Plan your day · 4min read

Swimming in Green Canyon: what Side guests should know

Quick answer

Swimming in the Green Canyon is from the catamaran, during swimming breaks at designated places in the reservoir — freshwater, calm and sheltered, and noticeably cooler than the sea at Side. Both options, 4.5 and 2.5 hours, include swimming breaks. Swimming is always optional: non-swimmers stay on deck, and children should swim only with an adult watching.

Side guests arrive with sea habits: warm water, salt that holds you up, a beach to walk out from. The canyon is different on all three counts, and knowing that in advance is the difference between a happy first jump and a shocked one.

Freshwater is less buoyant — and cooler

The reservoir is fed by springs and the Manavgat river, so there is no salt to keep you afloat — you will feel slightly heavier than in the sea. It is also cooler, often enough that guests gasp on the first jump even in summer. Get in slowly if you prefer; nobody is timing you.

How the swimming breaks work

For each swimming break the catamaran holds in a sheltered bay and you swim from the catamaran, not from a beach, with the crew present. Swimming breaks are part of both options; the 4.5-hour option simply spends longer on the water overall.

If you do not swim

Then you do not. Every swimming break is optional, and the deck is a fine place to spend it, with the canyon walls all around. A group split between swimmers and non-swimmers is well served by either option.

Children in the water

There are no waves, which is why families like the lake, but it is deep open water, not a pool. Children should swim only with an adult watching. If you need anything specific for a child, ask us when you book.

Bring for the water

Swimwear under your clothes, a towel, a dry bag or plastic bag for your phone, and something warm for after the swim — the breeze on deck feels cool when you are wet.