Medical and Mobility Questions: A Straight Answer About Boarding

Here is the honest answer before anything else: boarding involves steps, the boat anchors off the island rather than tying up, and where conditions allow, tender boats shuttle guests into the bay. We do not promise wheelchair access. We confirm what is possible individually, case by case, before you book.

Most companies write a friendly paragraph here and leave you to find out on the day. We would rather lose a booking than have someone arrive at the harbour to discover the day does not work for them. So this page describes the physical reality of getting on and off the boat, and what to do about it.

What Boarding Actually Involves

Every boat sails from Adrasan harbour, whichever pickup point you started from. Getting aboard there means steps. Crew are on hand, guests take them in their own time, and for most people it is unremarkable — but it is steps, not a ramp.

At the island the boat does not tie up to anything. It anchors near the bay, and where conditions allow, tender boats carry guests across the last stretch of water and back again. That means a step down from one boat, a short ride, and a step ashore. On a settled day it is easy and cheerful. On a livelier day it asks more of your balance, and it is the crew's call.

Both departures work the same way: the boat tour from Side, collected in the 05:30–06:00 window and sailing at 09:40, and the boat tour from Antalya, collected between 08:30 and 09:00. The road leg differs. The boarding does not.

Wheelchairs and Reduced Mobility: What We Will Not Promise

We will not describe this tour as wheelchair accessible, because it is a boat day built around steps and a tender transfer, and a promise we cannot keep in every condition is not worth making. Anyone who tells you a boat like this is straightforwardly accessible is guessing on your behalf.

What we will do is talk to you. Message us before you book with your situation in plain terms — what you can manage, what you cannot, whether you travel with someone who can assist — and we will give you a direct answer about that specific day. Sometimes the answer is yes with a companion. Sometimes it is a qualified maybe that depends on the sea. Sometimes it is an honest no, and you keep your holiday day for something better suited.

That individual confirmation is not a formality we invented for this page. It is the same process we use for guests in the Belek and Alanya bands, Kundu, Konyaaltı, Göynük, Kiriş, Çamyuva and Tekirova, where we confirm pickups one by one instead of publishing a blanket promise.

Staying On Board Is a Real Option

Worth saying clearly: you do not have to go ashore, and you do not have to swim. The boat sits in the same turquoise water, the island fills the view either way, and plenty of guests spend the whole stop on deck. Nobody is counted, nobody is chased into a tender boat, and the day costs the same.

Life jackets are available on request and non-swimmers are welcome — can non-swimmers join? and what if I can't swim? both go further. If swimming is the whole reason you are coming, say so when you ask us about boarding, because that changes what a good answer looks like.

Medication, Conditions and a Long Day

We have no medical staff on board and we will not claim medical facilities we cannot guarantee. What we can do is tell you exactly how long you will be away from your room, so you can plan around it.

From Side it is about 10 hours door to door: pickup at 05:30–06:00, sailing at 09:40, docking at 16:00, then the drive back. From Antalya it is around 12 hours. If anything you carry runs on a schedule, that is the window it has to cover, and it should travel in your bag rather than stay at the hotel.

Two more practical points. There is no shop on the island, so nothing can be bought once you are there. And lunch on board is fixed rather than a menu: grilled fish or chicken with pasta or rice, the day's Turkish mezes, a seasonal salad, then fruit and tea. Drinks at the bar are not included, so bring cash for water across a long day. If you avoid certain foods, tell us in advance — food allergies and diets explains how that is handled, and toilets and facilities on board answers the other question people hesitate to ask.

Tell Us Before You Book

One message does the work of ten assumptions. Tell us what you need, and we will tell you what the boat can and cannot do — before any money is involved, which is easy here because you pay on the tour day, not in advance. The price is flat from every pickup point: €40 per adult, €30 per child aged 4–10, infants 0–3 free, itemised on the prices page and in what is included.

Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure, so a plan made in hope can be unmade without cost. And if rough sea stops the boat sailing, the harbour authority decides and you are rebooked or refunded — what happens if weather cancels covers it.

Related reading for the rest of your group: Suluada for older travellers, pregnancy and boat trips, and boat safety equipment, which sets out precisely what we can confirm about the boat and what we deliberately will not claim.