If you've come here from our link on our main site, the answer to the question on the difference between a kayak an a canoe depends on where you're from.  In the US, a kayak is a boat that you sit in and use a double-bladed paddle.  Folks in Europe call this same boat a canoe. In the US, a canoe is a boat you kneel in and use a single-bladed paddle.

PaddleAsia specializes in small group canoeing, rafting, hiking and mountain climbing adventures to remote and unspoiled destinations in Southeast Asia including Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. We’ve developed programs that allow you to  genuinely experience the destination by immersing yourself in the environment.  We are dedicated birders and orchid lovers.

We are a nature-based canoeing adventure travel tour operator. Every aspect of our lives (personally and as tour leaders), is naturally geared toward the enjoyment of the environment without unduly changing it.

Although we do some land-based trekking and mountain biking as a part of our trips, our primary means of experiencing an area is on water, be it ocean, river, or lake. We use muscle-powered sea canoes and rafts to lessen our impact on the environment and to get closer to the natural world. We find paddling our own craft to be the most practical balance between exposing our guests to a new environment and not interfering with existing ecosystems.

We use modern touring decked sea canoes. We sit inside these canoes, not on top. Click here for further information, why we use traditional canoes. For our Laos river trips, we use inflatable canoes and a big 7 person river raft. Our guests can rotate between paddling in an inflatable canoe and being a part of the raft team.

Some trips are easier than other.  Our Khao Sok National Park trip is very easy.  We spend a lot of time just sitting in our canoes watching monkeys and birds. Our Phang Nga Bay trip is another easy trip.  The Rivers of Vientiane is for just about everyone.  You'll have to paddle through a few stretches, but all in all, it's very easy. Our support truck meets us at the end of every day. We'll have electricity, toilets, and a restaurant after a day's paddling.

We prefer bungalows and guesthouses over camping in the tropics.  We usually choose our accommodations according to the quality of their restaurant!  Comfort, convenience, and great food is our hallmark.  

Experience is certainly not necessary for most of our trips; we train beginners and novices during the trip and gear our trips accordingly. Most of our guests haven’t paddled before.

Canoeing is an ever-growing and rewarding recreational activity. Nothing beats sneaking up on wildlife from the convenience of a canoe. You will have experiences in a canoe that you simply can’t by any other means.

We are the most experienced paddlers in southern Thailand.