Not a sea trip at all — from your Side hotel you head inland to the emerald Oymapınar reservoir, where a music-free catamaran cruises the canyons with lunch and two cool-water swim stops.
Quick answer
Not a sea trip at all — from your Side hotel you head inland to the emerald Oymapınar reservoir, where a music-free catamaran cruises the canyons with lunch and two cool-water swim stops.
Green Canyon is the one boat day in the Side programme with no salt water in sight. The canyon is in fact a vast freshwater reservoir held behind the Oymapınar dam in the Taurus mountains, and instead of a coastal cruiser you board a catamaran that glides between the canyon walls.
The defining rule here is silence: loud music is never played on board, out of respect for the canyon's calm and its wildlife. So the soundtrack in the dramatic Grand Canyon and the narrower Small Canyon is water, birdsong and your own conversation. Two swim stops punctuate the roughly four-and-a-half-hour cruise, and mountain water is a different experience — cool, utterly clear and gloriously fresh after the warm sea.
Everything practical is anchored to Side: round-trip transfer from Side-area hotels in air-conditioned vehicles is included, the whole outing takes about six hours, and passenger travel insurance for the excursion is part of the package. Lunch is included too; unlimited soft drinks apply on the catamaran only, while drinks ordered at the lunch restaurant are billed separately.
Green Canyon excursions run from several resort areas along this coast, and each one is organised separately. This page is the departure built around Side: pickup, timing and the return leg are all planned for hotels in and around Side, so choose this version if that is where you are staying.
Two more details worth knowing: fishing gear can be borrowed free on board if you fancy casting a line, and a shorter Express variant of the day exists with lunch served at a lakeside restaurant.
We collect from hotels in Side, Kumköy, Evrenseki, Çolaklı, Titreyengöl, Sorgun, Gündoğdu, Kızılağaç, Kızılot. Staying somewhere else along the coast? Message us and we will tell you honestly whether we can reach you.
Questions
Most booked Swap the beach for a five-hour catamaran glide across the Oymapınar reservoir, where two swim stops, on-board fishing gear and a lakeside buffet fit neatly into half a day.
Most booked Leave the Belek shoreline behind for a full day afloat on Green Canyon, where the boat threads between pine-covered cliffs, anchors in cool turquoise coves and serves lunch straight off the grill.
Most booked A mountain lake within easy reach of your Side-area sunbed: cruise the emerald Oymapınar reservoir for seven hours with swim stops, a grilled lunch on deck and pickup right from Kumköy.