What Really Happens on Stag and Hen Dos?

Wedding season may nearly be over but that means stag and hen dos are building up into a frenzy, myracing.com have taken a look at where Brits like to travel for their stag and hen do’s, and what really happens on them…

We asked 2,000 hen and stag do attendees in the UK to tell us about their experiences. Results show that even though we’d love to go to Las Vegas or Ibiza for them, London and Amsterdam are the most popular destinations for the last night of freedom. Other common locations include Liverpool, Edinburgh, Barcelona, Manchester and Belfast.

And the cost for all this fun? Well, Brits spend an average of £202 on a stag or hen do, with more than one in 10 spending over £500. Men are the biggest spenders with an average of £218 spent per stag do, compared to £201 spent by women on hen dos. Almost a third (27%) of Brits don’t expect to pay anything for a stag or hen do.

The renowned pub crawl and spa day are the most popular stag and hen do activities. For stags this is closely followed by paintballing (21%), go-karting (21%), the casino (18%) and a brewery tour (17%). For hens, a pub crawl (22%) is second most popular after a spa (26%), followed by cocktail masterclasses, wine tasting, fancy dress (22%) and afternoon tea (20%). Some more surprising popular stag and hen dos include fake kidnapping (7%), bingo (12%) and live drawing (7%).

For some, a fancy-dress theme dictates the activities of the night. Most common themes for a stag do are superheroes (9%), Star Wars (7%), football (7%), gangsters (7%) and school (7%). For hens, the preferred themes are brides (8%), burlesque (7%), grannies (6%), superheroes (6%) gangsters (5%) and the opposite sex (5%).

Dreaming about a more exciting invite list? Some Brits fancy a celebrity to spice up the party. Popular choices for a stag do are Peter Kay with seven per cent naming him on their wish list, followed by Danny Dyer (7%), James Cordon (7%), Dwayne Johnson (6%) and Prince Harry (6%). For hens, Holly Willoughby (7%) was the favourite celebrity guest, followed by Dawn French (7%), Jennifer Aniston (5%), Rebel Wilson (5%) and Ant and Dec (5%).

Best behaviour isn’t always at the front of attendees’ minds; 18 per cent of Brits expect to behave worse in the UK when they’re on a stag and nearly three in 10 men expect to behave worse abroad.

It may come as a surprise that women are most likely to lie about something that has happened on a hen do, with nearly a quarter admitting to this (23%) and over 20 per cent have been told to lie (21%). As well as this, nearly a third of women (31%) have made a pact not to talk about something that happened during the celebration or was mentioned in the group message. In comparison, one in 10 men have lied about something that happened on their own stag do and nearly one in five (18%) made a pact not to talk about what happened on their stag do or the group texts.

Unsurprisingly these events seem to rock the boat with a third of men and 22 per cent of women admitting to arguing with their partner about going on a stag or hen do.

If you fancy organising a stag or hen do, we’ve created a generator that picks the perfect party package for you and the lucky attendees. Just answer a few questions to reveal your ideal stag or hen do.