Validity period
02 January 2026 15 December 2026
Side
| Ticket type | Price |
|---|---|
| Night Obs. 2p XX | € 110 |
Birdwatching tours
Night observation of Brown Fish owls near Manavgat
From
€ 110
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Overview
Brown Fish Owl Turkey - Owls in Turkey - Night Observation: 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.
- Duration 5 Hours For activities that include transfer, transfer time is included.
- Departure LocationSide
- Language English, Turkish
- About this activityBirdwatching tours
- 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.
Select Date & Participants
Price depends on selected options
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
- 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.
Full Description
What's included
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)
When & Where
- Event days
- Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- Departure Location
- Side
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.
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
Side
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Additional information
Brown Fish Owl Turkey - Owls in Turkey - Night Observation
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
Additional Options
| Option | Total | Prepayment | Max per order |
|---|---|---|---|
| + Night Obs. Person Additional participants for night observation (per person). | € 50 | € 50 | 2 |
| Antalya transfer Private transfer with hotel pick-up and drop-off from Antalya hotels. | € 120 | € 60 | 1 |
Customer Reviews
Reviews from our guests
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Questions Recently Asked
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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Night observation of Brown Fish owls near Manavgat
Brown Fish Owl Turkey - Owls in Turkey - Night Observation: 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.