On board
Phones and Cameras on a Side Boat Tour
Water, salt, foam and children in costumes make for a good album and a risky day for a phone. A little planning covers both.
Short answer
Keep your phone with you and out of the foam. Take your pictures while the boat is anchored or sailing, and put your phone away for the swims unless you have your own waterproof case. On most boats, onboard teams also sell photos and videos. These are optional and not part of your fare.
When to take the picture
Boat days have natural moments for photos, and you will miss them if your phone is buried in a bag. The moment when you board, the anchor stop at a clear bay, lunch on deck, and the run home all come around once. Have your phone somewhere reachable for those.
Then there are moments when you should put it away. Anything near the foam party is a bad place for a phone, as is the top of a ladder with wet hands. If you have a child to keep hold of, one job at a time is plenty.
What each tour is good for
| Tour | What to aim for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Little Pirates | Costumes and the treasure hunt | Small hands wanting to hold your phone |
| Pirate | Face paint, the tug-of-war | The foam later on |
| Fishing | Your catch, held up | Bait on your fingers |
| Caretta Bay | The coast on the way towards Side's peninsula | Expecting a turtle on demand |
| Dolphin Island | The open water around the island | Expecting dolphins on demand |
| Relax | The quiet of the deck | Your neighbours' wish for peace |
| Manavgat and bazaar | Colour and stalls at the market | Stallholders who may prefer you ask first |
About wild animals and cameras
Turtles and dolphins are wild, and no crew or tour can schedule them. If one appears, you will have seconds. The honest advice is to watch it with your own eyes first and photograph it only if there is time. A blurry picture of a fin in the distance is a poor exchange for having actually seen the fin.
Water and your phone
We do not supply cases or any waterproofing, and nothing on our record suggests that the boats do, so a waterproof pouch is something you would need to bring. If you take one, test it before the day with a tissue inside it, and do not trust it in a jump. Even then, salt water is unkind to equipment, and your insurance may have opinions.
The crew advise you to keep valuables with you. The easiest approach to swim stops is to have someone in your party stay on deck with the bags, taking it in turns, or to put your phone away somewhere in your bag and simply enjoy the swim.
The photographers on board
Most boats have someone taking pictures and videos, and these are sold separately, as personal extras. On the Caretta Bay and Pirate tours, the photos are taken by an onboard team during the day. On Manavgat they are independent photographers. It is entirely up to you whether you buy. If you know you want them, keep some spending money aside, and do not expect the price to be part of your fare. We hold no price list for those photographs, so ask on board.
Other people in your shots
A shared boat has other families on it, and not everyone wants a stranger's child, or their own, on your social media. Take pictures of your own party, and if someone else's child ends up in the frame, leave it out of whatever you post. The same goes in the market: a quick, friendly question before you photograph someone's stall is rarely refused.
Getting everything home
Back up your pictures that evening while you still remember which day was which. Before you leave the boat, check under your seat, in the towel and in the pocket you never use. Our packing list and the fuller day-by-day guide cover the rest of what you will need to think about.
