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Jeep safari or buggy safari in Antalya: who can come along, and who drives?

A jeep safari on any of the five Antalya belts is a full day in the Taurus foothills as a passenger in an open-top 4x4 with a professional driver, lunch included, in a convoy of jeeps carrying 8-10 guests each. A buggy safari is a shorter driving programme in a two-seater off-road machine that you steer yourself on a private course, once a compulsory test ride has decided who drives. Couples who want to sit side by side with one of them at the wheel lean towards the buggy; families with children, and anyone who wants a long day of scenery without driving, lean towards the jeep.

The short version

Same operator family, same booking terms, two very different days. The contrasts in one list, the detail in the sections below.

  • Who drives: jeep, a professional driver and guests never drive · buggy, you drive after a compulsory test ride
  • Seating: jeep, 8-10 guests together in one open jeep · buggy, two seats side by side, a driver and one passenger
  • Length: jeep, approximately 7 or 8 hours by belt · buggy, approximately 4 to 4.5 hours door to door
  • Food: jeep, lunch included · buggy, no meal is included
  • Children: jeep, child rate for 4-12 and infants free · buggy, everyone who joins pays, passenger at half the driver's price, under-fours not recommended
  • Where it collects: jeep, five belts from Kemer to Alanya · buggy, the coast list from Antalya city to the Side belt

What the jeep day is

The jeep safari is a mountain day seen from a passenger seat. A convoy of open-top 4x4s leaves the resort belt in the morning, each jeep with a professional driver and 8-10 guests, and climbs into the foothills: dusty tracks, shallow river crossings, viewpoints over green valleys, a village stop, lunch beside running water. Summer departures include water fights between the jeeps and you will get wet; winter departures use covered jeeps. You never take the wheel.

The day runs approximately 7 hours from the Antalya, Belek and Kemer belts and approximately 8 hours from Side and Alanya. If your hotel is in Lara, Kundu, Konyaaltı or the city centre you can reserve the Antalya city jeep day directly: no prepayment, no card online, payment in euros on the day.

The driver comes to your hotel's main gate in the morning and the hour reaches you with the confirmation; a page of its own sets out how hotel pickup works on the jeep days, belt by belt.

What the buggy safari is

The buggy is a two-seater: a side-by-side off-road machine with two seats next to each other, for a driver and one passenger. Our sister operation runs it on a private course in the Aspendos area, around the Köprüçay river, on natural terrain with river sections, forest tracks and off-road trails. Expect dust; mud comes and goes with conditions and is never promised.

The programme is approximately 4 to 4.5 hours door to door, with the ride sold as a short ride of approximately 1.5 to 2 hours or a long ride of approximately 2.5 to 3 hours. A helmet is included; a dust mask, goggles and a bandana are not, and goggles are sold at the course. No meal is included, and drinks along the route are paid on site. The ride lengths, the booking form and the good-to-know list are on our buggy safari page for the Belek course.

Who drives, and on what basis

On the jeep, nobody drives but the driver. The convoy is led by professionals on tracks they know, which is exactly what makes it a day for people who do not want to steer.

On the buggy, no driving licence is required, because the ride takes place on a private off-road course rather than a public road. Drivers must be aged 16 or over. Before every tour there is a compulsory test ride; passing it is what allows a guest to drive, and anyone who does not pass, or who would rather not drive, rides in the passenger seat at half the driver's price. The course is the reason there is no licence check, and the test is what decides who drives; the two facts always go together.

If you are also weighing the single-seat-and-passenger quad against the buggy, the jeep versus quad comparison walks through that machine with the same questions.

For couples

This is where the buggy makes its case. Two people sit next to each other, one drives, the other sits alongside, and they swap or not as they please between the test ride and the end of the ride. It is a shared seat rather than two separate machines.

The jeep offers a different kind of together: the two of you ride in a convoy of open jeeps carrying 8-10 guests each, nobody steers, and the day is long enough for a village stop, a swim and a lunch by the water. Couples who want the mountains as a view choose it; couples who want the mountains as a track choose the buggy.

For families

On the jeep, children aged 4-12 pay the child rate shown in the booking form, infants aged 0-3 travel free, children must be accompanied by an adult, and the whole family travels in the same convoy. Lunch is included, which matters on a day of approximately 7 or 8 hours.

On the buggy, everyone who joins the transfer and the ride pays, driver or passenger, adult or child; there is no child rate and no free tier, and the passenger pays half of what the driver pays. Children under four are not recommended, because a small child can find it hard to hold on safely. A family of four therefore takes two buggies, each with a driver aged 16 or over who has passed the test ride.

Both days carry the same health note: rough tracks are not recommended for pregnant guests or anyone with back or neck problems. On both, closed shoes and clothes that can get dusty and wet are the right kit.

Where each collects

The buggy course collects, with the round-trip transfer included, from Belek, Kadriye, Boğazkent, Lara, Kundu, Antalya, Muratpaşa, Konyaaltı, Side, Manavgat, Evrenseki, Kumköy, Çolaklı, Gündoğdu and Kızılot. Kemer and the Alanya belt are not on the list; from there, ask on WhatsApp before assuming a pickup.

The jeep safari has five departures, one per belt, and a guest on the golf coast has both options within reach: the buggy course on its coast list and the jeep day from the Belek belt with its red-dirt tracks and shallow crossings. Kemer and Alanya guests have a jeep departure of their own; for a buggy they need to ask.

Cost structure and doing both

The two are priced differently in kind, not only in amount. The jeep charges per person with an adult, child and free infant band, and the fare depends on the belt; what the five jeep departures cost is set out on one page with the age bands. The buggy charges a driver price and a passenger price at half of it, with no child band at all.

Nothing stops you doing both in one week, and there is no jeep-and-buggy combination ticket, so they are simply two bookings. The wider list of adventure days around Antalya shows where the two sit among the rafting, boat and diving days the same family of operations runs. Both are reserved free of charge, paid in euros on the day and cancellable up to 24 hours before departure.

Questions

Questions about this tour

Can two people share one buggy?
Yes. The buggy is a two-seater with a driver and one passenger side by side. The driver must be aged 16 or over and pass the compulsory test ride; the passenger pays half the driver's price.
Do I need a licence to drive the buggy?
No licence is required, because the ride is on a private off-road course rather than a public road. What decides who drives is the compulsory test ride before every tour, and drivers are aged 16 or over.
Can I drive the jeep instead?
No. Every jeep has a professional driver and guests ride as passengers on every departure.
Which is better for children?
For most families the jeep: children aged 4-12 pay a child rate, infants 0-3 ride free, the family travels in the same convoy and lunch is included. On the buggy everyone who joins pays, there is no child band, and children under four are not recommended.
How long does each take?
The jeep safari runs approximately 7 hours from Antalya, Belek and Kemer and approximately 8 hours from Side and Alanya. The buggy programme is approximately 4 to 4.5 hours door to door, with a short or a long ride to choose from.
Is food included on the buggy safari?
No meal is included on the buggy programme; drinks along the route are paid on site. The jeep safari includes lunch at a riverside or lakeside restaurant, with drinks paid separately.
I stay in Kemer. Can I do both?
The jeep safari has its own Kemer departure. The buggy course's coast list runs from Antalya city through Belek to the Side belt and does not name Kemer, so ask on WhatsApp before counting on a buggy pickup.