Boat Tour or Jeep Safari in Side?
The two most popular ways of escaping a hotel sunbed near Side have almost nothing in common, which makes this choice easier than it first appears.
Short answer
Choose a boat tour to spend the day swimming, eating on deck and doing very little. Choose a jeep safari to see inland scenery from a vehicle and be on the move. Both start at your hotel. If you have a week, they complement each other, and having done one is no reason to skip the other.
The basic difference
A boat day keeps coming back to the water. You sail, you stop, you swim, you dry off in the sun, and the boat carries the whole thing along at a gentle pace. The best moments are usually the idle ones.
A jeep day is land-based and active by comparison. You sit in a vehicle on rough tracks rather than a deck, and the appeal is in getting to places, not in staying at them. For what the safari actually includes, its routes and its age rules, go to our jeep safari site, which holds the detail. This page only covers how to choose.
Which fits your party
| If this describes you | Lean towards | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You came for the sea | Boat | Most tours stop to swim more than once |
| You want to see beyond the coast | Jeep | It goes inland by nature |
| Someone in the party tires easily | Boat | You can stay put on deck for as long as you like |
| Small children | Boat | Two tours are designed for them |
| You dislike the idea of foam and music | Boat, but pick carefully | Relax and Fishing avoid both |
| You get restless without a plan | Jeep | There is always a next stop |
Comfort and effort
On a boat, your effort is optional. You can swim at each stop or never leave the deck. Life jackets are on record for non-swimmers on the Island tour, and the crew handles everything else. A jeep is more physical simply because the vehicle is moving over uneven ground; a guest with a bad back should check that before booking the jeep.
If someone finds boats difficult, read our note on quieter days at sea and ask us which of the river-based days would suit them best.
Doing both in one holiday
They split well across a week: an active day early on, then a boat day when you want to do nothing. Our comparison of the nine tours will help with the sea half. Boat tours are paid on the day with free cancellation until 48 hours before the start, so you can pencil one in without much risk.
One boat tour that comes close to a land day
If the appeal of the jeep is getting away from the beach and seeing something different, the Manavgat and bazaar day spends time on the river and then two hours in a market, which is the least sea-bound of our nine.
