Night observation of brown fish owls near Manavgat.

Side • Turkey
4.8 (9 Reviews)

Overview

Discover Europe’s rarest owl in its only known habitat near Manavgat. This fully licensed birdwatching tour offers ethical dawn or night observation with expert guides, official permits included, and strict respect for protected wildlife areas.

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Night Obs. 2p

XX
Add-ons / Extras Optional add-ons for your booking
+ Night Obs. Person
€ 50.0 Max: 2
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About this activity

Everything you need to know at a glance

Duration 5 Hours
Language English, Turkish
Departure Location Side

When & Where

Event days
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Departure Location
Side

Features & benefits

Booking Confirmation: — Immediate Approval.
Voucher Type: — Both Printed and Mobile Accepted.
Online Booking: — Quick, Easy, and Secure.
Cancellation policy: — Flexible
Fast-Track Entry: — No Waiting in Line.
Tour ID: 33

Highlights

— Europe’s rarest owl species in its only habitat
— Fully licensed and permit-based birdwatching
— Dawn lake or night mountain observation options
— Expert guides with long-term field experience
— Strict wildlife protection and ethical observation
— Designed exclusively for dedicated bird watchers

Full Description

Brown Fish Owl Night Observation Tour Near Manavgat

A Strictly Nocturnal Wildlife Experience in a Protected Habitat

The Brown Fish Owl is one of Europe’s rarest and most endangered bird species. Its only confirmed European population survives in southern Turkey — in remote mountain valleys near Manavgat and Akseki.

This experience focuses exclusively on night observation. It is designed for serious bird watchers who understand patience, silence, and ethical wildlife behavior.

Since 2011, Vigo Tours has organized officially licensed, permit-based night tours in strictly protected areas — ensuring legal access and responsible conservation practices.

Why Night Observation Is Essential

The Brown Fish Owl is fully nocturnal — becoming active after sunset when river valleys fall silent.

It hunts and moves in darkness, relying on undisturbed freshwater ecosystems. Because it is extremely sensitive to noise and artificial light, observation must be conducted under strict control.

This is not a casual wildlife outing — it is a carefully managed conservation-based experience.

Legal Protection and Official Permits

The Üzümdere region is a designated Wildlife Reserve.

Entering the area without official authorization is illegal and subject to heavy fines and legal consequences.

Vigo Tours
— Holds a valid birdwatching license
— Secures all required official permits
— Includes all permits in the tour price

Participants join legally and without risking wildlife disturbance.

Night Observation Program

Start Time

— Begins at 9:00 PM
— Conducted in full darkness

Observation Method

— Guided walk through mountain valleys and river habitats
— Controlled torchlight use only when necessary
— Minimal light exposure to avoid disturbance

Group Structure

— Minimum 2 participants
— Small, focused groups only
— Silence and discipline required at all times

Participation Policy

This tour is strictly for dedicated bird watchers.

Friends, children, or non-bird enthusiasts should not join.

The rules exist to
— Maintain silence
— Protect the owl’s natural behavior
— Prevent unnecessary disturbance
— Ensure ethical wildlife standards

The welfare of the species always comes first.

Tour Details

Duration

— Approximately 5 hours including transportation

Activity Level

— Moderate
— Walking on natural terrain at night
— Guests with mobility limitations may remain in the vehicle

Photography

— Allowed
— Flash photography is strictly prohibited
— Success depends on night photography skills and equipment

Availability

— Operates on selected dates only
— Subject to seasonal and wildlife conditions

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to observe the Brown Fish Owl independently?

No. The habitat is within a protected Wildlife Reserve. Entering without official permits is illegal and punishable by fines and legal action.

Are permits included in the price?

Yes. All required government permits are arranged by Vigo Tours and included in the tour price.

Is a sighting guaranteed?

No. The Brown Fish Owl is a wild, nocturnal species. Sightings depend on weather conditions, season, and natural behavior.

What time does the tour begin?

The night observation begins at 9:00 PM and lasts approximately 5 hours including transport.

Can children participate?

No. The experience is strictly designed for serious bird watchers who can maintain silence and discipline.

Is photography permitted?

Yes, but flash use is prohibited. Successful photography depends entirely on your equipment and night photography ability.

How physically demanding is the tour?

The activity level is moderate. Participants should be comfortable walking at night on uneven terrain. Guests with walking difficulties may stay in the vehicle.

What should I wear?

Dark, quiet clothing and comfortable walking shoes are strongly recommended. Avoid bright colors, perfumes, and noisy accessories.

Why is silence so important?

The Brown Fish Owl is extremely sensitive to sound and artificial light. Maintaining silence increases the chance of ethical observation and protects the species’ natural behavior.

What makes this tour unique?

This is a licensed, conservation-focused night experience conducted in one of Europe’s last habitats of the Brown Fish Owl — guided by experts and operated under strict ethical standards near Manavgat.

What's included

  • Night observation experience (operates with a minimum of 2 participants)
  • Round-trip transfer from Side
  • Transportation by vehicle (maximum 4 participants per vehicle)
  • All official permits and legal permissions
  • Professional guiding service

What's not included

  • Food and beverages
  • Hotel accommodation
  • Additional participants (participants beyond the first 2 persons)

Meeting Point

The meeting point is the security entrance of the hotel. For hotels without a security entrance, the meeting point will be in front of the hotel. Observers coming from other cities will have their meeting point determined separately.

Pick Up Place

The guide can pick up and transfer a maximum of 4 people from hotels in Side and the surrounding area using his own vehicle. If there are more than 4 participants, they will need to use their own vehicles.

Departure zone

View on map

Side

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Know Before You Go

Important Information and Night Observation Details

Night observation typically begins around 21:00.

The program includes a minimum of 5 km walking distance.

The walking route is comfortable and generally flat.

Searching and observation are conducted in darkness using controlled lantern light.

In spring and autumn, temperatures in the canyon can be cold at night. Appropriate clothing is recommended.

Walking and searching are carried out with short breaks when necessary.

In some cases, the Brown Fish Owl may be located within the first minutes of the search.

Camera flash is not permitted.

Participants are not allowed to use their own torches in order to avoid disturbing the owls with excessive light.

Smoking is allowed only during designated breaks.

Silence is essential throughout the observation.

The area is part of a National Park. In Turkey, wildlife observation cannot be conducted inside National Parks without official permission. Vigo Tours holds the required license and secures all necessary permits for each observation. Each permit is valid only for the specific observation day.

Additional information

Fish Owl Night Observation Program – Ketupa zeylonensis

Transfer starts around 19:00 from the Side region. The distance to the observation area is approximately 100 km.

Night observation begins around 21:00 in a mountain stream and canyon area.

The program includes at least 5 km of walking. The route is generally flat and comfortable. Searching is conducted in darkness using controlled lantern light.

Personal torches and camera flash are not allowed. Silence is required.

The total duration is approximately 5 hours.

Period & Price

02 January 2026 – 15 December 2026

Price

Side
Night Obs. 2p XX € 200.0

Add-ons / Extras

  • + Night Obs. Person € 50.0

Customer Reviews 9

Reviews from our guests

9 Overall Rating

(4.8)

Total: 9 Reviews

Rating Breakdown

5
8
4
0
3
1
2
0
1
0

Detailed Ratings

Service
(4.8)
Organization
(4.8)
Price
(4.6)
Security
(4.9)
A
(4.8)
Hi Thanks Mehmet for a good tour. Unfortunately the fish owl did not show this time. However the tour was fun and we did try a lot.
M
(3.0)
Great effort from the guide, he picked us up at 19h and we returned 03:30, but he failed to locate owl
Reply from Vigo Tours: Thank you very much for your review!
Thank you very much for your feedback. We would like to kindly clarify that the guide did indeed take you to the exact location where the owl had been observed previously, and thanks to his torchlight and experience, the owl was successfully located and seen during the tour. We're very glad you had the chance to witness this rare bird, and we truly appreciate your participation in the experience.
F
(5.0)
FIsh Owl
I booked the Brown Fish Owl night tour for mid July. The guide was punctual and it is clear that he knows his birds. After a search of app 2.5 hours a bird (or perhaps 2 different individuals) has been spotted twice and offered good views. An amazing experience with a mythical beast. Recommended for bird afficionados.
M
(5.0)
Fantastic trip! After a bit of work we managed great views of this wonderful bird. Well worth the price, everything very well organised
M
(5.0)
Brown Fish Owl night tour
Although ultimately unsuccessful we had a good evening looking for Brown Fish Owl with Mehmet. The owl had just gone missing for a few nights which was no fault of anyone. Mehmet searched with my wife and I until midnight trying very hard to find the owl for us. Even Scops Owl wasn't responding probably due to the cold. I will return soon and will use Vigo Tours again.
M
(5.0)
Mehmet knows his stuff and has great regard for the welfare of the Brown Fish Owl. Hello tried very hard for us to see it and we did
T
(5.0)
Brown fish owl
Excellent This trip really did live up to expectation. The weather was not great, but my guide persevered and we got brilliant views and photographs of BFO. Extremely friendly, knowledge guide- highly recommended Thank you
G
(5.0)
Great guide and tour
Ótimo tour. O guia muito esforçado. Não parou até encontrarmos a coruja. Ainda paramos em outros locais e vimos mais duas espécies. Conhece muito bem a região.
Y
• Gaziantep , Türkiye
(5.0)
Amazzzinng
Owls are awesome. Thanks vigotours!

Questions Recently Asked 4

Frequently asked questions about this tour

Hello, Thank you very much for contacting us. We did 1 of our last 3 tours by boat on the lake, and 1 male adult, and a juveline were seen at the mouth of the nest (May 24). On the edge of a stream in the mountains, 2 juveniles were seen in the last 2 tours (Wednesday at 21:15 and last night at 21:45). It is difficult but not impossible to see fish owls for about 2 weeks when the chicks hatch in early May (from May 5). For 2 pairs on the lake; Their habitat was slightly damaged but they were not affected by the wildfire. They just became harder to see for a while. Now the situation appears to be back to normal. Best regards, Vigo Tours

Hello, Thank you very much for contacting us about Brown Fish owl observation. We think that when the boat tour traffic on the lake ends in 2020 due to the Corona pandemic, and thus there is no situation to disturb the fish owls, the fish owls have returned to a completely nocturnal state. In addition, boat tour traffic on the lake was very low in 2021. Currently, the fish owls in the lake are not seen during the day. A few attempts in the morning have failed. Unfortunately, there is no boat tour allowed on the lake at night, and there is no boat equipped to make a night tour on the lake anyway. In our night zodiac controls, fish owls were observed at the same known points, but extremely shy and stressed. For all these reasons, we are not doing a fish owl observation tour by boat on the lake this year. Due to this situation of the fish owls in the lake, instead of the lake, we are making a night tour for 1 pair of fish owls by a stream in the Taurus Mountains with the light of a lantern. Unfortunately, 2 failures were experienced in a total of 15 observations we made with the light of a lantern for this 1 pair of fish owls on the mountain since April. One of them was that the observing guest wanted to return, and the search for fish owls was terminated at an early hour. As you know, it is not possible to give a guarantee in bird watching, especially for rare species. We are doing our best. Sometimes it takes 3 hours to find fish owls. We think that the situation in the lake will return to normal in 2023. Best Regards, Vigo Tours
Hello, Thank you for contacting us. First of all, I must say that mid-April is the perfect time for bird watching in the Antalya region. ** The fish owls in the lake have been found again. (I guess you didn't fully read the description on the web page). Both fish owl pairs are in the same place and appear healthy but very nocturnal, probably due to the trauma of the big wild fires last year. We saw both pairs of fish owls with the night zodiac and with official permission. Boat tours on the lake cannot be done at night. ** Last year, and so far this year, when I couldn't see owls in the lake in a few observation attempts, I made my tours with a pair of fish owls by a small creek next to Akseki, at night, with the light of a lantern. I will make an observation tour to the same place again on Wednesday night. ** The owls in the lake (and those in Akseki) are currently incubating. Fish owls in the lake are still not seen in the morning. They may be more relaxed together when the chicks hatch, but that will probably be in mid-May. ** Snowcock can be seen with Demirkazık (Mr. Başar or his uncle). Same with Radde's. Both of them are not bird species of Antalya region, they are birds of high mountains. ** Bird watching tours with Vigo Tours: 1- Boat trip on the lake for fish owls (private) * Very early in the morning (5:30 - 08:30) ** 2- Full day shore bird watching + Akseki mountains and night fish owl watching with a lantern on the mountain. return to hotel 23:30 - may be earlier return according to the time to find the bird. (06:00 - 23:30) ** 3- At night, only fish owl on the mountain (19:30 - 23:30). According to the time to find the bird, there may be an early return ** Red fronted Serin is okay near Akseki but white throated robin is too early to see. From May is possible ** My available dates are: 15, 19 or 20 April ** Best regards, ** Mehmet Özcan Kilic, Birdwatching guide
Hello, Thank you for contacting us. Brown fish owls at Oymapinar lake have unfortunately been not seen since the beginning of last year. So the fish owls at Oymapinar lake were disappeared long before the big wild fire in 2021 in the area. The reasaon might be a very dry winter of 2020 and 2021. So, they left their habitats due to no water and food along their habitat. At the both spot they disappeared beginning of last year. Now we are doing searching for them at the lake. Hopefully we will find them. For fish owls Tours we do night watching with ones near a stream near Akseki by a lantern light. Last friday and yesterday we were there and 1 (mail) was seen. The female is probably is on egg. Kind regards, Vigo Tours

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