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If you're thinking of visiting Canada, there's no better place to start than Ottawa. With cultural influences from around the world and a plethora of indoor and outdoor activities to discover, this is a fantastic city to host your next corporate offsite retreat.
Here, your team can upgrade their work-related skills, build stronger friendships or simply relax as they take in the stunning scenery and charming cityscape.
As Canada's capital city, Ottawa offers a consolidated slice of the nation's culture. This allows your team to experience the veritable beauty of Canada in a single, unforgettable trip.
And because of the dramatic changing of the seasons, no two visits are ever the same. During the winter, your team can enjoy group activities like ice skating and skiing while during the summer sailing and whitewater rafting are popular pastimes.
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We've put together a list of
team-building activities for company retreats in
Ottawa
, including options that work well for both small and large teams.
Along the Rideau Canal, ByWard Market, and Parliament Hill, this Ottawa retreat agenda combines structured sessions with a local outdoor experience and a relaxed final day.
Ottawa is a strong option for teams that want a calm, structured environment with a mix of government, culture, and nature. A corporate retreat in Ottawa combines a clean, organized city layout with access to green spaces and historic landmarks, making it ideal for focused work and relaxed team time.
Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (YOW) is about 15–20 minutes from downtown by car. It offers direct connections to major Canadian and some US cities, and additional international access is possible via Toronto or Montreal.
The most comfortable months are May to June and September to early October, with temperatures typically between 65–79°F. Summers are pleasant and suitable for outdoor activities, while winters are very cold, often dropping below 20°F, which usually shifts retreat plans toward indoor sessions.
Downtown Ottawa is the most practical for access to venues and landmarks, ByWard Market offers a lively and social atmosphere, Centretown provides a balanced and local feel, and The Glebe is quieter with a more residential charm.
Teams often choose activities like cycling along the Rideau Canal, boat tours on the Ottawa River, guided city tours, museum visits, and seasonal outdoor activities such as skating on the canal in winter or park-based challenges in warmer months.
Most teams plan 2 to 3 days in Ottawa. The city’s compact layout allows for an efficient schedule while still leaving room for team-building and informal moments.
Ottawa offers a quieter and more structured atmosphere compared to cities like Toronto or Montreal. It’s known for its clean layout, cultural institutions, and access to nature, which makes a corporate retreat in Ottawa feel more focused and less hectic.
Ottawa has a growing food scene with a mix of local and international options. Teams often organize group dinners in ByWard Market, try Canadian specialties, and explore casual dining spots across the city.
Ottawa is well suited for business-focused retreats, including strategy sessions, leadership offsites, and company gatherings that benefit from a quieter, more structured environment.
Ottawa can accommodate both small teams and larger groups. A corporate retreat in Ottawa can scale depending on the team size, with a range of hotels, venues, and activity options available.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
The most popular team building activities are surf lessons, SUP lessons and tapas night but there are plenty more to choose from.
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