Is a Fishing Tour in Side Worth It? An Honest Look at the Value
Whether a morning of fishing is worth the money depends on what you want from it. Here is what each fare actually pays for, what it does not, and who should spend their euros elsewhere.
Short answer
For €45 per person, plus the €5 sea fee in cash on the boat, the shared morning gives you 5.5 hours on the boat, from 07:00 to 12:30, plus the transfer to and from your hotel, rods, lines and fresh bait, and the captain's help. Food is not included. If that is the morning you want, it is fair value. It is not worth it if you are counting on a certain haul, a full meal or a lie-in.
What the shared fare pays for
- Air-conditioned transfers from your hotel and back, timed around a boat out from 07:00 to 12:30.
- A seat on a boat that takes at most 12 guests.
- Rods, lines and fresh bait, so you buy and carry nothing.
- The captain's lesson in baiting, casting and reeling in, and help with every fish.
- Your own food on board, if you bring it: none is served.
Every age pays the same €45 fare, and the €5 sea fee per person comes on top, in cash. The full list is on what is included.
What it does not pay for
No meal is included, breakfast or lunch. Cold drinks are sold on board rather than handed out, though you may bring your own. Personal spending and tips are your own affair. And the sea fee is separate from the fare, by design, so the figure you book is not the whole cash cost of the morning.
None of this is hidden, but it is worth counting before you decide.
The part no fare can buy
Fish. Red mullet, sea bass, sea bream and shrimp are common, with small colourful species and occasionally a larger catch, but the fare pays for the chance and the help, not for a result. If what matters to you is a bucket of fish you can count on, no honest operator can sell you that, and you would be disappointed with any of them.
If what matters is a morning on the water learning something new, with the work of finding the ground and handling the catch done for you, the shared trip is built for exactly that.
When the private fare makes sense
Private deep sea fishing costs €650 per person, every age, plus the €5 sea fee per person in cash. That is a great deal more than a shared seat, and it buys one thing above all: nobody aboard who is not in your party. The start time and meeting point are agreed with you on WhatsApp after booking; the rest of the arrangement is settled the same way.
It is worth it if privacy is the point: a family who would not enjoy sharing, a celebration, an angler who wants the captain's time. It is poor value if you would have been just as happy on the shared morning. Our guide to shared, private or big game lays the trade-offs out in a table.
Who will not enjoy it
- Anyone who hates an early start: the boat leaves at 07:00.
- Anyone who finds waiting dull; fishing involves a good deal of it.
- Anyone who would be upset to come back without a fish.
- Anyone badly troubled by the motion of a boat, unless they have talked to us first; see our seasickness guide.
Keeping the value on your side
Nothing is paid until the day, so you risk nothing by reserving, and cancelling costs nothing until 48 hours before. Bring your own food, since none is served, carry the sea fee in cash and you will have paid exactly what you expected. When you are ready, reserve the shared deep sea fishing morning or compare every fare on the prices page.