Pairing your Side days
Dolphin Tour or Horse Riding in Side: Choosing Your Pace
One day puts you on a horse; the other puts you on a boat heading for Dolphin Island. Both involve animals, in very different ways, and both suit a quieter kind of holiday day.
Short answer
Book horse riding if being with a horse is the point of the day. Book the dolphin tour for river and sea: a calm start on the Manavgat river, a dip where it meets the Mediterranean, another off Dolphin Island, chicken from the grill eaten on deck and a foam party for the ride back. On the boat, wild dolphins and turtles are a chance you watch for, never something arranged.
Animals you ride, animals you hope for
On a horse ride the animal is right there: you meet it, sit on it and spend the outing with it. The dolphin tour works the other way round. The sea around Dolphin Island is home to wild dolphins and to protected Caretta caretta turtles, and on a lucky day some of them pass the boat. Nobody can arrange it, and we do not pretend to. There is no swimming with them, no feeding and no touching.
If someone in your party would be let down by a sea day with no animals in it, the horse ride is the surer animal day. If they love the sea anyway, the boat is a good day whatever passes by.
Taking photos from the deck
- Keep your phone in a dry bag or on a strap whenever you are near the water.
- The boat moves, so brace against a rail and take several shots rather than one.
- Shoot with the light behind you when you can; the river reeds and the island look better that way.
- Do not plan the album around a dolphin picture. If one appears, enjoy it first.
Professional photos are an optional extra, not part of the fare. Our photo tips page has more on shooting near water.
Marking an occasion
Couples sometimes want one day of the holiday to feel like the anniversary day. The dolphin tour can be that day, with the honest caveat that we do not promise a cake, decorations or a special table. Put the occasion in your booking note and we will reply with what is possible. Groups of up to 20 fit in one booking; for more, use the contact page. See also our birthday and anniversary guide.
On your own
The dolphin tour sells single seats on a shared boat: one adult fare of €21, the same pickup as everyone else, and BBQ lunch on deck with the other guests. You can be as social or as quiet as you like. Our solo traveller page answers the usual questions.
Fitting both into one holiday
Book the boat first, early in your stay, because it sails weather permitting and might need to move. Keep the ride for another day; whatever the ride asks you to wear will not be what you want on a deck with three swims.
Horse riding is booked on our sister site sidehorseride.com; its pages carry the price, times and what is included. For the boat, our dolphin tour page has everything: children aged 2 to 10 pay €15, no money changes hands online, and cancelling is free while you are more than 48 hours ahead of the tour. Book your seats here.
Side Dolphin Island Tour: the price, what it covers, booking
