Boat rental in Antalya

Boat rental in Antalya on this page means three boats with a captain for 6 to 12 guests: two excursion boats based in Side and a speedboat leaving from Karaöz near Adrasan, from ₺6,619 per hour for the 12-metre boat. Below are the boats, the cost of a few hours or a day, the licence question, where boats leave from, the classic routes and the season.

Three boats with a captain: two excursion boats and a speedboat

This page brings together three boats for 6 to 12 guests, each hired with a captain: two excursion boats of 12 and 12.5 metres and a 6-metre speedboat.

The three boats side by side

What an excursion boat is

An excursion boat, called gezi teknesi in Turkish, is a motor vessel built for a day on the water with a captain at the helm, and two of the three on this page belong to this type. The Custom-built excursion boat 12 m was made to order rather than as a series model: it is 12 metres long, 3.1 metres wide and takes 10 guests. Its deck carries a barbecue area, a music system, sunbeds and a deck shower, and below there are a refrigerator, a freezer, kitchen equipment, an electric toilet, a generator and a solar panel. Life jackets are part of its equipment. The 12.5-metre excursion vessel is the same type, half a metre longer and set up for 12 guests. Decide before the day who buys the food: on the 12-metre vessel the group can shop itself or leave it to the crew, and who cooks on board is agreed with the manager.

What a speedboat is

A speedboat, sürat teknesi in Turkish, is a small, fast motor vessel, and the Speedboat 6 m on this page is one of them: 6 metres long, for 6 guests, with a captain, leaving from Karaöz near Adrasan. Anyone looking for speed boat rental Antalya-wide should know that private speedboats with a fixed day price are rare here; most hire on this coast is on the slower excursion vessels described above. That scarcity is worth knowing before you plan a day around one. A 6-metre hull for six people leaves little spare room, so pack soft bags, a hat and water rather than a large cool box. My advice: choose the speedboat when the group wants to cover more coast in one day, and an excursion vessel when the plan is to swim, eat and stay in one or two coves.

Guests, children and the number on board

The Excursion boat 12.5 m takes 12 guests, the custom-built 12-metre vessel takes 10, and the Speedboat 6 m takes 6. Treat the guest number as a firm limit: charter vessels around Antalya state that it counts children and infants as well as adults, and on some it is set by regulation. A family of four adults and two small children is therefore six guests, not four, and fills the speedboat completely. If the group is close to the limit, choose the bigger vessel rather than asking the captain to stretch the number. For boat rental in Antalya with a group of eleven or twelve, the 12.5-metre vessel is the one that fits everyone on a single hull.

How to choose between the three

• A short outing: the custom-built 12-metre vessel is priced by the hour, so a two-hour trip or a sunset hour is possible.
• A full day for a big group: the Excursion boat 12.5 m takes 12 guests on a day trip from the ancient harbour of Side.
• Fast and compact: the Speedboat 6 m suits up to six people who want to reach the coves around Adrasan.
• Cooking on board: the 12-metre vessel has a barbecue area and a kitchen, so a long lunch at anchor is part of the plan.

Prices per hour and per day trip

The three are priced in two ways: one by the hour and two by the day trip. Turn each into a total for your hours and your group before comparing them. Every price here is for private boat hire in Antalya: the whole vessel for your group, not a seat on a shared trip, with the terms confirmed by the manager.

Starting price of each vessel

The Custom-built excursion boat 12 m is an excursion boat for up to 10 guests from ₺6,619 per hour. The Speedboat 6 m is a speedboat for up to 6 guests from ₺12,630 per trip, a day trip. The Excursion boat 12.5 m is an excursion boat for up to 12 guests from ₺27,877 per trip, also a day trip. Shared by a full complement of guests, the hour on the 12-metre vessel comes to about ₺662 per guest, the speedboat day to ₺2,105 per guest and the day on the 12.5-metre vessel to about ₺2,323 per guest. The per-guest figure is the fairer test for a group, because a bigger hull spreads its price across more people.

Hours on the 12-metre vessel

Per hour or per day trip?

Hired by the hour, the 12-metre vessel has a two-hour minimum, so the shortest booking is ₺13,238. Four hours on it cost ₺26,476, which is close to the ₺27,877 day trip on the 12.5-metre vessel that takes two more guests. Two hours cost a little more than the ₺12,630 speedboat day. Which is better value? It depends on the plan, not on the headline figure. A two-hour swim or coast trip costs less by the hour; anything longer than four hours tips the balance towards a day-trip price. My advice is to write down the hours you really want on the water, multiply, and compare that total with the two day-trip prices before you choose.

What the starting price does not show

• Food and drinks: the group can buy them or leave the shopping to the crew, so agree who pays for the provisions.
• Water toys: a seabob, jet ski, paddle board, canoe and fly board appear as extra services for the 12-metre vessel; ask whether they are available and at what price.
• Getting to the pier: Side lies 74.5 km by road beyond the centre of Antalya, so the drive or a transfer is part of the day.
• Fuel and season: ask whether fuel is in the price of each day trip, and whether the minimum hours change outside the summer.
• The total for your date: the manager confirms the vessel, the hours and the final figure before the booking is agreed.

Captain, crew and the boat licence in Turkey

Each of the three goes out with a captain, which settles the licence question for most guests; the rules matter when a vessel is taken without one.

A captain on every vessel here

All three on this page are hired with a captain. The Custom-built excursion boat 12 m goes out with a captain and crew, the Excursion boat 12.5 m is a captained day trip in Side, and the Speedboat 6 m is a captained day trip at Karaöz. Most charters around Antalya are run this way; what the quoted price covers for the captain and crew is confirmed by the manager for the chosen boat. The guests swim, eat and sit in the sun; the captain handles the engine, the anchor and the route, and on the 12-metre vessel the crew looks after the deck and the galley. For anyone without a boating licence this is the practical form of boat rental in Antalya. Before the day, ask which languages the captain speaks, because instructions about swimming stops and safety are easier to follow when everyone understands them.

Going out without a captain

Hiring a vessel without its captain, called bareboat, is the exception around Antalya. Most charters include a captain, and bareboat hire is agreed in exceptional cases with customers who hold a valid licence, such as an amateur sailor certificate. Anyone who hires without a captain also needs experience at the helm. Turkey asks the person in charge of a pleasure boat for evidence of competence, and for a vessel under a UK flag an International Certificate of Competence is generally accepted. None of the three on this page is offered without a captain. If someone in your group holds a licence and wants to take the wheel for a while, ask the manager whether the captain allows it under his supervision.

What the captain decides on the day

The captain decides where to anchor, when it moves and whether a stop is safe. At the Lower Düden Falls, for example, boats anchor at a safe distance from the point where the water pours into the sea, and swimming happens there rather than under the fall. The same judgement applies to wind: a cove that is calm in the morning may not be the right place in the afternoon, and the captain may swap the order of stops. Treat the route as a plan, not a promise. A day that ends with three good swims in sheltered water is a better day than one that keeps to the list in a rising sea.

Questions to ask before you book

• Meeting point: the exact pier or marina is usually given at booking, so ask for a map pin and a time to be there.
• Swimming stops: ask how many stops the route has and how long each one lasts.
• Food on board: agree whether the crew shops and cooks or the group brings its own food.
• Changes and cancellation: ask what happens if the sea is too rough on your date, and get the cancellation terms in writing.

Where boats leave from: Kaleiçi, Side and Adrasan

Around Antalya, trips start at three kinds of place: the marinas of the city, the resorts along the coast and small harbours further south. The two excursion boats here are based in Side and the speedboat at Karaöz.

Distance and drive time from the centre

In the city: Kaleiçi and Setur marinas

Trips in the city of Antalya start at two marinas: the historic Kaleiçi Marina in the old town and Antalya Çelebi Marina, known as Setur. Kaleiçi lies 0.9 km from Cumhuriyet Square by road, so a trip from the old harbour starts a minute's drive from the centre, and trips that start at or stop in its port show the old town from the water. Guests staying in the Lara or Konyaaltı hotel areas reach the port by road, 15.0 km and 6.9 km from the centre respectively. The three vessels on this page are not based in the city, so a day on any of them starts with a drive along the coast. If the group wants to leave from Kaleiçi itself, the motor yachts in the yacht section are the place to look.

Side and its ancient harbour

Side is a neighbourhood of the Manavgat district, and its ancient city stands on a small north–south peninsula about 1 km long and 400 m across. In antiquity Side already had an important harbour of its own, and the Temple of Apollo stands at the end of the peninsula, so a trip out of the ancient harbour starts among the ruins. Side was founded by Greek settlers from Cyme in Aeolis. Both excursion vessels on this page are based here: the Excursion boat 12.5 m runs its day trip out of the ancient harbour, and the custom-built 12-metre one is kept in Side. For boat hire in Side, the road from the centre of Antalya is 74.5 km, about 65 minutes without traffic, and the ancient theatre of Aspendos, on the way to Side, is 48.0 km from the centre. Guests staying in Side or Manavgat are already at the pier.

Adrasan and Karaöz

Adrasan, also known as Çavuşköy, is a neighbourhood of the Kumluca district, and the bay around it is known for its natural setting. It lies on the Lycian Way, near the eternal flames of Mount Chimaera and the lighthouse at Cape Gelidonya, both part of the Olympos national park. In summer, trips run daily along the mountainous coast of the province. The Speedboat 6 m leaves from Karaöz on this stretch of coast. The drive to Karaöz is not measured on this page; the nearest measured point is Olympos, 84.7 km from the centre of Antalya and about 77 minutes by road. Ask the manager for the exact pier and the time to arrive, and plan the drive from your hotel before the day.

Routes on the water: the Düden falls, the Manavgat River and the coves

Each base has its own classic route: the cliffs and waterfall of the city, the river behind Side and the coves of the coast south of Kemer. Here is what each one looks like.

The Lower Düden Falls and the city cliffs

The classic sight on a city trip is the Lower Düden Falls, where the Düden River drops 40 metres into the Mediterranean Sea. Boats anchor at a safe distance from the fall, and guests can swim nearby where the river meets the sea. City routes also take in Sıçan Island, known as Rat Island, Çaltıcak Bay, Pirates Cave, the coast of Konyaaltı and the cliffs called Falezler, which are a classic place for a sunset dinner on board. Trips from the city marinas are booked by the hour, usually with a minimum of three to four hours, or by the day. Ask the manager which of these stops fit into the hours you book, because each one adds time at anchor.

Up the Manavgat River

The Manavgat River rises on the eastern slopes of the Western Taurus Mountains and flows south for about 90 km through a series of canyons. Near the end of its course it washes over the Manavgat Waterfall, then crosses the coastal plain and reaches the Mediterranean Sea. Vessels based in Side use this river for a classic day out: on the custom-built 12-metre one the Manavgat River tour runs from 10:00 to 15:30. The same vessel also offers a full day from 10:00 to 20:00 and a sunset tour from 19:00 to 20:00. A river day keeps the trip on the river and around its mouth rather than along the open coast. Ask the manager which stretch of river the trip covers and where it stops for lunch.

The coves south of Kemer

South of Kemer the coast turns into a chain of coves, and routes there name the same stops again and again. Phaselis Bay, Cennet Bay, Suluada, Kleopatra Beach and Adrasan Bay are the popular anchorages, and Suluada, Korsan Bay, Phaselis and the Olympos coast are the familiar routes. Longer trips from Kemer continue past Olympos and Adrasan towards Kekova. Phaselis is an ancient Greek and Roman city on the coast of Lycia, north of the modern town of Tekirova, and it has three harbours: the Northern Harbour, the Battle Harbour and the Protected, or Sun, Harbour. It lies between the Bey Mountains and the forests of the Olympos National Park. Of the three on this page, the Speedboat 6 m is the one based on this stretch of coast, at Karaöz near Adrasan. Ask the manager which of these coves fit into its day trip.

How long a day on the water lasts

• Sunset hour: on the 12-metre vessel in Side, the sunset tour runs from 19:00 to 20:00.
• River day: the Manavgat River tour on the same vessel runs from 10:00 to 15:30.
• Full day: the 12-metre vessel goes out from 10:00 to 20:00 when hired for the whole day.
• City trips: vessels in the Antalya marinas are usually booked for three to four hours at least, or for the day.
• Day trips: the 12.5-metre vessel and the speedboat are priced per trip; ask the manager for the start and return times.

Season, sea temperature and booking ahead

The weather sets the calendar on the water around Antalya. Summer is the busy season, the shoulder months depend on the day, and winter trips are rare.

When the season runs

The boat season around Antalya runs from May to October, with the peak in July and August. In April and November trips run on days of good weather, and in summer it pays to book ahead, especially for a fixed date or a large group. Antalya has hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters, so the season follows the dry months. From November to March rain and wind are more likely, and some trips do not run every day. Off-season and last-minute bookings may also come with a different minimum number of hours than in summer. For boat rental in Antalya in April or November, keep a second date open in case the first one is too windy, and ask the manager what happens to the booking if the captain cancels for weather.

Sea temperature month by month

The shoulder months

The sea in November is as warm as in May, 21.1 °C on average, but the weather is not the same. Antalya averages about 7 days of rain in November against about 5 in May, and November brings 152.2 mm of rain against 37.0 mm in May. In April the sea is at its coolest of the boating months, 17.9 °C, which suits a sightseeing trip to the falls more than long swims. October is the warm end of the season, with the sea at 24.7 °C and about 5 rain days. If swimming is the point of the trip, June to October is the window; if the point is the coast, the river or the ruins of Side, April and November are worth a look on a calm day.

Booking ahead in July and August

July and August are the busiest months on the water, and demand around Antalya is at its peak in the summer season. A reservation at least one to two weeks in advance is the usual advice for the summer, and more time is wise for the 12-guest vessel or a fixed date such as a birthday. The sea is at its warmest then, 27.8 °C in July and 28.8 °C in August, and summers in Antalya are hot and dry. My advice for the peak months: start early, plan the longest swim for the late morning and keep the sunset hour for the return. When you send the request, give the date, the number of guests, children included, and the hours you want on the water.

Key points before you book a boat

A short summary of the three vessels, their prices and the conditions that shape a day on the water around Antalya.

The boats and the cost

• By the hour: the Custom-built excursion boat 12 m in Side, for up to 10 guests, from ₺6,619 per hour with a two-hour minimum.
• Speedboat day: the Speedboat 6 m from Karaöz near Adrasan, for up to 6 guests, from ₺12,630 per trip.
• Big group day: the Excursion boat 12.5 m from the ancient harbour of Side, for up to 12 guests, from ₺27,877 per trip.
• Per guest: about ₺662 per hour on the 12-metre vessel, ₺2,105 a day on the speedboat and about ₺2,323 a day on the 12.5-metre vessel.

Captain, places and season

• Captain: all three go out with a captain; hiring without one needs a licence and is the exception.
• Distance: Side is 74.5 km and Olympos 84.7 km from the centre by road; city trips leave from Kaleiçi and Setur.
• Season: May to October, peak in July and August; April and November on days of good weather.
• Next step: send the date, the number of guests and the hours you want, and the manager confirms the vessel and the final figure.