Enjoy some reflections and images from previous guests about their experiences traveling around Croatia with me!
2026
Hi Penny! Just wanted to express our deepest appreciation for you and the tour you put together. We have been reflecting on all the amazing things we saw and the lovely people we met on that tour, and it was all because of you. You are a great guide and you have put together a truly special Croatian itinerary. The pickleball activities were abundant and the locations we played were all uniquely special. Your lessons were invaluable and your love of the sport is unquestionable. You have developed a broad network of players and friends across Croatia and that made the tour feel like we were being welcomed into a family with a common interest. We can’t express the depth of the gratitude we feel for the experiences we had while on your tour. You’ve made Croatia a special place for us and we can’t wait to return. And for that, we have, and will continue to, sing your praises and recommend your tour to everyone we know.❤️ ~David and Kyle, Colorado, USA
Having just finished our pickleball playing and cultural tour of Croatia, we can enthusiastically recommend doing this tour with Penny Eifrig. Being a local Croatian resident gives Penny the inside track for small intimate local attractions that work well with the small group of 6 people.
We also appreciated Penny's pickleball teaching style, which was to play with and against each person and then hone in on each individual's worst few weaknesses. 10 days of correction on these faults rendered good results. A definite highlight of the trip was playing with local players. So. Much. Fun!
Thank you for helping create fantastic memories of Croatia for us, Penny!
~Bill and Suzanne, Toronto, Canada
2025
2023
Coffeys2go Pickleball (amazing photos by the Coffeys (hoverhigher.com))
Milna, Island of Brač, Croatia - First dedicated pickleball courts!
I contacted Penny Smith Eifrig. She was happy to share info about where we could play, and the status of new courts that had just been built, the first dedicated courts in the country. They are in a small town named Milna on the island of Brač near Split.
You can see for yourselves in the photos that the courts and the area are truly beautiful. The court surface on the two new dedicated courts was new to all of us, and it took just a bit to get used to it. It is kind of rubbery, and balls didn't always come up as one would expect them to. It made for lots of laughs and jokes, but then it didn't seem to be an issue after a day or two. At least it gave us a new excuse!
We played on those courts five of our six days on Brač. After pickleball, we rounded out the rest of each day doing fun things like swimming in the slightly warm (early autumn) Adriatic, visiting other nearby seaside towns, playing card games with the group, eating lots of pastries and ice cream (which is okay when you're playing pickleball every day).
Penny had booked an Airbnb in Milna for her group of 7. When we decided to tag along, she inquired with her hostess about any nearby rentals. We really lucked out with a wonderful woman who turned out to be one of our very favorite hostesses ever (and that's saying a lot!). Julijana (j's are pronounced as y's) was about 70, but with the energy of a 30 year old. We met her just coming out of the ocean from kayaking, climbing the steep stairs to the house.
Over the course of the week, she invited us to help make wine, pick olives and eat a meal together over making wine. She brought us homemade amaretto and olives, wine, cheese and sardines made by her friends and lots of other food. As Julijana put it, you couldn't do the work of making wine without all of that. I'm really missing her and her amaretto!
We enjoyed meeting all of Penny's group, four of whom are pickleball instructors. They were heading eastward to the town of Gospič to put on an exhibition to teach newcomers to play, and to help the locals increase their skills.
Overall, Brač was one of our favorite international pickleball visits. That was due in large part to having great people to play with, a fabulous place to stay with stunning views, and the best hostess we could ever have imagined. It doesn't get much better than that.
Thanks for following along on our journey. Stay tuned for pickleball in Zagreb, Croatia!
Having just finished our pickleball playing and cultural tour of Croatia, we can enthusiastically recommend doing this tour with Penny Eifrig. Being a local Croatian resident gives Penny the inside track for small intimate local attractions that work well with the small group of 6 people. 
