The list — before you book, not after
Rafting from Side costs €18 per person, and we want you to read that number correctly: it covers the day, but not every purchase you could make at the base. Here is the complete list of what costs extra. If something is not on it, it costs nothing extra.
- All drinks — at lunch and throughout the day
- Water shoes to rent or buy, if you have none of your own
- A wetsuit, if you want one — optional, hired at the base
- Professional photos and video of your run
- Personal spending
- On combo tours with a quad or buggy stage: a bandana for the dusty track
Drinks: always extra, no exceptions
This is the item that raises the most questions, so it sits at the top. Lunch at the restaurant on the river is included in the price; the drinks with it are not — not water, not soft drinks, not anything else, not at lunch and not at any other point in the day. That is the operator's arrangement, on every tour and every package.
Drinks are sold at the base. What they cost is set by the operator there, and because we do not control it we print no figure. Count on some cash for a drink with lunch. For the bus, a bottle of your own from the hotel is a good idea.
Water shoes: only if you have none of your own
On the river you need shoes that stay on your feet and can get wet — flip-flops are not allowed. Anyone who brings their own water shoes, old trainers or sandals with a heel strap pays nothing here. Anyone who arrives without suitable footwear can rent or buy water shoes at the base.
So this extra is entirely avoidable: it costs only those who need it. The price is set by the operator on site. More in our guide to rafting shoes.
Wetsuit: optional, hired at the base
A wetsuit is not part of the kit on any departure — the price covers helmet, life jacket and paddle. If you want one, it is optional: you can hire a wetsuit at the base on the day, for an extra fee.
Whether you take one is your decision; nobody has to. Like the other extras it is paid at the base, and we print no price for it — no figure is better than a wrong one.
Photos and video: at extra cost, voluntary
Phones and cameras have no place on the river, which is why the base offers professional photos and video of the run — at extra cost. Nobody has to buy them and nobody is pushed to; they are an offer for those who want pictures of themselves in the rapids without risking their own phone.
Here too the price is set by the operator. If you do not want photos, you leave them and pay nothing.
Bandana and personal items
On the combo tours with a quad or buggy stage the track runs through dusty forest, and a bandana for mouth and nose is useful. It is not in the package price and is sold at the base — a scarf of your own from the suitcase does the same job for nothing. The Side rafting packages page says what each package adds.
Personal spending covers the things you bring or buy yourself: sunglasses, a retaining strap, a waterproof phone case, sunscreen. The base does not supply them, and we do not build them into the price because not everyone needs them.
What definitely does not cost extra
So that the list above does not look longer than it is, here is the other side. None of the following is charged to you at the base: the round-trip transfer from your hotel, the national park entrance fees for the 12-kilometre route, the guide in your raft, the safety briefing and practice, helmet, life jacket and paddle, accident and activity insurance, and the lunch.
You pay on the tour day on site, in cash or by card, and nothing is charged when you book. The price on the rafting from Side page is the price for the day; what you spend beyond it is your own decision at the base.