As companies increasingly focus on corporate culture, team cohesion, and emotionally meaningful experiences, Amazing Race has become one of the most popular team building formats. Beyond physical games, Amazing Race combines movement, exploration, problem-solving, interaction, and creativity, creating a holistic journey that engages both body and mind.

For businesses, Amazing Race addresses multiple objectives simultaneously:

• Strengthening teamwork, communication, and strategic collaboration
• Encouraging agile thinking, problem-solving, and fast decision-making
• Creating shared emotional experiences that foster deeper understanding and connection
• Integrating local cultural values and identity, ensuring the program is authentic rather than formulaic

As a result, Amazing Race is no longer just a team building activity, but a strategic tool that helps organizations recharge their teams, cultivate a strong “one team” spirit, and convey corporate messages in a subtle and meaningful way.

Join Exotic Vietnam to discover a signature Amazing Race Hoi An program, where corporate objectives are seamlessly connected with local cultural experiences, creating truly distinctive and memorable team building journeys in Vietnam.

Hoi An – An Ideal Destination for Corporate Amazing Race Programs

Located along the gentle Hoai River, Hoi An is one of the few ancient towns in Southeast Asia that has preserved almost intact its spatial layout, architecture, and traditional way of life. Recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1999, Hoi An represents a unique cultural convergence of Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Western influences, clearly reflecting its role as a vibrant international trading port from the 16th to the 17th centuries.

Hoi An moves at a slower, more contemplative pace, yet remains full of vitality. Moss-covered tiled roofs, narrow brick-paved alleys, bougainvillea cascading over yellow walls, the gentle rhythm of oars along the Hoai River, and the warm glow of lanterns at dusk together create a setting that is both poetic and culturally profound.

Hoi An’s cuisine is inseparable from the life of the old town. Dishes such as cao lau noodles (Cao Lầu), Quang noodles (Mì Quảng), banh bao – banh vac (White Rose Dumplings), chicken rice (Cơm Gà Hội An), and corn sweet soup (Chè Bắp) are not merely food, but living memories and stories passed down through generations. The people of Hoi An are warm and open, always ready to interact and share, allowing visitors to naturally step into local life.

It is this harmonious blend of tangible heritage, intangible cultural values, and a living local community that makes Hoi An an ideal setting for Amazing Race programs – where each challenge becomes a slice of heritage, every interaction an authentic experience, and every step a meaningful connection.

Amazing Race Scenario in the Heart of Hoi An Ancient Town

The Amazing Race Hoi An program is designed around the Ancient Town area – a safe pedestrian zone rich in heritage value and highly convenient for movement, interaction, and challenge execution. The route covers approximately 2,500 meters, making it suitable for a wide range of participants, from young professionals to middle management and senior leaders.

The program features four main challenges centered on the themes of history, architecture, cuisine, and community life, combined with interactive tasks involving local residents to deepen the overall experience.

Kick-off & Team Formation

• Each participant receives a conical hat in a different color at the hotel.
• Participants move to the starting point and form teams based on hat colors.
• Each team appoints a team leader and takes part in the opening challenge, Human Knot, focusing on communication, patience, and coordination.
• The winning team earns the right to choose its team name (inspired by Vietnamese cities such as Ha Long, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Saigon, or Phu Quoc) and starts first.

Main Challenges & Bonus Tasks

• History – Japanese Covered Bridge: Teams arrange key historical milestones related to the formation and development of Hoi An.
  Bonus: A creative team photo with the Japanese Covered Bridge, the iconic symbol of the Ancient Town.
• Architecture – Tan Ky Ancient House: Teams answer questions about traditional house architecture, wooden structures, and living spaces after a short introduction.
  Bonus: A group photo inside the ancient house.
• Cuisine – Hoi An Market: Teams enjoy Quang noodles (Mi Quang), a traditional local dish. Each member selects images of ingredients – such as noodles, shrimp, pork, eggs, sesame rice crackers, peanuts, and fresh herbs – found in the bowl they have just tasted.
  Bonus: A group photo in the traditional market setting.
• Community Life – Hoi An Communal House: Teams learn and perform traditional martial arts under the guidance of a local master.
  Bonus: A team photo in martial arts attire.

In parallel, teams engage in community-based challenges such as interacting with local residents, solving Hoi An–themed crossword puzzles, and taking photos in ao dai or traditional costumes. These activities allow participants to truly live within the heritage space, rather than simply pass through it.

Closing Activity

The program concludes at a riverside venue along the Hoai River or in the courtyard of an ancient house with a lantern-making activity. Each participant crafts their own lantern and selects a colored fabric piece to attach to a large collective canvas. As individual contributions come together, a complete artwork gradually takes shape – symbolizing collaboration, respect for diversity, and the collective strength of a team united toward a shared goal.

Program Significance for Businesses

Amazing Race Hoi An is not merely a race, but a transformative experiential journey. Through a series of thoughtfully designed challenges set within a living heritage environment, the program delivers meaningful value to organizations:

• Connecting people through shared, emotion-rich experiences in a cultural setting that is calm, human-centered, and intimate.
• Strengthening collaboration and agile thinking as teams coordinate roles and make decisions within the real-world constraints of a heritage space.
• Fostering appreciation for sustainability, heritage, and local communities – values that are increasingly essential in modern corporate culture.
• Creating opportunities for individuals to express their roles, strengths, and personalities, while gaining deeper understanding of one another beyond the workplace context.

Together, these experiences enable Amazing Race Hoi An to build lasting team cohesion, rejuvenate organizational energy, and elevate team building into a strategic tool that is both effective and emotionally resonant.

Exotic Vietnam – A Trusted DMC in Vietnam

With many years of experience in MICE, team building, and incentive travel, Exotic Vietnam is a trusted partner for both domestic and international corporations. What sets Exotic Vietnam apart is not only its operational expertise, but also its client-centric approach – carefully listening to each company’s objectives, messages, participant profiles, budgets, and experience expectations.

Based on this foundation, Exotic Vietnam designs tailor-made Amazing Race programs that are flexible in content, duration, and investment level, while consistently ensuring cultural depth, strong local identity, and effective team engagement. Amazing Race Hoi An is a clear example of how a team building program can go beyond conventional activities to become a meaningful and emotionally engaging experiential journey.

Exotic Vietnam does not simply organize events; it partners with businesses to transform objectives into experiences – and experiences into long-term value.