Side → Green Canyon Transfer

Side to Green Canyon private transfer

Almost everyone on this leg is on their way to a boat. Green Canyon, Yeşil Kanyon in Turkish, is the reservoir that the Oymapınar dam holds back in the hills north of Manavgat: a long arm of green water between limestone walls, seen from the deck of a boat that casts off from a jetty on the shore. Because the visit happens on the water, the boat's departure hour sets the rhythm of the whole outing, and that is the case for a car of your own. A tour coach works its way along half the hotel strip before it starts to climb; a private car leaves your hotel when you choose and puts you on the jetty for the departure you have in mind.

From Side it is 28 km, about 30 minutes. The car runs up to the D400, turns into Manavgat and then leaves the coast behind, heading north up the valley of the Manavgat river; the turning for the waterfall comes early on that road. Beyond it the fields thin out, the first ridges of the Taurus foothills close in, and the road begins to wind upwards. Wind a window down near the top and the air is noticeably cooler than it was by the pool. The car stops at the jetty itself, and the booking covers that one-way leg; a return pickup or waiting time can be arranged when you book, ideally matched to the hour your boat is due back.

• Find out from the boat operator, or whoever sold you the trip, roughly when the boat comes back in, and build the return pickup around that hour rather than a guess.
• If anyone in the car is prone to travel sickness, mention it to the driver before the climb begins, because the last part of the road is a run of bends.
• Pack a light layer even in midsummer: the air around the reservoir is cooler than on the coast, and the breeze on an open deck makes the difference plain.
• To stop at the Manavgat waterfall or in town on the way back down, say so when you arrange the return, so the driver can plan it as one trip.