Startup Retreats

Bring your startup team together to plan, build, and grow

1000+
Offsites organized
10
Years of experience
200+
Retreat locations

Why organize a startup retreat?

As your startup grows, it becomes harder to keep everyone aligned. New hires join, teams expand, and important conversations often get lost in Slack or video calls.

A startup retreat (also called a startup offsite) gives your team the opportunity to reconnect, align on priorities, and create momentum for the next stage of growth. It's also a great way to celebrate major milestones, such as a successful funding round, product launch, or team expansion.

Surf Office helps startups organize productive retreats by handling accommodation, meeting spaces, activities, and logistics from start to finish.

Organize your next startup retreat with Surf Office

1000+ retreats organized ● 10 years of experience ● 200+ retreat locations

Sample Retreat Itinerary in Mallorca

Looking for inspiration? Here's an example of a 3-day startup retreat in Mallorca centered around a team hackathon.

Day 1: Arrival & Planning

Settling in and setting the stage

  • 14:00–17:00Airport transfers and hotel check-in
  • 17:00–18:30Company update and roadmap presentation
  • 18:30–19:30Hackathon kickoff and team formation
  • 20:00–22:00Welcome dinner by the sea

Day 2: Hackathon Sprint

Build, collaborate & explore

  • 07:30–08:30Breakfast at hotel
  • 09:00–12:30Focused hackathon sessions
  • 12:30–14:00Lunch
  • 14:00–17:00Team mentoring, collaboration and project development
  • 17:00–20:00Catamaran cruise along the Mallorcan coast
  • 20:00–22:30Dinner in Palma

Day 3: Presentations & Celebration

Demos, awards & farewell

  • 07:30–08:30Breakfast at hotel
  • 09:00–11:30Final project presentations and demos
  • 11:30–12:30Team feedback and awards ceremony
  • 12:30–14:00Celebration lunch
  • 14:00–17:00Airport transfers and departures

Recent retreats organized by Surf Office

Best retreat locations

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Organize your next startup retreat with Surf Office

1000+ retreats organized ● 10 years of experience ● 200+ retreat locations

Startup retreat activity ideas

Looking for inspiration on how to keep your startup busy on the retreat?
Here are some activities that Surf Office has hosted in the past:

company retreat activity beach

Head to the beach

Workday, a people analytics company, hosted its company retreat in Barcelona. The team spent at the beach with activities like stand up paddle, swimming, and a surfing lesson. A beach trip is good for big groups because everyone can do what they want. Some can swim, some can play beach volleyball, and some can veg in the sun.

company retreat activity gran canaria

Take a hike

Get away from the noise and hustle of the city and bring your team for a nature hike. Our destinations in the Catskill Mountains, Zion national park, and Gran Canaria are perfect for bringing your team on a hike for some fresh air.

company retreat activity

Treasure hunt

Break up your larger group in small teams and take a walk through the historic streets of Lisbon, for instance. See famous monuments, hidden gems, and learn about the culture of the city on a scavenger hunt. Get to know the city and each other in a fun way.

company retreat activity sailing

Sailing trip

Surf Office can arrange as many boats as necessary to take your company for a sunset sail. We’ve hosted short sailing trips for our retreats in Lisbon, Ericeira, Santa Cruz, Mallorca, Valencia, and Barcelona. These are memorable evenings out – usually with a stunning sunset!

company retreat activity ted talk

Host a speaker or Ted Talk

Invite a local expert to speak about something out-of-the-box. Or, have your employees volunteer to give informal Ted Talk-style presentations about something they’re passionate about. This approach leverages internal resources, uplifts individual interests, and shows your support for skills beyond work roles.

company retreat activity evbox

Share a meal

EVBox is a company focused on providing charging solutions for electric vehicles. Their group of 200 people joined Surf Office for a company retreat. In the process, we hosted a special dining experience in Lisbon with traditional dishes and drinks. Organizing meals can be a challenge for large groups: read what we’ve learned about making restaurant reservations.

company retreat activity

Hackathon

If you want to keep your team bonding business-focused, host a hackathon. Divide the large group up into small teams and work on a project. A traditional hackathon focuses on creative problem-solving – emphasis on “creative.” Don’t be afraid to make the hackathon open-ended to foster innovation.

FAQs about startup retreats

What is a startup retreat?

A startup retreat is an event that brings founders and employees together outside the office to focus on strategy, team alignment, company culture, and relationship building. Startup retreats, sometimes called startup offsites, combine productive work sessions with opportunities for team bonding.

Why do startups organize retreats?

Startups organize offsites to strengthen company culture, improve communication, align on priorities, and create space for deeper collaboration. They are especially valuable for remote and fast-growing teams.

How often should a startup retreat take place?

Many startups organize an offsite once or twice per year. Fully remote companies and rapidly growing teams may benefit from more frequent gatherings to maintain alignment and build stronger relationships.

What should be included in a startup retreat agenda?

A successful startup retreat agenda typically includes strategy sessions, roadmap planning, workshops, team-building activities, and informal networking. The best startup offsites balance focused work with opportunities for employees to connect outside of their daily responsibilities.

How long should a startup retreat be?

Most startup retreats last between 3 and 5 days. This gives teams enough time for meaningful collaboration, planning sessions, and team bonding without spending too much time away from day-to-day operations.

What are the benefits of a startup retreat?

Startup retreats can improve communication, strengthen company culture, increase employee engagement, encourage innovation, and help teams align around shared goals. Many founders view offsites as one of the most effective ways to keep growing teams connected.

What are the best locations for a startup retreat?

The best startup retreat locations offer reliable infrastructure, inspiring surroundings, convenient travel connections, and opportunities for team activities. Popular choices include Ericeira, Costa Brava, Berlin, Mallorca, Austin, and Bangkok.

Should a startup retreat focus on work or team building?

The most successful startup retreats include both. Strategic discussions and workshops help teams make progress on business goals, while team-building activities strengthen trust and create stronger relationships across the company.

Are startup retreats worth it for remote teams?

Absolutely. Many remote startups use retreats and offsites to create face-to-face interactions that are difficult to replicate online. These gatherings help strengthen culture, improve communication, and build lasting relationships between teammates.

How much does a startup retreat cost?

The cost of a startup retreat depends on factors such as destination, accommodation, group size, duration, and activities. Most startups aim to find the right balance between achieving business objectives and creating a memorable experience for their team.

💛 Wall of love 💛

We had an unforgettable company offsite in Panama with 19 team members, and everything from start to finish was exceptional. The food was incredible, authentic, fresh, and consistently delicious throughout the trip. Our hotel stay was fantastic, especially the strong air conditioning, which was a huge plus in the tropical heat! Surf Office did an outstanding job managing everything. As a small team, using them was a huge help to ensure we hit deadlines, found team-building activities, and had a good selection of food choices. They were professional, highly organized, and incredibly on top of every detail, making the experience smooth and stress-free for everyone involved. From scheduling to coordination and on-the-ground support, they handled it all flawlessly. Transportation during the event was well-organized and reliable, making it easy to move between activities without a hitch. Overall, this was a 10/10 experience. Highly recommend this destination and working with Surf Office for any team looking to recharge, connect, and be inspired in a beautiful location. We will absolutely be using them again for our next company off site!

Ashley
Operations Director

I had a great experience working with Surf Office! Elke and Alvaro were extremely helpful throughout the process and I always felt confident our retreat planning was in good hands. We've held 2 retreats working Surf Office and would recommend them to anyone looking for help planning a company retreat.

Sarah
Project and Operations Manager

We are a 100% remote Software Company that has been doing self organized Teamevents since 2016. They are a very important part of our company culture and something the whole company is looking forward to throughout the year. As the company grew we have been searching for a partner to organize a Teamevent for 50 People in 2024 and have found the perfect one with Surf Office. The main advantage for us was not them taking over the main organization, it was that they just had the same vibe. You can find people who will organize a team retreat for you - but only a few will catch the right vibe and select the right venues - Surf Office does! Needless to say that the whole process was smooth and the organization was flawless. If you are a boring company, please do not hire them. But if you are a bunch of people that are working together and actually like each other, i would really give it a shot. For us, a Teamevent has never felt this easy.

Gerald
Head Of Marketing

We recently partnered with Surf Office to organize our company retreat in Osaka, Japan, and we couldn't be more pleased with the experience. From the outset, Surf Office showed exceptional ability to coordinate across time zones, manage the language barriers, and handling the logistical complexity of a group of 100+ people with ease and professionalism. The team from Surf Office were flexible, communicative, and proactive every step of the way. They helped us plan everything, from the event scheduling to restaurant reservations, hotel reservations for 100+ people, team activities, and last-minute changes They ensured the entire retreat was seamless, memorable, and highly energizing for our team. Thanks to their support we were able to focus on what mattered most: connecting as a team, exploring a new culture, and building lasting memories We highly recommend Surf Office to any company looking to run a world-class team offsite, especially in international destinations.

Kiran
HR Consultant

We went to Lisbon with 31 employees from all over the world. The event had been organised by SurfOffice/Elke. The hotel was top, the activities were top and the food was top. The communication with Surf O. was very good too, and it helped that Elke is a Dutch woman living in Lisbon. The coda app was not very handy at first, but turned out to be useful at the end/towards the event. We look back at a very successful All Company Meeting in Lisbon!

Marianne
HR Coordinator

We can highly recommend Surfoffice for company retreats! From the very first contact until the end of our trip, everything went smoothly. Communication was consistently fast, reliable, and highly professional. A special thanks goes to Stef, who supported us throughout the entire organization process. She was always available, answered all our questions, and made the planning process extremely pleasant with her friendly and helpful approach. Lola also did an excellent job in finding the perfect accommodation for our group — her quick and competent assistance was invaluable. The accommodation itself was beautiful, with an incredibly kind host who took great care of our group and prepared delicious meals for us. Surfoffice provided us with a perfectly organized company trip — efficient planning, outstanding support, and a wonderful experience for the entire team. We are already looking forward to our next trip with Surfoffice!

Sabrina
Chief of Staff

SurfOffice delivered an absolutely outstanding service. Their attention to detail, responsiveness (literally day and night!), and presence throughout the entire process went far beyond our expectations. The whole team was a true pleasure to work with — professional, proactive, and always one step ahead. A special thank you to Cris, Romane, and Angela: you were exceptional. Your dedication, kindness, and efficiency made all the difference. Thank you again — we would 100% recommend SurfOffice and look forward to the next collaboration!

Marion
Workspace Experience Manager

Great support, personalised service and great experience. Would highly recommend Surf Office services to any organisation. Their follow-up tools make it very easy to also communicate with your team.

Michael
Senior Program Manager

I organized our company retreat with the help of SurfOffice, specifically with the help from Candela and Álvaro. They helped me tremendously, made sure important things were taken care of, deadlines were met and they made sure we could have a smooth experience with the company during the week - we had an absolute blast on Gran Canaria and the Team had an amazing week! The communication was absolute S-Tier. Clear, quick and always friendly, which made organizing an event very enjoyable, which normally is a rather monotone and sometimes even chaotic experience. I came into this without any event organization experience and leave with a "wow, this was smooth!". Thank you for this!

David
HR Lead

Organize your next startup retreat with Surf Office

How does it work?

1. Tell us more about your plans

We would like to hear more about your plans and how we can make your next startup summit a success.

Do you have an office in one location or is your team distributed? Can employees bring their partners? Is the retreat going to be more about work or fun?

2. Planning with your dedicated project manager

Even finding and booking one single restaurant for the dinner can be a painful project. Is the food going to be good? Is the price fair? How many of our team members have diet restrictions?

Each retreat is a combination of multiple smaller projects and with a large group the complexity might be scary.

But no worries, we mastered this process and made it fun and easy.

Our experienced project manager dedicated to you will help you with a whole organisation from searching for flights to crafting unique surprise activities for your team.

We will be your one-stop-shop for all of the logistics of your retreat. The Retreat Planner assigned to your group will work with you to book and coordinate everything from A-Z, providing you with peace-of-mind and a guarantee of quality and reliability from our local partners at the best possible prices.

According to our repeat clients and our first-time clients who have previous experience in organizing retreats in-house, this is the greatest value that we bring to them.

3. Detailed plan and schedule of your startup retreat

At the end of the planning process you will end up with the bullet-proof schedule. There is no room for improvisation with a large group.

Everything must work perfectly, all the activities and transfers must be just-on-time.

Sounds like a dream end, right? That’s how we work.

You are ready for your epic startup retreat.

How does Surf Office work?

OFF-SITE PACKAGE

Included in the package:

  • Private office
  • Accommodation
  • Dedicated pre-arrival Retreat Planner
  • Customized schedule with activities
  • Meal reservations
  • Online concierge service

choose your location

Choose from hundreds of retreat locations in Europe, America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa.