London Stag Do's

Getting around

First let’s address the most obvious point: due to the volume of traffic in London, and the congestion charge, there’s very little point in driving here unless you’ve got no other option. You can easily get into central London from pretty much anywhere in England within a few hours by train, and the city is also served by several airports with direct train transfers to the centre. Whether you’re flying into City Airport, Heathrow or Gatwick, you can be in the city centre within 30 minutes.

You definitely do not need a car to get around London. The city has excellent bus services, as well as abundant taxis, and some days it feels like every other car is an Uber. But the most convenient way to get around London is undoubtedly the Tube. The London Underground gets you to destinations across the city in minutes, journeys that would take you far, far longer at street level.

To get around on the Tube, you can pay directly via contactless payment. Simply tap in at the barrier and make sure that you tap out the other end, to avoid additonal charges. Alternatively, you can purchase one-day travelcards, open an online Oyster account in advance, or buy an Oyster card from most newsagents, train stations, and visitor centres around the city. If you want to be super-organised, you can buy them in bulk to be delivered to your home address, pre-load them with credit and distribute them around the group on arrival. If you need more than ten, call 0343 222 1234 to arrange dispatch.

Oyster cards, like contactless cards, can be used not just on the Tube but also on all central bus services, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Thames Clipper River Bus services (great fun!) and the iconic Emirates Air Line (a cable car crossing the river Thames from Royal Docks in Newham to the Greenwich peninsula). If you’re not familiar with getting around London, the Citymapper app is indispensable for finding your way around in the most practical way.

Bike hire is another fun and practical way to explore London. Santander Cycles have over 800 docking stations across the city, with nearly 12,000 bikes - including lots of e-bikes - available for hire. It costs just £1.65 for unlimited journeys up to 30 minutes across a 24-hour period on a standard bike, and £3 for the same on an e-bike. Extra levys are then calculated for every additional 30 minutes of hire. London streets are becoming more cycle-friendly by the year, so despite what you may have heard, it’s generally pretty safe to get around London by bike - but of course, you will need to have your wits about you and listen to your inner Green Cross Code.

As for your activities, most stag do experiences in central London can be reached by public transport and our experienced team will do their best to make your journey as simple as possible, connecting the elements of your itinerary together with ample time to get from place to place.  

Tips and ideas

A London stag do can be pretty much anything you want it to be. Whatever type of group you are, whatever you’re into, however much you’re looking to spend, it’s all here. Our stag do Event Planners have years of experience in putting together spicy weekenders and can provide you with up-to-date advice, but for starters, here’s our top tips and ideas for a London stag…

First things first: given London’s sheer size, it makes sense to base yourselves in just one or two parts of the city for the duration. You don’t want to be spending half the time travelling from place to place. We’ve got great London stag accommodation in all of the most popular areas so you’ve no worries on that score. 

Next, your London stag activities. Well, where to start? How about with the classics. Naturally, our team here at The Stag Company can put together an action-packed weekend for you with everything from Clay Pigeon Shooting to Paintball, Bubble Football to Quad Biking on offer. 

But we’ve also got some brilliant London stag activities that you just don’t find anywhere else. Live out your retro fantasies and work as a team with a Crystal Maze experience. Or how about spending a day recording your own rock album with a team of musicians at your service, a soundtrack to your weekend.

If your group are football fanatics, we can arrange for you to catch a London team in action at a home game. Or perhaps you’d like a tour of the iconic Wembley Stadium, lining up in the tunnel then popping out pitchside for a photo opportunity?

There are so many fantastic London stag do ideas - all manner of walking tours covering everything from the infamous Jack the Ripper, to street art, and street food. You can get your 007 kicks with a speedboat ride along the Thames, sightseeing at full throttle. Real adrenaline-seekers can even climb up and over the O2 Arena for an incredible view of the city skyline. These London-centric experiences will provide you with lots of great memories, awesome pics for your social media feed, and solid fodder for the wedding speeches!

Where to eat on a London stag do? You won’t have any difficulties, whatever your preference. As you would expect from our capital city, London boasts everything from world-class fine-dining restaurants to amazing fast food from many cultures. Whole neighbourhoods are dedicated to one type of food: think Chinatown for east Asian, street food at Greenwich Market, Brixton for flavours of the Caribbean, and Brick Lane for curries. 

There are new eateries popping up all the time, but if you’d like us to save you the trouble and book you and the lads into a stag-friendly restaurant in London, we’ll be happy to help. You can’t go wrong with established venues like Tiger Tiger, Revolution or Sway - all of these offer great food at reasonable prices in a lively atmosphere, and once you’re finished lining your stomachs, you can head on over to the bar.

Lastly, remember that if your London stag do falls on the same weekend as a major event such as the London Marathon, London Pride, or the Notting Hill Carnival, many hotels fill up far in advance and prices sky-rocket. It’s essential to book early to ensure that your group has the best choice of accommodation, at the best possible rates.

Nightlife

London doesn’t just have the best nightlife in the UK, it arguably has one of the best in the world. 

Here you’ve got everything on your doorstep, or just a few Tube stops away. London is home to traditional cosy boozers, cool comedy clubs and classy jazz cafes by the dozen. There are hundreds of live music venues to pick from, plus West End theatres, cocktail bars, cigar lounges, iconic nightclubs like Fabric and Cargo, 24-hour casinos, sizzling strip clubs, raucous Irish pubs, and all manner of pop-ups, rooftop bars and speakeasies. The list just goes on and on, and every week there’s somewhere new. Our top London nightlife advice for stags: do a little research in the months leading up to your weekend date, to see what’s on and make sure you're in the right place at the right time. You might catch a beer festival, a food festival, or even the legendary Notting Hill Carnival, an annual Caribbean festival that has taken place on the streets of Kensington every August since 1966. 

Some of the best stag do locations in London are places like Tiger Tiger and the Piccadilly Institute, which are welcoming of big groups.

Tiger Tiger Haymarket has four brilliant dance rooms for you to enjoy, including the Opal Bar, Tiger Bar and the fabulous Cloud Lounge terrace giving you fab views of the streets below. Plus, if you fancy something to eat before you strut your funky stuff, it's worth adding a two-course meal to your itinerary because they serve some cracking food in the Tiger Grill.

The more laid-back Piccadilly Institute is just a stone's throw from Piccadilly Circus at number 1 Haymarket and is the perfect spot for lounging, chatting, people-watching and supping good quality cocktails. We'd class this venue as a late-night bar rather than a club as such, and it's home to six eclectically themed rooms, each with its own drinks menu for you to explore. Later on, why not head to Platinum Lace strip club near Leicester Square to ensure that the stag is given a night he won’t forget in a hurry.

A pub crawl is another solid option for a London stag do. If you fancy exploring the city and visiting some great pubs along the way, then a Treasure Hunt Pub Challenge could be perfect for you.This activity allows you to get a little competitive as you split into teams and it’s also a great icebreaker as everyone works together and is a great conversation-starter.

FAQ

What are the best activities for a London stag do?

The list is practically endless, but some all-time favourites with our groups include Clay Pigeon Shooting, Beer Bus tours, guided bar crawls and the fantastic Crystal Maze experience, which is a popular for alternative London stag do’s. 

Our expert London Event Planners will put together a brilliant weekend for you according to your interests and depending on what your non-negotiables are. 

Do you offer London stag do packages?

Booking one of our London stag packages is the easy way to sort your group out with a first-class foundation for the weekend. They typically contain a few classic stag activities like Paintball or Quad Biking, a meal in a stag-friendly restaurant, and entry to a nightspot, a casino or strip club. Not only are they cost-effective, but they also give you the peace of mind that the basic ingredients for your weekend are all sorted.

Where is your stag accommodation in London?

Having been organising London stag do’s since 2004, we’ve established relationships with many top hotels across the capital, enabling us to offer you excellent value and a wide choice of accommodation. We work with stag hotels and self-catering apartments close to all the main nightlife areas, so that you’re never more than 10-20 minutes’ walk from the action. At worst, it will be a short taxi or Uber ride away.

We always recommend booking as far in advance as you can, to ensure you have the most choice of hotels. That’s especially the case if you’re coming in the summer, or on a busy weekend such as the Notting Hill Carnival.

How is our booking protected?

The Stag Company is a registered member of ABTA, the UK’s largest travel association. In a nutshell, that means that your money, and that of everyone else in your group, is protected when you book a package through us. 

Is London an expensive destination for a stag weekend?

There’s no getting around the fact that London is the most expensive city in the UK for a night out. But you have to balance that with the fact that it can also offer you the best night out in the UK! Our Event Planners can help you with advice on where you can save money throughout, whether that be by booking into one of our brilliant budget accommodation options, sharing top tips on getting around cheaply, or coming up with creative ways to make the drinks kitty stretch further.