Your First Boat Day in Side: How to Choose the Right One
Here's a secret from our harbour: there is no "best" boat tour in Side. There's the best boat for you, and picking wrong is the only way to have a mediocre day on this coastline. We run four very different boats, so instead of selling you all of them, let us match you to one. Every option below includes hotel pickup, lunch on board, insurance and a licensed crew, and every one is booked free and paid on the tour day.
How Hard Is a Boat Tour, Really?
Honestly? It's the easiest excursion we offer. There's no fitness requirement, nothing to steer, nothing to climb. You board, the crew does the work, and your biggest decision is whether to swim at the next bay. Swim stops are always optional, life jackets are available for non-swimmers, and staying on deck is a perfectly respectable choice. If seasickness worries you, these are coastal cruises in bays, not open-sea crossings, and our captains adjust the route to the day's sea and weather conditions. First-timers of every age do this daily.
The Family Pick: Side Pirate Boat Tour
If you're travelling with children, stop reading and look at the pirate ship, it's our bestseller for a reason. Six hours of purpose-built kids' fun: free face painting, a treasure hunt, pirate games run by our animation team, a foam party, and a swim break at the delta where the river meets the sea. Lunch is the menu every parent recognises — spaghetti, chicken fingers, fish fingers — so nobody goes hungry out of stubbornness. Adults pay €23, children €16, and infants sail free. Two notes: it's themed for kids but parents are welcome in the games and the water; and children stay under parental supervision all day, our team entertains, you supervise. It fills fast in peak season, and since booking is free with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, reserving early costs you nothing.
The Easy All-Rounder: Side Boat Tour
The classic Side boat tour is the one we'd hand to most first-timers: a 7-hour day of swim and snorkeling stops in crystal-clear bays, live music, a hearty lunch and a foam party in the afternoon. At €20 per adult, €14 per child and free for infants, it's the gentlest way to find out whether you're "boat people", most guests find out they are. Teens do well here; there's enough energy on deck without the day being built around younger kids.
The Big Day Out: Side Island Boat Tour
Want the fullest day on the water? The island tour runs 8 hours, with two swim breaks in the clear bays of Kızılot and Boğaz, live music from the moment you board, a foam party, and a hot lunch with a vegetarian option. The family-friendly detail parents notice: unlimited soft drinks are included, which on an 8-hour summer day with thirsty kids quietly pays for itself. Adults €24, children €17, infants free. Life jackets on board mean non-swimmers join in too.
The Grown-Up Escape: Side Relax Boat Tour
Some first-timers dread boat tours because they picture one thing: noise. The relax boat is our answer: a deliberately silent, elite atmosphere with no loud music and no party crowd. Every guest gets a guaranteed reserved sunbed, an open-buffet lunch, and soft and alcoholic drinks included, while the boat cruises the point where the Manavgat River meets the sea and stops to swim near Dolphin Island and the Caretta Caretta bays. At €70 per adult and €49 per child (infants free) it's our premium ticket, and it's aimed squarely at couples and solo travellers wanting a quiet day: if your children are past the foam-party age and happy with a book and a swim, it works beautifully for older families too.
Quick Chooser
- Kids under about 12 in the group? Pirate ship, no contest.
- First boat tour ever, keeping it simple? Classic Side boat tour.
- Want maximum hours at sea for your money? Island tour.
- Want peace, comfort and a drink in hand? Relax boat.
Booking Your First One
Whichever you choose, the mechanics are the same and deliberately boring: free reservation, pickup confirmed personally the evening before, pay on the day, cancel free up to 24 hours out. Compare all four on our boat tours page, see exactly what each ticket includes in the price guide, and pack right with our what-to-bring guide. Welcome aboard: our crews will take it from there.