A Suluada Day, Hour by Hour — Both Departures

A Suluada day is long, simple and built entirely around water. From Side it runs about ten hours door to door; from Antalya, about twelve. Both use the same harbour, the same island and the same flat price of €40 per adult, €30 per child aged 4–10, infants 0–3 free.

Below is the real timeline — not a brochure version. Where we publish a clock time, it is a fixed part of the operation. Where we publish a window, it is because your exact minute depends on your hotel, and we confirm it with you individually rather than inventing it.

The Side departure, hour by hour

This is the daily boat, and the one most guests take. It sails every day of the week.

• 05:30–06:00 — hotel pickup across the Side–Manavgat band: Side, Kumköy, Evrenseki, Çolaklı, Gündoğdu, Titreyengöl, Sorgun, Manavgat, Kızılağaç, Kızılot. Air-conditioned vehicle; your exact time is confirmed individually.
• Early morning — the road runs west along the coast towards the Adrasan valley. Most people sleep through the first hour, then wake up to pine ridges and open sea.
• Around 08:30 — optional breakfast stop in Adrasan village, paid at the restaurant itself. Skipping it is perfectly normal.
• 09:40 — the boat sails from Adrasan harbour. Every Suluada cruise leaves from here; your pickup point only changed the road leg.
• Late morning — the first swimming break in the bays along the route, then the island itself: low, rocky, ringed in turquoise.
• Midday — the long stop at Suluada. Boats anchor off the shore; where conditions allow, tender boats shuttle guests to the bay.
• Between stops — lunch is cooked and served on board.
• Afternoon — a final swim in a sheltered cove, then the run back along the coast.
• 16:00 — the boat docks at Adrasan.
• After that — the transfer takes you back to your hotel. Door to door, about ten hours.

Minimum age on this departure is 6. Full details are on the Suluada boat tour from Side page.

The Antalya departure — same island, longer day

The Antalya departure reaches exactly the same water, but the day is longer and it does not run daily. It sails Tuesday and Thursday all year, plus Saturday from April to October.

• 08:30–09:00 — hotel pickup, with round-trip transfer from central Antalya, Kemer and Beldibi.
• Morning — the road leg south-west along the coast to Adrasan harbour, then boarding.
• The cruise — swim and snorkel stops at Suluada and the bays around it. Snorkelling masks and pool floats are included, along with marine insurance and harbour fees.
• On board — grilled lunch served on deck.
• Evening — return transfer. Total day: about twelve hours.

One honest note. For this departure we publish the pickup window and the total length, not a fixed sailing minute, because the road leg and harbour movements set it on the day. What does not change: the same island, the same bays, the same flat price. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure. If you are weighing the two, our Side versus Antalya comparison lays them side by side.

What actually happens at the island

Suluada is small. You can take it in from the deck in a single glance — a rocky spine, pines above, and a band of pale sand where the water turns the colour that earned it the nickname Turkish Maldives.

The stops are the day. The island's twin beaches are the main stop of the day; the Love Cave is the photograph everyone comes home with; Domuz Bay, sheltered on the route, is where the water goes glassy. Between them the crew simply let people into the water at their own pace.

Two practical things. There is no shop on the island — no kiosk, no beach bar — so whatever you want during the day comes with you. And nobody is obliged to get in: the stops are optional and the deck is a fine place to spend one, as we explain in can non-swimmers join.

Lunch on board

Lunch is cooked on the boat and served between swimming stops, not queued for on shore. On the Side departure it is grilled fish or chicken with pasta or rice, the day's Turkish mezes — stuffed vine leaves, stuffed peppers, lentil patties — and a seasonal salad, followed by seasonal fruit and Turkish tea. The Antalya departure serves a grilled lunch on deck.

Drinks at the bar are excluded and paid on board, as is the optional breakfast at Adrasan. Everything else on the day — transfer, cruise, guidance, swimming stops, lunch — is in the price. There is more detail in what to expect from lunch and on our all-inclusive tour page.

Which departure fits your holiday

First, check what your address means for the transfer. In the Side–Manavgat band, and in central Antalya, Kemer and Beldibi, hotel pickup is part of the product. From Belek, Kadriye and Boğazkent, from the Alanya band between Okurcalar and Gazipaşa, and from Kundu, Konyaaltı, Göynük, Kiriş, Çamyuva and Tekirova, we confirm pickup individually rather than promising it blindly — send us your hotel and we will tell you straight away.

And if you are already on the west coast — Adrasan, Olympos, Çıralı, Finike, Demre or Kaş — there is no transfer product to sell you. Guests there make their own way to the harbour and meet the boat. Get in touch and we will help you plan around the 09:40 sailing. Every pickup point we cover is listed under boat tours by resort.

If you are staying anywhere between Side and Manavgat, take the daily Side boat: shorter day, earlier finish, any morning you like. If you are in central Antalya, Kemer or Beldibi, the Antalya departure saves you a long road leg — provided your dates land on a Tuesday, Thursday, or a Saturday between April and October.

If neither quite fits, ask us before you book around it. Booking is free online and you pay on the tour day, so nothing is locked in early — see the prices page for the numbers, or read our first boat trip tips before you set the alarm.