Planning a group safari from Viking Mars in Kuşadası

Viking Mars has two Kuşadası dates on the books, close together and early in our season. The port schedule as of early October 2026 lists Wednesday 28 April 2027 and Tuesday 4 May 2027, six days apart, and nothing else in the next 12 months. Both fall after our winter closure, which lasts from 1 December until 31 March; the safaris start again on 1 April, four weeks before the first of them.

The port times have not been announced yet for either call, so the question of morning or afternoon will have to wait. When the times are published, they appear on the Viking Mars page next to each date.

Viking Mars entered service in 2022. She carries about 930 guests, according to Viking.

Use the wait to sort out your group

If you are travelling as a couple, there is little to prepare. With children, grandparents or friends who have different ideas of a good morning, the months before the times come out are a good moment to decide who does what. Two things narrow the choice quickly: the age limits, and who in the group actually wants to drive.

The ages that matter

• Driving a quad or buggy: 16 or older. No driving licence is needed.
• Riding as the second person in a double quad or buggy: possible for children, but not for those younger than about 2.
• Horse safari: from 8 (younger children with an experienced adult companion).

Drive yourself, share, or ride a horse

On the buggy safari and the quad safari you choose single or double vehicles, so a parent can drive a double with a child as passenger while a teenager of 16 or over takes a single. Every rider wears a helmet and goggles, there is a safety briefing before the start, and the guide leads the group in convoy. The horse safari suits complete beginners and goes out as a small group with a riding guide; helmets are provided. A swim at the beach on that tour depends on the season.

When the times come out: two checks

We ride twice a day, at 11:00 and 16:00, and we need everyone back at the port at least 60 minutes before the ship sails. In practice:

Morning ride. Viking Mars has to be in port by 10:10 and leave no earlier than 15:15.

Afternoon ride. She has to be in port by 15:10 and leave no earlier than 20:15.

A group adds one more thing to check. The all-aboard time in the daily programme is usually earlier than the departure time, and it applies to the slowest member of your party, not the quickest. Measure the hour back from that time if it is earlier. If either Mars date looks tight or seems to involve an overnight stay, send us a WhatsApp message.

A group afternoon, start to finish

Say your call passes the afternoon test. The morning is yours, on board or in town. By 15:10 the whole group needs to be at the Kervansaray meeting point (The Big Ottoman Palace), about 50 m from the cruise port exit (map). Agree a time to gather inside the port first, so nobody is still looking for the others at 15:10.

From there it is about 15 minutes by road to the pine forest behind Pamucak beach. The ride starts at 16:00 and lasts around two hours, with a 30-minute sea break at Pamucak beach in the middle. You are back at the port between 18:45 and 19:15.

The morning version works the same way: meet at 10:10, ride at 11:00, back between 13:45 and 14:15.

Booking for several people

When the times for your date are out, open the cruise day planner, choose Viking Mars and the date, and it shows which session fits and fills in the reservation form. Have the head count and the children's ages ready; they decide the vehicles. If some of your party spend a night in Kuşadası before or after the cruise, their hotel day does not depend on the ship, and from April to November we can collect them from the hotel.

Both dates, with times as they are confirmed, are on the full list of Viking Mars calls.