Corporate Retreats & Team Building In Madeira
Get A QuoteJoin us in subtropical Madeira for the ultimate team building or incentives trip with world-class outdoor activities
How about taking your team on a trip to the Hawaii of Europe? Madeira is a beautiful island destination (voted ‘best island in the world’ several times) with lush sub-tropical nature, mountain peaks at nearly 2000m and dramatic coastlines, perfect for an active team building trip or co-working retreat. We have something for everyone here, from breathtaking hikes, to surfing and world-class canyoning – not to forget exploring and Poncha (a popular local rum drink)! If you’re still in the planning stage, you might also like to check out our wider Team Building Activities Portugal and our Team Building Wales Packages.
Big Blue Adventures offers quality company retreats, combining group-friendly accommodation such as villas & hotels with a range of activities & experiences and from covering the essentials like local travel, food & drink to your important meetings, events and co-working space. We tailor everything to your team’s needs, pulling in our expert knowledge and partnerships to deliver the perfect team offsite in Madeira. When you’re ready, contact us via the quote button, the website chat or call us today.
Canyoning
Beginner Friendly
Abseils
Range of fun jumps
Madeira is well known for world-class canyoning and our team here are passionate locals who provide a safe, fun and professional adventure – perfect for those teams who want to push some boundaries! We have various levels from 1 up to 5, with L1 and L2 being suitable for complete beginners. Explore the island in a unique and adventurous way!
Breakdown:
- Abseils ranging in sizes up to 15 and 30 metres on L1 and L2 with the other levels going far higher again
- Optional jumps ranging in size
- Slides and fun sections
- Many waterfall sections
- Explore beautiful Madeira nature up close
- All kit included – just bring swimwear
- Duration is approx 4 – 5 hours in total
- Can split teams between Level 1 and Level 2 depending on confidence levels
- Please contact us about the more extreme levels 3 – 5 if you wish to explore these
Surf Lessons
Beginner to advanced
Amazing tropical vibes
Quality lesson with low ratios
The Hawaii of Europe produces super picturesque surf spots with clean warm sea water all year round. We surf typically on the north east of Madeira for beginners and for the pros out there the west coast has been called world-class by Kelly Slater himself. Surf lessons provide a fun team building activity perfect boosting the feel good factor and has proven wellness benefits.
Breakdown:
- Single 2-3 hour lessons we can create a multi-lesson surfcamp
- All kit included
- Friendly, experienced surf coaches who just love to get people surfing
- Warm waters
- All year round surf
- Porto da Cruz and close by is the main surf spot, at times we can do Seixal as well
- Works nicely with a yoga session before hand and a local levada walk or some Madeira rum tasting after the surf
- Feeling competitive? How about a private surf competition for your crew!
Climbing & Abseiling
Fun Team Trust Activity
Scenic Locations
Beginner to Advanced
Climbing & abseiling is a great activity for a team seeking to develop some trust and push some confidence boundaries through overcoming fears of heights. It’s also just a fun active adventure and we have a variety of options to suit all confidence and experience levels.
Breakdown:
- 3 – 4 hour sessions
- Natural rock climbing spots
- Learn new skills or develop climbing techniques
- Can be specially adapted to be more team building focused
- Experienced climbing instructors
- Beginner level 1 (Canical)
- Intermediate level 2 10-50m climbs (Pico do Arieiro)
Team Building Challenges
Orienteering / Peddy Paper
Fun team v team games
Tailor-made Challenges
If you’re looking for some fun team challenges and want to raise the competition amongst your group then we have plenty of great options from orienteering challenges to multi-activity adventures.
Breakdown:
- Orienteering / map challenges in jeeps including zip-lining and hiking
- Funchal Peddy Paper including the famous basket toboggans, cable-cars, city sightseeing, photo challenges, food & wine tastings and more!
- Poncha making challenge
- Trust and communication activity challenges such as blindfold sections
- Adventure challenges to push the limits from multi-day hikes to large abseils & more. Great for team charity events!
Hiking
Mountains with heights of 1862m
Famous Levada Walks
Dramatic Coastal Hikes
Madeira is a hiker’s dream. To come to this amazing sub-tropical heaven and not take in the breath-taking views on a Levada walk or similar, would be a travel crime. With up to 3000km of Levadas, amazing coastlines and the mountain peaks of Pico Ruivo to explore – you are spoiled for choice!
Breakdown:
- Various walks available from harder full day adventures to quick scenic walks handy for adding to itineraries
- Professional local hiking guides
- Available to combine with other experiences such as Poncha making in the mountains, or swimming in natural pools for example
- Guests need to bring suitable shoes and hiking clothing
- Many ways to further enhance these adventures such as a sunrise hike or sunset finish
- Various length hikes from a few hours, 1/2 day to a full day adventure
- We can tailor hikes to fitness, confidence and the itinerary
- Add on team challenges and orienteering if you want that competitive edge or to learn new skills
Mountain Biking
Great way to explore Madeira
Quality trails
Beginner to Advanced
Mountain biking around Madeira is such a fun outdoor activity and a fantastic way to get close and explore the stunning landscapes on the island. We have so much variety to offer beginner, intermediate to more advanced technical riders. Our normal 1/2 day ride starts at the epic Pico Arieiro standing at 1818m and adventures down through a variety of terrains giving you a really exciting experience. Great activity for teams of all sizes.
Breakdown:
- All mountain biking kit included, guests just need suitable clothing, good shoes and water etc
- Variety of routes available
- Typically a 1/2 day adventure but we can do full day or multi-day mountain biking rides
- You can add team challenges and orienteering to the mountain biking session
- Small to large groups
Jeep Tours & Exploring
Explore Levadas, Mountains & Coast
Combine Nature & Culture
Small to Large Groups
Jeep Tours are a popular way to explore the the breath-taking landscapes of Madeira. It’s a more adventurous mode of transport allowing us to cover great distances while also getting up close to nature. On our tours we can stop off at some of Madeira’s highlights along the way: from swimming in the natural pools, drinking Poncha with a west coast sunset to being wowed by amazing high viewing points.
Breakdown:
- From small tours for a few hours, to 1/2 days and full days
- Explore a variety of nature from forests, mountains, Levadas, waterfalls, dramatic coastlines to soaking up culture with the locals
- Food & drinks experiences / variety of meals included such as sunset drinks or a true Madeira BBQ
- Take time to enjoy your stops including swimming & hiking
- Ask us about turning jeep tours into a team building challenge
- Add in Poncha making with mountain views
- Add in cultural experiences such as a Madeira BBQ or the rum factory tour in Porto da Cruz
- Madeira wine tasting experiences
(Outdoor) Yoga
Indoor Or Outdoor Yoga
Add Mediation
Beginner Friendly
Yoga is far more than stretching and attempting to touch your toes in style. Yoga is in fact a balanced mind-body practice with energising breathing exercises, combined with flowing physical poses that work perfectly as a great way to combat stress. We have variations of yoga we can adapt to your team building retreat, whether we are going for office relaxation or if we are using the yoga to warm up for a day of adventure. The perfect ingredient for any corporate retreat in Madeira, whether you want to add this as a side activity to your adventure break or if your main focus is wellness & health.
Breakdown:
- Beginner to advanced sessions
- From outdoor yoga by the coast to indoor yoga at private venues or at your accommodation if feasible
- Typically up to 45 min – 1 hour per session
- We can add playful elements to get people working together on certain yoga sessions
- Yoga is easy to combine with other activities such as surfing and makes a great warm up session!
- Office targeted yoga with the aim you can take these practices back home with you
- Ask us about adding on an online yoga follow up session post retreat, so our instructor can take the yoga to your office via Zoom!
Boat Tours & Whale Watching
Whale Watching Tours
Private Coastal Tours
Island Exploring
Madeira has such a stunning coastline offering a variety of terrains, warm clear blue seas to play in and the chance to see some marine wildlife up close. A boat trip therefore is a really good activity option to include on your corporate trip.
Breakdown:
- Rhib boats and large catamarans available for a variety of tours
- Whale & dolphin watching tours done with care and respect for nature
- Blue flag catamaran tours with sustainability a central focus
- Stop for a swim, snorkelling and other fun
- Desertas Islands with a stop on the islands to explore (9 hour tour)
- Sunset tours
- Add on drinks and food
- Boat sizes from rhib boats (zodiac) for 16 people to catamarans for 70 to 200 people
Sea Kayaking
Sit on-top kayaks
Amazing coastal views
Snorkelling & swimming
Sea kayaking is a fun, easy going watersport and a great way to get out on the water, connecting closer to the coastline of Madeira. You will be treated to amazing scenery and have a nice perspective of the island from the kayak. We can take your team on a variety of routes at different locations, adding in time for snorkelling and a swim in the clear warm Madeira water!
Breakdown:
- Double sit on-top kayaks, easy to get going and great for covering some distance along the coast
- Various size groups: small to large
- South east Madeira (Machico), Funchal Bay or Camara do Lobos
- 3 – 4 hours activity
Coasteering
Ultimate Coastal Adventure
Fun Jumps
Snorkelling
Coasteering is one of our favourites at Big Blue Adventures. It is the ultimate fun adventure, mucking around on the coast climbing, scrambling, jumping and playing in the swells. It’s a great way to get an adrenaline hit, put smiles on the team’s faces and get up close to the stunning coastline here in Madeira. It’s a natural team building activity as everyone helps each other through the course and supports bravery on jumps etc.
Breakdown:
- Various jump heights from 2m up to 10m – (all optional)
- Flexible adventure, can be tailored to your adventure levels – something for everyone!
- Basic level of swimming & a moderate confidence in the water needed at least
- Safety kit, wetsuits and footwear included
- Location is south east of the island near Canical
Hotels
3* – 5* Hotels
All Group Sizes
Rooftop Bars & Pools
If you would like that extra level of comfort you only find in a hotel, then we have some fantastic options for your corporate retreat in Madeira. Ranging from 3* to 5* hotels to suit most budgets, complete with great features such as outdoor pools, wellness centres, conference rooms and rooftop bars overlooking picturesque places such as Funchal or Camara do Lobos, all set in fantastic locations across the island. Whether you want to tick to the sunny south or the tropical north, we have hotel options to suit all teams!
Features:
- 3* to 5* hotels
- From triple, twin and double rooms to executive suites
- En-suite rooms with all the modern touches and features you’d expect from a quality hotel
- On-site pools, gyms, fitness and wellness centres, rooftop bars & restaurants, depending on the hotel you choose
- We can run meetings and party events at the hotels
- Breakfast included
- Wi-fi and the expected essential facilities included
Villas & Guesthouses
Small To Medium Groups
Rural & Coastal Locations
Rooftop & Pool
If you really just want to get away from it all, socialise with your team and enjoy the stunning nature Madeira is famous for, then one of our private villas or guesthouses is a great option! Choose between a rural location in the north or the scenic coast of Porto da Cruz. The properties come with some amazing facilities such as an indoor pool with spa, a rooftop with sunbeds and al fresco dining area, rural options with sustainable values, and a variety of bedrooms incl. twins / double and bunk-beds. Our villas and guesthouses differ in price range and group size. Just let us know what type of team building trip you fancy and we’ll include the right accommodation to suit!
Features:
- Indoor heated pool with sliding patio doors & sauna
- Sunbathing area
- Terrace seating with amazing views
- Sustainable options
- Nice communal areas to hang out with the team
- Free wi-fi
Funchal Hostel & Apartments
Exclusive Hire Available
Small To Medium Groups
Funchal Central Location
In central Funchal city we have a quality, homely hostel with an annex apartment situated just across the road from each other. Comfortable with a nice modern standard A great base for those who want to be in the characteristic streets of Funchal and save on higher hotel prices. Choose between exclusive hire of one or both buildings.
Features:
- Can be hired exclusively, 1 annex or hostel or the 2 combined for larger groups
- Amazing central city location, yet a quiet neighbourhood with lovely Funchal character
- A mix of double or twin bed rooms with private en-suite bathrooms & dorm rooms with shared bathrooms
- Terrace garden
- Self-catering kitchens
- Basic continental breakfast included at the hostel
- Free wi-fi
Events & Parties
Experienced Event Planning
Parties, Meetings to AGMs
Full Events Service
If you would like to add any type of event to your company retreat in Madeira we are happy to plan and deliver that for you. As well as the travel & adventures side of the business we are also experienced events planners. So, from rooftop parties, to workshops, AGM’s and awards dinners – whatever you want to include just let us know.
Breakdown:
- Full event planning and delivery
- Workshops & seminars
- Training events
- Conferences
- Awards
- AGMs
- Private parties
- Beach parties or parties in nature (do something different)
- AV & sound covered
- DJs and live music
- Guest speakers
- We can help with any of your branding needs
Team Development With Ffion Jones
Create High Performing Teams
Develop Trust & Culture
Collaboration in hybrid/remote teams
You’ve built fantastic energy and trust in your outdoor team-building – now you want to keep it! A collaborative team workshop as a speedy follow up to your event will help you harness that energy and feed it into creating a high performing, healthy team. In a world moving at lightning speed teams must be flexible, adaptable, virtual and still need to deliver excellent work and fresh ideas. To lead in this world, collaboration amongst your people is going to be one of your key differentiators.
Check out our interview video discussing corporate retreats and the value of team training with Ffion here!
Breakdown:
- Ready made or bespoke workshops for a range of team challenges
- We can cover: Collaborative behaviours and skills, how to lead a team in hybrid office/remote working, psychological safety and trust, team purpose and much more!
- Our workshops offer active, experiential learning in any environment – indoor or out
- Highly experienced team coaching and development professionals to take care of you and your team
- Our workshops work perfectly with our outdoor exploring and adventures, resulting in a positive setting and refreshed frame of mind for maximise on this opportunity
More on Ffion Jones:
- Qualified Team Coach, Chartered Member CIPD, Strengthscope Accredited Facilitator
- Delivered Leadership, High Performing Teams and Coaching to HS2 Stations projects, Network Rail, Admiral, Fiat Chrysler amongst others
- Passionate about helping teams get better at being teams, Ffion’s career in Learning and Development has seen her work with and support a variety of people and projects. In a world moving at lightning speed, she helps teams become flexible, adaptable, and collaborative to deliver excellent work and fresh ideas.
- Working across industries like financial services and engineering, Ffion established her consultancy, Beautiful Minds to provide workshops, coaching, psychological safety, digital teamwork and collaboration in bid teams to improve innovation and help them rediscover the joy in what they do.
Wellness
Meditation & Relaxation
Spa Treatments
Mindfulness
A happy and healthy team must be developed from the core, and wellness is essential to developing that. With your Big Blue Adventures retreat in Madeira you can include various wellness activities such as yoga or morning meditation, for some mindfulness before your meetings or pre adventure, or simply opt for a relaxing spa day with a range of treatments available including massages.
Breakdown:
- Beginner friendly sessions to advanced on request
- Tailor-made wellness retreats and sessions to suit your team building event
- Yoga at the accommodation or in nature
- Meditation practices indoor or outdoor
- Various massage and body therapy treatments from sports massage to spa sessions
- Reduce stress levels, produce stringer mindsets and recharge your team with our wellness options
Mind Nourishing Workshop
Nutritional Therapy For Teams
Good Food = Good Mood
Healthy Eating Workshops
With a busy stressful working life affecting most teams and individuals we often neglect the value of healthy eating practices in place of a quick fix to keep us going. Mind Nourishing’s mission is to inspire busy people to make small shifts to their everyday meals and mindset to create large changes to their health and happiness. We can include this very important nutritional aspect of wellness to your team building event that answers those common questions that affect many of us, such as “why do I struggle with energy levels?” Or,
Why do I feel irritable and stressed for no real reason? Take back the control of your emotions, improve your energy and get back that ‘oomph’ your team may be missing!
Breakdown:
- Learn about team boosting good food = good mood practices to enhance productivity and team happiness
- Have fun cooking together with healthy eating cookery classes
- Meal planning and nutrition workshops
- Talk to us about a follow up programme, taking new info and practices back home with you after your retreat
- Tailor-made nutritional wellness to fit your retreat event
- Delivered by Laura Bryan a registered Nutritional Therapist (mBANT, CNHC, Msc) “I truly believe that everyone should have the knowledge and opportunity to feel as happy and healthy as possible!”
Motivational Speakers
Big Wave Surfer, Andrew Cotton
Adventurer, Maria Leijerstam
Plus More Options
A good story can motivate us all with a fresh new perspective. Seeing how other mere mortals tackle extraordinary situations and how they manage stress through strong mindsets and dedication is something we can all be inspired by! We work with a range of awesome speakers, such as Red Bull’s Andrew Cotton or Guinness World Record Holder and Adventure Racer Maria Leijerstam, who both have fantastic stories to tell! Whether you are keen adventurers or completely the opposite, what you learn from the likes of Maria and Andrew will supercharge you with their mindset tips & tricks and inspiration that you can transfer into your day to day work and lives. Our speakers will provide your team with a unique and personal experience that will ignite a motivational spark that works perfectly with our other team-building activities for the complete adventure!
Breakdown:
- Be inspired by Andrew Cotton, a Red Bull sponsored big wave surfer famous for riding monster waves of over 80 feet and overcoming major injury setbacks to achieve his ultimate goal! Experience how this world-class athlete manages his mindset and the demands big wave riding has on him both mentally and physically. Andrew also provides specialist practical workshops developing mindset and breathwork techniques that helps control stressors and fears in pressure situations. Andrew has had great success with both his talks (including Tedx Talks) and practical workshops online and offline, helping sporting brands such as Exeter Chiefs and Arsenal FC. A unique and awesome experience for any industry with transferrable information your team can implement into their day-to-day lives.
- Guinness world record holder Maria Leijerstam is a multi-adventure racer and has taken on some of the world’s toughest challenges. Her stand out achievements include being the first person to cycle solo to the South Pole, as well as completing the Marathon Des Sables which involves tackling 6 consecutive marathons over several days in 47 degree heat! Maria stills competes and also runs adventure races in the UK as well as providing unique motivational speeches for corporate teams. Her motivational drive and stories from her adventures will provide a truly fascinating addition to your corporate retreat event, whether that’s online or offline.
- We also have a variety of speakers available at different budgets
- Combine with other outdoor adventures take take it from theory into real life situations working on targeted areas for perfect well-rounded experience. Amazing for pushing boundaries, combating fears and developing stronger team mindsets
- Also available as a stand alone event option
Fitness Bootcamps
Use as corporate wellness
Outdoors or in the gym
Beginner to advanced fitness
Our Madeira fitness bootcamps are run by our friendly and supportive PT’s who have bags of experience and a big love for getting people active and feeling healthy. It’s all tailor-made to your fitness levels and goals. The key is to have some fun with the workouts while improving your core fitness, but importantly to learn something new that you can adapt into your day-to-day routines. The island of Madeira has fantastic training facilities we can use along with amazing outdoor spaces with clean air and healthy vibes in nature, providing the perfect base for a corporate bootcamp!
Breakdown:
- Improve fitness as well as your team’s physical and mental health
- Perfect for all sorts of teams from sports clubs to office based crews
- Length and type of workouts will be tailor-made to the overall retreat plans and time of year
- Looking to run regular corporate fitness and wellness camps? Contact with us to discuss how we can help you with a corporate club including regular team sessions
- Can be included as part of a sports team tour with friendly local matches that we can help set-up as a pre-season or end of season tour
Hosted Team Building Adventures
With any of our Big Blue adventures we always aim for a personal customer service (Travel & Hospitality Award winners for ‘excellence in customer service’) and have a friendly face there to welcome you to your corporate retreat in Madeira. We are on hand to host the key parts of your retreat so you can sit back and relax, we’ll do the organising for you and bring some good vibes too!
Local Transfers & Airport Transfers
If you need transport from your accommodation to our activities then we can arrange that for you, in fact it is usually expected on a group trip like a team building event. We have Jeeps, mini-busses and coaches available for groups of all sizes. We’ll usually include airport transfers as part of your package unless requested otherwise. Our transport options are also available for evening out returns to Funchal and various day-trips to surrounding areas.
Meals & Drinks
You can choose between Bed & Breakfast, half board or all-inclusive for your team building trip in Madeira. We can also add extras like a drinks-reception package, packed-lunch and BBQ nights. Just add it to your ‘get quote’ options and we will get that included in your team building package!
Pictures & Highlights Video
On our hosted team building adventures we take our GoPro cameras and shoot some great pictures & videos. We’ll send these to you afterwards and even edit a personal highlights video for your team, the best way to remember your corporate trip in Madeira!
Team Building Extras
There are lots of extras we can add to your team building trip in Portugal, including Poncha making and wine tasting and help with restaurant reservations & private event spaces. If you have any ideas, or would like more info on the extras we can provide, feel free to ask us on the get quote page.
Why Adventure With Us…
We work as one big team with our local activity providers, making sure that together we offer a high quality experience for teams. Each activity has been tried & tested, and personally chosen by us.
Hosted group adventure travel, with numbers between 10-200+ people. BBA offers an award winning service; we’ll always go the extra mile to ensure our packages are perfect for your team building needs.
Quality Team Time
Our corporate retreats provide a fun environment to reconnect offline! Nature, adventure and good vibes create the perfect setting to bounce fresh ideas around and to catch up on important team talks.
More Corporate Retreats
Lisbon & Cascais
Explore the Lisbon region with surfy beaches, fun activities, cultural experiences and quality facilities. A popular retreat destination.
Lagos & West Algarve
With over 300 days of sunshine a year and some of the best coastlines in Europe, west Algarve is the perfect company retreat for beach lovers.
Swansea & The Gower (Wales)
Scenic outdoor adventures & picturesque coastal villages. With quality facilities and the M4 nearby providing access from London.
Why We Love This…
“We love Madeira because the island offers tropical feels with hundreds of colourful flowers & plants, epic hikes through mountain ranges & Levadas and a spectacular coastline made for watersports. Some of my favourite things are hiking to one of the highest points of the island Pico Arieiro, exploring Madeira’s natural areas on a Jeep tour, wandering around the cobbled streets of Funchal and abseiling down waterfalls on a canyoning adventure.”