Ten years on the road, and a paddle in the bag
I started guiding in 2016. Since then I've taken travellers from the rice terraces on the Chinese border to the rivers of the Mekong Delta, with Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An and Saigon in between. I've stopped counting how many people I've looked after, but it's in the thousands: solo travellers, couples, families, and groups of eight to sixteen who wanted the country done properly. Most of them came from America, Australia and Europe, and many were in their fifties, sixties and seventies.
Pickleball came later. I came to it from badminton, with a sore wrist and no idea how much I'd love it. I tell that story, and how a couple of American guests talked me into building this website, in my guide to playing pickleball in Vietnam. These days I play in Hanoi most weeks, usually at Taurus, on the edge of the Old Quarter.
What I learned from ten years of guiding is simple: the best trips are private, unhurried and built around what you actually enjoy. So that's the only kind I plan. No fixed departures, no strangers on your bus, and courts booked at the times you want to play.
Where I'd go if it were up to me
If you ask me for my favourite part of Vietnam, I'll send you down the south-central coast: Nha Trang, Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan and the dunes at Mui Ne. For a town, it's Da Lat or Sapa, every time. I'll be honest about why: I'm always hot. Wherever we are, I'm the one sweating through his shirt by 9am, so anywhere with cool mountain air feels like a holiday to me too. It's also why I'll always tell you to play early.
Who handles the ground
I plan the trip and stay with you on WhatsApp from the first message to the day you fly home. The ground logistics, from hotels and transport to the guides in each city, run through our partner 365Aplus Travel, a registered Vietnamese company (business registration and tax code 0110251990). It's why a booking with us is a booking with a real company in Vietnam, not just a person with a phone.