Side's Transformation Through a Local Resident's Eyes
Mehmet, who works in operations at Vigo Tours, first came to Side in 1988. In this personal account, he recalls the small hotels, busy harbour nights and changing excursions that shaped the town he made his home. These are memories, not an official chronology or a current tour timetable.
I came for two days in 1988
I arrived in Side intending to stay for just two days. The place I found was a small seaside village, with a handful of large hotels and a lively collection of guesthouses, small hotels and bungalows inside the ancient peninsula. The beaches felt spacious; after dark, the streets filled with people heading out to eat, drink and meet friends.
Along the west beach towards Kumköy, watersports stations offered jet skis, parasailing and banana boats. In the 1990s, music drifted across the sand as guests waited their turn. Later came a wider choice: wakeboarding, flyboarding, ringo rides, water skiing, speedboats and diving. For me, those beach stations are part of the sound and colour of old Side.
Wooden boats and two-day Pamukkale trips
The excursions I remember most from the early years were two-day Pamukkale trips, boats from Side Harbour and river cruises from the eastern bank of Manavgat. Village visits, Antalya sightseeing and hammams that welcomed guests from outside the hotels completed a much smaller choice than we have now.
The wooden boats were built in Manavgat's small yards. They passed under the bridge towards the small waterfall, then returned to wooden piers near the river mouth for a long stop. Entertainment was improvised: I still remember a crew member putting on a headscarf and skirt, with oranges under his shirt, for a comic belly-dance performance. It was a very different world from today's large excursion boats.
Pamukkale was the big outing. I remember visitors walking and even sunbathing on the travertines; that is a recollection of past practices, not advice for visiting the protected site today. Hotels were busy, and some operators reserved rooms for the season. The journey itself felt like a small Anatolian tour: a Yörük tent in the Taurus Mountains, a village and mosque visit, explanations about Islam, and lunch near Lake Salda.
On the way back, carpet workshops introduced visitors to handweaving. Carpet sales were an important part of the business, alongside leather and jewellery shopping. Looking back, I remember that commercial optimism as clearly as the landscapes.
A village becomes a wider holiday region
Development spread west through Kumköy, Evrenseki, Çolaklı and Gündoğdu, and through Cennetler behind the ancient town. To the east, Sorgun, Titreyengöl, Kızılağaç and Kızılot changed too. The small peninsula hotels no longer occupied the same central place in local tourism.
Around 2004, I noticed a new wave of villas and residential developments, with particular interest from British and Scandinavian buyers. In my view, some asking prices rose beyond what the properties justified. Meanwhile, Manavgat grew as more tourism workers and their families needed homes. I also remember Side having its own municipality; it is now part of Manavgat. Exact population figures and the dates of administrative changes are outside the scope of this memoir.
Newspapers, paper card slips and charter arrivals
Before the internet became part of my daily routine, I bought a newspaper every day, sometimes riding a small motorcycle two or three kilometres to find one. We relied on fixed-line phones. I remember bulky car phones and expensive early mobile handsets gradually changing how we worked, rather than one clear date when everything became modern.
Payments had their own rituals. Card details were pressed onto paper slips with a manual imprinter. Guests generally brought cash; those who needed more could arrange an advance through their tour operator or use the Anadolu Credit Card Center in Side. Cards were especially useful for larger carpet, leather and jewellery purchases.
Antalya Airport was much smaller in my early working years, with domestic and international passengers handled alongside one another. Busy charter days meant crowds and long waits. The road towards Side and Alanya had one lane in each direction, but far fewer vehicles. Our transfer days could begin before sunrise and run into the following morning.
The bars and restaurants I still remember
Before all-inclusive holidays became widespread locally, evenings brought guests into the harbour's fish restaurants and family-run bars. The walk down the ancient town's main street could be crowded. Winter was quieter, with Turkish day visitors and time to prepare for another season.
OXID Disco, which I remember opening in 1993, stands out. So do Miranda Bar on the eastern beach and its owner's later Light House in the harbour; Hasan Özen's Takıl Bar; Mehmet's Bar; Stones and Barracuda near the Temple of Apollo; Jungle Bar; and Yakup's Bonjour Bar. I also remember the Güneş family's bar on Jandarma Street, although its name escapes me.
Deniz Atı was a gathering place on the west side. There was a disco beneath Sezar's Hotel, open to outside guests, and Nympheum at the end of Küçük Plaj. In Titreyengöl, Niagara at the Grand Prestige Hotel and the restaurants around the canal and Clock Tower Square drew crowds. Later, Sammy Disco became a familiar name in Kumköy.
Apollonik Bar by the harbour, Bistro 2000 in Kumköy and the Adana-style kebab restaurants on Manavgat's eastern bank belong in these memories too. This is a recollection of local places, not a directory confirming which businesses still operate or who owns them today.
Rafting, performances and new routes
My first rafting trip was in 1992 with Scandinavian colleagues, on an outing organised by Ran Barkan. I remember his enthusiasm for outdoor activities, and later the work of Recep Eceer and Trans Nature as rafting grew. I would not treat my first experience as proof of when every rafting operation in the region began.
The Aspendos opera and ballet festival brought another dimension to the region's cultural life in the 1990s. Later, Mustafa Erdoğan's Fire of Anatolia performances, Green Canyon cruises on the Oymapınar reservoir and jeep safaris broadened the choice. Early safaris used small jeeps that guests sometimes drove themselves; the organised driver-led outings that followed felt quite different.
Around 2003–2004, I saw two-day Pamukkale trips increasingly give way to long day excursions. Cappadocia trips also developed: first longer programmes, then shorter versions with one overnight stay, which I recall joining the offer around 2015. Balloon flights became a major attraction. They remain weather-dependent; an extra morning may provide another opportunity if the itinerary allows it, never a guarantee.
My years with Vigo Tours and birdwatching
I joined Vigo Tours around its founding in 2000 and watched reservations move from representatives and paper arrangements towards online booking. Work expanded beyond Side through local partners in Alanya, Belek, Antalya, Lara, Kemer, Kaş, Fethiye, Marmaris, Bodrum, Didim, Kuşadası, Istanbul and Cappadocia, alongside airport transfers.
Birdwatching began as a hobby. With the company's support, I started guiding birdwatching trips in 2011, sharing my interest in resident species and migrating birds. That quieter side of the region matters to me as much as its beaches and nightlife.
Choosing a day out in Side today
Rather than fill every day, I would mix time in ancient Side with a boat trip, a mountain or village outing and some unplanned beach time. Green Canyon is a lake cruise; Sapadere is a gorge visited on foot. Ormana's button houses, Tazı Canyon and Selge, Green Lake and Hidden Paradise show different sides of the inland landscape. Antalya and Alanya offer contrasting city visits, while a hammam is an option for a slower start to the holiday.
Jeep outings focus on the route and group experience; quad and buggy trips focus more on driving. Rafting, canyoning and diving need a closer check of age limits, fitness requirements and the operator's instructions. Do not assume every programme suits every child or that an introductory dive includes the underwater museum. Non-diving companions should confirm their own booking options.
Boat choices range from Manavgat river-and-market outings to fishing trips, private cruises, sunset sailings and the Big Kral pirate-themed excursion. Check the departure harbour: some trips sold from Side use Türkler towards Alanya, rather than Side Harbour. Food, drinks, hotel pickup, market visits and operating days depend on the programme. Wild dolphins may be seen on some cruises, but sightings are never guaranteed.
A personal record, open to corrections
The harbour, ancient ruins, Temple of Apollo and Mediterranean coast still connect today's Side with the place I found in 1988. My memories may contain gaps, and I welcome corrections or stories from others who knew those years. Preserving that everyday history matters more to me than pretending to remember every date perfectly.
Tours and further reading
For current itineraries and booking conditions, consult the relevant tour page. The guides below cover practical holiday planning in more detail.
