Most guidebooks treat "diving in Antalya" as a single item on the activity list. Locals know better: the Turkish Riviera is a 200-kilometre ribbon of coast, and each stretch of it has its own character above and below the waterline. We run full-day boat diving trips on five of these coasts — Side, Kumköy, Kemer, Antalya and Alanya — and this is our honest guide to what makes each one worth a day of your holiday.
What Every Trip Has in Common
Before the differences, the constants. Whichever coast you choose, the format of the day is identical, because it works:
- Two guided dives: a gentle morning dive at five to eight metres for fifteen to twenty-five minutes, then an afternoon dive to twelve or thirteen metres for those who feel confident.
- Everything included: all diving equipment, lunch on board, passenger and diving insurance, a full safety briefing — and free two-way hotel transfer from your accommodation.
- Everyone welcome: beginners dive without a licence in groups of three to four per instructor; certified divers get their logbooks signed and stamped; non-divers join as visitors at a reduced rate and snorkel from the boat.
The only real health limits: no diving during pregnancy or with severe asthma, heart or respiratory conditions — and no flying within 24 hours after your dives, which we explain fully in our flying-after-diving guide.
Side: The Flagship — Diving in an Underwater Museum
Side is our home, and it holds the region's most unusual dive: the Side Underwater Museum (€45). Purpose-sunk sculpture exhibits rest on the seabed here, and swimming between them is unlike any natural reef dive — part gallery, part playground, wholly memorable. The fish clearly agree: the sculptures have become their apartment blocks, and hand-feeding them mid-dive is the moment most beginners talk about at dinner. If it is your first dive ever and you want the biggest story for it, this is the one. Side itself needs no introduction — you surface, and an ancient Roman harbour town is waiting for your evening.
Kumköy: The Convenient Classic
A few kilometres along the coast from Side's old town, Kumköy is the resort heart of the area — and our Kumköy diving trip (€43) is the natural pick if your hotel is on this strip. The character is relaxed sandy-coast Mediterranean diving: easy conditions, warm water through the long season, and the same two-dive, everything-included format. For families staying in Kumköy's hotels it is the shortest possible path from breakfast buffet to breathing underwater.
Kemer: Where the Mountains Fall into the Sea
West of Antalya city the scenery changes completely: the Taurus mountains crowd right up to the shoreline, pine forests run down to the beaches, and the coast turns dramatic. Our Kemer diving trip (€43) takes you into this landscape. Kemer's stretch of the Riviera is famous among divers for its scenic, rocky character — a very different backdrop from the sandy east. If you are staying in the Kemer, Beldibi or Göynük area, this is your local trip; if you are staying elsewhere, it is the one worth crossing the region for on scenery alone.
Antalya: The City Dive
The provincial capital sits on limestone cliffs above the sea, and diving from Antalya city has its own flavour — the Antalya diving trip (€50) is our premium route. The city's coast drops into deep blue water fast, and the day pairs naturally with everything the metropolis offers before and after: the old harbour, Kaleiçi's Ottoman lanes, a proper long dinner. For guests based in Lara or Konyaaltı, it is the obvious choice; for dedicated divers it rounds out the collection.
Alanya: The Castle on the Horizon
Far in the east, Alanya dives beneath one of the Mediterranean's great silhouettes: the Seljuk castle rock rising straight from the sea. Our Alanya diving trip (€43) serves the busy hotel coast from Konaklı to Mahmutlar and gives the day a distinctly different postcard — you gear up with a medieval fortress peninsula on the horizon. Alanya's warm, lively resort atmosphere carries onto the boat; this is the sociable end of the Riviera.
How to Choose Your Coast
- Choose by wow-factor: the Underwater Museum in Side is the region's signature dive — first-timers rarely regret making it their first story.
- Choose by hotel: transfer is free both ways on every route, so the nearest coast means the shortest ride and the longest sleep. Side and Kumköy cover the central Riviera, Kemer the west, Antalya the city, Alanya the east.
- Choose by scenery: mountains and pines — Kemer; ancient town — Side; city energy — Antalya; castle views — Alanya; easy resort convenience — Kumköy.
- Can't choose? Don't. With trips priced €43–50 and the no-fly rule only affecting your final day, many guests simply dive twice in a week — different coast each time.
Practical Notes for All Five
The Mediterranean here is at its friendliest from late spring to autumn, with a long warm-water season and generous visibility — one reason the region suits first dives so well. Compare all routes side by side on the tours page and the prices page. Booking is the same everywhere: reserve free online, pay on the day, cancel free up to 24 hours ahead. Five coasts, one sea, and every one of them happy to be your first.
