The best team building activities are interactive, unique, and most importantly, fun! There are many team building activities San Francisco has to offer, but not all of them are created equal. Here’s our shortlist of the top actually fun things to do with teams in SF.
Since 2011, we’ve helped organizers create 5-star dining experiences that connect people better. From team building offsites and corporate events to milestone celebrations, we specialize in elevated experiences that go beyond the traditional dinner. Because connection doesn’t happen over boring meals.
Traditional dinners can be a boring, stuffy affair; that’s why we invented the San Francisco Interactive Meal! We believe that there’s no better place to bond than around a table of good food and drinks, and when you pair that with interactive experiences, you have the perfect recipe for team building! We partner with the best restaurants in SF, curate a four-course meal with three perfect beverage pairings, and pepper in activities throughout the event.
We start by teaching your team to shake up a signature cocktail, then for the second activity, you can choose to do trivia, a sommelier smelling workshop, or a chocolate tasting. Last, but certainly not least, we end the night with a unique “flavor-tripping” experience. And all the while, you get to sit back, relax, and participate with your team because an expert Avital host is there to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Why Organizers Love It:
I book Avital Walking Food Tours every year for my work events. Such a fun time walking and eating through the Mission, North Beach, and this year, we’ll be trying Chinatown!! We also participated in an Interactive Dinner this year (totally new for us), and it was so much fun! Had rave reviews from everyone!
Take your team on a food tour of the Mission District, North Beach, or Chinatown, where you’ll pop in and out of the best restaurants, enjoy curated sit-down tastings at each spot, and learn about the neighborhood’s culture and history along the way. Over the course of this three-hour tour, your team will eat a full meal, learn fun facts, have downtime to talk and bond, and share in the greatest uniting force we know of: good food! Our food tours also include complimentary team building games that are actually fun! These tours can accommodate all dietary restrictions and groups of almost any size. An expert Avital guide handles everything from making reservations to setting the menu to guiding your group on their epic foodie adventure!
Why Organizers Love It:
“I was tasked with planning a team offsite for my company and I was so excited when I found Avital tours! They made the experience easy, seamless, and stress-free from beginning to end. Everyone absolutely loved the experience I was getting compliments left and right for planning and picking it but Avital did all of the heavy lifting!”
– Torez R., Upside Foods (North Beach Food Tour)
Clay By the Bay offers a fabulous team building experience where your team can learn the art of pottery. Activities that allow your team to get hands-on and learn a new skill are great because everyone is on a level playing field, and the activity is intellectually stimulating and conversation-provoking. Over the course of 2 hours, a Clay by the Bay instructor will teach your team how to make a functional pencil holder and a second vessel of their choice. After the class ends, the crafts will be glazed and fired in the kiln, so your team can cherish them forever!
Why Organizers Love It:
“…We organized a corporate event in November with Clay by the Bay with about 17-18 people. The team had a blast making their gorgeous pots–and Clay by the Bay team was absolutely amazing and accommodating. The teacher was so patient and clear with the communication. The Clay by the Bay team also let us have a networking session making some space for our food and drinks. After the session, we had the time to network and learn about the studio and the teachers.”
Cooking classes are a popular team building choice, and the uncontested coolest class in SF is at The Story of Ramen. Cooking classes are great because the shared task of cooking is a natural icebreaker, it’s a low-pressure environment, and there’s a tangible outcome at the end of the class (in this case– your delicious bowl of ramen)! At The Story of Ramen, an expert guide will teach you how to make ramen from scratch, and at the end of the class, you will enjoy the fruits of your labor. They also offer great add-ons like a sake or tea tasting, as well as a post-cooking feast.
Why Organizers Love It:
“Highly recommend for team-building activities. The team was accommodating to various dietary needs and the activities were informative and inclusive. Time flew! The end results were super tasty too.
– Alisa Q.
One of the best ways to immerse your team in the city of San Francisco is to send them out on a scavenger hunt. Even if your team is local to SF, a scavenger hunt has the ability to give them a new perspective on the city and highlight why San Francisco is such a special place! We love scavenger hunts because they require teamwork, reward creativity and problem-solving, and are endlessly customizable. You can create your own hunt from scratch or team up with a company like Mr Treasure Hunt, which specializes in team building hunts in the Bay Area.
Why Organizers Love It:
“I just wanted to let you know that the Scavenger Hunt was an A++++ SUCCESS! EVERYBODY raved about it and I didn’t doubt it. They loved the challenging puzzles and there were comments such as, “best event I’ve been to at Google “ and “thanks, you gave me problems that were harder than my job at Google.” The latter was said out of pure joy.”
Taking your team on a private cruise is a highly rated luxury team activity in San Francisco. It’s impossible to feel unappreciated when you’re sailing on the beautiful Bay in style, perhaps taking in the sunset over a good meal with your team. City Experiences has been in the business of corporate cruising for years now. When you partner with them, you get a dedicated event staff, customizable food and beverage packages, and a dance floor (in case the fully stocked bar gets you in the mood to shake a leg.) Your team will feel pampered and relaxed after a scenic cruise on the San Francisco Bay.
Why Organizers Love It:
“Jack in sales guided me to the perfect vessel for our event, and my event planner Clara coordinated the flow and details of the evening. The friendly and attentive staff warmly greeted us, and our buffet dinner was plentiful and delicious. A fun and interesting evening for our team.”
Take advantage of one of the greatest natural resources Northern California has to offer by taking your team on a day trip to wine country. Wine tasting is a great team building activity because it is genuinely fun, a natural conversation starter, and your team will get to learn something new by getting hands-on with delicious wine.
Gourmet Food and Wine Tours offers an all-inclusive corporate tour that takes your team on a tour through Napa, Sonoma, or Sausalito, where you will enjoy gourmet food and wine pairings, take in scenic views, and learn the local secrets from an expert guide. It’s the type of activity your team will be talking about for months after!
Why Organizers Love It:
“Renee, Drew, Aleia and the rest of the team did an amazing job for our department retreat. We really enjoyed all the food and wine pairings. The ambience in each restaurant was unique and delightful. Drew, our tour guide, kept us engaged and laughing.”
– T.I.
Get your team in touch with their body and mind with a wellness experience. We’ve seen team building activities like yoga, hiking, and sound baths gain traction in recent years because these activities are proven to address burnout, encourage conversation, and promote teamwork rather than competition. Outdoor Yoga in SF offers a popular corporate yoga experience that reportedly reduces stress, improves focus, and boosts morale. They can come in and do a 30-60 minute session on-site, or you can take your team to one of their outdoor locations.
Why Organizers Love It:
“We received really rave reviews about this event! People enjoyed it so much, and the benefits have carried over post-event, creating greater mindfulness and commitment to well being and self-care on our team, which is making the office a happier, more productive place to be.”
A quality team building activity is proven to enhance productivity and improve communication in your workplace. Group Dynamix, a team-building experience company whose been innovating the field since 1998, has found that:
“Recent industry analysis reveals that companies with robust team-building programs can achieve extraordinary returns. One documented case study showed a 7.5x return on investment through a layered program that included nature immersion, somatic learning, and conscious communication activities. The tracked outcomes included 25% improvement in retention, 5.6% increase in productivity, 29.5% reduction in stress, and 9.5% improvement in collaboration.”
The numbers don’t lie! Companies that invest in team building recoup on that investment through greater productivity and collaboration.
It depends on your goals for your team. Many companies find that a quarterly team-building activity keeps morale high all year long. Others think that incorporating at least one micro-activity monthly (a food drive for charity, a pizza party, egg-drop challenge, etc.) can also help foster connection between the more elaborate quarterly activities.
We find that if your team is new, the more team-building activities you host, the faster they will mesh and create quality communication skills as a group. The same goes for if your team is having a difficult quarter or has completed a large project. Feeling celebrated and appreciated goes a long way.
A good rule of thumb:
1 team building offsite per quarter
1 micro team building activity onsite per month
Budget ranges typically fall into three tiers:
Forced fun: There shouldn’t be expectations placed on team members to behave inauthentically to their experience of the event. And there’s no need to when the chosen event is genuinely fun and engaging.
Fails to include everyone: Activities that assume everyone is physically able, extroverted, or competitive will likely alienate some people on the team. A good team-building event has multiple elements that allow everyone to do something they enjoy.
Leadership doesn’t participate: We love activities that are led by expert hosts because that allows managers and organizers to participate with their team. A great team building event levels the playing field and allows everyone to work together towards a shared goal or to enjoy a shared experience.
We find it’s a combination of these factors:
Clear Purpose: consider if the reason for this activity is that you want to build trust, strengthen communication, or celebrate your team. A team that needs to destress might consider yoga, whereas a team that deserves to celebrate would enjoy an Interactive Meal, etc.
Interactive Elements: your team didn’t come out to watch a presentation! Even if the activity is educational, there should be elements that are hands-on. That’s what we love so much about our food tours, our clients don’t even realize all the SF history they’re taking in because they’re so engaged in tasting great food and experiencing the neighborhood on their feet.
Authentic Opportunities for Connection: Icebreakers can be fun at a first meeting, but a seasoned team needs to find a more mature way to connect. A good team building event allows coworkers to let their walls down and engage more deeply with one another.
Good Adult Fun: We don’t see any reason why business and pleasure shouldn’t mix. Adults still love fun as much as they did when they were 15! The only difference is that the best activities for adults are ones that engage them mentally, physically, socially, or creatively in a way that feels rewarding rather than draining. They really want to feel like this time is a break from responsibility and work, so consider activities that center on connection and originality.
Take advantage of our unique blend of expert event planning, quirky activities, and foodie fun by booking a Food Tour or Interactive Meal with us! Our inclusive per-person pricing and incredible local hosts make us the perfect partner for your team building needs.
Avital Ungar is dining and restaurant expert and the founder of Avital Experiences. She has spent 15+ years designing dining experiences nationwide and has been featured in The New York Times, Shark Tank, Travel Channel, Bon Appétit, and more. Learn more
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SF Interactive Meal
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North Beach Food Tour
San Francisco
Chinatown Food Tour
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Mission District Food Tour
