Top 15+ Team Building Activities: San Jose, CA, Local Insider’s Guide
With six years of experience facilitating team building activities in San Jose, CA, the city really stands out to me for its incredible diversity and innovation. Unlike other cities, where team building activities are usually limited to local teams, we see companies from all over the world here.
You’ll see international colleagues meeting in the brand’s home office for the first time, and it’s such a neat global dynamic. This all makes San Jose a truly unique place for corporate events—the mix of cultures, industries, and perspectives is something you just don’t see in many other places. It’s so amazing.
This guide highlights my favorite San Jose team building activities, restaurants, and local hotspots. Keep reading to get inspired for your next event!
Why You’ll Love San Jose Team Building Activities
San Jose has this effortless blend of tradition and innovation, and it’s one of my favorite aspects of hosting events here. You can spend all day strategizing and geeking out in Silicon Valley and then unwind with your team in Japantown to enjoy the vibrant cultural scene.
I love incorporating local elements into events, too. We might do a group outing during the San Jose Summer Jazz Fest or focus on the city’s green energy during sustainability-focused activities.
Really, it’s the balance of cutting-edge tech and deep cultural roots that makes for such great team building. San Jose is such a unique place, and you’ll see your team bond in so many new ways as they explore.
First Time? Top 5 Must-See Attractions in San Jose
If you’re in the city for the first time, you might want to go beyond team building activities. San Jose has some truly amazing sights to see, and your team would probably appreciate checking them out!
Here are my top five spots I’d recommend to a first-timer based on the years I’ve spent exploring this city:
- Winchester Mystery House: Check out the guided history tour, a spooky flashlight tour, or just drop by for some fun. The Winchester features staircases leading nowhere and an eerie atmosphere—truly an unforgettable experience.
- San Pedro Square Market: This is basically foodie heaven. It’s like the best food court ever, packed with vendors selling almost anything you could be craving. If you’re there in January, check out the Giants & KNBR FanFest Tour!
- Santana Row: This is a bougie outdoor mall in Silicon Valley with spas, shops, and restaurants everywhere. It also has gardens, parks, and a massive movie theater—check it out after the Cinequest Film Festival if you’re here in March.
- Farmers markets: San Jose has some seriously legit farmer’s markets. They’re a great way to get your team in the mood for culinary activities!
- Christmas in the Park: If you’re here during the winter months, Christmas in the Park is a drive-thru light show that’s 100% free and definitely worth seeing.
This list could keep going for a while, but I’ll stop at five, as promised. San Jose is such a beautiful, diverse city, and you really can’t go wrong when you’re out exploring with your team.
If you’re looking for restaurant recommendations, check out the end of the article. I’ll highlight some of my favorite spots to grab a bite with colleagues after covering some team building activities.
5 Fun Group Activities: San Jose Insider’s Guide to Team Building
The fun, in-person team building activities San Jose has to offer are endless, but I’ve found some favorites over the years. Here are my picks for the five most fun activities in San Jose for adults:
1. Mystery Bus
If you want to get your team excited, there’s no better choice than the Mystery Bus. It’s an awesome event that’ll take your team to the weirdest and coolest destinations in and around your city of choice: San Jose.
Your team won’t know where they’re going until they get there, and the facilitators will keep the bus ride fun with trivia, music, road trip games, and plenty of humor.
I’d recommend asking for some food trucks for your culinary adventure and bubble soccer in Silicon Valley for the physical activity. There will also be a cultural experience, and if you’d like to be surprised too, leave that one up to the TeamBonding facilitators!
You’ll be in for a super fun day where you get to sit back and enjoy the ride (literally).
2. High-Tech Team Building Activities
San Jose is the heart of Silicon Valley and I highly recommend leaning into it with some high-tech team building activities. I’m kind of cheating here because this is more than one recommendation—it’s a whole category.
Here are some of the best activities for a high-tech, Silicon Valley-themed adventure. Pick one you think your team will love!
- Mr. Roboto: Our STEM-based robot build is a great way to keep up with the latest technology while developing essential team skills!
- Team-opoly: This is a scavenger hunt that’ll have your team running around with hilariously-oversized monopoly board pieces using our custom app to track their progress and that of the competing teams.
- Infinite Loop: This is a VR (virtual reality) game where your team will divide into groups and try to rescue a prisoner trapped in a virtual world. They’ll build skills, have fun, and engage in friendly competition. It’s also good for hybrid teams.
- Corporate Film Festival: This event will have your team collaborate to create a short film, complete with promos, a festival poster, and a red carpet walk. It’s a great option to pair with Cinequest, which I mentioned earlier.
After your event, consider hitting up Santana Row to find some good food and unwind together.
3. Salsa Showdown
In the Salsa Showdown, your team will make delicious salsas using fresh ingredients before creating their own salsa branding to display on custom aprons.
It’s a group cooking class that’d pair nicely with a trip to one of San Jose’s farmer’s markets. After all, this city is known for its authentic Mexican and Vietnamese food.
Team members will be competing against each other in smaller groups and working against the clock to create the perfect salsa. We keep the atmosphere fun and festive with Latin music and a mini vegetable marketplace, too.
Once they’re done, the event wraps up with a fun judging round, prizes for everything from taste to creativity to branding, and a chance to enjoy everyone’s creations!
If you want to win some bonus points with your team, pair it with the Winery Team Challenge so they can make their own fresh Sangria to go with the chips and salsa.
4. Polaroid Scavenger Hunt
If high-tech activities aren’t always your team’s thing, how about a blast from the past with the Polaroid Scavenger Hunt? It’s a TeamBonding original where your group will divide into smaller teams, each of which gets their own instant camera.
They’ll then head out on unique scavenger hunts tailored to your company. As they go, they’ll complete creative challenges, snap memorable shots, and explore San Jose on foot.
You can pick almost anywhere for the hunt—I’d recommend the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo or even a trip to the San Francisco Zoo!
Once they’re done with the hunt, we’ll wrap up the event with some 80s-themed music while they create artistic scrap boards for each set of pictures. Then, we’ll honor the winners in an award ceremony.
5. Outdoor Team Building Activities
This one’s another category pick instead of an individual event. Why? Because this city is perfect for Outdoor Team Building Activities! San Jose is such a fun city and the weather is almost always beautiful. Seriously, it gets 300+ days of sunshine every year.
Here are my favorite outdoor team building activities. Choose one your team will have a blast with.
- Corporate Survivor: This one’s based on the Survivor game show and it’ll have your team laughing and learning together right away. They’ll enjoy challenges ranging from silly to intense and it’s always a hit.
- Outrageous Games: This is a high-energy team building program with wild, wacky, non-athletic relay races. Each game is designed to build teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills, too.
- Summer Camp Throwback: This activity is perfect for sparking laughter and reconnecting with a sense of playfulness. They’ll unplug and unwind in groups of 10-12 and compete in some truly hilarious challenges.
Kelley Park or the Alum Rock Park would be fantastic locations for any of these events.
For After Team Building Activities: San Jose’s Top 5 Restaurants
Anyone can Google the best-rated restaurants in any city, so I wanted to share my personal list of the five best places to grab a bite. You can’t go wrong with any of these!
- Original Joe’s: If you’d like some classic Italian-American dining, Original Joe’s is an old-school San Jose Staple and a nostalgic trip back in time.
- Falafel Drive-In: This one was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and for good reason. The Falafel Drive-In is a cherished spot in the community with great Middle Eastern foods. If you go here, I highly recommend trying their signature banana shake.
- Left Bank Brasserie: Located right on Santana Row, Left Bank is known for simple, seasonal French food.
- Copita Tequilera Y Comida: If your team loves Mexican food, you don’t want to miss Copita—it’d be a great stop after a Team Mixology event.
- The Sea by Alexander’s Steakhouse: No San Jose restaurant list would be complete without The Sea by Alexander’s. This is the place to go for gourmet seafood and fine dining.
Team Building Activities: San Jose Reviews From Real Teams
I’m a local and I love working as a team building facilitator, so of course I have tons of fun with all of this. You might be wondering if it’s really all as fun as I say, though, so don’t just take my word for it.
Here are a couple of my favorite reviews from San Jose teams:
- “We LOVED the event. Most importantly, our host truly made the team building activity fun and their passion/excitement translated into a really awesome experience. We hope to work with your team again in the future!!” –Sensiba San Filippo LLP
- “The event was AWESOME! Everyone had a great time. I have A LOT of pictures. Your team was super helpful in addition to running the event, keeping people on point, focused, etc. No complaints from me! We will definitely keep you all in mind for future events!” –Analog Devices
Ready To Do Some Team Building Activities? San Jose Awaits!
San Jose is such an amazing city and I know it’ll make an unforgettable destination for your team building experience.
Whether you want to immerse your team in the tech-driven energy that is Silicon Valley or embrace the city’s cultural diversity, there’s something for every team. Plus, the city’s amazing restaurants provide the perfect backdrop for post-event bonding.
If you’re ready to go above and beyond with some team building activities, San Jose has you covered. Let’s make it happen, together. Get in touch with us today!
