The three pieces you get at the base
The equipment on the rafting tour from Side comes in three pieces: helmet, life jacket and paddle. They are in the price, you bring none of them, and they are not thrown at you from a pile but fitted at the base. All three meet international standards — that is the wording of the tour record, and we claim nothing beyond it.
What we can explain is what each piece is for. A life jacket you understand sits better than one you merely wear.
The helmet: against rock, paddles and the tube
The helmet is not primarily there for the water. It is there for what is hard in and around the water: rock along the banks, your neighbour's paddle grip, the tube of the raft when it takes a hit in a rapid. That is why it sits level on your head rather than pushed back, with the chin strap fastened before you board.
It is fitted at the base. If it slides when you shake your head it is too loose, and you say so there — not in the first wave. Children get a helmet in their own size.
The life jacket: the reason non-swimmers can join
The life jacket is the piece that turns a fall into the water into a swim rather than an emergency. It carries you whether or not you can swim — which is exactly why non-swimmers can join the rafting from Side, as long as a guide is in the boat and the jacket is fitted properly.
Fitted properly means tight enough not to ride up over your head when you go under, loose enough to paddle in. The guides pull the straps tight at the base. Your part is to keep it on for the whole run, including the swimming stops, and not to wear anything under it that soaks up water.
The paddle: a tool, not a toy
The paddle is the only piece of your equipment you actively use, and the only one you can hurt somebody with. The T-grip at the top belongs in one hand, the other hand holds the shaft — that is how the safety briefing shows it, and how it stays through the rapids. A grip left swinging free finds teeth and faces.
On the river the paddle follows the guide's commands: forward, back, stop. If you fall in, keep hold of it if you can — but your own safety comes first. Everything else your guide covers at the base, in the safety briefing and the practice session.
What you bring yourself
The base provides what protects you. What keeps you comfortable you bring yourself — and the list is short:
- Swimwear, ideally already on under your clothes, so at the base you only take off the top layer.
- A towel and a full dry change of clothes for the drive back — there are showers and a changing area at the base.
- Footwear that fastens to your foot and can get wet: water shoes, trainers or sandals with a heel strap. If you arrive without, water shoes can be rented or bought at the base.
- Sunscreen. You spend hours on the water, and the water reflects.
- Clothes you do not mind getting wet — and, on the quad or buggy combos, dusty.
- For your phone and wallet: nothing. Both belong in the secure storage at the base, not in the boat.
What does not go in the boat — and why
Flip-flops are not allowed on the river. Not because anyone wants to be strict, but because they come off in the first rapid, and a bare foot on wet rock is the shortest route to an injury. The same applies to anything loose: sunglasses without a strap, jewellery, a phone in your hand. A waterproof phone case is a personal item you bring yourself — and whether it goes in the boat is your guide's call.
Professional photos and video of the run are offered at the base and cost extra. That is a more reliable way to take pictures home from the river than exposing your own phone to a swimming stop.
Wetsuit: optional, for an extra fee
On every departure we sell — from Side, Belek, Antalya or Alanya — the equipment in the price is the same three pieces: helmet, life jacket and paddle. A wetsuit is not one of them. It is optional: you can hire one at the base on the day, for an extra fee.
We print no price for the hire — we would rather give you none than a wrong one. If you have a question about it, ask us on WhatsApp before you book. The rafting tour from Side costs €18 per person; the prices of the other departures and of the combo packages from Side are on their own pages, and you pay on the day of the tour.