Your resort answers this first
Pick the boat that matches your resort first, because the price of each trip already includes transfer from its own region: the Side deep sea fishing trip collects you from Side-region hotels, the Alanya fishing trip from central Alanya. For most holidaymakers that settles it in one sentence.
If you genuinely have a choice, the difference is what kind of day you want. Side is a quiet fishing morning — maximum 12 guests, simit and hot tea on deck, back at your hotel with the afternoon still free, €45 per person. Alanya is a leisurely full day — around six hours on the water, hot lunch served on board, a swim stop in a sheltered bay, €50 per adult.
The two boats side by side
Side deep sea fishing — €45
- Small-group boat with a strict cap of 12 guests
- Early hotel pickup from Side-region hotels, air-conditioned vehicle both ways
- All professional rods, lines and fresh bait supplied by the captain
- Complimentary Turkish breakfast on deck — simit and hot tea
- About six hours door to door; you are back at your hotel in the early afternoon
- No lunch, no swim stop. Cold drinks are on sale on board, and you are welcome to bring your own food and drink
Alanya fishing trip — €50 adult, €35 child
- Traditional fishing boat out of Alanya harbour, larger and more sociable
- Return hotel transfer from central Alanya
- Rods, bait and basic tackle provided; crew bait your hook and show you the technique
- Hot lunch served on deck
- Swim stop in a calm bay — bring a towel
- Around six hours on the water; boat excursion insurance included; drinks and bar service are extra
Choose by what you actually want from the day
You want to fish seriously. Take Side. Twelve guests on a purpose-built fishing boat means real one-to-one time with the captain, room to work a rod without tangling a neighbour's line, and a morning spent over chosen ground rather than sailing between photo stops. Red mullet, sea bass and sea bream are the usual company.
You want a relaxed day out that happens to involve fishing. Take Alanya. The rhythm is gentler: cast a line, eat a hot lunch on deck, swim in a quiet bay, watch the Taurus mountains fall into the water and the castle rise again on the way home. Nobody minds if you fish for twenty minutes and then sunbathe.
You are travelling with children. Alanya has the clearer family structure — a published child rate of €35 for ages 4 to 11, infants up to 3 free, plus lunch and a swim to break up the day. The Side boat prices per seat because capacity is capped at 12; ask us to confirm your children's rate when you book rather than assuming.
You want your afternoon back. Side, without hesitation. It is an early start and a lunchtime finish, so you can still make the beach, a hammam or an evening in the old town.
Money, honestly
The €5 difference between the two adult prices is not a quality gap. It buys a hot lunch on board and a swim stop. Judge them as two different products rather than a cheap one and an expensive one — the Side morning gives you a smaller boat and more of the captain's attention for less money, precisely because it does not feed you a full meal.
Neither trip asks for a deposit. Reservation is free and you pay on the day, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on the Alanya trip. Drinks, tips and any photo or video service are extra on both. For a full breakdown of what a seat costs and what sits outside the price, see what a fishing trip in Side costs per person.
Who neither trip suits
Some honest disqualifications, because a refunded booking helps nobody.
- If you are badly prone to seasickness. Both boats work open water and it can be choppy. Motion-sickness tablets help, but a bad sailor will not enjoy either trip.
- If you are expecting a party boat. Neither has a DJ, a foam deck or an animation team. Side in particular is a quiet working morning.
- If you want a guaranteed swim. Only the Alanya trip includes a swim stop; the Side morning does not.
- If you want your catch cooked for you. We do not promise that on either boat. Lunch on the Alanya trip is a hot meal served on board, not necessarily your fish.
- If you need certainty about what you land. The captain picks the ground and the sea decides the rest. A catch of some kind is close to routine; a big one is not.
Experience, on the other hand, is not a requirement anywhere. Complete beginners are the norm on both boats — the crew bait the hook, show you how to cast and handle the fish for you.
Ready to book
Staying in Side, Kumköy, Çolaklı, Evrenseki or Titreyengöl, take the Side deep sea fishing morning. Staying in Alanya, take the Alanya fishing day with lunch and a swim. If a fishing boat is competing with everything else on your list, read our comparisons of which Side boat trip to choose and which Antalya day trip to pick, or browse the full boat trips collection.