Pairing your Side days
Dolphin Tour or Turkish Bath in Side: A Busy Day and a Slow One
This is less a choice than an order. The dolphin tour fills a day with river, sea and three swims; a Turkish bath is warm, slow and indoors. Most holidays have room for both.
Short answer
Take the dolphin tour for an outdoor day: a calm river cruise, swims at the Boğaz river mouth and off Dolphin Island, lunch from the grill served on deck, and a foam party as the boat heads home. Take a Turkish bath, a hamam with steam, a scrub and a foam wash, for a slow indoor visit. They do not compete. Plan the boat first and the hamam on another day.
Two kinds of foam
Both days end in foam, which is where the likeness stops. On the boat the foam party is music, noise and bubbles on deck. In a hamam the foam is part of a wash, after the steam and the scrub, and the room is quiet.
The dolphin tour is the busy one. The boat leaves at 10:00, cruises the Manavgat river, stops at the river mouth for a swim, serves lunch on deck, anchors at Dolphin Island, and is back at the harbour in the 16:30–17:00 window.
Sun first, steam later
A boat day means hours in the sun, on and off the water. The operator asks you to bring high-factor sun cream, sunglasses, a swimsuit and a towel; add a hat and something to cover your shoulders at lunch. Our sun on deck guide has the checklist.
If you come home from the boat with more sun than you meant to, mention it to the hamam before you book the scrub, and let them advise you. Leaving a day or two between the two is the simple way round it.
If you worry about seasickness
The first stretch of the dolphin tour is the calm river, which gives you time to settle. After that the boat goes into open water to the island. A few general tips worth trying:
- Eat something light before the pickup rather than nothing.
- Sit outside and keep your eyes on the horizon.
- Ask a pharmacist about remedies before the day, not on the boat.
These are tips, not medical advice. Anyone with a real concern should ask a doctor or pharmacist first. More in our seasickness guide.
Questions worth asking before you book
Whatever you book in Side, the same short list of questions saves surprises. Here is how the dolphin tour answers them:
- What is included? Hotel transfer, BBQ lunch, foam party and entertainment, a guide on board, travel insurance.
- How do I pay? In euros on the day; nothing is charged online.
- Can I cancel? Yes, without charge until 48 hours before.
- What about children? Aged 2 to 10 pay €15; under 2 free; from 11 the adult fare.
- What if the weather turns? We contact you, and you can move to another date or cancel.
Our booking checklist covers each question in full. Ask the hamam the same ones.
Booking each
The Turkish bath is booked on our sister site turkishbathside.com; it lists the hamam's price, times and what is included. For the boat, see our dolphin tour page: €21 per adult, and you can book it here with nothing to pay until the day.
Side Dolphin Island Tour: the price, what it covers, booking