lads holiday down south - 3 different cities
Discussion
evening all.
as the title suggests we are doing our annualy lads trip away in the uk, last year i come up with the idea of blackpool and while it was a laugh we probably wont go again. so it has been decided its time to go back down south to hit some nice cities with good nightlife
i should also say now that newquay has been ruled out only because we have been there twice already and last time it took 8 hours to get back!!
we are going on the august bank holiday weekend (yes i know its a bad time for traffic etc but it suits everybody) but fingers crossed for good weather
main points we are looking for from each city/town is good nightlife with a hint of 'holiday vibe' also not a complete dump (sorry blackpool).
so far i have come up with the idea of hitting southampton on the friday, portsmouth on saturday and brighton on sunday. i have picked these 3 as a brief search on the net suggests they all are nice,decent,clean cities with good nightlife and arent a million miles from each other. we are coming from aylesbury,buckinghamshire any of those cities arent a bad run.
anyone have any other suggestions?
as the title suggests we are doing our annualy lads trip away in the uk, last year i come up with the idea of blackpool and while it was a laugh we probably wont go again. so it has been decided its time to go back down south to hit some nice cities with good nightlife
i should also say now that newquay has been ruled out only because we have been there twice already and last time it took 8 hours to get back!!
we are going on the august bank holiday weekend (yes i know its a bad time for traffic etc but it suits everybody) but fingers crossed for good weather
main points we are looking for from each city/town is good nightlife with a hint of 'holiday vibe' also not a complete dump (sorry blackpool).
so far i have come up with the idea of hitting southampton on the friday, portsmouth on saturday and brighton on sunday. i have picked these 3 as a brief search on the net suggests they all are nice,decent,clean cities with good nightlife and arent a million miles from each other. we are coming from aylesbury,buckinghamshire any of those cities arent a bad run.
anyone have any other suggestions?
Well if you survive being stabbed/shot in Southampton, you may well be 
by the sailors in Portsmouth, and if you get away with that it'll almost definitely happen in Brighton! 
Only kidding (apart from the Southampton bit), not been out in Pompey for so long, but guess there may be some laughs to be had at Gunwharf?
by the sailors in Portsmouth, and if you get away with that it'll almost definitely happen in Brighton! Only kidding (apart from the Southampton bit), not been out in Pompey for so long, but guess there may be some laughs to be had at Gunwharf?
ben_h100 said:
Why not get the eurostar into Europe? Or do butlins, they have regular 18-30 style weekends. Not what you mght think.
well, its not likely but amsterdam is an option though very faint at the moment. and butlins? i have heard of people doing this but i thought that was like 10 years ago and strikes me to only be in places like blackpool...rich85uk said:
Arese said:
A bit left-field, but how about Swansea, Cardiff, & Bristol?
I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
this is 2nd place line up in my eyes so to speak, how did you find those cities??I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
Arese said:
rich85uk said:
Arese said:
A bit left-field, but how about Swansea, Cardiff, & Bristol?
I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
this is 2nd place line up in my eyes so to speak, how did you find those cities??I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
rich85uk said:
Arese said:
rich85uk said:
Arese said:
A bit left-field, but how about Swansea, Cardiff, & Bristol?
I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
this is 2nd place line up in my eyes so to speak, how did you find those cities??I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
Southampton is indeed a bit of a dive, but Portsmouth really isn't much better. Apart from Gunwharf, Portsmouth is basically a third world country.
Bournemouth is great though, as is Brighton.
Don't underestimate the time it'll take to get to/from Brighton on the coast road, the roads are mostly main, but some go through towns (Arundel, etc.) if it's busy, you might get stuck. Can take a couple of hours some days to get from Brighton to Southampton.
Bristol great, but like any big city, has some rough areas.
Cardiff - I'm not sure what your group is like, but Cardiff centre on a Saturday night is basically full of thick valley people spending their weekly wages on getting absolutely plastered. It's pretty awful.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1182373/We...
It's actually like this at weekends. Not pleasant unless you're in to that sort of thing.
Cardiff Bay however, and some of the other parts of town, are really quite nice. I lived at the Bay before it got a bit 'stag and hen party destination' like, I haven't been back for a year or so, no idea what it's like now.
Would recommend Cardiff, Bristol, Bournemouth and Brighton, but they're not ideal for a single weekend I'm afraid! Cardiff/Bristol easy to do together, as are Bournemouth/Brighton. Make it two weekends?
HTH.
Edited by maser_spyder on Saturday 12th June 13:48
ben_h100 said:
thanks mate, but for some crazy reason theres nothing going on at all on the bank holiday weekend, maybe they want to keep it for families on the bank holiday?maser_spyder said:
rich85uk said:
Arese said:
rich85uk said:
Arese said:
A bit left-field, but how about Swansea, Cardiff, & Bristol?
I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
this is 2nd place line up in my eyes so to speak, how did you find those cities??I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
Southampton is indeed a bit of a dive, but Portsmouth really isn't much better. Apart from Gunwharf, Portsmouth is basically a third world country.
Bournemouth is great though, as is Brighton.
Don't underestimate the time it'll take to get to/from Brighton on the coast road, the roads are mostly main, but some go through towns (Arundel, etc.) if it's busy, you might get stuck. Can take a couple of hours some days to get from Brighton to Southampton.
Bristol great, but like any big city, has some rough areas.
Cardiff - I'm not sure what your group is like, but Cardiff centre on a Saturday night is basically full of thick valley people spending their weekly wages on getting absolutely plastered. It's pretty awful.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1182373/We...
It's actually like this at weekends. Not pleasant unless you're in to that sort of thing.
Cardiff Bay however, and some of the other parts of town, are really quite nice. I lived at the Bay before it got a bit 'stag and hen party destination' like, I haven't been back for a year or so, no idea what it's like now.
Would recommend Cardiff, Bristol, Bournemouth and Brighton, but they're not ideal for a single weekend I'm afraid! Cardiff/Bristol easy to do together, as are Bournemouth/Brighton. Make it two weekends?
HTH.
Edited by maser_spyder on Saturday 12th June 13:48
we are just a bunch of your average 25 year old men, although more on there polite side.... we dont look for trouble and even better is that it never looks for us, when we go drinking in nottingham,birmingham,leeds and london we just get left alone.
thats a shame about cardiff, i know every town has its moments on the weekend but what we DO NOT want on a night out is a meat head from the valleys looking for a fight or fu*k. no offence to you welsh guys but i have heard there are some pretty tough valley boys on riods who just look for trouble.
we could do bristol, but its sounding like theres nowhere nearby thats really worth going to. had a brief look at cardiff bay and though it looks nice it is suggested its abit on the quiet side.
so it seems the 3 nights are going to be in 2 cities/towns and not 3 and most people are pointing there finger and brighton and bournemouth. the question is which deserves the 2nd night stay?
rich85uk said:
maser_spyder said:
rich85uk said:
Arese said:
rich85uk said:
Arese said:
A bit left-field, but how about Swansea, Cardiff, & Bristol?
I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
this is 2nd place line up in my eyes so to speak, how did you find those cities??I've been out in Southampton and Portsmouth, and didn't really like either. That was many years ago though.
Southampton is indeed a bit of a dive, but Portsmouth really isn't much better. Apart from Gunwharf, Portsmouth is basically a third world country.
Bournemouth is great though, as is Brighton.
Don't underestimate the time it'll take to get to/from Brighton on the coast road, the roads are mostly main, but some go through towns (Arundel, etc.) if it's busy, you might get stuck. Can take a couple of hours some days to get from Brighton to Southampton.
Bristol great, but like any big city, has some rough areas.
Cardiff - I'm not sure what your group is like, but Cardiff centre on a Saturday night is basically full of thick valley people spending their weekly wages on getting absolutely plastered. It's pretty awful.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1182373/We...
It's actually like this at weekends. Not pleasant unless you're in to that sort of thing.
Cardiff Bay however, and some of the other parts of town, are really quite nice. I lived at the Bay before it got a bit 'stag and hen party destination' like, I haven't been back for a year or so, no idea what it's like now.
Would recommend Cardiff, Bristol, Bournemouth and Brighton, but they're not ideal for a single weekend I'm afraid! Cardiff/Bristol easy to do together, as are Bournemouth/Brighton. Make it two weekends?
HTH.
Edited by maser_spyder on Saturday 12th June 13:48
we are just a bunch of your average 25 year old men, although more on there polite side.... we dont look for trouble and even better is that it never looks for us, when we go drinking in nottingham,birmingham,leeds and london we just get left alone.
thats a shame about cardiff, i know every town has its moments on the weekend but what we DO NOT want on a night out is a meat head from the valleys looking for a fight or fu*k. no offence to you welsh guys but i have heard there are some pretty tough valley boys on riods who just look for trouble.
we could do bristol, but its sounding like theres nowhere nearby thats really worth going to. had a brief look at cardiff bay and though it looks nice it is suggested its abit on the quiet side.
so it seems the 3 nights are going to be in 2 cities/towns and not 3 and most people are pointing there finger and brighton and bournemouth. the question is which deserves the 2nd night stay?
It's also all at the top end of town, near the Millennium Stadium (where the High Street meets Caroline Street, and train station.
If you stayed at the other end of town, it's really pretty good.
The best night you could have in Cardiff would probably be dinner at the Bay (lots of good restaurants - I recommend the Hungarian), it's not that quiet, and a few beers whilst it's still light in one of the bars. Then either go to the Comedy Club (Glee) which is at the bay, it's absolutely fantastic, or head in to town. Mrs Maser normally goes to Tiger Tiger, which she reckons is nice.
There are also some really good bars and clubs in Cardiff, well away from the idiots.
I'm pretty similar to you, not in to fighting and idiots, and in 7 years of living there, never once saw or had any trouble at all. I would guess most of those pictures are taken at 3am after a very, very long Rugby day's drinking.
Basically, avoid a Rugby day and you'll have a great time.
If you're in Cardiff for the day and looking to fill time, you can do the powerboat ride which is supposed to be great fun, ideal for groups of guys.
http://www.boattripscardiff.co.uk/
Only £18 each, billy bargain.
Clifton and Harbourside in Bristol are supposed to be the best bits, doubtless somebody from Bristol will confirm!
I think you'd have a great weekend in Cardiff and Bristol.
As for Bournemouth/Brighton, make Brighton the big night out. Bournemouth is great, but Brighton is party capital.
rich85uk said:
ok thanks maser thats making it tempting again, i quite fancy a bristol and cardiff trip( im guessing bristol for 2 nights) and the hotel rates are much better than brighton
just depends if everyone wants to miss the beach and go to the west of england for a change
Cardiff has a beach, on the other side of the bay at Penarth.just depends if everyone wants to miss the beach and go to the west of england for a change
Even has a pier.
Not sure I'd swim there, mind.
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