The 2018 summer working holiday
What fantastic work we do! And I say it often, but I'll keep saying it. Because that realization is always there. How wonderful is it to gain inspiration? My colleagues and I regularly go on inspiration trips, but even when I go on holiday myself, I almost always include a number of elements to gain inspiration for goMICE Projects that might be coming up.
Have a nice trip
A year ago, I also wrote about my own summer working holiday. Not only do we at goMICE love organising amazing trips for our clients, but I also love travelling to beautiful and special destinations with my family. Even after my two boys were born, we continued to take enjoyable trips. We always dragged them everywhere with us, often outside of Europe too, but we did look for destinations that were also suited to their age.
In recent years, we have used our summer holidays for a number of special and longer trips. For example, in previous years we have visited Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Tanzania and South Africa. In addition to enjoying ourselves together, we also visit several hotels and restaurants for business purposes and look at other relevant matters on location.
Incentive travel within Europe is popular
Europe is still the most popular continent to do a incentives to organise, but non-European destinations are also very popular, for both meetings, incentives, conferences and events.
goMICE already has various trips and events planned to several countries in Asia, including Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. But also destinations such as Dubai and New York often in the spotlight again. Recently, we also had the pleasure of organising a trip for a wedding party to the Maldives. A magnificent project! This was for approximately 100 people, including various Dutch celebrities and several Dutch artists. After the wedding, the bridal couple also travelled on to other destinations, including Bora Bora.
Drawing inspiration from Japan, Hawaii, and Vancouver
To properly handle these types of requests, we often go on inspirational trips or combine a holiday with a business inspiration element. For example, this year my family and I went to Japan, Hawaii and Vancouver. Literally ‘around the world’. And what an experience it was! In 4 weeks we did and saw so much, but also gained inspiration. Especially in Japan, but also in Hawaii. Because, like the Maldives, Hawaii is a popular destination for incentive trips and weddings. So here too, we combined private and business. And as I said, that's no hardship!
This would mean we'd be on the road a lot, but that's our favourite thing to do above all else. And yes, our boys also love adventure and something different every day.
We allocated a total of 3.5 weeks for this trip and have just returned to the Netherlands. Broadly, I'll share our itinerary. A highly recommended itinerary if you are considering such a trip. You could also omit Japan, but we felt it was a nice “stopover”. Also to get used to the 12-hour time difference in Hawaii. After all, there's a 7-hour time difference in Japan, and this way you do it step by step. Still intense, but that's precisely what's great about such a trip. In a few upcoming blogs, I'll tell you more about the hotels we stayed at and the activities you can do.
Amsterdam-Japan-Hawaii-Vancouver-Amsterdam Itinerary
We flew from Amsterdam to Osaka and from there took the high-speed train to Kyoto. That's an experience in itself! Not only because the train travels 1.5 times faster than the Thalys in Europe, but also to see how organised Japan is. At the final stop, the seats are first turned to face the direction of travel, and a cleaning crew enters the train.
The travellers are neatly lined up in front of the door and nobody pushes in. When the cleaner gives the signal to board, it is done in an organised manner and without any pushing. And the tourists follow suit. Nobody dares to sneak in ahead of someone else. We in the Netherlands could learn a thing or two from them.
Kyoto
Kyoto, The city of temples. There's an enormous amount to see in Kyoto. We stayed here for 2 nights and filled our time by walking to a number of temples, strolling through the beautiful old streets and took a guided bike tour through the city, which is something we often use in Kyoto.
Tokyo
On the third day we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo where we visited all the highlights. Together with a Dutch private guide (this guide is Dutch and often accompanies our incentive trips and trade missions). This is an expert to help you discover the “other” Tokyo. Naturally, the interesting fish market was included!
We have also inspected various hotels and discussed with this guide what upcoming groups can expect. For example, we have a request from a company that wants to go on a trade mission, and this guide also has contacts within companies for a behind-the-scenes look. Furthermore, he can show how robots are taking over tasks and can also be helpful in establishing a business relationship. Although he is Dutch, he speaks fluent Japanese, which can be very useful.
Honolulu
And then it was time to Honolulu to fly. Hotel Halekulani/Waikiki was the resort we had hoped for. Right on Waikiki beach and fantastic to look out over the beach from your room. The waves, the surf dudes and everything that goes with it was great! And our boys really enjoyed it....!
In the meantime, we'll quickly view a number of hotels, some by appointment, others just by dropping in.
Kauai
Next, it was time to pack the bags again and travel on, to what later turned out to be (in our opinion, at least), the most beautiful island in Hawaii: Kauai. Here we've done the most beautiful hikes and explored the impressive coastline by boat. You'll literally feel like you're in Jurassic Park. (The filming of these movies actually took place here!)
We have gained so much inspiration and discovered wonderful activities for current projects and future applications.
Big Island
On Kauai Big Island it was my turn, culminating in a helicopter tour (with open doors….) over the island and, in this case, over the lava-spewing volcano. I've seen a lot in my life, but this truly surpassed everything. Here we saw what nature is capable of..... indescribable.
Maui
As the last island standing Maui on the itinerary. We would be staying here for 6 nights and taking it a bit easier. While we did manage that, we still wanted to see all the highlights, so we were out and about almost every day. The Road to Hilo was an absolute highlight, including the hike to the bamboo forest, which was indescribably beautiful. A boat trip to the Molokini crater for some snorkelling was also a must.
You can also eat very special and varied food on the islands! We discovered great restaurants, also for large groups, but fresh food is also prepared everywhere along the roadside.
Vancouver
We concluded our (working) holiday with an afternoon excursion before flying to Vancouver the next day. After acclimatising there for one night and going on a bike ride, we flew home the following day in our familiar blue Dutch bird.
‘A trip around the world’ with various airlines’
We consciously chose a variety of airlines to once again test service levels and provide our customers with the right advice. For example, we flew with KLM, as well as Delta, Canadian, and between the Hawaiian islands with Hawaiian Airlines. We had no less than 8 flights in our itinerary. With all these airlines, we received good service and did not experience any delays or lost luggage. However, KLM remains the winner for us when it comes to service and quality.
Perhaps this blog or the many other blogs that we at goMICE have written and can be found on our website will offer inspiration for your intended incentive trip, event, wedding, or trade mission. We are happy to be of service.
This blog would become far too long to share all the experiences from this trip with you. Should you be interested in more information about these destinations,please do not hesitate to contact us! I will soon tell you more about the hotels on location and about great activities in new blogs.