Executives’ Summer Vacations: Business Leaders Share Their Favorite Places

Off the beaten track or on a main thoroughfare. High in the mountains or plunging beneath the sea. Getting away from it all or glorying in the multiplicity of humanity. At times spending summer weekends at home with an above ground pool is undoubtedly a good option, but once in a while if you have the liberty of time, then getting away for a vacation is necessary. Usually, CEOs take all of these approaches and more to planning and partaking in their summer getaways.

Here are some of the spots they’ve selected and why.

1. Bali. Henrik Kjellberg, president of Hotwire, who should know a thing or two about travel destinations, taps the tropical island as “just fabulously green, relaxed, and friendly. A very different feel to South East Asia,” he said. “Great diving and amazing sight seeing on land as well.”

2. Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park, Maine. Eric Zuckerman, CEO of Pac Team Group, an exhibition-solutions outfit, enjoys the area because “it is away from the hustle and bustle of the city, with no signs of the corporate world. It is the perfect place to disconnect from business.”

3. Belgium. Lior Rachmany, CEO of Dumbo Moving, a Brooklyn-based moving and storage company, called Belgium “my new favorite summer spot. It is a new hot bed of musical talent.” He’s a musician as well as a CEO, “and I need to go to a few concerts a year to recharge. Belgium is the place to do it.”

4. Bhutan. Ditto from Kjellberg in his endorsement of Bhutan, where he finds “outstanding scenery, friendly people, incredible trails” and “perhaps the world’s scariest landing as you land in Pardo.”

5. Chamonix, France. Dan Biederman, CEO of Bryant Park Corp. and other concerns in New York City, likes to “climb there, and hike, but the whole family enjoys the town—a great mix of French small-town design and stunning views of the French Alps, and the mythic presence of Mont Blanc.”

6. Chubut, Argentina. Arik Kislin, CEO of the Gansevoort Hotel Chain and affiliated concerns, calls the place “God’s country—very beautiful, mostly untouched by nature” that features “extremely friendly and hospitable people.”

7. Lake Couer d’Alene, Idaho. Scott Wiley, CEO of the Ohio Society of CPAs, loves this outpost because it offers “great outdoor activities and incredible microbrews and restaurants with hidden menus. You just have to know what to ask for.”

8. Lake Washington, Washington. Jon Roskill, founder and CEO of Acumatica, a Bellevue, Wash., software company, enjoys “active, outdoor sports, including boating, wake boarding and hiking for which we got new sleeping bags.” And Lake Washington is “a particularly enjoyable location” for such pursuits. “It’s an invigorating, rejuvenating experience,” he said.

9. Northern Pine Lodge, Park Rapids, Minnesota. Jason Mud, head of Axia PR, loves taking his family there every year as a respite from summers in their home state of Florida. “The rustic cabins get me closer to nature and family and much further away from work, stress, deadlines and technology,” he says, and the resort offers a variety of activities from kayaking to lake volleyball to mini golf.

10. Suncadia Resort, Cle Elum, Washington. Brent Hixson, CEO of Levl, a fitness-device company, loves the mountain resort in his home state and its multiple golf courses, swimming pools, hiking, biking, “great amenities and even a kid-friendly winery.”

11. Tulum, Mexico. Patrick Burkhardt, co-founder of Luxpitality, a San Diego-based hospitality concern, loves heading there because of the “warm turquoise waters, amazing culture and cuisines from all over the world.”