Travel Stories & Tips

Day trips from Side: Antalya, Alanya, Manavgat or the Taurus?

Side sits between Antalya and Alanya with the Taurus mountains behind it. Which direction to spend a day on, how far each one is, what suits families, history lovers and …

Side Ancient City & Old Town: a self-guided walk

A two-hour walk through Roman Side: the Vespasian gate and colonnaded street, the theatre, the agora and museum, and the Temple of Apollo on the harbour at sunset. What costs …

Seleukeia (Lyrbe): the empty Roman city in the pine forest above Manavgat

A two-storey agora, nine-metre walls and usually nobody else there. Where Seleukeia is, why scholars call it Lyrbe, how to drive the forest track, and what an unattended site asks …

Green Lake (Yeşilgöl) and Gölbaşı Restaurant: the lakeside end of the Green Canyon day

Where the Green Canyon boats leave from, where our jeep tour stops for lunch, and why the water is that colour. Gölbaşı Restaurant, the electric catamaran, and getting there without …

Temple of Apollo, Side: free to visit, and when to go for the photo

The five columns on Side's harbour are free, ungated and open at all hours. What you are actually looking at, why sunset is crowded and sunrise is not, and how …

Green Canyon boat trip from Side: what it actually is, and who it suits

Green Canyon is a reservoir, not a river you raft. What the boat day involves, why the water is so cold, who enjoys it, and who should book Köprülü Canyon …

Köprülü Canyon rafting from Side: how hard it really is, and how cold

The rapids are Class II–III, not extreme. The water is 10–14°C all year, which is the part nobody warns you about. What the day involves, what to wear, and who …

Manavgat Waterfall: entrance fee, opening hours and how to get there from Side

What Manavgat Waterfall is actually like, what it costs, when to arrive to beat the coaches, and how to reach it from Side by taxi, dolmuş or tour.