A padel camp is somewhere between a training block and a holiday, and which one you get depends entirely on the format. A week in Spain will improve your padel. So will twelve lessons at your own club for the same money, and this page works out when each is the better buy.
Declaration. We do not sell, organise or broker padel trips, and there is no affiliate link on this page. Worth saying because every result on the first page of this search does, including the ones that look like guides.
The three formats
| Format | Coaching | What it is really for |
|---|---|---|
| Training camp | 10–15 hours a week, plus physical prep | Genuine improvement. Structured blocks, video, drills. Tiring. |
| Padel holiday | 6–10 hours a week, plus organised matches | A holiday that happens to include padel. The common format. |
| Play-only trip | None — court access and match-ups | Volume. Six days of padel with people at your level. |
The word “camp” is used for all three, so read the hours before the photographs. Ten hours of coaching in a week is a training block; four hours plus “daily social matches” is a holiday.
What a week costs
| What | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Coaching-only package, no accommodation | £280–450 |
| Week with 3–4 star accommodation and half board | £700–1,200 |
| Academy-branded camp with full programme | £1,200–2,000+ |
| Long weekend, 3 nights | £350–600 |
| Flights from the UK | Almost never included |
These are market ranges observed across published British and European operators, not quotations — the price of any specific week depends on the season, the resort and how many hours of court time are actually in it. Add flights, and add transfers if the venue is not on the coast.
The arithmetic nobody selling a camp will do for you. A £900 week with eight coaching hours works out at about £110 an hour of coaching, before flights. Twelve group lessons at a British club cost roughly £180, or two private hours cost £100. If your objective is purely to improve, the local option is not close. If your objective is a week in the sun playing padel with people at your level, the camp is exactly what you want — just be clear which one you are buying. British lesson prices are in padel lessons.
Where they are
| Destination | Character | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Costa del Sol, Andalusia | The densest club network in the world and the deepest coaching pool. Most camps are here. | Almost year round; brutal in August |
| Valencia and the east coast | Academy-led programmes, often cheaper | Spring and autumn |
| Mallorca | Academy-branded, structured, expensive | Spring and autumn |
| Canary Islands | The winter option that works. Tenerife in January is the reason British players go | Year round, best November to March |
| Portugal, Algarve | Fewer courts, cheaper, quieter | March to October |
| Dubai and the Gulf | Very high-end, indoor and air-conditioned | October to April |
Spain dominates for a structural reason rather than a marketing one: it has more courts and more coaches than anywhere else, so the price of an hour of good coaching is lower there than it is in Britain.
What to check before you book
- Coaching hours, stated as a number. “Daily coaching” can mean ninety minutes. Ask for the weekly total.
- Group size. Four to a court is a lesson. Eight is a queue. This is the single biggest determinant of how much you actually hit.
- Whether the courts are yours. Some packages book court time; others give you access to a public club and hope. Ask whether the courts are reserved for the programme.
- Indoor availability. Andalusia in March is not reliably dry, and an outdoor-only venue can lose you two days. What changes between the two is in indoor vs outdoor padel.
- Level grouping. A camp that does not group by level puts a level 2 on court with a level 5, which wastes both. Ask how they split, and give them your honest level — the scale is in padel levels explained.
- What “physical prep” means. Sometimes a proper conditioning session with a trainer; sometimes a jog on the beach.
Who gets the most out of one
| You are… | Verdict |
|---|---|
| A complete beginner | Wait. Play at home first. A camp before you can rally spends most of its hours on things a £15 group clinic covers. |
| Level 3, stuck on the overhead | Ideal. Consecutive days of repetition is exactly what a bandeja needs, and it is very hard to get at home. See the bandeja. |
| Level 4–5, plateaued | Good, if the coaching is small-group and there is video. |
| A pair who play together | The best case. Positioning and communication are what improve fastest, and only a pair can work on them. |
| Someone who wants a holiday | Also good. Just buy the holiday format rather than the training one, and do not expect to come back a level up. |
What to take
Less than you would think, and one thing you will forget.
- Two rackets, if you own two. Frames break, and a replacement at a resort shop costs what a resort shop charges.
- Spare overgrips. You will play more in a week than in the previous two months, in more heat. Four to six of them — see best padel grips and overgrips.
- A second pair of shoes. The one thing people forget. Playing five consecutive days in one pair means playing in damp shoes from day three.
- Balls, if you are fussy. Camps supply them and you do not choose which.
- Nothing else. The full kit list is in the padel equipment guide.
The cheaper alternative most British players ignore
Court time in Britain is not scarce any more. The number of courts has grown very fast, and a group of four splitting a £30 court twice a week is £7.50 each per session — more hours of actual padel per pound than any camp, without a flight.
The thing a camp buys that home does not is consecutive days. Skills consolidate through repetition close together, which is why five days in a row moves a shot in a way five weeks of Tuesdays does not. If you go, that is what you are paying for, and it is a real thing to pay for. The state of British provision is in padel in the UK.
Frequently asked questions
What is a padel holiday?
A trip built around padel, usually in Spain, combining coaching hours with organised matches and accommodation. Formats range from a genuine training camp of 10 to 15 coaching hours a week to a holiday with a few sessions attached.
How much does a padel holiday cost?
Roughly £700 to £1,200 for a week with accommodation and half board, £280 to £450 for a coaching-only package, and £1,200 upwards for an academy-branded programme. Flights are almost never included.
Where are the best padel camps?
Spain, for a structural reason: it has more courts and more coaches than anywhere else, so an hour of good coaching costs less. Andalusia and Valencia for spring and autumn, the Canary Islands for winter.
Are padel holidays worth it for beginners?
Usually not. A camp before you can rally spends its hours on material a £15 group clinic at home covers. Play locally first and go once you have a specific thing to fix.
How many hours of coaching should a padel camp include?
Ten to fifteen a week for a real training camp; six to ten for a holiday format. Ask for the number rather than accepting “daily coaching”, and ask how many players share a court.
Do you need to bring your own racket to a padel camp?
Bring your own, and a spare if you have one. Camps supply balls and sometimes loan rackets, but playing a week on an unfamiliar frame undoes the point of the trip.
Sources. Formats, destinations and price ranges compiled from publicly advertised British and European padel camp operators consulted on 30/08/2026, and given as market ranges rather than quotations. PadelGrade does not sell, organise or broker padel trips and earns nothing from this page.