Activity Stag Weekends

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic, which also makes it the capital of beer, as the Czech's are the world's biggest drinkers of the lovely stuff.

Aided by Prague's booming tourism it was calculated that Czechs drank 155 litres of beer per head in 2008 and while that figure has dropped in 2009 it still puts them out in front in the beer drinking league table. The silver and broze medals go to Ireland and Germany, while the UK was down in 6th.

The best known Czech beer is the original Pils beer, Pilsner Urquell, brewed in the town of Plzen and is exported worldwide. It is closely followed by another exported beer Budvar - from where the American Budweiser takes its name.

Staropramen also comes from the Czech Republic, but if you are here for a stag do you'll want to try plenty other beers for the first time, and you will not be disappointed.

A Prague bar crawl or a trip to a brewery is a must for lads on a stag party and when you get back England you'll never want another Carling of Fosters again.

A poll of the dirtiest hotels in Europe has not made pleasant reading for British hoteliers as eight out of the top, or should that be bottom, ten were based in Britain.

The survey was carried out by TripAdvisor, which may go someway to explaining the depth of British entries, but nonetheless it does strengthen the arguement to head abroad for a stag weekend.

The dirtiest hotel 'award' went to the Grosvenor Hotel in Blackpool, while the Park Hotel in Victoria, London, came in third.

One guest of The Grosvenor Hotel claimed he could only see Blackpool's iconic Tower landmark at night when it was illuminated due to the depth of grime on his seafront hotel window.

“Spent one night at the Grosvenor Hotel and one hour would have been enough,” explained the guest.

“Don’t even get me started on the bathroom. I have seen cleaner public toilets and that’s saying something!"

Meanwhile, “FishyDave” from Chester thought the hotel might be acceptable to someone wanting to pay £25 on a stag night, although that is probably not meant as a ringing endorsement.

Here is the top ten European hotels of shame in full:

1. Grosvenor Hotel, Blackpool

2. Villaggio Club Porto Ainu, Budoni, Italy

3. Park Hotel, Victoria, London

4. Boston Court Hotel, London

5. Cromwell Crown Hotel, London

6. Dam Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands

7. Corbigoe Hotel, London

8. Earls Court Gardens Hotel, London

9. Blair Victoria & Tudor Inn Hotel, London

10. Minster Hotel, York

For more information on this story check out the Daily Telegraph.
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A bar in Glasgow is the first to sell the World's strongest beer - a 40 per cent German brew named Schorschbock.

The West brewery and bar on Glasgow Green are selling 25ml of the German brew for £10.

Fancy including this on your glasgow stag weekend?

Read the full story here.

Stag parties are meant to push boundaries of sense and logic, but there, as with everything, has to be a limit. We are often hearing stories of when stag parties go wrong and it is sobering.

If you are planning a stag weekend and know that you and members of your group are capable of going over the top then make sure there is someone who can keep hold of their senses and help ensure the party doesn't end in disaster.

This has come to our attention with the news that a Chorley man died after he fell from the back of a moving van he had climbed onto during stag party ‘high jinks’. Read the story here.

There is also a story of a man in Yorkshire that headbutted his best friend while suffering from excesses on a stag party.

For more light-hearted stag and hen nightmares there is an page devoted to them on The Sun's website.

We could also find a number of stag weekend's in Europe that went wrong, as the local police forces did not take kindly to their drunken and wild behaviour.

Be safe and be sensible on your stag weekend!

Click here for more stag weekend advice.

The Hungarian capital Budapest is the cheapest destination for a stag weekend, according to a report published from Post Office Travel Money.

It is the second year running that the historic city of Budapest has topped the list, which is calculated by adding together a basket of commonly purchased goods.

The goods used in the survey were a bottle of beer, a cup of coffee, a postcard, a meal out and some sun lotion.

Hungary, along with Thailand and Bulgaria, came out the bill of under £40, while in comparison the bill in France would have been above £70 and in Brazil above £100.

Stag weekends in Budapest and elsewhere in Eastern Europe have been popular for some time due to the low cost of goods and services.

Nadine Hallak, spokeswoman for Cheapflights told The Telegraph: "Brits are heading in the direction of Eastern Europe en masse. Our viewer searches show a massive increase in interest for the region, with Dubrovnik, Warsaw and Prague seeing the biggest rises for flights."

The Slovakian capital of Bratislava is home to one of the most entertaining stag activities, which can ensure a weekend away is remember for the rest of your days. We are talking about mud wrestling!

Mud wrestling consists of gorgeous women grappling with each other in bikinis while covered in slimy mud. It is difficult to explain why this is so sexy and appealing, but it is! It is fun to watch and strangely seductive.

But the best thing about this experience is that the girls love to include the stag in the action, out of the kindness of their hearts of course. He, of course, will get very muddy, but also taught a lesson or two by two feisty ladies.

This promises to be an experience that will not be forgotten in a hurry.

The top stag weekend organisers, such as Stag Web and The Stag Company include this activity in their Bratislava stag weekend packages.

Before we proceed with this drinking challenge idea we would like to remind you all that calls to drink responsibly do apply even on a stag weekend. If you can do this then give this tough challenge a go and prepare for a messy, yet rewarding experience.

The Centurion Challenge is simply, drink a shot of beer each minute for 100 minutes. Everyone assumes this easy, but it is not. If you work out that it is roughly four pints you will assume this will be a walk in the part - think again.

Somebody, particularly someone that doesn't drink, is in charge of the timing and on each minute must shout (and once you get rowdy shouting really will be necessary) 'DRINK' and everyone must then take their shot of beer. Refill the shot glass and wait for 60 seconds to pass and do the same again.

Due to the air consumed with each gulp the effect is enhanced from that of casual drinking, so after an hour you will feel tipsy, bloated, but determined to reach your ton.

To make matters interesting a forfeit should be introduced for anyone that misses their shot, such a shot of something a little stronger. This will really sort the men from the boys.

This drinking game is a surprisingly cheap way to get everyone in the mood for a fun night out, although there will always be someone that impersonates a fire extinguisher as they foam from the mouth.

If you have chosen to travel for a Hamburg stag weekend there is a fair chance that part of the reason will be the famous Reeperbahn. However, for those of you that have not looked in to this German city you may not have a clue what the Reeperbahn is.

The Reeperbahn has been given many nicknames, mainly the 'Mile of Sin', but it is effectively the red light district of Hamburg. So that shatters the myth that Amsterdam is the only location with a red light district there and then.

The Reeperbahn is naughty and not really very nice, but it provides stags with an opportunity to be a little shocking on their weekend away, or at least take in some sights to remember the stag holiday by.

However, it receives a great deal of stick for being a moral black hole, which is not helped by the high walls at either end of this street of sin. There is also a sign warning that under 18s and even women are barred from entry, which does add to the seedy nature of this part of Hamburg.

A negative review of the Reeperbahn is available from The Independent. For more details check out the Virtual Tourists' guide.

You probably live within range of an Oceana nightclub and depending on where you live this may be the worst place you'd want to spend your stag night. However, in Brighton Oceana is the all-powerful nightclub, which must be respected.

Before Oceana, there was Event II and many other great clubs, but once it was revamped into Oceana the superpower of Brighton nightclubs diminished the influence that all others had.

This doesn't mean that Oceana has totally killed off Brighton's clubbing scene, but the good nights are fewer and further between and on a stag night you do not want to risk walking into a dead nightclub. Therefore, Oceana in Brighton is the safe option for your stag night. It is big enough to get lost in, has enough different rooms to keep everyone happy and two dance floors that are usually full of lovely ladies.

The drinks are not great, or cheap, but there are so many bars you can always get served fairly quickly, which on a Saturday night in a club is a blessing.

This post has probably not sold Oceana to you would be stags, but it was not meant to, but be aware that it has swallowed up so much of its competition that other venues may no longer be suited for stag nights with a wide range of tastes and demands.

We are increasingly hearing concerns about stag organisers Release Travel with a worrying amount of negative reviews relating to the service they provide.

We have previously covered what is involved with stag do organising companies and there are risks, but it doesn't have to be the case. However, with Release Travel if seems you are exposed to too many risks with stag activities not matching up to expectations, or worse, there being no activities to speak off.

You only get one shot at a stag weekend and once in a location you need to have the confidence that the events are in place. The growing list of customers that have reported this not to be the case with Release Travel suggests it is not worth the risk.

See a snapshot of the nightmares delivered by Release Travel on this review site. Meanwhile, a facebook group has also been set up to warn stags to avoid Release Travel. The group is called Release Travel are money grabbing gits, which just about says it all.

Before going away on your stag weekend you need to organise a set of shirts for the lads - ideally something personalised and hopefully something witty that will provide a good memento for you all.

The popular choice is to pick a funny picture of the stag and include wording commemorating the event, so as you neck your pints in an unfamiliar location it is that little bit easier to round up the group when it is time to move on.

For your stag t-shirt options check out Mushytshirts.co.uk, who have a wide range of shirts to choose from, including classic 'Usual Suspects' and 'BA Baracus' designs.

You can also pick up stag costumes on this website, so you can go a step further when it comes to embarrassing the man of the moment.

If your better half needs hen night accessories for her big night then hope along to Hen Accessories Store.

The responsibility of the best man is to organise a wild stag do full of activities that are enjoyed by everyone, while ensuring the groom gets home safely at the end of it, and secondly, he must deliver a funny anecdote-laden speech on the wedding day. What an honour he has!

The best man's speech is the final of the traditional three speeches, so the audience are restless and expecting, not hoping, for laughs, while the groom is looking on nervously that the unwritten line of acceptability is not crossed.

So where to start? Tell lots of stories about the groom at his best and his worse from across the spectrum of time - assuming you have known him for more than a few years that is.

If possible you want to throw in stories relating to how he met his lovely bride and point out how she could have done so much better, regardless of the truthfulness of such a statement.

For a more detailed guide on best man speeches, check out Confetti. 

Brighton is one of the most popular stag do destinations in England. It is a bohemian city with a wild nightlife that is perfect for a naughty weekend by the seaside.

However, its daytime treats are more suited to different ages and women, so what to do before the night time entertainment begins?

Paintballing is a perfect activity of course and if you are planning your own stag weekend you will need to find the perfect paintball venue.

Go Ballistic has a great venue based just 20 minutes drive from Brighton and they have tailor made stag packages, including 'Hunt the Stag' from £37.

If you go paintballing on a stag weekend it is certain that you will want to stitch up the stag to some extent and pummel him with bullets - he won't admit it, but he'll be expecting it too.

The video below is a fine example of how to go about it - the pink bunny suit is just perfect!

What is the strangest thing you've thought of doing on your stag weekend? Read on, as we are sure it won't be as strange as this.

It's a knock-out Stag Activity

For the young ones It's a knock-out was a very popular, if not very werid TV show from the 80's, which incredibly at one point had a royal edition (for charity). Effectively it was an English version of Takeshi's Castle.

Anyway, the fun and games have been recreated in Bournemouth, Nottingham and Bristol and are designed for stag parties to come and take part in all the classic games.

This is the most popular of the three destinations for stag groups. It has purposefully targeted stag groups and has a fantastic range of activities on offer to support the night time entertainment. This is a beautiful city and perfect for those that like to explore new destinations.

Wroclaw

This is without doubt Poland's party city and the one that Poles choose to go to for a good time. It is therefore vibrant, lively and tailor-made for stag weekends, as the locals do not mind sharing their party town with foreign visitors.

A superb stag activity is paintballing, which is high in adrenaline, testosterone and excitement. A good mix we think! It is something the whole stag group can do together, it provides plenty to talk about over your pints in the evening and many memories to cherish for years to come.

However, there are loads of rubbish paintball sites out there, those that just consist of some trees and some overturned tables. If some of your group have experience of paintballing a poor site will be a huge disappointment.

One company that has sites across the country that we can confidently recommend is Skirmish Paintball.

The locations below are available with Skirmish Paintball. See their website above for more information.

Scotland
Aberdeen
Edinburgh
Glasgow
North East
Teesside
Yorkshire
Brighouse
Leeds
Wakefield
East Midlands
Northampton Bedford
Leicester Coventry
Nottingham, Sheffield
West Midlands
Birmingham
Wolverhampton
East of England
Ipswich Colchester
kings Lynn Norfolk
Norwich, Yarmouth
South West
Dorset
Bristol
Exeter
Warminster
South East
Basingstoke
Buckingham
Cobham
Surrey & Kent
Essex
High Wycombe
Wales
Cardiff

If you've been browsing the internet looking for ideas for your stag weekend you've probably come across dozens of companies offering to organise your weekend.

This entails the company finding activities, venues and accommodation for your party based around your tastes, requests and dates. Some companies will also include the travel arrangements in the stag package.

It is rare that these companies directly manage any of the places that they offer to send you, so therefore they form a partnership with each location. The organisers send business in their direction, allowing them to negotiate favourable rates, but they will then charge you a commission in order to make a profit.

For example if you want to do paintballing on your stag weekend in Bournemouth and you organise this yourself you may be paying £30 per head for your activity, whereas if you use a company, for example Red Seven Leisure, you may be paying £40 per head.

Therefore you will always be paying more for what you receive compared to if you do this yourself, but using a company does have its benefits to compensate for this extra cost.

Organising a stag do for 10 or 15 people is a nightmare as you have to persuade a hotel to house you, a restaurant to take your booking and a nightclub to let you on the guest list. You also have to locate these venues and activity centres in a location that you will often be unaware of. The organisers will co-ordinate this for you and you just need to pay them, rather than each place individually.

On the down side though is that some destinations will be kept from you as organisers do not want you to gain advice from them only to book it yourself afterwards. Therefore there is the risk that venues will be chosen that are not to the tastes of your book.

In conclusion, if you are prepared to organise your own stag do then it is certainly in your interests to do so. If you are very busy, unorganised, or seriously lacking ideas for your stag party then use a company.

In a later post we will profile some of the big players in the industry.

What games can you play on your stag weekend? This is a question that usually comes up on route to the party, causing everyone to desperately remember rules and then try to explain them to the group.

Plan ahead and print off some information so you can liven up your stag go with some hilarious party games, which are usually based around the idea of getting everyone drunk quicker than normal.

Our first suggestion is Pub Golf:

(more to follow)

Despite the recession demand for stag weekends is higher than ever, according to organisers The Stag Company.

They also claim the top destination for stag weekends in the UK is Bournemouth on the South Coast.

Read this press release for the full story.

Riga, the capital of Latvia, has in recent years established itself as the capital of stag weekends in Eastern Europe. Its combination of beautiful women, welcoming locals and cheap booze has attracted stags in numbers and those that arrive are rarely disappointed.

If you are going to go all that way to celebrate your last weekend of freedom you should so something that you can't do in England. One such activity is a gun shooting package in a cold war style bunker.

Handle shotguns, pistols and AK47s for a unique and adrenaline pumping experience. The video below is an example of what you can expect.

A stag do is not complete without one or more pranks. Some are funny, some are cruel, the best are a perfect combination of the two.

Germany is a holiday destination often overlooked by Brits, for various reasons, but we think Germany makes a fantastic stag do destination. It does after all have a fine drinking culture, which is of course paramount to the success of a stag party.

Here is a brief look at three stag do destinations in Germany and where you can find more information:

Hamburg

Are personal favourite has to be a Hamburg stag do thanks to its naughty Reeperbahn. The Reeperbahn is a street in the St Pauli district, which houses the city's red-light district. It is very different to that of Amsterdam, but provides ample opportunity for traditional stag do activities. The non-red-light nightlife in Hamburg is vibrant, diversified and surprisingly good-natured.

For more about what to do in Hamburg see Trip Advisor.

Berlin

The second choice has to be the modern metropolis that is Berlin, which is arguably Germany's cultural hub and is of course famous for its musical heritage. There is such a wide choice of bars available in Berlin, so you are able to have a stag do suitable to your tastes without having to search too hard.

Again, for Berlin activities, see Trip Advisor.

Munich

For the beer-aficionados then Munich is worth checking out, especially during the famous Oktoberfest. However, Munich doesn't quite have the variety of entertainment on offer that Berlin and Hamburg boasts.

See Trip Advisor for a taste of Munich.

Star of The Hangover - the film about the wildest stag night in history - Bradley Cooper has revealed his own drinking escapades can be rather wild.

Cooper said: "There was always one moment in the night where I would go, 'It's time to get naked!' And it was usually in the wintertime, when I'd want to run out in the snow."

The 34-year-old actor is due to play Templeton Faceman Peck in The A-Team movie, alongside Liam Neeson as Hannibal.

For the groom-to-be his big night out will hopefully be his only stag do and as a result it is one that has to be memorable. He will appoint his best man partly for the purpose of organising the stag party and will have high expectations, even though part of the tradition is for him to face an element of humiliation.

If the stag do consists of just one evening what should this big night include? It needs to be different from an ordinary night out for the groom and the rest of the lads, so included something you wouldn't normally do - on top of that let your hair down more than usual and just focus on having fun!

Stag night events:

Nightclub
Lap Dancing Club
Casino
Comedy Club
Greyhound Racing
Bar Crawl
Stag do Meal