Best Boat Trip for Groups of Friends in Side

For a group of friends in Side, the best boat trip depends on your night. Want music and dancing? Take our disco-yacht night tour. Want daytime fun and foam? The Side pirate boat. Want the deck to yourselves? Buy out a private gulet or yacht. Compare every option on our boat trips page and book online.

How to pick the right boat for your group

We run both shared and private boats out of Side, Manavgat and the wider Antalya coast, so the choice usually comes down to three questions. How big is the group? What's the vibe — party, chilled, or a bit of both? And do you want your own deck or are you happy to share with other guests? Answer those and the shortlist gets small fast.

Shared trips are the easy win on price: you pay per person, the boat fills with a friendly mixed crowd, and you still get swimming stops and a proper day out. Private hire flips the maths — you pay for the whole boat, then split it between you, so the more of you there are, the better the per-head cost gets. We'll walk through both below.

Option 1: The disco-yacht night out

If your group's idea of a good time is music, dancing and a drink with the sea breeze, our Side disco-yacht night tour is the obvious pick. It's an evening party boat built for exactly this — a sociable crowd, a sound system and room to actually dance rather than shuffle. Starting prices sit around EUR68 per person; the live figure is always on the tour page.

This one suits stag and hen groups, birthday crews and anyone who'd rather start the night on the water than in a bar. Because it's a shared party boat, you get the atmosphere of a full deck without organising anything yourselves. Grab your group and book online — you pay on the tour day, not up front.

Option 2: The pirate boat for daytime fun

For a livelier daytime trip, the Side pirate boat trip is our animated boat with music and foam — good, silly fun that works well for mixed groups where not everyone wants a full-on party. Starting prices are around EUR23 per person, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to get a big group on the water together.

It's loud, it's cheerful, and it still includes swimming stops in the sea, so you get the messing-about factor plus real time in the water. If your group has a wide age range — some who want the party, some who just want a swim and a laugh — this is the safe middle ground. Families with younger kids might prefer our gentler Little Pirates boat trip instead.

Option 3: Buy out a private gulet or yacht

When you want the deck to yourselves — no strangers, your own music, your own pace — private hire is the move. We price these per boat on request, and that's the key to the maths: one fixed boat price, split between everyone. For a group of friends, this is often better value than it first looks.

Your main private choices from the Side area are the private gulet charter (a classic wooden gulet, roomy and relaxed), the private yacht from Kumkoy, the private VIP boat from Side (great for couples and celebrations), and the premium luxury motor yacht full day. Because these are priced per boat, tell us your group size and date and we'll confirm the figure for you.

The per-boat maths that makes private worth it

The rule is simple: a private boat has one price, and every extra friend lowers everyone's share. Two of you splitting a boat pay a lot each; ten of you splitting the same boat pay far less each. So the bigger your group, the more competitive private hire becomes against per-person shared tickets — and you get total privacy on top. We can't print exact per-boat prices here because they vary by boat, date and season, so send us your numbers and we'll do the sum for your specific group.

Comparison: which boat for which group

Here's a quick side-by-side of the main options for friend groups. Starting prices are approximate 2026 per-person bands for shared trips; private boats are priced per boat, so the per-head figure depends on your group size.

Trip	Best for	Vibe	Pricing
Disco-yacht night	Party groups, stags/hens, birthdays	Evening party, music & dancing	From ~EUR68pp (shared)
Pirate boat	Mixed groups, budget crews	Lively daytime, foam & music	From ~EUR23pp (shared)
Dolphin island trip	Groups wanting a shorter swim day	Relaxed sea cruise, swimming stops	From ~EUR21pp (shared)
Suluada island trip	Groups after turquoise water	Longer day, island & swimming	From ~EUR43pp (shared)
Private gulet / yacht	Any group wanting the deck to themselves	Private, your pace, your music	Per boat — split between the group

Chilled and scenic alternatives

Not every group wants a party. If yours would rather swim, sunbathe and actually hear each other talk, we've got calmer options. The Side relax boat trip with waterfall is a quieter sea cruise, and the Green Canyon boat tour is a calm freshwater lake cruise with swimming stops — a good shout if some of your friends are nervous swimmers or you just want scenery over sound systems.

For a bigger day out, the turquoise water at Suluada is worth the longer trip. You can go from Side on the Side Suluada island boat trip, or make a full day of it from further along the coast — the Antalya Suluada island boat tour departs from that hub. If your group is based near Antalya rather than Side, our Antalya departures page lists what leaves from there.

A note on snorkelling and sunset trips

We're often asked for a dedicated snorkelling boat or a pure sunset cruise. Honestly, we don't run a boat labelled purely for either — but our sea trips all include swimming stops where you can snorkel with your own gear, and the disco-yacht night tour is our evening-on-the-water option. If snorkelling or an evening sail is the priority, check the specific tour page for what each trip includes and pick the closest fit rather than expecting a specialist product.

Fishing days for a different kind of group trip

If your group's chemistry is more "quiet rods and a cold drink" than "foam cannon", a fishing day is a genuinely good group activity. We run the fishing trip from Side and, further east, the Alanya fishing tour. Both are calm days on the Mediterranean — less about spectacle, more about hanging out on the water together. Check the tour pages for what's provided.

How booking and pickup works

Booking is straightforward: reserve online and pay on the tour day. Hotel transfer is arranged as part of the trip. Guests are picked up from their hotel in the morning; the exact time is confirmed the day before and varies from hotel to hotel, so we'll let you know your slot once it's set. For anything trip-specific — duration, what's included, exact meeting details — the individual tour page is the source of truth.

If your group is spread across different resorts, that's fine — we pick up from a range of hotels across Side, Belek, Manavgat and beyond. Compare the full range on our boat trips page and lock in your date early, especially for private boats and weekend disco-yacht slots, which fill up in peak season.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best boat trip for a big group of friends in Side?

For a party, the disco-yacht night tour; for daytime fun on a budget, the pirate boat; and for total privacy, a private gulet or yacht split between you. The bigger your group, the more sense private hire makes on a per-head basis.

Is it cheaper to book a private boat or buy individual tickets?

It depends on group size. A private boat is one fixed price you split between everyone, so for small groups shared tickets are usually cheaper per person, but as your numbers climb, private hire gets more competitive — and you get the whole deck. Send us your group size and date and we'll work out the per-head figure.

How much does a group boat trip in Side cost?

Shared sea trips start around EUR20–25 per person, the pirate boat from about EUR23, Suluada island days from roughly EUR43, and the disco-yacht from around EUR68 per person. Private boats and yachts are priced per boat on request. These are approximate starting bands — the live price is on each tour page.

Do you arrange hotel pickup for the group?

Yes. Hotel transfer is arranged as part of the trip. Guests are picked up from their hotel in the morning; the exact time is confirmed the day before and varies from hotel to hotel. If your friends are staying in different hotels, we can still collect everyone.

Can you do a boat trip for a stag or hen do?

Absolutely. The disco-yacht night tour is our go-to for stag and hen groups who want music and dancing, while a private yacht or gulet buyout gives you the deck entirely to yourselves for a celebration. Tell us your numbers and we'll point you to the right boat.

Ready to get your group on the water?

Whichever way your group leans — party, chilled or private — there's a boat for it. Have a look through every option, compare prices and pick your date on our boat trips in Side page. Book online now, pay on the tour day, and we'll sort the pickup.