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Corporate Team Building Activities in Santa Monica, CA

Hosted team building at your venue in Santa Monica, CA, for groups of 20 to 6,000+, with a same-day quote.

Santa Monica Pier and its Ferris wheel above the beach with the Santa Monica Mountains behind in Santa Monica, California

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Planning an event in Santa Monica, CA?

Prefer to talk? Call 800.849.8326

Get a same-day quote

Planning an event in Santa Monica, CA?

A planner will match the right activities to your group and send a same-day quote.

Get my quote

Prefer to talk? Call 800.849.8326

Founded
2010
Group size
20 to 6,000+
Where we run activities
50 states + Canada
Formats
In person or virtual
Excellent5.0 out of 5

Why Santa Monica works for a corporate event

How a Santa Monica event works with us

Santa Monica has two kinds of corporate event. Teams from the city's own tech, media, finance and consulting offices meet close to work, often in the office itself. Groups flying in for a meeting stay on Ocean Avenue, where the hotels look out over the beach and the pier. We run programs for both, and either way the ocean is a few blocks from the room.

Corporate team building events in Santa Monica, CA

Most booked activities in Santa Monica, CA

The activities corporate groups book most often in Santa Monica, CA.

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The BEST Way to explore Santa Monica, CA

Plan a SmartHunt®! These top-rated corporate scavenger hunts are delivered using our proprietary SmartHunts® App technology, available only at Best Corporate Events. SmartHunts® are a unique combination of sightseeing, adventure, team building challenges, and gamification FUN!

More about corporate events in Santa Monica, CA

Bike builds on Ocean Avenue

Bike Build Donation® is the program Santa Monica groups book most. It has run more than once at the Regent Santa Monica Beach, the hotel on the sand south of the pier, and in offices and a company courtyard across the city. Bikes built here have gone to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica, a short ride from any of the hotels.

From the bluffs to the pier

Palisades Park runs along the bluff above the beach, the Third Street Promenade is two blocks inland and the pier sits at the foot of Colorado Avenue, so Amazing Chase SmartHunt® has a full course without a vehicle. It has started from the Fairmont Miramar, where Wilshire Boulevard meets Ocean Avenue, and it has also run with three stations for a company that wanted everything close to its office.

In your Westside office

Many Santa Monica events never leave the building. STEM Backpacks for Kids has run for a software company, and Corporate Canvas has had a biotech team paint a mural of its own values, signed by everyone who worked on it. Each needs a room with tables, and we bring the rest.

Networking at the airport museum

The Museum of Flying at Santa Monica Airport rents its museum floor for events, among the aircraft on display. Speed Networking has run there for an entertainment company's large gathering, with rounds of short conversations that get people from different departments talking.

Games before dinner

A Minute 2 Win It! has run at the Regent for a consulting group, and a cooking competition has run at the Sandbourne next door. Both suit a group that has spent the day in sessions and wants an hour of play before the evening.

Part of Greater Los Angeles

Santa Monica is part of our Los Angeles coverage. Redondo Beach is down the coast, and the same team runs events across Los Angeles, so a company with an office downtown and another on the Westside can plan both at once.

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Where we host in Santa Monica

Hotels and venues where we have run corporate events in Santa Monica, CA. Photos come from each venue's own website.

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Planning guide

Office, ballroom or beach: sizing a Santa Monica program

Santa Monica programs run in hotel ballrooms, museum floors and company offices. The number beside each program is square feet per participant.

Floor area per person

Measured another way

Amazing Chase SmartHunt®
A start at your hotel or office; the route runs along Palisades Park, the Promenade and the pier.
Corporate Canvas
A room with tables and wall space for the finished mural.

Santa Monica State Beach needs a free Group Beach Activity Permit for groups of 21 to 149, requested 7 to 10 business days ahead. Larger groups need a Community Event Permit.

A worked example

1,500 sq ft

60 people at 25 sq ft each

Each square is one person’s 25 sq ft.

An office floor often fits a build once desks are pushed aside. Send us the dimensions and we will check the count.

Planning guide

Santa Monica weather, month by month

Santa Monica stays cool by the water. At the pier, highs run from the low 60s in January to about 70 in September.

  • Outdoors

    April to November

    • Dry, with highs in the mid 60s to about 70 by the beach and warmer inland.
    • August and September are the warmest months.

  • Either way

    December to March

    • Highs near 62 and most of the year's rain, about three inches in each of January and February. Plan outside with a room held.

Dates to plan around

Santa Monica Classic
Mid-September (September 12 in 2027). A 5K and 10K run in Santa Monica.
Farmers Market
Every Wednesday and Saturday. Held downtown by the Third Street Promenade.

Beach lot rates are higher from April through October. Plan parking or transit into the budget for a summer date.

Planning guide

Getting your group to Santa Monica

Santa Monica is on the coast at the end of I-10, west of downtown Los Angeles.

Flying in

LAX
The closest airport. Big Blue Bus Route 3 runs daily to downtown Santa Monica for $1.25.

Transit

Metro E Line
Downtown Santa Monica station at 4th and Colorado, about 46 minutes from downtown LA and a 10-minute walk to the pier.

Parking

Downtown structures
The city runs ten downtown structures; Structure 4 on 2nd Street charges $1 for the first 90 minutes and $20 a day on weekdays.
Beach Lot 1 North
Next to the pier: $20 a car from April through October, $8 on winter weekdays.

Planning guide

How far ahead to plan a Santa Monica program

  1. 2 to 3 months out

    Large groups and summer dates, and a Community Event Permit for 150 or more on the beach.

  2. 6 to 8 weeks out

    Most hotel and office programs.

  3. 2 weeks out

    Final numbers and the room, and the latest to request a Group Beach Activity Permit.

  4. Program day

    Setup happens while the office works or the meeting runs, and teardown is done before the group heads out to Ocean Avenue for dinner.

An in-office build for one department can often be ready within a month. 800.849.8326

Ways to run your event

Choose the format that fits your team.

In-Person Team Building

Facilitated activities delivered at your Santa Monica, CA venue or a location we help you find.

Virtual Team Building

Live-hosted activities that bring remote and distributed teams together.

Professional Development

Training and workshops that build lasting skills for your team.

Why BEST

North America's largest in-person team building and virtual event company, with the highest verified Customer TrustScore.
Bike Build Donation®, a Best Corporate Events activity
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How it Works

Using a proven model for improving team productivity, motivation, and collaboration through innovative team events, Best Corporate Events strengthens teams by delivering exceptional team building, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and professional development training programs that help corporate, academic, association, and government teams build trust and respect while enhancing leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.

  1. 1

    BEST Event Planners

    Collaborate with one of our experienced planners who will help you find the perfect activity for your group.

  2. 2

    BEST Needs Assessment

    Participate in our Needs Assessment to accurately identify the desired end results for the participants in your group.

  3. 3

    BEST Design

    Allow us to tailor your activity specifically for your group size, allotted time, goals, and outcomes.

  4. 4

    BEST Facilitators & Specialists

    Enjoy your event delivered by experienced, professional facilitators who average 12 to 25 years of experience.

Corporate events and team building in Santa Monica, CA: questions we get

Can you run a team building event at our Santa Monica hotel or office?

Yes, both. We have run programs at the Regent Santa Monica Beach, the Fairmont Miramar, the Sandbourne and the Museum of Flying, and in offices and a company courtyard across the city. Builds need about 25 square feet a person and tables, and we bring the rest.

What are the best team building activities in Santa Monica?

Bike Build Donation® is the one Santa Monica groups book most. Amazing Chase SmartHunt® uses the bluffs, the Promenade and the pier, A Minute 2 Win It! suits a hotel ballroom, and STEM Backpacks for Kids and Corporate Canvas fit in an office.

Can we hold the program on the beach?

Yes, with a permit. Santa Monica State Beach requires a free Group Beach Activity Permit for groups of 21 to 149, requested by email 7 to 10 business days ahead. A group of 150 or more needs a Community Event Permit, which takes longer.

Can a SmartHunt include the pier?

Yes. The pier, which opened in 1909, has a self-guided history walk that makes a ready set of stops, and the Third Street Promenade's three car-free blocks are two blocks inland. Teams stay on foot the whole time.

How cool does it get by the beach?

Most of the year. By the pier, highs run from the low 60s in winter to about 70 in August and September, and a mile or two inland it is several degrees warmer. January and February bring most of the rain, so a winter program keeps a room held.

How do attendees get to Santa Monica?

The Metro E Line runs from downtown Los Angeles to Downtown Santa Monica station at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue, about a 10-minute walk from the pier. From LAX, Big Blue Bus Route 3 runs daily to downtown Santa Monica.

Which Santa Monica charity receives the bikes?

Bikes built in Santa Monica have gone to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica. We can also direct a donation to a Westside or Los Angeles cause your company already supports.

How soon should a Santa Monica program be on the calendar?

Six to eight weeks is usually enough for a hotel or office program. Allow more for a large group or a date in summer, when beach lots and hotels are busiest, and at least two weeks for a beach permit.

Also serving teams across Greater Los Angeles

One team covers the whole metro. An activity in Santa Monica, CA is the same activity, run by the same facilitators, as in any of these cities.

Los Angeles, CA

Redondo Beach, CA

Long Beach, CA

Anaheim, CA

Let's Create Something Exceptional

Planning an event in Santa Monica, CA? A planner will match the right activities to your group and send a same-day quote.

Get my quoteor call 800.849.8326