Side is full of off-road adverts, and most of them blur together: buggy safari, quad safari, jeep safari, and a stack of combo days that bolt rafting and ziplines onto the same ticket. As the operator running these trips ourselves, we would rather help you pick the right one than sell you the wrong one. So here is a straight comparison of our own line-up, real prices, real differences, and a word on who each tour actually suits.
The short answer
- First-timers, couples and families: the classic Side Buggy Safari, €30 per adult, €18 per child, infants free. Side-by-side seats, a supervised test drive before the trail, and passengers from age six ride belted in next to the driver.
- Riders who want a machine to themselves: the Side Quad ATV Safari from €25.
- Thrill-seekers with a whole day to burn: the 4-in-1 rafting, Tazı Canyon, zipline and buggy day from €49.
- Anyone who would rather not drive: the Side Jeep Safari to the Taurus Mountains from €18, a full-day trip with lunch where the driving is done for you.
Now the detail, because the differences matter more than the names suggest.
Side Buggy Safari: the benchmark at €30
Our Side Buggy Safari is the bestseller of this group, and it is the tour every other option on this page gets measured against. The experience runs about four hours door to door, with roughly one and a half to two hours of actual driving on Side's dusty, muddy forest trails. Hotel pickup, the safety briefing, a supervised test drive and the showers and changing cabins back at the base are all included in the €30 adult price; the child rate is €18 and infants join free.
Who takes the wheel is a question of skill and confidence. Every guest gets a full briefing and a test drive under an instructor's eye before the convoy rolls out; if you handle the buggy comfortably, you drive, and if you would rather not, you ride belted into the seat beside the driver and enjoy the mud all the same. That structure is exactly why we point nervous first-timers here rather than anywhere else. The minimum age to drive is 16, and children from age six can join as passengers.
Thrill-seekers are not left out either. Our River Side track alternative adds water entries and river crossings for guests who want to get properly soaked; it is priced differently from the standard route, so ask about it on WhatsApp when you reserve.
Buggy or quad? Same mud, different machine
The Side Quad ATV Safari covers the same kind of forest-and-mud terrain from €25, and the choice between the two comes down to the machine itself. A quad is handlebar-steered and you sit on top of it, more physical, more exposed, closer to a motocross feeling. A buggy has a steering wheel, side-by-side bucket seats and a frame around you, which makes it the natural pick for couples sharing a vehicle, parents taking a child along, and anyone who feels happier inside a cage than on a saddle.
A fair rule of thumb: solo riders chasing the rawest ride take the quad and save a few euros; pairs and families take the buggy. There is no wrong answer: it is the same glorious dirt either way.
The combo days: more adventure per euro
If a single activity feels like too little day, we run several combinations built around Köprülü Canyon:
- Side Rafting and Buggy Safari Combo from €35, white water plus buggy driving, for €5 more than the buggy safari alone.
- Side 3-in-1: Rafting, Zipline and Buggy from €38, adds a zipline over the canyon to the mix.
- Side 4-in-1: Rafting, Tazı Canyon, Zipline and Buggy from €49: the full adrenaline menu in a single day.
On pure value the combos are hard to argue with. The caveat: you are splitting one day across several activities, so each one is a taster rather than the full dedicated session. If buggy driving is the main event for you, book the dedicated safari and take your time on the track; if variety is the point of the day, the combos deliver the most adventure per euro we sell.
If you'd rather ride than drive: the jeep safari
Not everyone wants a steering wheel on holiday, and that is what the Side Jeep Safari is for: a full-day Taurus Mountains trip with lunch, from €18, where you sit back and let the driver work. It suits grandparents, younger children, and mixed groups where only half the party wants adrenaline, and it happens to be the cheapest ticket on this page.
Prices at a glance
- Side Jeep Safari (Taurus Mountains): from €18, you ride, lunch included.
- Side Quad ATV Safari: from €25, your own machine, the rawest ride.
- Side Buggy Safari: €30 adult / €18 child / infants free, the all-rounder.
- Rafting + Buggy Combo: from €35, water and mud in one day.
- 3-in-1 Rafting, Zipline, Buggy: from €38.
- 4-in-1 with Tazı Canyon: from €49, the whole menu.
For what those tickets cover and the small optional extras on the day, our buggy safari prices guide breaks every euro down.
Before you book any of them
The terms are the same across the line-up, because they are our terms: reservation is free, you pay on the tour day, cancellation is free up to 24 hours before, and hotel pickup is included, with the exact time confirmed personally the evening before. If you still have practical questions, what to wear, what to bring, who can drive, the buggy safari FAQ answers the ones we hear daily, and our season guide covers when to go. Planning the rest of the week too? Start with the complete local guide to Side excursions.