Issue link: https://digital.meetinreykjavik.is/i/653841
THE BELLE OF ST. KIT TS For an incentive experience reminiscent of Thailand without several days' worth of travel, consider St. Kitts. The tiny island 250 miles east of Puerto Rico is home to the self-sustaining Belle Mont Farm at Kittitian Hill, a 400-acre working farm that doubles as a resort, complete with a volcano and wild monkeys. Guests can expect to truly get away from it all here and be pampered with simple luxuries like crates of bananas, pineapples and mangoes freshly plucked from the trees that morning delivered to their doorstep. (There are 84 guesthouses and 10 three- and four-bedroom villas.) The immaculately kept, "edible" golf course is maintained not with pesticides, but by 800 neighboring sheep that keep weeds at bay. Eight-course dinners with menus dictated by the day's crops are as fresh as they come—everything, including the olive oil and wine, is produced right on the island. —KO See aquatic life in a whole new light at Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort, a Marriott Convention & Resort Network property on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Partnering with Adventure Center of St. Thomas, the resort helps planners book a nighttime paddling experience in kayaks equipped with clear LEDs for meeting or incentive guests. S N A P S H O T UNDER THE SE A Exploring Iceland When I received an invitation for a FAM trip to Iceland, I thought: Would I ever have a need for this location, and could I convince a client to even consider it, much less meet there? I decided to check it out, and after a wonderful trip coordinated by the team at Meet in Reykjavik, I was sold on Iceland's capital city. Here are my top five takeaways to convince a client to plan an event there. —Deborah Elias 1 ICEL AND IS NOT TOTALLY MADE OF ICE . That myth is what the Vikings wanted people to think so they would not populate the region, sending them instead to Greenland, which is in fact covered in ice—clever, clever. The best weather is from May to September, but if you want to skate on an ice glacier, you will love the cold but beautiful winter months. 2 IT 'S MORE ACCESSIBLE THAN YOU THINK . You can get to Iceland via Icelandair, which has 16 flights from the United States and 26 from Europe. From most eastern U.S. destinations, the trip is an easy five hours. The airline even offers incentives of up to a seven- day layover for free. 3 RE YK JAVIK HAS SE VER AL INCREDIBLY UNUSUAL VENUES. Of note are Reykjavik Art Museum, Whales of Iceland and the streamlined architectural wonder, Harpa. 4 THE ARE A AROUND RE YK JAVIK IS WORTH E XPLORING. For a MICE trip, Reykjavik is really the only city to host a meeting, but it's not far from many interesting experiences perfect for teambuilding or incentive activities. Participants can join Buggy Adventures for a morning of traipsing through the mud and countryside, or visit the Fakasel, which houses an extensive collection of true Icelandic horses and has an interesting evening show outlining their unique history. Perhaps the hottest excursion is Blue Lagoon, a sort of amusement park for adults set on a natural geyser. This is a surprisingly relaxing and different experience. 5 THIS COUNTRY IS FOR THE NATURE LOVER . From geysers to waterfalls to volcanoes, there are plentiful ways to be immersed in the natural landscape of Iceland. My suggestion is to take a helicopter tour with Nordurflug to visit some of the most remote and scenic parts of the country. And, of course, you can't leave until you have seen Mother Nature's most impressive display: the Northern Lights. F A M 5 Deborah Elias, CSEP, CMP, is an award-winning event coordinator specializing in unique client experiences in the MICE market. As president of Elias Events, she's planned events in areas such as Dubai, Canada and London. Find her on Twitter, @eliasevents. CORPORATE.CONNECTMEETINGS.COM 63 RAGNAR TH SIGURDSSON