Riley Palmer, known as @smileyrileypickleball on Instagram, has gone viral with her promotion of upcoming pickleball on yacht vacations.

The posts feature an inflatable pickleball court tied up next to a yacht in exotic locations across the globe. 

So who is Palmer, and how did she find herself chartering luxury yachts and tethering pickleball courts to them? 

“My pickleball journey began when I got divorced after 21 years and three kids and I needed to find something really healthy and with a healthy community to separate myself from the hard parts of life. So when I went to the pickleball court, the people were awesome and the community was so welcoming and loving that I immediately fell for it like a school crush,” explained Palmer. 

After Palmer caught the pickleball bug, she got certified as a coach.

“I was taking lessons and competing in a lot of tournaments, including the PPA. And I was enjoying teaching people so much that I started mentoring under coaches that I looked up to. I watched training videos and now I have so many students from college kids to empty nesters,” said Palmer. 

Coaching is one of Palmer’s passions. But another one is travel. Palmer’s mom is a travel agent and charters trips across the world. One of those trips was a yacht charter trip about four years ago that planted the seed for Palmer’s next business venture that features pickleball, coaching, and travel. 

“I could not believe that you could have a room on a yacht with five-star service, hot tubs, and a one to two ratio staff. I have a video of me pulling together a metal soccer net at a local public park and just dinking back and forth,” said Palmer. 

“After that, I met with a boat tour operator and created an itinerary, networked, met with hotels, facilitated having temporary courts, and created these really epic exclusive vacations with a good price tag,” she continued. 

“If you were going to rent a yacht and fill it with your friends, you’re looking at $150,000 plus a week. I basically take on the wholesale – I’m like Costco,” Palmer explained. 

“I take on the responsibility of planning the trip, curating the activities, building the relationships with the locals, facilitating the registration, marketing everything, and then people get to for a price tag of $4,000 starting,” she continued. 

And Palmer curates a pretty special experience for guests featuring authentic cuisine, beautiful destinations, and a lot of pickleball.   

“I have so much joy watching people when they first walk onto the boat and it sets in that this is where they will get to hang out for the next week,” she said. 

In 2025, Palmer is chartering five trips over the summer to destinations including Italy, Croatia, and Greece. 

For more information on how to book one of these exclusive vacations, click here and follow Palmer on Instagram for all trip updates.