Team building activities are often an important part of a company conference. The benefits of team activity run deep and wide. With a focus on collaboration, trust, motivation and just plain group fun, companies can discover far more about employees in an afternoon of team building than in several months in the office.

Upper management will tell you that team building activities truly help employees bond, leadership skills flourish and creativity expand.

Rather than relying on indoor group activities, games, and icebreakers to promote collaboration, try thinking outside the box (or outside the office in this case) and watch your company get excited about group activities.

Outdoor activities naturally facilitate positive emotions and reduce stress, creating the perfect environment for team bonding. Along with the obvious physical benefits, a slightly competitive team building adventure can do wonders for the psyche.

Yet, finding a team building activity that everyone will enjoy can be a challenge in and of itself. Meeting planners hoping to boost attendee engagement may want to incorporate an understanding of the destination’s culture and vibe into their team building activities. This is actually easy to do when your program happens to be in a luxury destination, such as Newport Beach, CA and plays off and up the resort atmosphere. In fact, you’re likely to find that your group is eager to participate.

Team building activity that showcases the destination

To help meeting planners get their group excited about team building, we’ve listed two top activities that showcase the destination, have mental and/or physical challenges and cater to most group sizes.

The first, led by Firefly Events is a spin off of Cash Cab, in which teams compete against each other through a series of mental and physical challenges while participating in a citywide scavenger hunt. The game begins on board a coach – this can be one large group vehicle or separate, smaller vehicles with one team per coach. Each team will be given their “mission”, explaining the event details, objective and ways in which they can earn points. They will then set out on the course, which will vary depending on the number of questions answered correctly along the journey. If your team answers the questions correctly the driver can take a shortcut bypassing the next stop and your team moves on to the next level.

Along the way, teams will be asked to locate and take photos of a particular item, this could be a city landmark or restaurant or they may choose to earn additional ‘bonus’ points by physically collecting certain items. This activity allows your group to experience the beauty, history and diverse landscape of Newport Beach, CA.

An unusual team building activity groups can get excited about

The second highly popular team building activity showcases gorgeous Newport Harbor with it’s estate lined islands and historic landmarks. In this twist to a traditional scavenger hunt, guests hop onboard quiet, comfortable electric Duffy boats for a scavenger hunt through Newport Harbor. This activity has teams racing through the water to retrieve clues, taking them to various points around the harbor where they either collect scavenger hunt items or participate in mental team challenges to ‘win’ prizes. Duffy’s can also double as space for a relaxing cocktail cruise once the team challenge is complete.

When you’re ready to try a refreshing twist on traditional team building activities or are looking for the perfect fit for your next program, connect with the staff at Visit Newport Beach the destination marketing organization for Newport Beach, CA. Visit Newport Beach opens the doors to this coastal paradise with destination expertise, customized site visits, strong partnerships and resources that ease the planning process.