The UK’s stag and hen thought leader, Last Night of Freedom, has revealed 2015’s most popular destinations for stag and hen weekends. And, the results suggest that the rising trend of choosing an overseas location to celebrate is showing no signs of slowing down.
For the stags, a classic choice topped the billboard, as Prague maintained the top spot for the third year running. Newcastle came in at second place, followed by another old favourite, Riga. Other destinations that made it into the top ten included Barcelona, Amsterdam, Krakow and Budapest. The hens had slightly different ideas as how to spend their last weekend of freedom, with Newcastle this time claiming the top spot, followed by Dublin and Marbella. Barcelona, Edinburgh, and London also made it to the top ten Hen locations for 2015.
2015’s stag parties were more likely to travel abroad than the hens, with only three out of the top ten stag destinations being UK-based; Newcastle, Bournemouth and Nottingham. Three out of the 10 of the most popular hen do locations were based outside of the UK, the same figures as 2014 – but up from two in 2013 and one better than 2010. Whilehe hens are slightly slower in the uptake of going abroad for the weekend celebrations, the trend is gaining more popularity. According to Matt Mavir of Last Night of Freedom, it seems that the overseas stag and hen dos are here to stay.
“Choosing to go abroad to celebrate a hen or stag weekend around 15 years ago was almost unheard of. These days, particularly for stag parties, you’re much more likely to leave the country than visit a UK city. There are many contributing factors to this trend, including more affordable flights and accessibility to European countries. However, I think it’s the ritual of leaving the UK to celebrate the last few days of single life that is particularly appealing. It seems to bring a sense of real freedom, and with that comes a whole new level of enjoyment.”