Side days compared
Dolphin Boat or Green Canyon from Side: Sea Day or Lake Day
One day heads down the river to the open sea; the other heads inland to a lake in the mountains. Both are calm days on the water. The scenery is what you are really choosing.
Short answer
Choose the dolphin boat if you want salt water: a calm river cruise to the sea, a swim at the Boğaz river mouth, lunch on deck and a long swim at Dolphin Island, with a chance — not a promise — of wild dolphins or Caretta caretta turtles. Choose Green Canyon if you would rather spend the day on fresh water among pine-covered mountain walls. They are different enough to share one week.
Sea or mountains: the real difference
The dolphin boat trip faces outward. It starts on the calm Manavgat river, which our river cruise guide describes stretch by stretch, and runs out to the Mediterranean, where the boat anchors off Dolphin Island for the long swim. The horizon is open, the water is salty, and the wildlife is wild: dolphins and protected loggerhead turtles live here and sometimes pass, but no one can schedule them.
Green Canyon faces inward. It is a boat day on a reservoir lake in the Taurus mountains behind Side, with steep wooded canyon walls on either side. Fresh water, high rock, a quieter kind of view.
Who each day suits
- Dolphin boat: guests who want to swim in the sea, like the idea of a wild chance at Dolphin Island, and don't mind a foam party with music on the way home.
- Green Canyon: guests who have already had a lot of beach, want mountain scenery from the water, and prefer a lake to the open sea.
- Couples: either works. On the dolphin boat, a seat at the bow during the river stretch is the quiet part of the day; our guide for couples explains how to keep the day your own.
- Families: both welcome children. On the dolphin boat a child aged 2 to 10 pays €15, and under 2 is free.
How the two days run
On the dolphin day the boat leaves at 10:00 and is back at the harbour around 16:30–17:00; your hotel pickup time comes by phone or WhatsApp the day before, and the drive both ways is in the €21 adult fare along with the BBQ lunch, the foam party and guiding on board. Drinks are bought at the bar.
Green Canyon has its own programme, its own lunch and its own timetable. Our sister site greencanyonside.com sells that day and lists its price, times and what is included — read it there rather than from us.
Putting both in one week
Because one day is sea and the other is mountains, they don't repeat each other. One easy rhythm is to leave a beach day between them, so neither feels like more of the same. If the weather of your week is uncertain, keep the sea day where you have room to move it: cancelling the dolphin boat is free up to 48 hours before.
When the sea wins, book the dolphin boat here. Your card stays in your wallet while booking; the euros change hands only when the trip day arrives.
Side Dolphin Island Boat Trip: price, what is included, and booking
