Pairing your Side days
Dolphin Tour or Jeep Safari in Side: Coast Day or Inland Day
Both days collect you from the hotel and take the whole day. A jeep safari heads inland; the dolphin tour heads down the river and out to sea. Planning both is mostly a question of spacing.
Short answer
Book a jeep safari to see the country behind the coast from a jeep. Book the dolphin tour to give the day to the water: the river cruise out, a swim at the river mouth, another off Dolphin Island, a grilled lunch eaten on deck and the foam party coming home. A family pays €21 per grown-up and €15 per child aged 2 to 10, and hotel pickup and lunch are already in that fare.
Inland or out to sea
A jeep safari is a land day: you ride inland, away from the beach strip, and the scenery is the point. The dolphin tour stays on the water from the moment the boat leaves. It follows the Manavgat river to the Boğaz river mouth, then crosses open water to Yunus Adası, whose waters hold wild dolphins and protected Caretta caretta turtles. Whether any show up is down to luck on the day.
If you want to see the region from both sides, book both: one day covers the land behind the coast, the other the river and the sea in front of it.
The two days side by side
Our dolphin tour timetable shows how to plan the evening before and the meal after around those boat times.
| Dolphin tour | Jeep safari | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Manavgat river, then the open sea | Inland, by jeep |
| Fixed times | Boat leaves at 10:00; back at the harbour in the 16:30–17:00 window | On its own site |
| Lunch | BBQ on deck: chicken, rice or pasta, salad, bread | On its own site |
| Swimming | Optional ones: river mouth, island anchorage, a final stop | On its own site |
How the pickup morning works
On the dolphin tour you never have to guess the time. The day before, your pickup time reaches you by phone or WhatsApp. You wait where the message tells you, and an air-conditioned vehicle collects you. If no message has arrived by then, contact us rather than waiting and hoping.
We never publish one pickup time for all hotels; each hotel gets its own. Read how the dolphin tour pickup works. The jeep safari site explains its own pickup.
Budget logic for a family
Compare what each fare covers before you compare the numbers. The dolphin fare already pays for your transfer from the hotel and back, lunch from the grill, the foam party and entertainment on board, a guide and full-day travel insurance. Anything you add is optional: drinks at the bar, the drinks package, professional photos, souvenirs.
Worked example: two adults at €21 each, one child aged 2 to 10 at €15, and a baby under 2 free. Guests from 11 upwards pay as adults. The family cost guide runs through more combinations, and every fare is on the dolphin tour prices page.
Spacing the two days
Dolphin tour first, early in your stay, because it sails weather permitting and may need to move. A rest day next. The jeep safari after that. Two full days out in a row is a lot for children and for whoever is carrying the bag.
The jeep safari is booked on our sister site sidejeepsafari.net, which gives its price, times and what is included. For the boat, reserve here; bring euros to pay on the tour day, and you can still pull out free of charge up until 48 hours beforehand.