StagWeb Stag Weekends Blog

What a great year for stag weekends 2010 has been, we’ve seen some of the old favourites continue to run hot, a fight back from a lot of our leading European destinations and a handful of new top stag destinations pushing their way into the leading pack.

For years new groups have been flocking to Newquay, Bournemouth, Newcastle and Nottingham for the best stag weekends and this year has been no different. Throughout the summer Newquay and Bournemouth are the top stag destinations and with good reason, offering some of the best summer stag activities, bikini clad beach babes and fantastic nightlife they remain firm stag weekend favourites. With legendary nightlife, fantastic packages and stag destination reputations that precede them it’s no wonder that all year, every year Nottingham and Newcastle are 2 of our top stag weekend locations.

This year has also seen a resurgence in European stag weekends, with Budapest, Prague and Krakow leading the way, and with the Pound picking up against the Euro, some fantastic new activities being offered, new stag destinations being unveiled and our Irish destinations offering some great new prices, next year looks like the demand for European stag weekends will continue on the up.

There have been a few other great cities this year that have really put their hand up and offered themselves as top 2010 stag destinations. To name just a few Bristol, Cardiff and Leeds have really propelled themselves to the top of the list for incredible stag weekends. Each offer great value packages, superb activities and nightlife fit for all stag weekends. Going from strength to strength I’m sure these will be big players again in 2011 so enquire now and let us help you organise the perfect weekend whichever stag destination it might be that takes your fancy.

A stag do was traditionally a small affair that involved a night at the local pub the day before the wedding, as a final “send off” for the groom to be. As the occasion of the stag weekend develops, it now seems that the point is to have an action packed experience with various activities and nightlife and … to embarrass the stag as much as possible.

Stag dares are becoming common. Examples include: getting the stag to confront strangers on the street and singing them a love song, kissing as many people as possible in 10 minutes and dancing solo wearing nothing but a French Maid’s outfit (Although we wouldn’t recommend this).

A new phenomenon is surprising the stag on the night with a dwarf, with a face painted blue mimicking a Smurf, the two are handcuffed to one another and it remains that way all night. The stag has to do everything with the Smurf … eat, drink, sleep and we’re sure you can guess what else.

With a little bit of imagination and the help from websites like Stag Pranks, groups can find new and fun ways to make their friends stag weekend one to remember!

Remember it’s your responsibility to come up with the most original ideas so don’t take our word for it.

Find fancy dress and stag prank ideas.

From a guy point of view, there is no bigger honour than being asked to be best man. You’ll need to be on hand to help your best friend along the way and of course organise the stag party! This honour could then very quickly turn to fear when you remember that this special role of course includes the dreaded best man speech. But fear not, there’s plenty best man advice that will help you write a brilliant speech and allow you to enjoy the day.

Every speech will be different, but there are a few points and subjects that will be present in all speeches. Take a little look at the list below:

• Thanks – firstly thank the groom for his speech, and also the father of the bride for his. You should also thank all for attending
• Dates – how long has the couple been together, how long have they known each other?
• Wife to be – although your speech is not about her, she must get a mention
• The groom – what he’s like, and also what he has achieved – in both love and life
• The couple – the bride and groom as a couple, what they are like together
• Laughs – a funny story or 2 about the groom
• Toast – a final toast. Just a quick mention to wish them all the best

Just as there are certain things that really should be included in the speech, there are also a couple of rules you should obey about what not to include:

• Ex-girlfriends are not out of bounds but no gory details. If you can, avoid them
• No mother-in-law jokes
• Nothing derogatory about the bride or her family. It’s her special day and any bad stories or jokes about her will not go down well

What you have to remember is actually, it’s just a toast, and nobody in the audience expects you to be flawless. So enjoy it, follow these steps, and you will be fine!

A couple of the StagWeb team recently visited the Hungarian capital for inside knowledge of organising the greatest Budapest stag weekends and we were lucky enough to try our hand at a few top stag weekend activities, but by far the favourite for all the boys was the target shooting – it has to be tried to be believed.

Target shooting is a must for anyone looking for the ultimate Budapest stag weekend. It offers you and the guys the chance to shoot a whole heap of guns that you just couldn’t shoot if you kept your weekend in the UK. There’s a range of packages all guaranteed to make it an unforgettable Budapest stag do. We started with the pistols such as the Glock 17, Makarov PM and Beretta 92FS, before moving onto a few guns with a bit more kick like the Mossberg 500 rifle and Dragunov SVD sniper rifle before it was time to hit the big boys – The GSG-5 and the legendary AK47!!

We all agreed that it was an amazing experience and the highlight of our weekend, and now we want to see you guys enjoy that same superb thrill on your Budapest stag weekend. Our top gun package has everything you need for the ultimate stag do in Budapest, 2 nights central accommodation, transfers, bar crawl, club entry and of course target shooting. Further more we’ve just dropped the price of the weekend down to a bargain £149 per person!

Target shooting is the perfect stag activity for this amazing stag weekend city.

Summer might be over but your window of opportunity to organise a fantastic stag package for the lads most certainly isn’t. If you still need to put together that all important stag do away with the lads for a date in 2010 then we have just the thing for you … Our new range of stagtastic Winter Warmer packages.

We’ve put together some superb packages covering destinations across the country, ideal for the winter months – some are current packages with huge savings others are specially designed around top winter activities, below is just a taster -

Legend of Leeds – with one nights central 3 star accommodation, paintball, VIP nightclubbing and lap dancing this is always a popular Leeds stag weekend package at anytime of year, however for the rest of the year the usual fantastic price of £69 per person has been slashed to just £59 per person. At such fantastic value what more do you need? See this Leeds stag weekend package.

Bournemouth Belter – like every year Bournemouth stag weekends have been hugely popular and we see no reason for that letting up as the year runs on. Bournemouth’s nightlife continues to shine, even when the sun doesn’t and with packages as great as this then I’m sure you’ll agree with us that Bournemouth really is a year round destination. From £118 per person you’ll get – 1 night 3*, go karting, comedy club, VIP nightclubbing & lap dancing. See this Bournemouth stag weekend package.

So if you’re still looking to book your stag weekend for 2010 then look no further than our awesome range of winter stag packages.

When you first hear the words “I’d like you to be my best man” there are two important questions you need to consider. No not ‘how has he bagged that one? and ‘oh my god, can I pull off a funny speech?’, but … where shall we have the stag do and for how long? There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to deciding to go for 1 night or 2, but they both have pro’s and con’s you need to consider.

The 1 night stop over:

In our experience you will get more of the boys on board with a 1 night option, money becomes less of an excuse for people to use, and you can still fit in some great stag activities and have a great night out. The downside to the 1 night stay is that you may need to look at destinations closer to home, Las Vegas for 1 night isn’t really going to happen. Also if you pick a costal destination in the height of summer it can be very difficult to find a central hotel that will accommodate you.

The 2 night weekender:

One of the immediate benefits of a full stag weekend away is that you can fit in more activities without feeling like you’re rushing about trying to fit it all in. It will also give you time to factor in some of your own touches, whether a game of Mr and Mrs over a few afternoon drinks, or some kind of stag forfeit. The downside to a long weekend apart from the obvious expense is that often lads get over excited on arrival and hit it too hard on the first night, meaning Saturday is a bit of a wash out.

Both the above options work, and the choice you make will often depend on a) the stag’s preference, and b) the group’s budget. As long as you make sure the stag do is fun, memorable, and full of laughter and most importantly organised well, you can’t really go wrong!

For all those petrol heads out there looking to spice up your stag weekend with some extreme driving activities then head over to the Midlands and check out some of the unbelievable motorised activities we can offer as part of our Birmingham stag do and Nottingham stag weekend packages.

If speed and competition is your thing but the bog standard karts just aren’t quite quick enough for you then extreme dodgems will ensure an unforgettable Birmingham stag weekend. Racing 1300cc stock cars, 8 at a time head to head around our 700m track delivers an adrenaline buzz like no other that ensures a Birmingham stag do that will keep you and the boys talking long after the chequered flag has been waved, the champagne sprayed and the trophies have been presented!

Of course chances are you’ve driven your car to your Nottingham stag do so you may feel like you’d rather drive something different and a little more interesting during the big stag do and what could be more different than a tank! Well how about a tank with a paintball cannon attached to thefront of it! Available for both your Nottingham or Birmingham stag weekend, tanks battles take the best of two top stag activities and delivers a unique activity guaranteed to impress. You’ll be fighting it out around our World War II bombing range in fully armoured FV432s fitted with Turrets and our 40mm paintball cannon – it doesn’t get much more extreme than that!

If you and the lads have already had a crack at these two top midlands stag activities then why not ask us about some of the other fantastic extreme motorsports such as super buggies and stunt car driving that we can offer for your Birmingham stag do or Nottingham stag weekend!

On the contrary to what you may have heard in the press over recent months stag weekends abroad are still going strong and there are few things you need to carefully consider when having a stag abroad.

1. ABTA – always book your weekend through an ABTA agent. This year as already seen many non bonded stag and hen companies fall by the wayside, the only way you can insure the lads money remains safe and keeps you away from a possible lynching is to book with an ABTA certified agent. You wouldn’t gamble when booking a family holiday so don’t do it with one of the most memorable weekends of your mate’s life.

2. Insurance – as with any weekend abroad make sure you and the boys take out your own personal travel insurance, insuring you have the appropriate levels of cover. You can pick up 3 day travel insurance from about £10 per person with some companies, and it could end up being the best £10 you ever spend.

3. Passport – seems obvious but you’d be surprised. We recently had a group travel from London to Dublin for a 2 night stag weekend, and as two of the group discovered on check in, no Dublin in not considered part of the UK, and no a driving license will not do. Also please make sure you check you have enough time left on your passport as some countries may require a minimum of 6 months, also ensure any members of the group who may have additional visa requirements have them well in advance.

To start organising your stag weekend abroad, get in touch with StagWeb today.

Choosing your stag accommodation can be one of the toughest parts of the stag do. It is important to outline your specification from the very start, are you looking for comfort or convenience?

Most stags have a strict budget and we all know that getting a 5* hotel in the very centre of the city is not going to be cheap so you need to consider your needs carefully.

The most common option is a 3* stag hotel in the city centre, however being the most popular, you need to get in early to secure the desired rooms for you and the lads.

For groups looking for stag accommodation that will give them space to come and go as they please the self catered option is great, however they do need to accept that due to remoteness, most properties will be at least 30 minutes from the city centre.

The key things to remember when booking stag accommodation are:

1. Get in early – you don’t want to be sharing doubles because you left it too late!
2. Outline your needs.
3. Plan your full itinerary – if your weekend is more activity focused then centrality may not be paramount.
4. Make sure that whichever option you choose, you’ve got a great breakfast lined up for the morning after.

For further advice on stag accommodation, get in touch with one of our stag specialists, send your enquire here or call us now on 0845 130 5225.

See our full range of stag weekends.

In a recent Top Gear column, god of the motoring world Jeremy Clarkson downright rejected the car in favour of the hovercraft, announcing: “I swear to God, no car on earth can provide so much fun, because in a car you know where you’re going, but in a hovercraft, you don’t. You can turn the handlebars and lean till your face is peeled off, but it will just head for whatever it was that scared you in the first place”.

Hovercrafting is an adrenaline-pumping activity with a difference, so if you’re looking for a totally unique stag weekend, this could be it!  With more conventional off-road toys, you would normally hit the brakes or slide when approaching a particularly sharp corner, but not so with hovercrafting.  Hell no!  Brakes are for wimps.  But before you turn tail and run, rest assured that the machines we use are the product of many years of development in the field of light hovercraft design; so, although fast enough for the adrenaline junkies amongst you, these machines are both safe and reliable, making them ideal for new drivers.

Hovercraft experiences tend to last 2-2.5 hours and include a safety briefing and essential driving instruction from our fully qualified instructors, as well as all necessary safety equipment.  After a few practise laps to get your hand in, you can expect a number of competitive team relay and pursuit events, followed by a ‘fastest lap’ competition to find the fastest driver in the group – you may be surprised!

Our Kent hovercrafting site, in particular, is one of the best in the UK for dedicated hovercrafting experiences.  Boasting the largest hovertrack in the country, this fantastic venue brings you the chance to experience the exhilarating transition from land to water and back as you learn to master these magnificent flying machines.  This extreme activity is definitely not to be missed – as Clarkson said: “It’s the most fun you can have with an engine!”

See more about a hovercrafting stag weekend experience.