Team Offsite Near Chiang Mai: A Two-Day Retreat at Skugga Estate

A team offsite at Skugga Estate is two days in the Mae On valley, 30 minutes from Chiang Mai city centre. The team works in the Festival Hall at Skugga Estate Vineyard, makes something with its hands at Skugga Estate Farm, 1.5 kilometres away, and eats together every evening. The Festival Hall seats 150, takes up to 200 for a full reception and up to 400 standing.

The offsite has a rhythm that a hotel ballroom does not. A morning session in a hall built for gatherings. A coffee that tastes of pink guava and wild strawberry. Cacao in the afternoon, tasted and argued over. A slot car league between departments, with a final nobody agrees to lose. A dinner above the young vines. The team returns to work knowing each other a little better and having made something together.

Skugga Estate suits teams of 6 to 150. Teams flying from Singapore or Hong Kong arrive on non-stop daily flights.

Team offsite at Skugga Estate at a glance

How the two days unfold

Day one is the Farm. The team arrives, starts with pastries and coffee, splits into groups and rotates through the chocolate workshop and the Classic Car Garage. Lunch is a barbecue over the estate. The afternoon belongs to the slot car league. The evening moves to the Vineyard for a spirit tasting and dinner.

Day two is the Festival Hall. The working session fills the morning. Brunch or lunch follows at the Vineyard, and the team walks the young rows before the road back.

The order follows the estate. The Farm opens every day and its workshops run on set days. The Vineyard opens Tuesday to Sunday, so a team offsite sits inside its week.

Why take a team offsite to Chiang Mai from Singapore or Hong Kong?

Because the journey is short and the setting does the work of a facilitator. Scoot flies non-stop and daily from Singapore. HK Express flies non-stop and daily from Hong Kong. The estate is 30 minutes from Chiang Mai city centre, so the team does not lose a day to transfers.

The estate has the programme to match: two sites, a hall for sessions and a farm for shared tasks.

Which format suits which team?

Three sizes cover most offsites. A leadership team of 6 to 10 takes the private dining room for dinner and the Festival Hall for the working session. A department of 12 to 20 takes the terrace, with the chocolate workshop as one group and a slot car league as the other. A whole company of up to 150 takes the Festival Hall for sessions and for a seated dinner, and rotates through the workshops in groups of 12.

Where does the team work?

The Festival Hall is Skugga's dedicated event space. Its facilities include the hall itself, a bar, a catering kitchen, stages and a dance floor, and it hosts workshops, seminars, corporate events and parties. It seats 150, takes up to 200 for a full reception and up to 400 standing.

Beside the hall, an outdoor courtyard has its own small bar, kitchen and toilets. The courtyard suits outdoor functions, and a coffee break in the open air.

A smaller team does not need the hall for the whole day. The private dining room seats 6 to 10 guests and the terrace seats 12 to 20 guests, both at the Vineyard.

What does a team do together at Skugga Estate?

Start with coffee. The Roastery works with single-origin Thai arabica and runs an experimental series built on carbonic maceration. Strawberry Fields Forever carries pink guava and wild strawberry. Drunken Sailor carries rum-raisin and dark chocolate. The Roll Bar bakes bread, pastries and a pan au chocolat filled with 66 per cent chocolate from the lab.

The chocolate workshop is the shared task. It begins with a walk through the cacao on the farm and follows the bean through fermentation, roasting, grinding, tempering and moulding. The team tastes eight to eleven chocolates, one after another, and argues about which is best. Everyone wraps a bar. Everyone makes pralines. A pot of cacao husk tea, made from the shells left over at the lab, goes round the table.

Sessions typically take no more than 12 people and run in English and Thai. A team of 36 splits into three sessions, with the other groups at the garage and the Tea Bar while they wait. Reservations are required, and private groups can enquire for their own session.

The Classic Car Garage holds fifteen vehicles, predominantly British, from a 1951 MG TD to a pair of 1966 Land Rovers. Entry is free. At the back there are thirty metres of Carrera slot car track where up to five people race at once. Run a league between departments and a final between the winners. A full simulator rig beside the track takes the overflow.

At the Tea Bar, which needs no booking, people blend their own tea from the ingredients on the counter. The coffee and tea workshop runs on Fridays, and the full-day combined workshop pairs chocolate in the morning with coffee and tea in the afternoon.

The Vineyard makes its own estate gin. The Spirit Tasting and Pairing runs for 45 minutes, with five spirits and a choice of chocolate or cheese pairing. It suits the hour before dinner.

A ceremonial cacao gathering is the quiet close to a hard day. A guided gathering where cacao is prepared and shared in a calm space takes place across the farm, the vineyard and the gardens. The ceremonial cacao page describes the format.

Where does the team eat?

Dinner is where the team becomes a group. The Vineyard has a private dining room for 6 to 10 guests, an outdoor terrace for 12 to 20 guests and the Festival Hall for seated dinners of up to 150. The restaurant sits among the vines, and the food and dining page lists the menus and the booking form.

Bookings of two or more carry a 50 per cent deposit, and reservations need a credit card and follow a 24-hour cancellation policy.

Lunch on the Farm is the barbecue, an open-air bistro that serves skewers, salads, sandwiches and burgers. Sunday brunch at the Vineyard runs with twenty selections and gives a weekend offsite a slow close.

Where does the team stay?

The Skugga Villas and Suites brand operates across both sites. The Vineyard has villas with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, a kitchen, a lounge and dining area, and balconies over the vines. A villa can be booked as one four-bedroom house or split into a two-bedroom villa with a lounge and two separate suites.

The Farm has one-bedroom suites of 32 to 36 square metres and a two-bedroom cabin of 65 square metres, all with access to the pool and the pickleball court.

When is the best time for a team offsite near Chiang Mai?

The cool and dry months, November to February, give the most comfortable offsite. Chiang Mai's Wikipedia climate data puts the average daily high at 30.8 degrees Celsius in November, 29.2 in December and 30.0 in January, with average lows of 19.9, 16.9 and 15.7. November is the clearest of the four, because the smoke season starts in December and peaks in March.

The rains run from May to October. A rainy-season offsite still works, because the Festival Hall, the workshops, the garage and the dinners do not depend on the sky.

What do guests say about Skugga Estate Vineyard?

Skugga Estate Vineyard holds a 4.7 rating on Google from 66 reviews. Guests write about the setting, the terrace and the staff more than anything else.

One guest wrote: "We had lunch here out on the terrace overlooking the vines. Food and staff exceptional."

Another: "The owners and staff are all very professional, relaxed and friendly."

On the place itself: "What a magnificent location and also an amazing food and drink sensation."

On the team behind it: "No matter if you are here to chill, to eat or to drink. The staff have you all covered."

The quotes come from public Google reviews of the Vineyard.

What does a team offsite at Skugga cost?

Published prices cover the activities. The chocolate workshop is 1,100 baht per adult, the spirit tasting 400 baht, the barbecue lunch 400 baht and Sunday brunch 1,200 baht per person. Private dining at the Vineyard costs 2,500 to 4,500 baht per person. Workshop guests can pre-book a van from the city at 200 baht per person for the round trip. The figures exclude accommodation, drinks and flights.

Add a third day

A third day turns the offsite into a retreat. The Farm opens every day and the Vineyard closes on Mondays, so a Monday belongs to the Farm. Coffee at the Roastery, a pastry from the Roll Bar and a last workshop round make a calm close. For a weekend with the same ingredients for friends, the group weekend piece covers it. For a weekend that uses both sites for a night each, the valley weekend piece sets out the plan.

How to plan the team offsite

Plan in this order. Fix the dates inside the Vineyard's Tuesday to Sunday week. Book the Festival Hall and the villas next. Reserve the workshop sessions and the dinners after that, with the deposit. Settle transport last.

Team offsite at Skugga: quick answers

How many people can the Festival Hall hold?

The Festival Hall seats 150, takes up to 200 for a full reception and up to 400 standing.

What facilities does the Festival Hall have?

The Festival Hall includes a hall, a bar, a catering kitchen, stages and a dance floor. An outdoor courtyard beside it has its own small bar, kitchen and toilets.

What size of team suits Skugga Estate?

Teams of 6 to 150 suit Skugga Estate. The private dining room seats 6 to 10 guests, the terrace seats 12 to 20 guests and the Festival Hall seats 150.

How many people can join a workshop at Skugga Estate?

Workshops typically take no more than 12 people per session, so larger teams rotate in groups. Private groups can enquire for their own session, and reservations are required.

What team activities are there at Skugga Estate?

Teams can join the chocolate workshop, run a slot car league in the Classic Car Garage, take a spirit tasting, blend tea at the Tea Bar and attend a ceremonial cacao gathering.

Can a team race slot cars at Skugga Estate?

Yes. The Classic Car Garage has thirty metres of Carrera slot car track where up to five people race at once, and a racing simulator. Entry to the garage is free.

Where does the team eat at Skugga Estate?

The Vineyard has a private dining room for 6 to 10 guests, a terrace for 12 to 20 guests and the Festival Hall for seated dinners of up to 150. Lunch on the Farm is a barbecue.

What is the best time of year for a team offsite near Chiang Mai?

November to February for the coolest weather, with November the clearest month. Smoke from seasonal burning affects the north from December to April and peaks in March.

Can you fly direct to Chiang Mai from Singapore and Hong Kong?

Yes. Scoot flies non-stop from Singapore and HK Express flies non-stop from Hong Kong, and both routes run daily.

How far is Skugga from Chiang Mai city centre?

The estate is 30 minutes from Chiang Mai city centre. The Farm and the Vineyard are separate sites, 1.5 kilometres apart.

How far ahead can a team book Skugga Estate?

Bookings are open through 2029.

Has Skugga produced wine?

Not yet. The vines were planted in 2025 and the wine programme is developing.