Dolphin Island (Yunus Adası): The Stop the Trip Is Named For
Every dolphin boat day from Side builds towards one anchor stop out in open water. Here is what the island's name means, why the boat stops there and what you do when it does.
Short answer
Dolphin Island — Yunus Adası in Turkish, where yunus means dolphin and ada means island — is the open-water anchor stop of the Side dolphin boat trip. After lunch on deck the boat leaves the coast behind, drops anchor near the island and gives you the long swim of the day. Wild dolphins and loggerhead turtles live in this sea, so it is also where a lucky afternoon might bring one past.
What the name tells you
The name is a plain description: yunus is the word for dolphin, ada the word for island. The name tells you which animals belong to this sea. It does not tell you what will turn up on your particular afternoon, and we will not pretend it does.
If dolphins are the reason you are reading, our straight answer on the odds is will we see dolphins?
How the boat gets there
The morning belongs to the river. The boat leaves at 10:00, cruises down the calm Manavgat river, stops for the first swim at the Boğaz river mouth and serves the BBQ lunch on deck. Only then does it head out into open water towards the island — the moment the day turns from river trip to sea trip.
We say nothing about the state of the open sea, because no one can say it in advance. If you or someone in your party is anxious about it, ask us before you book.
The long swim
Once the anchor is down, this is the stop the operator's record calls the long swim: time to get in, float, swim round the boat and come back aboard to dry off in the sun. It is salt water through and through here, a different feel from the river-mouth stop with its cold fresh current.
Swimming is optional, here as everywhere. Staying on deck with the view is a perfectly good way to spend the stop.
- Bring your own swimsuit and towel; neither is supplied.
- Put on high-factor sun cream before you go in and again after — there is little shade in the water.
- If anything about swimming in open water concerns you, tell us before the day rather than on the boat.
After the island
The boat makes one more swim stop, then turns for home with music and foam on deck, and reaches the harbour around 16:30–17:00; the drive to your own door follows. The full order of the day is on the day, stop by stop, and the three stops are compared on the swim stops.
The island is part of the one fare — €21 from age 11, with hotel transfer and lunch included. Pick a date here.
