Rafting from Side — Köprülü Canyon, from €18

This is the tour the rest of this site is built around. You are collected from your hotel in Side, driven north into Köprülü Canyon National Park, fitted with a helmet and a life jacket, briefed, given a practice paddle on flat water, and then you go down twelve kilometres of the Köprüçay with a certified guide sitting in your boat rather than standing on the bank.

Nothing about it assumes you have done this before, because most people in the boats have not. You do not need to be able to swim: the life jacket does that job and the guide is there for the rest. The national park entrance for the route is covered, the equipment meets international standards, and a home-style lunch is served at the base on the riverbank.

It is not a theme-park ride either. Rafting happens on moving water in a mountain river and it carries real risk, which is exactly why there is a briefing, a practice run, a certified guide in every raft and insurance in the price. Drinks are the one thing at lunch you pay for yourself, and water shoes if you turn up without any.

Good to know before you book

The whole of it, on one screen, before you spend anything.

Prices start at €18 per person for rafting from Side. Combo tours cost more and every price is shown on its own page.
You pay on the day of the tour. No card is taken online and nothing is charged when you book.
Round-trip hotel transfer is included on every tour here.
Lunch is included. Drinks are extra, always.
Accident and activity insurance is included.
Helmet, life jacket and paddle are included and fitted at the base. A wetsuit is optional — you can hire one there for an extra fee.
Bring footwear that fastens and can get wet. Flip-flops are not allowed on the river.
Age rules differ by tour — each tour page states its own.
Allow a full day, roughly 08:00 until 18:30.
Pickup is generally around 08:00–08:30 and your exact time is confirmed after booking.
There is a safety briefing and a practice session before you get on the water.
There is secure storage for your belongings at the base.
There are showers at the base.
You do not need to be able to swim.
Photos, video and drinks are the usual extras. Nothing is compulsory.

What is included

Everything below is in the price you see. Nothing here is an upsell at the base.

Round-trip transfer from your hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle
Guided white-water rafting on the Köprüçay, 12 km
A professional rafting guide in every raft
Safety briefing and a practice session before you start
Helmet, life jacket and paddle
Riverside lunch
Accident and activity insurance

What costs extra

We would rather you read this now than discover it at the base. None of it is compulsory.

All drinks — at lunch and during the day
Water shoes, if you do not bring your own (rent or buy at the base)
Wetsuit — optional, you can hire one at the base for an extra fee
Professional photos and video of your run
A bandana for the dusty quad or buggy track, on the combo tours
Sunglasses, waterproof phone cases and other personal items
Personal spending

Prices for the optional extras are set at the base by the operator, so we do not quote them here rather than quote them wrongly.

Pickup

How the day runs

One long day out, start to finish. The times below are the shape of it, not a timetable — see the note underneath.

Why we will not print one exact time: pickup depends on your hotel and the route, and the return moves with the size of the group, how many activities are in your package, the operator's schedule that day, traffic and the river itself. You will be told your pickup time personally once your booking is confirmed.

Hotel pickup

Pickup runs through the morning, generally around 08:00–08:30. Your own time depends on where your hotel sits on the route and is confirmed personally after you book.
Drive to the canyon

Up through Manavgat into Köprülü Canyon National Park, along the Köprüçay valley to the rafting base.
Briefing, equipment and practice

Helmet and life jacket fitted, the safety briefing, then paddle practice on calm water with your guide.
12 km on the river

The run itself, with swimming stops along the way where the guide judges it safe.
Lunch by the river

A lunch at the base restaurant on the riverbank. Drinks are extra.
Back to your hotel

The return drive normally puts you back between about 16:30 and 18:30.

Waiting time is part of the day

A full day at the base is not back-to-back activity. When your rafting finishes you may have time before the next stage of your package — that time is yours to spend by the river, at the restaurant or in the shade. We cannot promise how long it will be, because it depends on how the base is running that day.

Safety

Safety on the Köprüçay

Rafting is an outdoor activity on moving water. It is run with professional supervision and full equipment, and it is not risk-free — anyone who tells you otherwise is selling, not briefing.

A guide in every raft

Not one guide for the group — one in each boat, with you the whole way down. You follow their instructions on the water, and that is the single thing that matters most.

Briefing before the water

Before anyone gets in a raft there is a briefing: how to hold and use the paddle, the commands the guide will call, how to sit, what to do if you go in the water.

A practice session first

You practise the strokes and the commands on calm water before the run begins, so the first rapid is not the first time you have paddled together.

Full equipment, fitted for you

Helmet, life jacket and paddle, fitted before you board. The life jacket is why non-swimmers can join.

Insurance

Accident and activity insurance is included. The activity is not run without it.

The river decides

Water level and conditions change through the season. If the river is not safe on your day, the operator changes the plan or the day — that call belongs to them, not to a schedule.

No one who has been drinking goes on the river. This is not negotiable and the guides enforce it.

Who can join

Restrictions differ between tours and departure areas, so the exact rule for the tour you are looking at is on its own page.

No previous rafting experience is needed — most people on the river have never done it before.
Non-swimmers can join. The life jacket keeps you afloat and a guide is in the boat with you.
Families: children are welcome within the age band the tour states, at the child fare.
Reasonable general fitness. You will be paddling, and you will get wet.

Who should not join

We would rather lose a booking than put someone on the river who should not be there.

Anyone who is pregnant
Anyone with a serious heart condition
Anyone with asthma or a similar respiratory condition
Anyone with a severe back or mobility problem, or a recent operation
Anyone under the influence of alcohol
Children below the minimum age the tour states

If you are unsure whether a condition rules you out, ask us before you book rather than at the riverbank. Message us on WhatsApp and we will check with the operator.

Ask on WhatsApp

What to bring

Swimwear — wear it under your clothes
A towel and a full change of dry clothes
Water shoes, or trainers or strapped sandals that can get soaked
Sunscreen
Clothes you do not mind getting wet, and on combo tours, dusty

Lunch and drinks

A lunch by the river is included in every tour on this site. Drinks are not — not at lunch, and not during the day. That is the operator's arrangement and we would rather write it plainly here than let you find out at the till.

Footwear — the one thing people get wrong

You need footwear that fastens to your foot and can get completely wet: water shoes, or trainers or sandals with a strap. Flip-flops are not allowed on the river — they come off in the water, and a bare foot on wet rock is how people get hurt. If you arrive without anything suitable, water shoes can be rented or bought at the base.

At the rafting base

You will be out for the day, so this is what is waiting for you at the river.

Somewhere safe for your things

Secure storage at the base for phones, wallets and dry clothes while you are on the water.

Changing area

Somewhere to change into what you are rafting in, and out of it afterwards.

Showers

Showers at the base, so you are not sitting on the bus home in wet clothes.

Toilets

Toilets at the base and at the meeting area.

Restaurant on the riverbank

Where lunch is served, and where you can sit between activities.

Briefing area

The meeting point where your group gathers and the safety briefing is given.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to be able to swim?

No. Every guest wears a fitted life jacket for the whole run and a certified guide sits in the boat with you, which is why non-swimmers can take part. Tell us when you book if you are uneasy in water and we will pass it to the guide before you get in.

What does €18 actually cover?

Round-trip transfer from your hotel in Side, the national park entrance for the 12 km route, your helmet, life jacket and paddle, the safety briefing and the practice session, a certified guide in your raft, accident and activity insurance, and lunch at the riverside restaurant. Drinks are extra, at lunch and through the day.

What should I wear on the river?

Swimwear under clothes you do not mind soaking, and footwear that fastens to your foot — water shoes, trainers or strapped sandals. Flip-flops are not allowed on the river because they come off in the water. Pack a towel and a full change of dry clothes for the drive home.

Can children do this tour?

Children aged 4 to 11 pay the child fare of €12 and go down the same river, with helmet and life jacket fitted for them at the base. Rafting is not recommended below the age of 4. If you are travelling with a small child, tell us before you book and we will check the day with the operator.

What time will I be back at my hotel?

Somewhere between about 16:30 and 18:30. We will not print one exact time, because the return moves with the size of the group, the operator's schedule that day, the traffic and the river itself. Morning pickup runs roughly between 08:00 and 08:30 and your own time is confirmed personally once you have booked.

Do I pay anything online?

No. Nothing is charged when you book and this site never asks for card details. You pay on the day of the tour, in cash or by card. Cancellation terms for the Side departures are confirmed together with your booking, so you have them in writing before the day.

Still unsure? Message us on WhatsApp — a person answers. WhatsApp

Rafting combo packages

Rafting + Zipline in Köprülü Canyon — 12 km and a 400 m flight

Rafting in Köprülü Canyon — 12 km on the Köprüçay, from Side