Taxi from Side: Day Trips and Onward Rides
Private car from your Side hotel to Aspendos, the canyons, the waterfall or Land of Legends, to the old town car park at night, or on to Alanya, Kemer or Fethiye.
On this page
Once the cases are unpacked on the Side coast, the car stops being an airport question and turns into a holiday one. The journeys that start here come in three kinds: a morning or a full day at a sight, an evening ride from a resort village into Side old town, and a one-way run to another town when the holiday moves on or the flight home leaves from another airport. Every leg below is a private car with its own driver, at one price for the vehicle, fixed before you get in.
The list gives each leg its distance and driving time, so this page leaves the numbers to it and deals with the choices in between: which sights share a road, why the hour you set off matters more than the distance in July, and when a long onward drive is better taken as two legs. Each leg is one-way; a return pickup, or a driver who waits for you, can be arranged at the moment you book.
Day trips: plan by the road, not by the brochure
The sights within reach of a Side hotel gather along three roads, and that geography does most of the planning for you. West along the D400 towards Antalya come, in order, the turning inland for Köprülü Canyon and Selge, Aspendos near Serik, the Land of Legends at Kadriye beside Belek, and Perge on the edge of the city at Aksu. North of Manavgat, up the river valley, come the waterfall and then, higher in the hills, the Green Canyon reservoir. East towards Alanya, a short way inland from Okurcalar, stand Alara Castle and the Seljuk han below it.
Two places on the same road make a comfortable day; two on opposite sides of Side mostly mean driving back past your own hotel at the hottest hour. For a pair, name both stops and roughly how long you want at each when you book, so the second stop is part of the plan rather than a negotiation on the day.
- Manavgat Waterfall and Green Canyon: one valley, with the falls on the way up or on the way down.
- Aspendos and Perge: both off the westbound highway, the theatre first and the colonnaded street after it.
- Köprülü Canyon and Selge: the road up to Selge climbs past the canyon and the Roman bridge at Oluk.
- Alara Castle with a swim afterwards: the beaches at Okurcalar and İncekum are a few minutes along the same highway.
Heat, timetables and the ride home
On a summer day the clock you are planning around is the sun. The ancient sites inland are open stone with very little cover, and by midday the seating at Aspendos and the long street at Perge hold the heat like an oven floor. A pickup soon after breakfast gives you the cool hours on site; Side's own ruins, out on the peninsula in the sea breeze, are the ones to keep for the late afternoon. Some days follow a timetable that is not yours at all: a Green Canyon boat leaves its jetty at a set hour, a rafting camp sends its rafts off when the group is ready, and the evening show at the Land of Legends decides when every family heads for the exit.
That is why the return deserves a decision before you set off. Either the driver comes back for you at an agreed time and place, or the driver waits while you visit; both are arranged when you book. Selge's village, the rafting camps and the canyon jetty are not spots where a car happens to pass, so leaving the way back open is the one choice that can genuinely spoil a day. For rafting, tell us which camp you have booked with and pack a full change of clothes for the ride back.
Evenings in the old town from the resort villages
For guests in the resort villages, a ride into Side for dinner is the natural way to spend an evening off the hotel grounds. West of the town lie Kumköy, Evrenseki, Çolaklı and Gündoğdu; to the east are Sorgun and Titreyengöl, then, beyond the Manavgat river, Kızılağaç and Kızılot, whose route in passes through Manavgat town.
Whichever direction you come from, the ride ends in the same place. The old town is closed to vehicles, so the car sets you down at the car park by the bus station on its edge, and from there you walk through the ancient gate towards the harbour and the Temple of Apollo. Book the ride back with the ride in and agree on that car park as the meeting point, since no car can come down to the restaurant table. Unsure how long the evening will run? Say so when booking, and the driver can come later or wait. Give your hotel's name, not just the village, so the driver finds the right gate.
When the holiday moves on to another town
The onward legs are mostly hotel changes: a week at Side followed by a week in Alanya, Kemer or Belek, a few nights in Antalya for Kaleiçi and the museum, or a move along the coast to join family who booked elsewhere. Book these from reception to reception with the full luggage count, and ask the next hotel about its check-in hour so you are not left in a lobby with the cases. Manavgat is the odd one out: the district town for errands, the weekly market and the long-distance coach station, rather than a place people move to.
The other reason to look at this list is the airport on your ticket. Gazipaşa-Alanya serves the eastern end of the coast, so for some flights home the last leg is the run there. Travellers who finish their trip on the Lycian coast often fly out of Dalaman, and for them the Side to Fethiye leg, taken the day before the flight, joins the two ends of the ticket. Kaş, Fethiye and Pamukkale are long drives through mountain country. Pamukkale works better as two one-way legs with a night in between than as a there-and-back, and a stop on the way to Kaş or Fethiye can be planned when you book.
Rank taxi or pre-booked car
Both have their place. Taxis at a rank in Turkey run on the meter, so the fare grows with the distance and the time on the road, and they suit a short ride decided a minute before you take it. A booked car works the other way round: one price for the whole vehicle, set when you book, and the details settled in advance, from the size of the car and the child seats to the gate you will come out of and the hour of the ride back.
That difference matters most on the bookings on this page: a day out with a driver waiting, a dinner run whose return falls late, a hotel change with a fortnight of luggage. For a quick hop across Manavgat in the afternoon, the rank is often the simpler choice.
Groups, minibuses and children
Because the price is per vehicle, the whole party travelling together in one car is usually the sensible arrangement. Day trips bring their own luggage: wet kit and towels after rafting, cool bags and a folding buggy for a theme park. Mention anything bulky in the booking so it fits in the boot.
Child seats are fitted free on request. Send the age of each child, not just the word seat, so the right seat or booster is already in place when the car reaches your hotel.
- Economy car: up to four people and four suitcases.
- Standard van: up to seven people and seven suitcases.
- First Class: up to six people and six suitcases.
- Minibus: room for twelve, or for sixteen.
Frequently asked questions
Can we see two sights in one day from Side?
Yes, as long as they share a road. The waterfall and Green Canyon, Aspendos and Perge, or Köprülü Canyon and Selge all pair naturally. Name both stops and roughly how long you want at each when you book, and the second stop and the waiting are planned in from the start.
Will the driver wait while we visit?
Yes, if you arrange it when you book: the driver waits on site, or comes back at an agreed time and place. Settle it before you set off, because places like Selge or the rafting camps have almost no passing traffic for a ride back.
Where does the car stop in Side old town, and how do we get back?
The old town is closed to vehicles, so the car sets you down at the car park by the bus station at its edge. Book the ride back with the ride in and meet at that same car park; if dinner may run late, ask for a later pickup or waiting time.
We are changing hotel halfway through the holiday. Can you take us?
Yes. The legs to Alanya, Belek, Kemer, Antalya and the other towns on the list run from one reception to the next. Give the number of people and cases so the right vehicle is sent.
Is Pamukkale a sensible day trip from Side?
It can be done, but most of the day is spent in the car. Two one-way legs with a night near the travertines in between leave time for Hierapolis without a race back to the coast.
Why book ahead rather than take a taxi from the rank?
A rank taxi runs on the meter and suits a short ride decided on the spot. A booked car has one fixed price for the vehicle, comes to the gate you name with the right size and child seats, and can have its return arranged in the same booking.