What Actually Happens on a Boat Tour From Side
All nine tours start and end at your hotel. What happens between those two moments varies far more than the word 'boat tour' suggests: some days are built around a river, one around a market, one around a rod and a hook.
Short answer
A vehicle collects you at the hotel for the drive to the harbour, and the return leg is covered too. On the water, most tours alternate swim stops, lunch on board and entertainment, while Relax drops the music altogether and Fishing swaps swimming for tackle. Listed lengths run from six to ten hours, and your pickup time is confirmed to you for your own hotel.
The pattern most days follow
Pickup comes first, in an air-conditioned vehicle, and the crew takes over at the boat. Then the day settles into a rhythm: sail, drop anchor, get in the water, climb out, eat, sail again. Lunch is cooked or served aboard rather than at a restaurant ashore. On six of the tours a foam party takes over the deck at some point, usually in the second half of the day.
Nothing in that order is a timetable. The crew may change the route because of sea and weather conditions, and a swim stop can move or shorten for the same reason.
Tour by tour
| Tour | Where the boat goes | What fills the day |
|---|---|---|
| Side Boat Tour | Along the Side coast, stopping in several bays | Swimming and snorkelling, lunch, live music, foam |
| Island tour | A sheltered bay at Kızılot, then on to Boğaz | Two swim breaks, hot lunch, soft drinks all day, foam |
| Caretta Bay | Down the Manavgat River to the delta, then by sea to the bay | River-and-sea swim, lunch at anchor, a long second swim, foam on the way back |
| Manavgat and bazaar | The river, its mouth, the open sea, back to the pier | Swim, lunch, foam, then two hours of market time |
| Little Pirates | A stretch of coast with swim stops | Costumes, treasure hunt, games, lunch |
| Relax | The river mouth, near Dolphin Island, the Caretta bays | Sunbed, buffet, unhurried swims, silence |
| Fishing | Out to the captain's chosen fishing ground | Simit and tea, then rods over the side |
| Dolphin Island | River, river mouth, then open water to the island | Three swims, barbecue lunch, foam on the voyage home |
| Pirate tour | Downriver to the delta | Swim, a staged pirate programme, children's menu, foam |
The clock times we hold
We publish a time only where the tour's own record gives one, and you should read each as a guide to the boat, not to your hotel door.
- Caretta Bay, Manavgat, Dolphin Island and Pirate: the boat casts off at 10:00.
- Caretta Bay is due back around 16:00; Dolphin Island between 16:30 and 17:00.
- Island tour: boarding around 09:30, back in Side by about 17:30.
- Fishing: the earliest start of the nine, with guests returned between 12:30 and 13:00.
The Side Boat Tour, Little Pirates and Relax have no fixed clock time on our record. Ask us, and we confirm it for your date.
Reading the listed lengths
The hours shown for each tour are the number on its listing, and they do not all measure the same thing. Relax and Fishing count transfers inside their total, while the Caretta Bay figure refers to the boat alone. If your evening plans hang on a precise return, send us your hotel and date and we will tell you what to expect, because the time depends partly on where you are staying.
