Two names, and the only difference that is real
Parents usually arrive at this question expecting opposites: pirates for noise, dolphins for nature. The record does not support that split. Both boats leave the Side area, both run about six hours, both swim where the Manavgat river meets the sea, and both list music, dancing and a foam party on deck. They are a couple of euro apart. Anyone who tells you one is the loud day and the other the quiet day is describing the names, not the boats.
The real difference is narrow and worth knowing: the pirate ship sells a children's programme, and the dolphin boat sells a possibility. Everything below follows from that one line.
The Side pirate boat tour is built around children who want to be busy. Free face painting, a treasure hunt, pirate games run by an animation team, and a lunch designed for small appetites — spaghetti, chicken fingers, fish fingers. Parents are not spectators: the record is explicit that adults are welcome in the games and in the water.
The Little Pirates cruise from Side is the same instinct aimed younger. Costumes are handed to the children, the crew stays in character, the treasure hunt runs across the deck, and there are swimming and snorkelling stops in clear water. Lunch and soft drinks are served on board, and the day is written for families who intend to stay beside their children the whole time.
The dolphin island boat is for the family who would rather scan the water than join a game. There is a BBQ lunch on deck — grilled chicken, rice or pasta, salad and bread — a swim at the river mouth where cold fresh water meets warm sea, and a run out to Dolphin Island. On the way home the deck turns to music and foam like the others.
The one thing no boat can promise
Dolphins and Caretta Caretta turtles live in this water; whether they surface next to your boat on a Tuesday in your holiday week is entirely their business. Our own record says sightings depend on wild nature and cannot be promised, and we repeat it here because it is the sentence that decides the day for some families and prevents a difficult conversation for others.
The practical version for a parent: promise your child a boat day, not an animal. If something grey breaks the surface, it becomes the story of the holiday. If nothing does, the day was still a swim at the river mouth, a barbecue and a foam party — which is exactly what you paid for.
What each day costs
The Side pirate boat is €23 per adult and €16 per child. Little Pirates is €20 and €14. The dolphin island boat is €21 and €15. Infants travel free on all three, hotel pickup is included on all three, and the spread between the cheapest and the dearest is small enough that none of them is the budget option.
Because the prices sit so close together, treat money as a tiebreaker rather than a reason. A family of four saves the price of two ice creams by switching boats — and loses or gains an entire day's programme. Five pirate-themed boats sail this coast, three of them described as galleons; the wider pirate boat comparison covers the ones leaving from Alanya and Belek.
The trade-off, honestly
Both columns below are split, because a one-sided list is a product page in disguise. Read each pirate line against the dolphin line that answers it.
Good to know
- Pirate ships — a structured programme, so the day does not depend on the sea being interesting
- Pirate ships — a children's menu that fussy eaters actually eat, plus costumes on the Little Pirates day
- Pirate ships — adults are welcome in the games rather than parked on a bench
- Dolphin boat — a grilled BBQ lunch and a swim where the cold river pours into the warm Mediterranean
- Dolphin boat — the chance of a wild dolphin or a sea turtle, which no scripted programme can offer
Worth considering
- Pirate ships — an animation team is a matter of taste; some children find it a lot
- Pirate ships — the theme is the point, so there is less time simply watching the coast go by
- Dolphin boat — sightings depend on wild nature and are never promised, so the headline may not happen
- Dolphin boat — no costumes, no treasure hunt and no children's menu to fall back on
- All three — six hours is still six hours for a child who tires early
The three boats side by side
All three carry the same age bands, so age is not the deciding factor here — the programme on deck is.
| Boat day | From | Duration | On deck | Lunch | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side pirate boat tour | €23 adult · €16 child | 6 hours | Foam party, music and dancing | Children's menu: spaghetti, chicken fingers, fish fingers | Children who want face painting, a treasure hunt and pirate games |
| Little Pirates boat tour from Side | €20 adult · €14 child | 6 hours | Costumes for children, treasure hunt and games in character | Lunch and soft drinks on board | Younger children; snorkelling stops and a themed day |
| Side dolphin island boat tour | €21 adult · €15 child | 6 hours | Foam party, music and dancing all the way home | BBQ: grilled chicken, rice or pasta, salad and bread | Families happy with a chance of wild dolphins or turtles, never a promise |
Booking either of them
Seats are held without payment and settled with the crew on the day you sail; the mechanics live on our booking page, and the pirate flagship is worth reserving early because its own record warns it fills fast in peak season.
Pickup is included from Side and the surrounding resorts on all three boats, and the time comes to you once the booking is confirmed rather than on this page — it depends on where your hotel sits on the transfer run. If you would rather compare the whole family fleet before deciding, our guide to family boat tours with kids sets these three against the calmer cruises.
