Stag Do Destination Guide: Edinburgh

Edinburgh rooftops by night

The Scottish capital of Edinburgh is no stranger to stag parties and has been one of the most popular stag do destinations since, well forever!

You'll understand why once you get there, the Scottish sure know how to party.

But before we get knee deep into why Edinburgh is such a fantastic stag do destination lets have some very uninteresting, but secretly interesting, facts about this incredible city.

  • Population: 489,000 (estimated)
  • Temperatures: June 17℃, July 19℃ & August 18℃
  • Rainfall: 750mm per year
  • The Festival Month: Unless you're going to attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival or The Tattoo I would try to avoid August for your stag weekend  (see Festival Month below) 
  • A Writer's Paradise: JK Rowling actually wrote some of Harry Potter in a cafe called The Elephant, taking inspiration from the landscape.
  • Extinct Volcano: The Edinburgh Castle sits on an extinct volcano which last erupted 200 million years ago - I expect it's going to go off when your stag party gets to town!!!

Have a look at our other stag do destination guides.

HOW TO GET TO EDINBURGH

Flying time to Edinburgh from London is 1 hour 25 minutes with Easyjet, BA and Ryanair doing most of the routes. 

If you prefer to fly from Bristol it's only 1 hour 10 minutes with Easyjet currently having the monopoly. If you want to fly from Birmingham it's actually longer with Flybe, it must be a slower plane as it takes 1 hour 15 minutes!

Driving from London / Midlands can take anything from 6 to 8 hours depending on your starting point and traffic.

Going by Train is a lot more civilised compared to driving, from London the fastest route is 4 hours and 14 minutes however I expect it's more like 5 hours.


stag party in kilts taking a leak

ACCOMMODATION

Edinburgh has on offer a multitude of different types of stag friendly accommodation, from standard hotels to lavish 4 star properties on Princes street, renting large houses to staying in deluxe hostels. Basically, there's accommodation to suit all budgets.

When booking always aim to be within walking distance of one of the following areas:
  • Princes Street
  • Royal Mile
  • Grassmarkets
  • West End

ACTIVITIES

Now you're talking, Edinburgh has some incredible stag activities on offer including all the usual suspects such as Indoor Karts, Paintball, Quad Biking and Rage Buggies, however if you travel a little further into the Highlands (about 1.30hrs by minibus) you have some of the best White Water Rafting in the UK plus other incredible activities including Cliff Jumping and Canyoning.

Stag Do Activities currently on offer in Edinburgh:
  • Canyoning
  • Bubble Football
  • Karts
  • Highland Games
  • Turbo Cricket
  • White Water Rafting
  • Rage Buggies
  • Quad Bikes
  • See More

Cliff Jumping and stag party white water rafting

NIGHTLIFE

There are three main areas in Edinburgh for nightlife and that's West End, Grassmarket and The Royal Mile and anywhere in between these areas.

Off Princes street you will find a few cool bars, small clubs and restaurants. Head to the Royal Mile for historical and traditional Scottish pubs, bars and whiskey tasting shops.

Grassmarket is where you'll usually find busy bars, lively themed restaurants and epic nightclubs.

The West End is the other side of Princes Street (The West End funnily enough) and offers themed bars, night clubs and gentlemen's clubs.

What I think makes Edinburgh a truly incredible place to have your stag weekend is the atmosphere, the locals are friendly and the city itself has a historical sense of style, with it's old buildings all overlooked by a very impressive castle.

THE FESTIVAL MONTH (AUGUST)

What is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival?
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival spans over 25 days in August and is the largest arts festival in the world. 

With over 3,500 different shows calculating to a massive 55,000 performances, no wonder it's the biggest and best arts festival in the world.

Comedy is the most famous part of the festival however performances also include; circus acts, cabaret, theatre, children's shows, spoken word, music and so on.

What's the Edinburgh Tattoo then?
The Edinburgh Tattoo takes place at Edinburgh Castle, where British, Commonwealth and international military bands perform nightly throughout August (except Sunday Nights) with two performances on the Saturday.

So no wonder August is a bad time to go unless you're attending any of the above festivals - hotel / accommodation prices are astronomical in August so be careful.

Head over to the Edinburgh stag party section of the DesignaVenture website for packages and more activities than you can shake a stick at!

Whatever you get up to, have a good one.

Good luck

M.

DJ, shots & Rage Buggy

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