The Side Buggy Safari runs all year round, seven days a week, that is the easy part. The more useful question is what the ride is actually like as the season moves, because the track surface, the crowds and the smart booking strategy all change between early summer, the July–August peak and the quieter autumn weeks. As the operator out on these trails daily, here is our season guide.
One track, three personalities
Every month shares the essentials: forest trails, a briefing and supervised test drive before you set off, roughly one and a half to two hours of driving inside a four-hour door-to-door experience, and showers and changing cabins waiting at the base. What changes with the calendar is the surface under your wheels, and how many other buggies share it with you.
Early summer: green trails and easy bookings
Early in the season the forest is at its greenest and the trails still hold damp patches, which means more mud and bigger splashes: the thing most guests secretly came for. Sessions are generally quieter than in the peak weeks, so this is the gentlest window for families and first-timers who want the instructors' attention and an unhurried test drive. Reserving a day or so ahead is usually comfortable at this time of year.
July and August: the peak: dust, splash, strategy
High summer is the busiest stretch of the season, and as the trails dry out the mud gives way to flying dust: a different kind of fun, and the reason protective goggles and bandanas are sold at the base if you have not brought your own. Our heat strategy is simple and does not involve suffering: take the earliest of the three daily sessions, which sets off from the base before the day properly warms up. Anyone who starts the morning slowly takes the middle session instead and trades the freshest air for a leisurely breakfast. Water-splash stops punctuate the route, and if getting soaked sounds better than staying dry, ask about the River Side track alternative with its river crossings when you reserve: it is priced separately from the standard route.
One practical note: a session takes up to 40 participants, and the popular slots do fill in the peak weeks. Reserve a few days ahead if you are set on a particular session: the reservation is free and you pay on the tour day, so locking in a slot costs you nothing.
September and October: the quiet connoisseur's window
As the summer crowds thin, the trails get calmer and the driving gets more relaxed, more space between buggies, more time to play in the technical sections. When the first autumn showers arrive, the mud comes back with them, and in our view that combination of quiet trails and a wet track is the most enjoyable driving of the whole season. The tour keeps running daily, so late-season guests lose nothing but the queues.
The availability facts
- The tour operates all year, seven days a week.
- The base runs three sessions a day, and you name the one you want when you reserve. Hotel pickup is typically morning or afternoon depending on the session, and the exact time is confirmed personally the evening before, never plan around a guessed clock time.
- Prices hold across the season: €30 per adult, €18 per child, infants free.
- Each session takes up to 40 participants.
- Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before, and you pay on the tour day rather than online.
How far ahead should you book?
In the July–August peak, book a few days ahead and name your preferred session when you do: the earliest slot is the one that goes first in the hottest weeks. In early summer and autumn, the day before is usually fine. Because reserving is free and cancelling is free up to 24 hours before, booking early carries zero risk: if your plans change, you move the date or cancel and nothing is lost. There is no reason to gamble on walking up.
What to wear, whatever the month
This part never changes. Wear dark, old clothes you will not mourn, and bring a complete change of clothes: the track is dusty and includes water-splash stops, and the showers and changing cabins at the base are included so you go back to your hotel clean. Bring ID for whoever plans to drive. The minimum age to drive is 16; children from age six ride as passengers, securely belted next to the driver; and guests with back or neck issues should choose the passenger seat. Driving itself is decided by skill, not by season: everyone completes a supervised test drive first, and you take the wheel only once you are comfortably in control, otherwise you ride passenger and keep all of the fun.
Pick your month, then lock it in
Whenever you come, the dirt will be waiting. Reserve the Side Buggy Safari for your preferred session, and if you are not yet sure the buggy is your ride at all, our comparison of every off-road option we run will settle it. For the money side, see the prices guide; for everything else guests ask us, the buggy safari FAQ; and for the rest of your Side week, the complete local guide to Side excursions.