Side-Turkey.

The EUR 20 adult and EUR 14 child price of our Side rafting tour covers two-way hotel transfer in air-conditioned vehicles, certified guides and instructors, full international-standard equipment - life vest, helmet and paddle - a riverside home-style lunch and the entrance fees for the 12 km Koprulu Canyon route. Drinks, photo and video packages and water shoes are the only extras, and every one of them is optional.

The full inclusion list, in plain terms

I run this tour from Side, and the question I hear most often at the booking desk is not about the rapids - it is about the small print. Guests have been caught out before by tours that advertise one price and then add a transfer fee here, an equipment charge there, a park ticket at the gate. So let me put the whole list on the table before you spend a single euro.

That is the complete picture. The rest of this page walks through each line so you know exactly what you are paying for - and, just as important, what you are not.

The transfer: door to canyon and back, no surcharge

Koprulu Canyon is not next to your hotel. The drive from the Side area takes roughly 60 to 90 minutes each way depending on where you are staying, and we cover the whole stretch in air-conditioned vehicles at no extra cost. Pickup runs in the morning from hotels across the Side and Manavgat area. The exact time is confirmed the day before and varies from hotel to hotel, because the route is planned around where each guest is staying.

Free hotel pickup is already inside the EUR 20 - you book, we collect you from reception, and after the tour we drop you back at the same door. On a seven-hour day out, not having to think about taxis or dolmus timetables is worth more than most people expect.

Guides and instructors: the part you cannot see on a price list

Every departure runs with certified guides and instructors. Before anyone touches the water there is a proper safety briefing: how to sit, how to hold the paddle, what the commands mean, what to do if you end up in the river. On the water, the guides steer, read the rapids and keep the group together across the full 12 km.

This is the item I would never let a guest economise on. The Koprulu route is suitable for beginners precisely because experienced people are managing it. When you compare rafting prices in Side, ask who is actually in the boat with you - with us, the answer is included in the price, not an upgrade.

The equipment: life vest, helmet, paddle

You do not need to bring or rent any rafting gear. Life vest, helmet and paddle are all provided and all meet international standards, fitted to each guest before the briefing - children included. Our team checks every vest and helmet before you get near the raft.

What you should bring yourself is simple: swimwear worn under your clothes, a towel, a dry change of clothes for after lunch, and sunscreen. You will get wet - that is the point - so leave anything that must stay dry in the vehicle or at the hotel.

Lunch by the river and the route entrance

After the rafting you sit down to a home-style lunch at a riverside restaurant. It is a proper cooked meal, not a boxed sandwich, and it is fully covered by the tour price. The one honest caveat: drinks at lunch are not included. Water, soft drinks and anything stronger are ordered and paid for separately, and that applies to beverages throughout the day.

The entrance fees for the 12 km rafting route through Koprulu Canyon are also inside the price. Some visitors arriving independently discover charges at the canyon they had not budgeted for; on our tour there is nothing to pay at any gate. The number you book at is the number the day costs, unless you choose to add something.

What is not included - the honest list

Four things sit outside the price, and I would rather you read them here than discover them at the river:

• All beverages. Every drink across the day, including at lunch, is paid separately.
• Professional photo and video. Optional purchase - more on this below.
• Water-resistant footwear. If you arrive in flip-flops, you can rent or buy proper water shoes on site. Old trainers or sandals with a heel strap from your own suitcase do the job for free.
• Personal expenses. Souvenirs, snacks, anything you decide to buy along the way.

Notice what is not on that list: no fuel surcharge, no equipment rental, no guide tip built in as an obligation, no entrance ticket. We keep the extras list short and genuinely optional, so the advertised price is the real price.

Why the photo and video package is sold separately

Guests sometimes ask why we do not simply fold photos into the price. The answer is practical. You cannot safely take your own phone or camera through the rapids - it will be soaked, dropped or both. So professional crews position themselves along the canyon and film every raft as it comes through the white water, then prepare the footage for the end of the day.

That crew is a real cost, and not every guest wants the footage. Building it into everyone's ticket would push the base price up for the many to fund the few. Selling it separately means you decide on the day, after you have seen what the cameras caught, and nobody pays for something they did not want. If you do want a record of yourself mid-rapid, this is the only realistic way to get one - which is exactly why the crews exist.

What a family of four actually spends

Take two adults and two children. The base arithmetic is simple: two adult places at EUR 20 and two child places at EUR 14 come to EUR 68 for the whole family - transfer, guides, equipment, lunch and route entrance for all four, across a seven-hour day.

On top of that, the only money that leaves your pocket is money you choose to spend: drinks with lunch, footwear rental if nobody packed suitable shoes, and one shared photo package if you want the footage - one package covers the raft, so a family never needs four. There is no scenario in which a compulsory charge appears that is not already in the EUR 68.

You can reserve your places without any prepayment and pay in cash on the day of the tour - no deposit, no card details, and cancelling costs you nothing if your plans change.

Worth more? The combo options

If you are going to spend the transfer time anyway, some guests prefer to stack a second activity onto the same day. The inclusion logic is the same - transfer, guiding, equipment and lunch stay in the price - and the arithmetic often beats booking two separate days out:

The rafting and jeep safari combo is the family favourite - EUR 28 per adult and EUR 16 per child for two full activities is hard to argue with. For groups who want maximum action in one day, the rafting, zipline and buggy 3-in-1 adds a zipline run over the water and a buggy stage to the same canyon day.

My advice after years of running these routes: if rafting is the main event, book the Side rafting tour on its own and enjoy the river at a relaxed pace; if your group gets restless, take a combo. Either way, book directly with us, pay on the day, and the hotel transfer is on us in both directions.

Frequently asked questions

Is hotel transfer really included in the EUR 20 rafting price?

Yes, in both directions. We collect you from your hotel in the Side and Manavgat area in an air-conditioned vehicle in the morning and return you after the tour. The exact pickup time is confirmed the day before and varies from hotel to hotel depending on the route.

Do I have to pay anything in advance to book?

No. You reserve your places without prepayment and pay in cash on the day of the tour. There is no deposit and we do not ask for card details, so changing your plans costs you nothing.

Are drinks included with the riverside lunch?

No. The home-style lunch itself is fully included, but all beverages across the day - water, soft drinks and everything else - are ordered and paid for separately at the riverside restaurant.

Can I take my own phone or camera on the raft?

I do not recommend it - the rapids soak everything and dropped phones do not come back. Professional crews film the rafts from the canyon banks, and their photo and video package is available as an optional purchase, so you decide after you have seen the footage.

Do I need special shoes for rafting?

You need footwear that stays on in water - old trainers or sandals with a heel strap are fine. Water-resistant shoes are not included in the price, but if you have nothing suitable you can rent or buy a pair on site before the briefing.