Top Side Day Trips

This was a really nice day out on the boat with several swimming stops to enjoy. The food was really nice and made fresh on the boat. We had the chicken, bulgar wheat and there was a lovely green pepper type bean 🌶️ not spicy. Beautiful flavours. Drinks and snacks were reasonably priced and the price for the photos is what you'd expect from a tourist experience.

The tour began with a 8.45 minibus pick up from our hotel with a friendly and knowledgeable guide. My daughter and I were the only English people (there was also one Slovak) so the guide skilfully provided all info in German and in English. We stopped at a Manavgat service station to use the loos (there are few toilets in the mountains!) and got on the road out of the city. The guide told us all about the agriculture and wildlife in the region. The driver navigated us carefully around very steep roads and hairpin bends, even stopping to remove a baby tortoise from the road at one point. There were a few welcome stops for leg-stretches and photo-taking in the mountains on the long way to the cave. Once there, we donned hard hats and were taken around the illuminated underground lake on an inflatable dinghy, ten at a time, by a cheerful oarsman. The cave lake is truly unique: spectacular and unforgettable. We then travelled to Ormana village for an excellent buffet lunch, included in the price, which was fresh and delicious. The lunch place had a brilliant view - we bought ice creams and sat in the swing in their garden, then looked around the tiny village with its beautiful unique historic architecture (button houses). Our final stop was another village with a fascinating historic disused wooden mosque and abandoned school (there is now only one child in the village). We took tea there, served by the child’s family, who also have a small shop selling local herbs, oils, honey and trinkets and a small display of historic domestic items. The journey home was a speedy motorway route. The whole tour was 8 hours and great value for money. There was a great atmosphere throughout, thanks to our guide and driver. We saw a very different side to the region than we saw in the towns / hotel areas. Highly recommended tour! We learned a lot and we saw a lot of nature and history and we had a lot of fun. Thank you!

I appreciate that the boat wasn't packed, this could be because not a lot of people booked this particular timing but it definitely felt comfortable on the boat. Unlimited drinks makes staying cool easier. The restaurant is in a beautiful location, a few options of sides and meat for the buffet lunch. Opportunity for fishing and rafting included in the excursion. 2 opportunities to swim WITH separate changing rooms which was great. Toilet was clean. 2 suggestions for improvements Serve lunch a hr earlier, we were very hungry and tired, especially from the heat that swimming before lunch wasn't appealing. Also the 'garden' chairs that were used mostly as seats could have been more comfortable.