Side days compared
Dolphin Boat or Pirate Boat in Side: Which Day Suits Your Party
Both are boat days from Side, and both end with music on deck. The difference is what the day is built around: open water and a wild chance, or a show made for children.
Short answer
Book the dolphin boat if the point of the day is the sea itself: a calm river run, a swim where river meets salt water, lunch on deck and a long swim at Dolphin Island, where wild dolphins and Caretta caretta turtles share the sea and may pass — a chance, never a promise. Book the pirate boat if you have young children who want a themed day with the crew in costume. There is room for both in one week.
Two boats, two different ideas of a day
The Side dolphin boat trip is a sea day with a destination. The boat leaves at 10:00, cruises down the calm Manavgat river, anchors at the Boğaz river mouth for the first swim, serves a BBQ lunch on deck, then heads into open water to Dolphin Island for a long swim. One more swim, a foam party with music on the way home, and the boat is back at the harbour around 16:30–17:00. The full order of stops is on our day itinerary.
The pirate boat is a themed day. The ship is dressed as a pirate galleon and the entertainment is aimed squarely at families with small children. If the children are the reason you are going, that theme is the whole point.
Who each day suits
| Dolphin boat | Pirate boat | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | The sea, the swims and Dolphin Island | A pirate theme and children's fun |
| Suits | Couples, friends, families who like swimming | Families with young children |
| Wildlife | A chance of dolphins or turtles, never promised | Not what the day is about |
| Price and times | €21 per adult, boat at 10:00 | Listed on its own site |
Bringing children on the dolphin boat
Children are welcome on the dolphin day. A child aged 2 to 10 pays €15, and anyone under 2 travels free. The music and the foam party on the way home are the noisy, cheerful part of the day — and adults who would rather sit it out can stay at the other end of the deck. Our guide for families covers what a day at sea asks of small children and their parents.
What the dolphin boat will not give a child is a costume and a storyline. If that is what your child has been asking for since the hotel lobby, the pirate boat is the honest choice.
Doing both in one holiday week
They do not compete for the same morning in your head. One sensible order puts the pirate boat early, while the children are excited about the ship, and the dolphin boat later, when everyone is ready for a quieter day with more swimming and the open sea.
The pirate boat is sold by our sister site sideboattrips.com, which lists its own price, times and what is included. The dolphin day is booked here, and no card is asked for: the euros change hands only when the trip day comes round, and a change of plan costs nothing until 48 hours before. When you are ready, book the dolphin boat and we confirm the hotel pickup time by phone or WhatsApp the day before.
Side Dolphin Island Boat Trip: price, what is included, and booking