The split is tolerance, not age
People assume this is a young-versus-old question. It is not. The loud boats are explicitly family days — the foam party on the Side island boat tour is described as fun for all ages. What actually divides the two decks is how you feel about noise you did not choose, and about sharing a crowded deck for seven or eight hours.
So ask yourself one question before you look at prices. Do you want the day to entertain you, or to leave you alone? The party boats are built around the first answer and are very good at it. The relax boats exist because enough guests wanted the second one badly enough to pay roughly three times as much for it.
What the loud day is really like
It starts early and it starts noisy. Live music greets you as you board, the animation crew works the deck between swim stops, and at some point the foam cannon turns the middle of the boat into a white, shrieking mess that children adore. Between those bursts you anchor in clear bays — the island day stops in the bays of Kızılot and Boğaz — swim off the deck, and eat a cooked lunch at anchor.
The price is the strongest argument. A full seven-hour day of this costs €20, which is the cheapest boat day on the whole coast, and the eight-hour island version costs €24 with unlimited soft drinks folded into the ticket. Read the excluded list before you decide, though: on the €20 day, sunbeds and drinks are both extras, so the real spend is a little above the ticket.
Good to know
- The €20 day is the cheapest in the catalogue, and the eight-hour island version is €24.
- Entertainment is organised for you — nobody has to make the day happen.
- Genuinely built for mixed groups: the foam party is described as fun for all ages.
- The island version folds unlimited soft drinks into the fare.
Worth considering
- The music is not optional, and neither is the crowd.
- On the €20 day, sunbeds and drinks are both listed as extras.
- A full deck means queues at the ladder and less room at anchor.
- Eight hours of animation is a long time if it was not what you wanted.
What the quiet day buys you
There are exactly two relax boats and both leave from the Side coast, so this is a local choice rather than a category you will find in every resort. The Side relax boat tour is the strict one: its record states plainly that this is a no-crowding, relaxation-first concept and not a party boat, with no loud music and no party crowd, and it names couples and solo travellers as the guests it is built for. Every guest has a sunbed reserved rather than claimed, lunch is an open buffet, and soft and alcoholic drinks are inside the price instead of on a bar tab.
The second is softer in every sense. The waterfall relax trip is a calm cruise along the Side coastline with views of the cascading Manavgat waterfall, unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, snorkelling gear and a guide — and its record describes it as family-friendly and suitable for children. Do not treat the two as one product: one is a quiet adult day, the other is a quiet family day, and they cost €70 and €68 respectively.
Good to know
- A sunbed reserved per guest, not a scramble for deck space.
- The Side relax day includes soft and alcoholic drinks in the fare.
- A documented no-crowding concept — the record commits to it in writing.
- The waterfall version keeps the calm and still welcomes children.
Worth considering
- Three times the price of the loud day for the same seven hours.
- No organised entertainment: if you want a programme, this is the wrong deck.
- Only two boats, both from the Side coast — no equivalent elsewhere.
- The waterfall trip includes non-alcoholic drinks only, and is not wheelchair accessible.
Where the money actually goes
The gap between €20 and €70 is the widest in our shared-boat list, and it is worth being precise about what it covers, because it is not the sea and it is not the hours — both days run seven hours with hotel transfer included. It buys space, silence and the bar.
On the cheap boat, drinks and sunbeds sit on the excluded list, so a family with a thirst adds to the ticket during the day. On the relax boat, the drinks are already paid for and the sunbed has your name on it. Whether that is worth the difference depends entirely on how you would have spent the day anyway — which is why the loud boats are not the budget option and the relax boats are not the luxury one. They are two different products that happen to share a coastline.
Loud deck or quiet deck, line by line
Five boats, three loud and two quiet, with the night cruise included because it is the loudest thing we sell and people compare it to the daytime party boats even though it is a different animal.
| Boat day | From | Duration | On deck | Lunch | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side island boat tour | €24 | 8 hours | Foam party and live music from the moment you board | Hot lunch on board, vegetarian option available | A sociable day with unlimited soft drinks in the fare |
| Side boat tour | €20 | 7 hours | Live music and a lively foam party | Lunch served on board | The cheapest way to have the loud version of the day |
| Side Starcraft disco yacht (night) | €68 | 4 hours | Live DJ set and dance shows on an open-air deck | Snacks, not a meal | Adults only — the record states eighteen and over |
| Side relax boat tour | €70 | 7 hours | No loud music and no party crowd | Open-buffet lunch on board | Couples and solo travellers; a sunbed reserved per guest, soft and alcoholic drinks included |
| Side relax boat trip with waterfall | €68 | 7 hours | A relaxed cruise along the calm Side coastline | Lunch on board | A quieter day that still suits children |
The middle ground, and the boat that is neither
If both extremes sound wrong, there is a boat between them. The Side Starcraft day cruise costs €34 for six hours and lists live music and deck animation rather than a foam party, with unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, snorkelling equipment and a guide on board. It is the compromise most people are actually looking for when they say they want fun but not chaos.
The night disco yacht belongs to neither column. It is four hours after dark: a DJ working the deck, dance shows, drinks poured without limit and snacks where a meal would be, and its record sets an eighteen-and-over policy — so it is not the evening version of a family party boat, and we keep it on its own page rather than pretending otherwise; every boat with an age limit is listed with the other age rules on board. Whichever deck you land on, nothing is charged when you reserve; the fare is handed over on the day itself.
