Europe Stag Do Ideas : 30 Blokes!
Discussion
Chaps, some advice please
Myself and the other best man have been tasked with organising a stag do in Europe. I've been on a few and travelled a bit, they have always been with about 10 of us or business.. My mate has whittled his close friends down to 30! We are all early 30's and well behaved (ish)
We are just trying to work out the best place to go, we have narrowed it down to :
Bucharest
Budapest
Berlin
Barelona
Tallin
Warswaw
The flights are all about £80, bar Walsaw which is closer to £45 with more options? Whats it like there, looks cheap for a reason and more tourist orientated than stag dos.
Budapest and Bucharest seem the most popular among our mates, any thoughts or tips?
One issue I have had in the past when travelling in European cities is that *some* took a dislike to groups of British men, even when we were well behaved in Lisbon and some other cities we had issues getting in places and with 30 of us I want things to go smoothly ish
Looking at about £200 for flights and accommodation in late April this year and another £100 for activities + spending money etc
Any thoughts or pointers more than welcome
Myself and the other best man have been tasked with organising a stag do in Europe. I've been on a few and travelled a bit, they have always been with about 10 of us or business.. My mate has whittled his close friends down to 30! We are all early 30's and well behaved (ish)
We are just trying to work out the best place to go, we have narrowed it down to :
Bucharest
Budapest
Berlin
Barelona
Tallin
Warswaw
The flights are all about £80, bar Walsaw which is closer to £45 with more options? Whats it like there, looks cheap for a reason and more tourist orientated than stag dos.
Budapest and Bucharest seem the most popular among our mates, any thoughts or tips?
One issue I have had in the past when travelling in European cities is that *some* took a dislike to groups of British men, even when we were well behaved in Lisbon and some other cities we had issues getting in places and with 30 of us I want things to go smoothly ish
Looking at about £200 for flights and accommodation in late April this year and another £100 for activities + spending money etc
Any thoughts or pointers more than welcome
I've not been to Warsaw or Bucharest but I have been to the other locations and can offer a bit of insight.
Tallinn is a fantastic place with a lot of good bars in the same location. It's not the biggest of places but that just means you don't have to walk too much. The females are stunning if there's any single lads going. They are greared up for stag do's although none of the European cities tend to like large stag groups so you may get some negativity out and about. There's a bar called Nimeta (check spelling) which translates to bar with no name. If the lads want to watch some sport and have a few beers during the day, it's a good spot for that. There's even a massage place off the main square which I've been told offers extras if that's your thing.
Berlin is fantastic too. Plenty to do and see and more of a big city experience like London so there's something for all tastes. Lots of good bars to choose from.
Budapest is also brilliant, one of my favourite cities in fact. From what I saw it was more of a couples place than a stag destination but I'm sure they cater for all. There's a great gun range which is a lot cheaper than other places and you get to spend a good few hours firing weapons. I'm sure they get lots of stag do's in there.
Barelona. Er, each to their own but this was the most dissapointing city break I've ever been on. I hated the place. The bars lacked atmosphere, they're not great fans of Brits and it was full of pick pockets, prostitutes and dodgy characters looking to mug you at any opportunity. I know others who have been and liked it so maybe I went to the wrong places but your other choices are so much nicer in my opinion. If you do decide to go, the staduim tour is OK and I went to watch a live Barca game too.
Tallinn is a fantastic place with a lot of good bars in the same location. It's not the biggest of places but that just means you don't have to walk too much. The females are stunning if there's any single lads going. They are greared up for stag do's although none of the European cities tend to like large stag groups so you may get some negativity out and about. There's a bar called Nimeta (check spelling) which translates to bar with no name. If the lads want to watch some sport and have a few beers during the day, it's a good spot for that. There's even a massage place off the main square which I've been told offers extras if that's your thing.
Berlin is fantastic too. Plenty to do and see and more of a big city experience like London so there's something for all tastes. Lots of good bars to choose from.
Budapest is also brilliant, one of my favourite cities in fact. From what I saw it was more of a couples place than a stag destination but I'm sure they cater for all. There's a great gun range which is a lot cheaper than other places and you get to spend a good few hours firing weapons. I'm sure they get lots of stag do's in there.
Barelona. Er, each to their own but this was the most dissapointing city break I've ever been on. I hated the place. The bars lacked atmosphere, they're not great fans of Brits and it was full of pick pockets, prostitutes and dodgy characters looking to mug you at any opportunity. I know others who have been and liked it so maybe I went to the wrong places but your other choices are so much nicer in my opinion. If you do decide to go, the staduim tour is OK and I went to watch a live Barca game too.
tted up blokes anonymous said:
[redacted]
Very much this.As soon as a date is decided, you'll get several dropouts who have something else on.
As soon as money is due to be paid, you'll get several more either find an excuse or drop off the radar entirely (until the wedding, anyway).
Then at least one person will drop out at the last minute, and want a refund as they're not going to be there.
To get 50% of an original list of friends actually turn up is pretty good going IME.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
30 is a nightmare for a stag. Plenty of places will just refuse you entry.
This is going to be your biggest problem, nearly all European cities will prove a headache with a group that large, only place I've seen large groups like this is Amsterdam. Probably not what you want to hear but I would look at somewhere like Magaluf or Benidorm, if you take them for what they are they aren't that bad and you won't have any issues at all with a group your size
Cheers chaps for all the advice, reinforced what I thought
I thought (see above) more would be really keen, as the blokes I all know are and are always true to their word, the other half of the group are less keen and can only make one day/one evening etc Understandable if you have kids and work commitments etc
Groom was really keen on Rugby Match in Bath and then stay in Bristol, its only down the road from me and I/we all know it like the back of our hand , but at the moment it looks like the most realistic option to tick all the boxes, the only downside being we've done it loads before, so lacks excitement.
I thought (see above) more would be really keen, as the blokes I all know are and are always true to their word, the other half of the group are less keen and can only make one day/one evening etc Understandable if you have kids and work commitments etc
Groom was really keen on Rugby Match in Bath and then stay in Bristol, its only down the road from me and I/we all know it like the back of our hand , but at the moment it looks like the most realistic option to tick all the boxes, the only downside being we've done it loads before, so lacks excitement.
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My stag was in Tallinn in April 2013. 8 of us went and we had a great time. Would definitely recommend. Not loads of stag dos either. We went go karting in the snow which was interesting! (I was dressed as Bruno).
Just came back from Düsseldorf last weekend and we really enjoyed it there. Not really stag focused but that can be an appeal. Bolker St in the Aldstadt has a great selection of bars. Hausbar certainly had some amazing women in there.
Just came back from Düsseldorf last weekend and we really enjoyed it there. Not really stag focused but that can be an appeal. Bolker St in the Aldstadt has a great selection of bars. Hausbar certainly had some amazing women in there.
Over the past few years, I've arranged "lads trips" to all of those locations except Barcelona, though with smaller numbers, typically between 6 and 14 people.
Not sure if you've booked up big trips before, but key thing, especially for a larger group, is do the appropriate preparation and planning work. There's nothing worse at ruining a good trip than wandering around from place to place not quite sure where you are, being turned away from successive bars. I've usually booked a core framework of all-group stuff - restaurants, beer halls, microbrewies etc for lunch and dinner in advance, and arranged a couple of activities - shooting, boat cruise, brewery tour etc for the day. Once above 8 or so people, things often fragment later in the evenings anyway with some up for clubbing, others for girlie bars, others just tired and want to head back to the hotel.
Anyway, onto the destinations you've listed:
Least favourite was Budapest - we did some really great shooting there in a military bunker (about 12 different weapons), but overall the place just seemed spread out and lacked a real sense of centre or heart.
Warsaw, again, felt quite spread out and we seemed to spend quite a lot of time in taxis. Fonder memories than Budapest though.
Berlin is a very cool city, been there a couple of times. A larger group may work depending on where you end up - beach bars outdoors will be more flexible. We hired a beer bike when there last year which was good for up to 16 and a great laugh. There were a few places we had trouble getting into, but overall it wasn't too bad. Other German cities have been quite frustrating at times even in smaller groups due to the prevalence of seated service for beers - great if you can get a table, not so good if you are wandering from place to place.
Bucharest I really enjoyed. It was very cheap and very relaxed - superb 5* hotel with rooms each and flights less than £200. Quite a nice compact old town area in the centre full of great bars.
Out of the places you list Tallinn would probably be my favourite with a smaller group, but I think you'd really struggle there with 20-30. Riga remains my favourite Baltic destination - you get the cool bars and nightlife, but there's proper contrast to see from times gone by - take an early morning visit on Saturday to the indoor market in 4 massive hangars for example.
It also helps if you can get a good guide for some of the activity stuff. Not only can it make the activity more fun, but you can get great local tips for later.
Good luck!
Gary.
Not sure if you've booked up big trips before, but key thing, especially for a larger group, is do the appropriate preparation and planning work. There's nothing worse at ruining a good trip than wandering around from place to place not quite sure where you are, being turned away from successive bars. I've usually booked a core framework of all-group stuff - restaurants, beer halls, microbrewies etc for lunch and dinner in advance, and arranged a couple of activities - shooting, boat cruise, brewery tour etc for the day. Once above 8 or so people, things often fragment later in the evenings anyway with some up for clubbing, others for girlie bars, others just tired and want to head back to the hotel.
Anyway, onto the destinations you've listed:
Least favourite was Budapest - we did some really great shooting there in a military bunker (about 12 different weapons), but overall the place just seemed spread out and lacked a real sense of centre or heart.
Warsaw, again, felt quite spread out and we seemed to spend quite a lot of time in taxis. Fonder memories than Budapest though.
Berlin is a very cool city, been there a couple of times. A larger group may work depending on where you end up - beach bars outdoors will be more flexible. We hired a beer bike when there last year which was good for up to 16 and a great laugh. There were a few places we had trouble getting into, but overall it wasn't too bad. Other German cities have been quite frustrating at times even in smaller groups due to the prevalence of seated service for beers - great if you can get a table, not so good if you are wandering from place to place.
Bucharest I really enjoyed. It was very cheap and very relaxed - superb 5* hotel with rooms each and flights less than £200. Quite a nice compact old town area in the centre full of great bars.
Out of the places you list Tallinn would probably be my favourite with a smaller group, but I think you'd really struggle there with 20-30. Riga remains my favourite Baltic destination - you get the cool bars and nightlife, but there's proper contrast to see from times gone by - take an early morning visit on Saturday to the indoor market in 4 massive hangars for example.
It also helps if you can get a good guide for some of the activity stuff. Not only can it make the activity more fun, but you can get great local tips for later.
Good luck!
Gary.
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