People continue to combine their passion for pickleball with their love for travel
Sometimes, pickleball in your home city isn’t enough.
Sometimes, people passionate about pickleball pack paddles and head for their vacations.
Take Alicia Ortiz, for example. Last summer, the Pinecrest resident booked a trip to Saint Lucia with a company called “Pickled A Broad”, which designs a health and wellness pickleball retreat.
“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Ortiz, who does not have an athletic background but fell in love with pickleball three years ago. “We had five pickleball clinics with a pro (Eva Welsher) giving us three hours of intense lessons per day.”
Ortiz said the price point was about $4,000 for the week, and that included the stay at a luxurious all-inclusive hotel, Body Holiday.
“We did yoga and daily massages, and we walked to the resort’s private beach to enjoy water sports and the sunsets,” Ortiz said. “We also made lasting friendships with people who look us up when they are in Miami and vice versa. We’re still well connected on chats.”
Another option for those who want to travel and play is Pickleball Getaways.
The co-founders of this group are Ben Johns, a Boca Raton resident who is regarded by many as the best pickleball player ever; and Dekel Bar, a native of Israel who came to this sport after having been a professional tennis player.
Bar, a 32-year-old resident of Austin, Texas, said the idea for Pickleball Getaways started because his mother works in travel, tailoring trips for families.
After the idea came to him, Bar approached his friend Johns and said: “Why don’t we combine the clinics you are doing with a fun destination?”
Bar said Pickleball Getaways has taken players to places such as Portugal; Spain; Croatia; Slovenia; Mexico; Costa Rica; the Dominican Republic; and more.
The cost for one week is $2,600 per person, and that includes lodging, food, transportation and the pickleball program.
“We teach them in the morning, and there is open play in the afternoon,” Bar said. “They also go on excursions outside of the resort.
“It’s open to all levels but mostly we get players who are 2.5s to 4.5s, and we split them up accordingly.”
Then there’s Steve Rose, a Boca Raton resident who has been playing pickleball for 10 years. He organizes pickleball trips a couple of times a year.
For example, Rose and Kyle Yates have hosted pickleball enthusiasts at the “Pura Vida House” in Costa Rica. The house is located near Tamarindo and within Hacienda Pinilla, which is a five-star beach resort.
The cost for lodging and one week of pickleball is $2,500 per person.
“I’m addicted to pickleball, and I’ve been doing these trips for five years,” Rose said. “We’re leaving for Costa Rica again in two weeks.
“We rent two houses there – one with room for 10 people and the other with room for eight. We have a private chef, and we take golf carts to the courts.”
Rose said his trip works for pickleball players of all levels. Instruction is provided.
“We gather at 8 a.m. at the courts and work on different elements of pickleball,” Rose said. “Then we give individual attention or set players up in groups, and then play games.
“We’ve also done a trip to Turks and Caicos Islands, and we’re planning a similar one in the mountains of North Carolina in September.”
Another option for pickleball and travel is to book a cruise. Prices vary greatly depending on what type of room and your destination.
However, because of the way the sport has blown up, most cruises these days offer pickleball, including Norwegian’s newest ships, which have an indoor, caged-in set-up for the sport.
In addition, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Sea has scheduled a “Pickleball at Sea” cruise for Nov. 9. The cruise will be hosted by pro pickleball instructor Bob McDowell. This will be McDowell’s 12th time hosting a pickleball cruise.
Also, all Holland America cruise ships have at least one pickleball court, and they also offer free lessons for beginners. Holland America cruises also provide “How to Play Pickleball” videos for guests on their in-cabin TVs.
Holland America, after all, is the official cruise line of the Professional Pickleball Association.
Kathy and Robert Mendez, a married couple from Miami, booked two Holland America cruises over the past couple of years, and they played pickleball on each trip.
The pickleball court on Holland America has a beautiful top-deck view, they said. However, there were issues.
“There was only one court, and it was extremely windy,” Kathy Mendez said. “The court didn’t have enough space on the sides or in the back.
“But we had fun.”
Robert Mendez said the surface was just metal that was painted.
“It wasn’t ideal,” Robert Mendez said. “You couldn’t lob too high because there was a net overhead at about 15 or 18 feet.
“But there were a lot of newcomers to the sport watching. They all wanted to try it.”
Soon, Kathy and Robert will take a cruise to Greece, Turkey and Italy, and – yup – they will pack their pickleball paddles.
As Rose said, “‘Destination Pickleball’ can be whatever you dream it to be.”