Side Excursions: The Complete Local Guide
Side is the rare resort town where you can stand inside a Roman theatre in the morning, swim in a hidden bay by lunchtime, and be scrubbed clean on warm hamam marble before dinner. We are Atalay Tours, a local operator based right here on the Antalya Riviera, and this page is our honest map of the excursions that actually fill our vehicles every week, what each one is, what it costs, and who it suits. Every reservation with us is free: you pay on the day of the tour, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.
If you already know what you want, jump straight to all our Side tours and prices. Otherwise, read on: this guide links out to each experience and to our deeper planning posts.
The Four Classic Side Excursions
Side Boat Tour: a full day on the turquoise water
The gentlest introduction to the coast, and the one our captains never tire of. The Side boat tour is a roughly 7-hour day cruising the coastline with multiple swimming and snorkeling stops in crystal-clear bays, lunch served on board, live music and the famous foam party. Hotel pickup and drop-off, the crew, insurance and lunch are all included; soft drinks and alcoholic beverages are paid separately on board.
- Price: €20 per adult, €14 per child, infants free
- Best for: families, couples, first-time visitors, anyone who wants a full day out without any effort
- Bring: swimwear, a towel and sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat are a good idea too
Side Quad Safari: mud, dust and forest trails
For guests who want their hands on the handlebars. The Side quad ATV safari packs a safety briefing from certified instructors, a supervised test drive, and then one and a half to two hours of real off-road riding through forest trails and muddy terrain into an outing of about three hours plus transfers. Helmets are mandatory, and our base has showers and changing cabins so you go back to your hotel clean.
Anyone can join regardless of experience: the test drive exists precisely so you build confidence before the trail. What matters is skill and control: guests who handle the quad comfortably after the briefing ride solo, and those who prefer not to drive can enjoy the route from the passenger seat. The minimum age to drive solo is 16, passengers ride securely belted from age 6, and the driver needs ID at the base.
- Price: €25 per adult, €15 per child, infants free
- Best for: adrenaline seekers, teens with parents, groups of friends
- Bring: old dark clothes, closed shoes and a full change of clothing: you will get muddy, and that is the point
Side Jeep Safari: the Taurus Mountains without driving yourself
Our full-day mountain classic, and the best-value big day out in the area. On the Side jeep safari you ride in an open-top 4x4 convoy driven by professional drivers, nobody in your group takes the wheel. Over roughly 8 hours you pass a Roman bridge and ancient aqueducts, look down on the emerald water of Green Lake, swim and eat fresh village pancakes in Oymapınar, and sit down to an included lakeside lunch by Green Canyon. In summer the water fights between jeeps break out, and children reliably declare them the best part of the holiday.
- Price: €18 per adult (13+), €9 per child (7–12), children 0–6 free
- Optional extras paid on site: a 1-hour Green Lake boat trip (€5 per person) and the Manavgat Waterfall entrance fee on programme-dependent stops
- Best for: families with young children, mixed-age groups, anyone who wants scenery rather than steering
- Good to know: the tracks are bumpy and dusty in places, mention back or neck problems before boarding
Turkish Bath & Spa Day: the recovery excursion
Every Side holiday needs one slow day, and locals have solved that problem for centuries. Our Side Turkish bath and spa day follows the traditional sequence, sauna and steam room, a 20-minute kese peeling and foam massage on heated marble, then a 30-minute aloe vera gel massage, face mask and doctor fish therapy in the Classic Ritual. The Premium Spa Day swaps in a full massage in your chosen style (Balinese and Thai among the options), adds a fruit plate with tea and a personal safebox, and runs about an hour longer. Swimwear is worn throughout; towels and the traditional pestemal wrap are provided.
- Price: €20 per adult, children 0–3 free, hotel transfers and insurance included in both packages
- Best for: couples, anyone the day after the quad safari, and — a genuine local tip — the first days of your holiday, since freshly exfoliated skin tans more evenly
- Good to know: not suitable for guests with heart problems; if you are pregnant or sensitive to heat, check with your doctor first
How to Combine Them in One Week
A pattern our crews see work again and again: hamam early in the week, the boat day mid-week when you want zero planning, the jeep safari as the family highlight, and the quad safari for whoever still has energy left. The boat and jeep days each include lunch, so they are the easiest days on your holiday budget; the quad and hamam are half-day formats you can pair with a beach morning or an evening in Side old town.
Pickup, Payment and the Fine Print
All four excursions include hotel pickup and drop-off across the Side resort strip, Kumköy, Çolaklı, Evrenseki, Gündoğdu, Sorgun and Titreyengöl among the covered areas. We confirm your exact pickup personally after booking, so you never have to guess where to stand. Reservation is free, you pay on the tour day in person, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before: there is no prepayment and there are no hidden costs, because you book directly with the operator running the vehicles.
For the full euro-by-euro breakdown of any price above, we keep a prices guide for each of the four: boat tours, quad safari, jeep safari and the Turkish bath. Packing for a specific tour? The same is true of the packing lists, from the boat tour list to the jeep safari one. And if you are travelling with children or joining your first tour ever, start with the family guide to a first boat day. Ready to pick a day? Browse every Side excursion and its live price here. Based further west instead? The complete local guide to Antalya excursions covers the same ground from the city.