Paddle Asia Mission Statement

Paddle Asia is 100% Thai owned. Dave Williams (founder) is not an owner or shareholder. He is now semi-retired and only does marketing. Paddle Asia is run by the 100% Thai team.

Paddle Asia delivers the highest quality outdoor experiences, achieved through the education and safety of our guests, respect and preservation of our environment, personal growth of our staff and an unwavering commitment to ethical excellence.

Paddle Asia was developed as a result of seeing what was happening in the various existing kayaking companies in Phuket and Krabi. Paddle Asia is the result of realizing that there was a definite important niche that needed to be filled: small group tours with high quality gear and highly trained guides.

The kayaking in Southern Thailand was and still is all about the day trip and getting as many guests on trips as possible to the most convenient places possible. The majority of these guests are acquired through travel agents who are often more interested in making commission than in offering the best possible tour for their clients' hard-earned money.

The result is that you are put on whomever offers the best commission instead of who offers the best trip. Paddle Asia therefore chose to do primary marketing, whereby we talk to you. You do not have to go through anyone to book our adventures.

We questioned the status quo

• Where could you go if you wanted a unique experience with nature sans the thundering masses?
• Where could you go if you did not want to share Mother Nature's wonders with a bunch of people who didn't share your desire for solitude and a one-on-one affair with these wonders?
• Where could you go if you wanted to paddle for yourself instead of having a guide paddle for you?
• Where could you go if you wanted a proper sit-inside kayak instead of a sit-on-top or an inflatable boat?
• Where could a potential visitor go to talk directly to the person responsible for how they are going to spend their very valuable vacation time without having to go through a commission-intensive travel agent?

These were the questions that lead to the formation of Paddle Asia.

Some companies offered overnight and multi-day trips, but they were not up to speed on their natural history knowledge, safety or paddling skills. Paddle Asia strove to do just the oppose, resulting is us doing all that we could to avoid seeing any other visitors.

Though we do operate private trips, our main mission is to provide safe adventures for school groups and private individuals by focusing on international safety standards while having a solid knowledge in the sciences.

Besides offering high quality tours to our guests, Paddle Asia is attempting to show the government and other tour operators that they do not have to compromise their environmental ethics in order to have a viable business. Another goal is to provide our Thai staff with personal growth opportunities with the full understanding that the protection of Thailand's remaining natural wonders in paramount for the future of the Kingdom.

Paddle Asia does not apply for meaningless eco tourism awards, most of which are handed out by organizations that have nothing to do with low impact responsible tourism and who hold their award ceremonies in fancy five-star mega resorts. Recognition for doing what should be the industry standard is a bit superfluous. Our focus instead is on minimizing our impact and being the safest adventure tour company in the region. No one is as highly certified to international safety standards as the Paddle Asia team!

Everything in the world, no matter what it is, depends on something else for its existence. If you understand and accept the systems theory you see the need for a balanced ecological view of the world, the need for changes in the manner in which we do business with each other, and the need for a general shift in technology toward a more friendly use of the limited supply of natural resources.

Kayaking Day Trips.

No matter how beautiful a kayaking destination is, if the guides do it day after day they will get tired of it. That boredom will reflect in how they run the trip.

We offer a day trip in Phang Nga Bay, but that is not the focus of our attention. We are primarily an expedition company.

Certification in Paddlesports and First Aid

Dave is a British Canoe Union Level 2 Coach (trained to Level 3) and is the most experienced paddler in all of Southern Thailand.

Dave is an Emergency First Response Instructor and a certified rescue technician through the Rescue 3 International organization. Dave is also a certified Life Guard through the British Canoe Union. View certifications. Paddle Asia guides are EFR certified in CPR, First Aid, and basic life guard training.

Our sister site: 

Follow us on

18/58 Thanon Rasdanusorn, T, Rasada, Phuket Town Note: We don't offer walk-in bookings Tel numbers for emergencies, not bookings: Dave's mobile (English): 081 8936558 Whatsapp Moo's mobile (Thai): 081 7974855 For bookings, contact us.

Tourism Authority of Thailand License Number 34/00224 Proof of Insurance