The list
This is the full packing list for the jeep safari, taken from what the five departures ask their guests to bring. It fits in a small backpack, and nothing on it is optional in summer except the swimwear if you decide to stay dry — which, on a day with water fights between the jeeps, is not a realistic plan.
- Cash for the tour price, drinks and any optional entrance fee
- A waterproof bag or pouch for your phone and valuables
- Sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses
- Closed shoes you do not mind getting wet and dusty
- Swimwear worn under your clothes
- A full change of clothes and a towel
- Water to drink on the track
Shoes: closed, and ready to get wet
Closed shoes are the one item guests most often get wrong. The tracks are dust, loose stone and mud after rain, and at the water stops you walk into the stream: guests wade at the Kemer mountain stream, paddle in the stream at the Belek riverside lunch, and swim in the Dim River above Alanya or at Oymapınar village above Side. Flip-flops come off in the water and sandals fill with grit, so wear trainers or similar that you are willing to soak.
Have them on your feet at pickup; the list is what you bring, not what is handed out.
Clothes: swimwear underneath, a change for after
In summer the convoy stops for water fights between the jeeps and again at the river stops, and the crossings themselves send water over the sides of an open-top 4x4. Wear swimwear under light clothes that can get wet and dusty, and pack a full change plus a towel for after lunch and the ride home. What changes between summer and winter is simple: winter runs use covered jeeps and have no water games, so the change of clothes becomes a precaution rather than a certainty.
Leave anything you would mind ruining at the hotel. Dust settles on everything by lunchtime, and the water fight does not spare a nice shirt.
Sun: sunscreen, hat and sunglasses
The jeeps are open-top in summer and the tracks are in the open for long stretches between the pine and citrus. Put sunscreen on before pickup and bring it with you to reapply after the water stops; a hat that stays on at speed and sunglasses that keep the dust out of your eyes are the other two. The off-road side of the day is where the sun and the dust do their work, and there is no roof to hide under until winter.
Phone, camera and valuables: a waterproof pouch
Everything in your pockets gets wet in summer. A waterproof pouch or bag for your phone, keys and cash is the one accessory worth buying before the day; it lets you photograph the crossings and the water fight without sacrificing the phone. The tour team also takes photos and videos during the day; these are not included in the price.
Valuables you do not need on the track are better left in the hotel safe.
There is more to say about keeping a phone and a camera dry for a whole day than a packing list has room for.
Cash: what you need to carry on the day
Reserving takes no card and no prepayment, so the tour price itself is settled in cash on the day of the tour. Add cash for drinks at the lunch restaurant, for the team's photos if you want them, and for any optional stop you might choose: the boat hour on Green Lake and the programme-dependent Manavgat Waterfall entrance on the Side day, the Dim Cave visit on the Alanya day. The three western routes carry no named optional stop. What is paid on the day in each region is set out on the price page, so you can count the notes before pickup.
What differs by departure
The list does not change from belt to belt, but how wet you get does. The Dim River swim on the Alanya day and the swim stop at Oymapınar village on the Side day are proper swims, so the towel earns its place; the Belek day has time to paddle in the stream at lunch, the Kemer day a mountain stream to wade in and cool off, and the city-belt day water fights at the river stops.
On the Side day the optional boat hour on the lake and the pancakes at the village stop are the other reasons to keep small notes in the waterproof pouch. On the Alanya day the village stop sells farmers' produce and the Dim Cave has a small entrance fee.
What to leave at the hotel, and reserving the day
Leave large bags, laptops and anything that dislikes water and dust. If you have a question about your pickup, such as whether your hotel is inside the belt, the hotel pickup page lists the sub-areas each departure collects from; the meeting point is the main entrance gate of your hotel, in the morning, at a time confirmed after booking.
With the list packed, the rest is a form: choose the date and your pickup area, enter adults and children, and reserve the Antalya departure if your hotel is in Lara, Kundu, Konyaaltı or the city centre. The Side, Alanya, Belek and Kemer belts have their own forms. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure.