Late spring and autumn are the best months for a sea fishing trip on this coast, with May, June, September and October the sweet spot. Both of our trips are listed daily rather than seasonally, so the calendar is not deciding for you — what changes month to month is the sea state, the heat on an open deck, and whether the swim stop is worth having.
These are two quite different days, and the month you are travelling in should decide which one you take.
Side: a morning trip that ends at lunchtime
The Side deep sea fishing trip runs about six hours door to door, with an early hotel pickup and a return between 12:30 and 13:00, leaving your afternoon intact. The boat is capped deliberately small, all professional rods, lines and fresh bait come from the captain, and a Turkish simit with hot tea is served on deck as you head out. The listed adult fare is €45, with a child fare listed at €32. There is no lunch — you are welcome to bring your own food and cold drinks aboard, and drinks are also sold on the boat.
That early finish is exactly why this is the trip to take in July and August. You fish in the best light of the day, you are off the water before the worst of the afternoon sun, and you still have a full afternoon at the pool.
Alanya: a longer day with lunch and a swim
The Alanya fishing trip is also around six hours but built as a full outing: rods, bait and basic tackle provided, a hot lunch served on deck, and a swimming stop in a sheltered bay. Transfer from central Alanya is included. Adults are €50 and children aged 4 to 11 are €35, with infants up to 3 free.
The swim stop is the seasonal variable. From roughly late spring to mid-autumn it is the best part of the day; outside that window you are paying for an element you will not use. If you are travelling in the shoulder of the season, the Side morning trip is better value for the same activity.
What the months actually do
Spring
Comfortable air, workable water, and the boats are not yet competing for space. Good fishing weather without the deck heat, though early in the season the Alanya swim stop is a brave choice rather than a pleasure.
High summer
The heat is the whole issue. Six hours on an open deck in July is a serious dose of sun, which is why our own advice for both trips leads with a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and a towel. Take the Side trip if you can — the early departure and midday return are designed around exactly this problem.
Autumn
The best all-round window. The sea holds its warmth so the Alanya swim stop still works, the deck is bearable all day, and the crowds have thinned. If you have a free choice of months, come now.
Winter and early spring
Open water can be choppy — that is our own standing warning on the Alanya trip, along with the suggestion that motion-sickness tablets help. If you are prone to seasickness, this is not the season to test it.
What you might land, and what nobody can promise
Off Side the common catches are red mullet, sea bass, sea bream and shrimp, alongside smaller colourful species and the occasional larger surprise. Off Alanya it is species such as yellowfin, sea bream, sea bass and bream. We will say plainly what our Alanya crew says: what you land depends on the sea and the weather on the day. The captains choose their ground carefully and a catch of some kind is the normal outcome, but anyone selling you a guaranteed trophy fish is selling you something else.
Who should not book a fishing trip
Nobody needs experience — both crews bait hooks, hand you the rod and show you the technique, and non-swimmers are fine because all the fishing is done from the boat. But this is not a party boat and it is not a sightseeing cruise with a rod as a prop. It is a quiet working morning with long patient stretches, and guests who want music, a bar and a packed programme consistently come back disappointed.
Skip it, too, if you get seasick in anything but flat water, or if you need a guaranteed lunch on board — the Side trip does not include one, by design.
Pick your boat
Book the Side deep sea fishing trip for a small-group morning that gives you your afternoon back, or the Alanya fishing trip for the longer version with lunch and a swim. Both sit with the rest of our sailings on the boat trips along the Antalya coast page.
Weighing a fishing morning against a full boat day? Compare them in which Side boat trip to choose, check the season for the bigger boats in the best time for Side boat trips, and pack once for all of them with what to bring and wear on a boat tour.