Still haven’t the foggiest about where you might organise a stag do? The struggle is real. With so many stag do options out there, it’s hard knowing where to begin and crucially – what to look for. That’s why we thought we would put together a little guide for you fellas about the top stag do destinations in the UK, a little destination inspiration if you will. Scouring the UK, we’ve picked our favourites, so you can spend time with your mates, doing the things you love.
Best for Activities – Nottingham, Bournemouth, Newcastle
Best for a cheap pint – Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds
Best for friendliness – Liverpool, Newquay, Brighton
Best for walk-ability – York, Oxford, Birmingham
Best for pubs – Nottingham, London, Edinburgh
Best for bars and clubs – London, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff
Inexpensive drinks and a staggering club scene means Birmingham gives plenty of play for your pounds
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Activities: Birmingham, much like London offers plenty in terms of activities. Get the adrenalin pumping with some serious quad-biking or go all countryfile and have a spot at clay pigeon shooting.
Price of a Pint: Nice and cheap, depending on the pub, you can get a pint for around £3, less in some!
Walk-ability: For such a large city, most of the night life is actually within easy walking distance. Most things centre around Broad Street, the night life artery of Birmingham.
Friendliness: Brummies are brilliant. They’re welcoming and hospitable.
Pubs: Plenty of boozers up in the Midlands capital. Places like The Brasshouse on Broad Street is a good option, close to all the other best bars and clubs.
Bars and Clubs: Depending on your preference, we’d opt for a big night in either Gatecrasher or bar Risa, both are big venues with club bangers playing way into the early hours, while the attractive Mailbox complex has some good bars too.
Fast becoming the go to stag do destination, energetic Bournemouth brings the style and the heat to the South
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Activities: Bournemouth’s affinity to the coast makes it a prime destination for sea lovers. There are plenty of good activities and with the beach on your doorstep, a perfect place to unwind afterwards.
Price of a Pint: A tad pricey compared to most places further north, lager is around £4.
Walk-ability: Easy enough to get around, but would recommend getting a mini-bus to and from certain activity centres.
Friendliness: Friendly and unpretentious. Caters very well to stag groups.
Pubs: Trendy Westbourne has a good selection of old fashioned boozers, while Boscombe offers attractive views over the beach. Be careful as some places are reluctant to let big groups in.
Bars and Clubs: The choice is plentiful. Some clubs offer panoramic views across the sea as an added bonus.
Revelling in it’s reputation as stag do mecca, it’s the buzzing city of Brighton
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Activities: The beach is on your doorstep and inland is a plethora of activities like dune buggy racing.
Price of a Pint: A tad pricey, lager will cost you around the £4-4.50 mark.
Walk-ability: Sometimes you feel that all you do is walk uphill… you probably will do. There isn’t much of a flat section in Brighton, but just think of how easy it will be to roll to the beach! Luckily the best bars are on the seafront.
Friendliness: Brighton’s hedonistic and liberal ideals make it an incredibly friendly place. With some of the highest levels of sunshine on record, there is plenty for Brighton to smile about.
Pubs: Places like the Hop Poles and the Cricketers are good old fashioned, unpretentious boozers.
Bars and Clubs: Along the seafront are a plethora of bars and clubs. Have a look at Digital or Bar 76 – with it’s supposed women to men ratio of 80/20.
Incredible graffiti and sensational bars. Just two of the reasons why Bristol should be on everyone’s list
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Activities: Lots of great outdoor activities such as downhill mountain biking right on your doorstep.
Price of a Pint: Cider is the big seller here. Fairly average prices varying between £3-£4.
Walk-ability: 1 hour 30 mins by train from London. If you’re drinking down on the harbour front, then it is a solid 10-15 minute walk to most of the clubs.
Friendliness: People in Bristol are fantastic, though beware of the one’s that refer to Bristol as a mini-London, it really isn’t.
Pubs: Strong selection, places like the Grain Barge are good along with several up Park Street.
Bars and Clubs: Something for everyone. If you like your scene a bit more underground there’s Blue Mountain or head to SLVR for a bit of bottle service.
Mad, scandalous and utterly mesmerizing, Cardiff is sure to not disappoint
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Activities: Welsh rugby is a big thing, so why not look at getting yourself down for a good old England v Wales rugby game? If not, there are plenty of other amazing things to keep you busy.
Price of a Pint: As far as beers go, it’s pretty average with most lagers costing you between £3-£4.
Walk-ability: Easy enough to get around on foot with the majority of night life happening in either the Millennium Stadium or Cardiff Bay area.
Friendliness: Though most places are friendly things can get pretty rowdy later on in the night, just call it lively.
Pubs: Well somewhere has to play the sport. Enjoy a household beer like S.A (Special Ale) while watching a game.
Bars and Clubs: Proper lush. The area around the Millennium Stadium is particularly good for stag do’s and party people.
Forget about kilts and the once-a-year Fringe Festival. Beautiful Edinburgh is always partying
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Activities: We think the activities in Scotland are fantastic, some of them you won’t find anywhere else such as the Highland Games.
Price of a Pint: Edinburgh isn’t as cheap as one might hope. Pints can be quite pricey, tipping over the £4 mark on many lagers.
Walk-ability: It’s a relatively easy city to navigate. most of the action takes place round the Public Triangle in Tollcross. But if you’re there to see some sights, getting to them requires a bit more walking than most.
Friendliness: Despite the rumours of Scots hating the English, they really are a damn good laugh.
Pubs: Many places retain their pub charm. For the best of them, head towards the Leith and Stockbridge areas, both are few minutes taxi ride apart and both have arguably some of the best boozers in Scotland.
Bars and Clubs: West End and New Town have some very sleek bars and cocktails.
Leeds: There’s only one gear for this belta of a city, go big or go home
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Activities: There’s a great amount of things to do in Leeds from zorb football to motorised mayhem on hovercrafts.
Price of a Pint: A definite bonus for Leeds are the cheap drinks. Any beer more than £3.50 is
expensive.
Walk-ability: Luckily despite the diversity in bars and clubs, the city centre is quite compact,
taking little over 15 minutes to get from one side to the other.
Friendliness: As some of the biggest party goers around, people in Leeds are always up for a laugh. You’ll no doubt be making some mates on your night out.
Pubs: There are many places for you and your mates. You can go big and brashy with somewhere like Tiger Tiger or find some smaller haunts.
Bars and Clubs: Leeds offers a sensational array of bars and clubs. Whether you like your beats funky,soulful, acoustic or the best in dirty dubstep, Leeds has a venue that can cater to any large group. Look at going towards either Greek Street or New Brigatte. Many places have late licenses so you can be out till 5 in the morning.
Love sport? Love live gigs? Look no further than Liverpool
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Activities: There’s the awesome Wake Park, for those that don’t mind getting a little wet, while the comedy clubs in the city centre are a real highlight.
Price of a Pint: On average, most pints will cost you a little under £3, result.
Walk-ability: A very easy city to navigate with little time wasted trekking from bar to bar.
Friendliness: Scousers are easily some of the most welcoming people in the UK making your stag do that little bit more pleasurable.
Pubs: An awesome selection, chain pubs can be found dotted around Wood Street while there are many occupying around the harbour.
Bars and Clubs: The club scene is banging Liverpool. Live gigs are a great thing to see here too.
The nations capital is truly breathtaking. Multicultural London boasts the best of Britain
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Activities: For outdoor activities, you’ll probably have to head out of the city centre to greener pastures but for there’s plenty of experiences to be had within the city centre too.
Price of a Pint: Expensive I’m afraid. You’re looking at most lagers around £5 and a cocktail almost double that.
Walk-ability: An easy enough city to get too, but depending on your choices, it isn’t particularly easy to get around, tubes, taxis and buses will probably be needed at some point.
Friendliness: Londoners get a bad rep at being rude, but on a night out everyone’s up for a laugh.
Pubs: The capital is alive with pubs no matter where you look. How do you choose? Just head to the one where the people have poured out on to the streets
Bars and Clubs: You’ll have to cough up a bit for club entry, but places like Funky Buddha and Fabric throw some wild nights with the most incredible tunes. You’ll never run out of choice in London.
It’s mad, bad and a sick night out. Support United or City? Who cares. We love you Manchester, we do!
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Activities: With activity centres around the city, you can find anything from dodgeball to quad-biking.
Price of a Pint: Prices have been steadily creeping up over the years, but they’re still relatively inexpensive compared to London, hovering around the £3.50 mark.
Walk-ability: Manchester is a large city so you may need to make use of taxis and buses to get to certain parts, a small price to pay for such a lively city.
Friendliness: People are great, friendly and down to earth. The multicultural City has an awesome vibe no matter the time of day.
Pubs: There are many options for pub crawls, but for the easiest and most entertaining ones, head to the Northern Quarter.
Bars and Clubs: Manchester is teeming with stylish bars full of personality while the Printworks area also offers a great starting point for a night on the razz. The club scene is exceptional.
Taking night life to the limits, Newcastle plays hard and parties harder!
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Activities: Newcastle boasts some of the best go karting facilities in the country, with only a short taxi ride to the centre.
Price of a Pint: Possibly some of the best pint prices around, proving to be exceptional value for money.
Walk-ability: Not particularly difficult to get around, but when it’s cold we might recommend a taxi.
Friendliness: There’s nowhere quite like Newcastle, people are incredibly accommodating for large stag groups.
Pubs: With beer so cheap, the pubs offer an excellent array of local and regional beers.
Bars and Clubs: Take your pick. Want to go all fancy, then head to the Diamond Strip. Or party on up like back in your student days in Jesmond. Honestly, there’s something to suit anyone.
Newquay: Surf, sea and sunshine. What’s not to love in this beach side town?
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Activities: With the coast on your doorstep, water based activities are a big hit with the likes of coasteering and surfing being a really great way to spend time with your mates.
Price of a Pint: Fairly average with lager ranging around £3.50.
Walk-ability: Not too bad with most of the action happening down on the sea front.
Friendliness: Locals are good natured and very tolerant of stag groups.
Pubs: Lots of decent places to sip a brew while soaking up the rays. Beer gardens are particularly good.
Bars and Clubs: There’s a few decent clubs, blasting out everything from chart toppers to 80’s cheese (yes Duran Duran), but you’re likely to bump into other stag groups.
Nottingham: Home to the only Hooters in the UK. Oh, and there’s 5 girls to every 1 guy, ’nuff said
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Activities: Far and away Nottingham’s strongest point. Everything from archery to quad-biking available.
Price of a Pint: Pints range anywhere from £2.50 to around £3.50. Nice and cheap.
Walk-ability: Hopping from bar to bar should be a doddle, no need for a taxi.
Friendliness: Ey up mi duck. Nottingham contains some of the most party ready people in the country and a huge student population with both Nottingham University and Nottingham Trent accommodating some 60,000 odd students combined.
Pubs: A visit to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is a must. It’s the oldest pub in the UK.
Bars and Clubs: There are super clubs like Oceana, or more hipster alternatives like Bodega.
Stunning architecture and fascinating history, welcome to the beautiful Oxford
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Activities: Some fantastic activities can be organised in the surrounding area. For something in Oxford, why not have a go at punting? Always an experience!
Price of a Pint: You’ll be forking out around £4 or more so don’t expect cheap pints. Expect though to visit places full of character and charm.
Walk-ability: Most of the best joints in Oxford are well within walking distance of each other.
Friendliness: Despite having the most prestigious University in the country, Oxford is far from stuck up.
Pubs: Lots of choices – but some can be quite harsh on letting large stag groups in. Best bet is to stagger your entry.
Bars and Clubs: There are a few good bars and clubs, but not on the scale of other larger cities. Pub scene is much better.
Knuckle down with a pint in picturesque York, the most haunted city in the UK
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Activities: Away from the city and into the gorgeous Yorkshire moors and dales, there’s a range of fantastic outdoor activities such as paintballing, buggy racing and clay shooting.
Price of a Pint: Not too shabby for drinking, it’s not inexpensive compared to other northern cities like Leeds and Newcastle, but it’s far better than most down south.
Walk-ability: A very picturesque and walkable city, mind the old cobbled streets though.
Friendliness: Good old York, locals are inquisitive and curious, kicking up minimal fuss for stag groups.
Pubs: A real highlight. Quaint bolt holes serving proper beer can be found all around the Micklegate district.
Bars and Clubs: York has certainly stepped up it’s game when it comes to the club scene in recent years. Bars are pleasant enough but few have night licenses.
Well there we have it, our top UK stag destinations. What are your favourites? Let us know in the comments below.