood running through its veins. Sandalwood ponies are exported to Southeast Asia for racing and also used for amateur bareback racing on the island. They are also used for pulling carts all over Indonesia.

    The Beginnings of the Sumba Sandalwood Horse 

    “The history of mankind is carried on the back of a horse, let us never forget and celebrate this hard-working, human companion and overall extraordinary beautiful artwork of mother nature”

    The arrival of the Sumba horse dates back to the eighth century when traders from China first visited Indonesia. Sumba island was richly populated with Sandalwood trees, a highly sought after expensive wood and oil. The Chinese brought over their hardy Mongolian ponies to work the land and collect the wood, after which they were left on the island. Later, traded rs from the Middle East arrived with their spirited Arab horses to trade for the rich spices of these islands and that’s how the hardy and spirited Sumba Sandalwood Horse came to be. The traditional people of Sumba utilized the horse as value in wedding dowries, ceremonial rituals and sacrifices and their meat was considered a delicacy in Java. More recently mix breeding with Australian Thoroughbreds brought the people higher yields for horse racing and riding. 

    This intelligent breed though small in stature is physically agile and spirited. The mind and makeup of the Sumba horse is not compatible with western horses, they are very much attuned to the Sumbanese traditional, unstructured lifestyle and Sumba’s rustic, untamed environment. Though, this environment has challenged them physically, particularly with poor nutritional resources, a harsh climate that bares tropical disease and parasitic infection. The latter is a major contributor to their slight build and underdeveloped size compared to their original breed lineage. 

    At Nihi, we wish for the unique rustic and slightly wild Sumba spirit to remain glowing in the hearts of our horses. 

    The true Sumba horse is nowhere else found than on the islands that are not yet polluted with the intense breeding for racing, like Sumba or Sumbawa. It’s important to preserve the breed and their unique characteristics.

  • Nihi Sumba

    Let’s talk about this over-achieving resort. It sits quietly within the landscape on the West Sumba coastline, with its own 2.5 kilometre private beach fringed by 567 acres of unspoilt, natural reserve (perfect for riding on!). A five star resort, the facilities are of superior standard. Trust me, your jaw will drop the moment you arrive and you’ll keep pinching yourself throughout the entire itinerary. The villas blend seamlessly into the natural surrounds, lush with tropical palms, fragrant frangipanis and bright pink bougainvilleas.

    What makes this resort something truly special and connects you to the place more than the infinity pools, king-sized beds and gourmet cuisine are the 300 local Sumbanese staff who you get to know throughout your stay. They radiate pure happiness and are as excited as you are to be sharing their island home with you. It gives every guest at Nihi Sumba a warm, fuzzy feeling when you see first-hand the positive partnership between the resort and the surrounding community. You feel as if your stay is helping on a grander scale.

  • Non-Riders & Off The Horse Activities

    To be honest, your biggest problem will be fitting in the time to enjoy all of the other exceptional activities offered at the resort besides riding. And that’s why this ride is perfect for partners or family members who are non-riders. There is a plethora of activities available including fishing, jet-skiing, surfing (the beach is world-famous for its surf break and suitable for both beginners and experienced wave chasers), snorkelling, spa treatments, yoga and meditation, at an additional cost. It’s certainly worth considering spending some extra time at Nihi Sumba after your riding itinerary since you’ve travelled this far.

    (Contact us for a list of included activities for non-riders.)

What our valued Globetrotters say about The Sumba Ride

Jenna Dombroski

‘Sumba is the perfect balance of wild and luxury. No words can describe how beautiful this place is – the vibe is amazing. The culture, the horses and the people are authentic, beautiful and special. The accommodation was incredible – the resort and our villa were spectacular and the food was sooo delicious.
Our guides were amazing. Petrus was was great to chat with and happy to adjust the rides to suit us (we added extra rides, doing two per day, and we also rode earlier to avoid the afternoon heat). Each ride was amazing and we had the freedom to walk, trot, canter and gallop when we wanted. Riding to Nihi Oka was great, with the opportunity to visit local craftspeople along the way, and Nihi Oka itself was crazy beautiful; the private infinity pool and breakfast overlooking the ocean with dolphins swimming past was a wonderful experience.
Manase was our ‘captain’ and he was wonderful! Nothing was too much trouble. He booked all our extra activities and arranged our days so we could fit everything in. All the staff at the resort and stables were very kind, loved sharing stories of their culture and families, and were generally interested in getting to know us – you really do feel like family by the time you leave.’

Jenny Bright

‘We thoroughly enjoyed our spur of the moment adventure and I’m still dreaming of this magical place. If you think that Sumba is just another Bali, it’s not. It’s so much more and so much better. There are so few resorts that it’s mostly just yourselves and kilometres of empty beach – exactly how we like it.
Nihi Sumba totally deserves its hard won Best Resort in the World award. I have stayed at some incredible places and Nihiwatu is up there as one of the best.
On day two we rode through the rainforest and rice paddies to Rice Island, a fantastic rocky outcrop in the middle of acres of rice fields where breakfast was served in a treehouse overlooking the paddies. We drank fresh coconut water and met some of the other hotel guests travelling to see the Pasola festival, an ancient blood ritual timed at the rising of the full moon and the arrival of sea worms to the shores of the island. The festival was incredible. You simply have to be there to understand. There were thousands of spectators and hundreds of participants. You know when you see National Geographic photographers camped out on the sidelines that you’re witnessing something special!
The next day we rode to the local village and tried betel nut, bought some local trinkets and took photos of all the gorgeous children. It’s such a simple way of life but it can be very difficult, and I was so happy to hear that Nihi Sumba give much back to the community through outreach programs, medical assistance and employment opportunities.
If you ever have the opportunity to join the Sumba ride, don’t think, just do it.’

STORIES FROM THE SADDLE

HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS RIDE OR WHICH IS MOST SUITABLE FOR YOU?

CONTACT US DOWNLOAD FACTSHEET