Every dive centre has a favourite stretch of coast. This page is different: it is the whole map, written honestly, from the pine-backed bays of Kemer in the west to the cave-cut cliffs of Alanya in the east. We are Side Diving · Atalay Tour, we run boat trips along all of it, and below you will find every real dive site this coast is actually known for — with true depths, what lives there, and which of our five full-day boat trips takes you closest to each one.
Read the map west to east and it goes like this: Kemer has the clearest water on this coast and its most famous wreck — the MS Paris II at 21–31 m — plus the Three Islands and Lighthouse reefs; Antalya in the centre holds the DO-28 aircraft wreck at 19.5–23.3 m and long reef-and-cave shorelines; Side is home to the Underwater Museum, around 110 sculptures at roughly 12 m; and Alanya, in the east, offers the amphora site near the harbour and a coastline riddled with underwater caves.
One honest note before you scroll: beginners dive these boats in guided discovery format to about 13 m, which is the beginner ceiling. Certified divers dive the real profiles from the same boats — roughly 30 m on standard certified dives, and down to 60 m on the deep sites for suitably qualified divers. The deep wrecks are for certified divers only, and the exact site always depends on qualification, conditions and the day's plan — we explain exactly how below.
How to read this map — and how our boat trips fit it
The coast on this page runs west to east: Kemer, then Antalya city, then Side and its resort neighbours, then Alanya. Each cluster is served by one of our five full-day boat trips, and every trip shares the same core package: two guided dives — for beginners a gentle morning dive at 5–8 m for 15–25 minutes, then a deeper afternoon dive to about 13 m, the beginner ceiling, while certified divers dive their own, deeper profiles (roughly 30 m as standard, down to 60 m on the deep sites when suitably qualified) — all equipment, free two-way hotel transfer, a fresh lunch cooked on board, passenger and diving insurance, and a full safety briefing before anyone gets wet. No licence is needed: complete beginners are welcome, try-dives start from around age ten (ask us about programmes for younger children), and friends who prefer to stay dry can join as boat guests at a reduced rate.
- Side Underwater Museum diving — €45, 7 hours, from Side (our flagship)
- Kumköy scuba diving — €43, 6 hours, the shortest day
- Kemer scuba diving — €43, 8 hours, the clearest water
- Antalya scuba diving — €50, 8 hours, reefs, caves and shoals
- Alanya scuba diving — €43, 8 hours, caves and rocky reefs
Booking is deliberately simple: reserve free online, pay on the day, and cancel free up to 24 hours before. Pickup is in the morning; the exact time is confirmed the evening before. Compare all trips on our tours page, check costs on the price overview, or start from your resort with the diving-from hub. Sites marked certified-only below are never dived by beginners — they are for licensed divers, and which one you dive depends on your qualification, the conditions and the day's plan.
West: the Kemer cluster — Paris II, Three Islands and the Lighthouse
Kemer is the western anchor of the map and is known for the clearest water on this coast — mountains fall straight into deep blue sea, and visibility rewards every metre of it. Three named sites define the cluster.
The MS Paris II wreck is the most famous: a WW1-era French freighter around 70 m long, lying at 21–31 m. That depth puts it firmly in certified-divers-only territory — beginners never go there. For certified divers it is well inside the normal range dived here: roughly 30 m on standard certified dives, and down to 60 m on the deep sites for suitably qualified divers. If you hold a licence and want a wreck day, contact us — which wreck and how deep always depends on your qualification level, the conditions and the day's plan.
The Three Islands (Üç Adalar) are the classic Kemer reef complex — rock walls, caves and swim-throughs with a genuine (never guaranteed) chance of dolphins passing through the blue. The Lighthouse is the friendliest of the three: a reef from 3 to 18 m with a 9 m tunnel and busy cave life, which means guides can show beginners real underwater architecture at depths beginners actually reach.
Our Kemer boat diving day (€43, about 8 hours with the longer transfer) is led by PADI-certified instructors and works these waters at beginner depths for first-timers, while certified divers on the same boat follow deeper profiles: reef fish, octopus and dramatic rock formations. It is the trip we recommend to anyone who wants the prettiest water on the coast without needing a licence.
Centre: Antalya's DO-28 aircraft and reefs — then Side's Underwater Museum
The central stretch around Antalya city is the most varied on the map: reefs, caves and fish shoals within reach of one harbour. Its headline site is the DO-28 aircraft wreck — a Dornier plane from 1967 resting at 19.5–23.3 m. Like the Paris II, it sits far below the beginner ceiling and is for certified divers only — ordinary diving for them here, with the exact site depending on qualification level, conditions and the day's plan. Our everyday Antalya scuba diving trip (€50, 8 hours) explores what the area does best at 5–13 m: reef terraces, cave mouths and shoals of Mediterranean fish, with two guided dives and lunch on board.
Moving east along the coast you reach Side — and the site our dive house is built around. The Side Underwater Museum is a sunken sculpture park of around 110 statues at roughly 12 m, an artificial reef where fish now live among the figures. Because 12 m sits just inside the 13 m beginner ceiling, this is that rare thing: a world-class named dive site that complete beginners can genuinely visit. On the Underwater Museum trip (€45, 7 hours) you dive in small groups of 3–4 per instructor and can hand-feed the fish that swarm the sculptures.
Staying in Kumköy or western Side? The Kumköy trip (€43, 6 hours) is the compact version of the same centre-coast diving — the shortest full day we run, popular with families who want to be back at the pool by late afternoon.
East: Alanya — the amphora site and the cave coast
The eastern end of the map belongs to Alanya, where the castle rock drops into the sea and history lies scattered on the seabed. The signature site is the Amphora site near Alanya harbour: ancient amphora jars resting on the bottom, with octopus, grouper and moray eels often seen around them — often, not always; we do not guarantee sightings, and any dive centre that does is selling you a story.
Alanya's other face is its underwater caves — the coastline here is honeycombed with them, and they are tied to the story of the Mediterranean monk seal, one of the rarest marine mammals in the world. Beginner dives look into cave mouths and rock arches at safe depths; actual cave penetration is certified-diver territory and, like the wrecks, depends on qualification, training, conditions and the day's plan. The everyday Alanya boat trip (€43, 8 hours) dives the caves and rocky reefs in the waters off Cleopatra Beach at 5–13 m.
Two practical notes that apply to the whole map. First, health: diving is not possible during pregnancy or with severe asthma, heart or respiratory conditions — and do not fly within 24 hours after diving. Second, level: if you are unsure what your experience allows, our sites-by-level guide sorts every site on this page by who can actually dive it, and our team answers honestly on WhatsApp before you book anything.
