Edinburgh Stag Party Ideas | What You Need To know!
Edinburgh is an amazing place to visit and hugely popular for stag parties. Stag parties visiting Edinburgh make up a big proportion of the people who we take on adventurous activities. Either during the booking process, or on the mini bus rides to and from our activities, we always get asked for our recommendations. There are many awesome things to do in Edinburgh, but a little inside knowledge to let you know the best places to go for food, or which bars and clubs are costume friendly never hurt anyone. This is our “What you need to know” guide to a stag party in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Stag Party Ideas | What You Need to Know
Location, Location, Location
Location of your accommodation is key to the ease and enjoyment of your stag weekend in Edinburgh. While Edinburgh is a relatively small city, you don’t want to be staying too far from the city centre and watering holes, especially if you are dragging yourself and the lads home at 3am.
In terms of where you want to book your accommodation, our recommendation would be no further north than the Playhouse Theatre, no further east than Haymarket train station (not to be confused with Waverley Station), no further west than Holyrood Palace and the Meadows is the limit going south. If you book a hotel, apartment or an AirBnB within this area, everything that is anything is within walking distance. If you stay centrally there is less walking, less taxis and more time for fun on your stag do in Edinburgh.
Disclaimer: While we do stand behind our recommendation to book accommodation for you stag weekend to Edinburgh in the city centre, Leith is also very nice. In terms of cafes, restaurants and bars, Leith cannot be ignored. If clubbing isn’t the primary stag party objective, I would also recommend giving the Shore at Lieth a scour.
Bars, Pubs and Clubs *drink-responsibly
From roof-top terraces to cocktail bars, Edinburgh has it all. However, lets be honest; these aren’t the kind of establishments you are looking for on your stag weekend in Edinburgh! The two areas of the city that you need to remember are “The Cowgate” and “Grassmarket”. They are located in the old town, right next to each other, and this is where you will do the majority of the “heavy-lifting”, on your Edinburgh stag do.
The Cowgate is a studenty sort of area, which is where the stag and hen parties flock. It is home to the Three Sisters Sports bar and beer garden, and is most likely the place that you will be starting you evening of debauchery. From there, the world is your oyster; you can stay within the pubs and clubs of the Cowgate or head on to where the grass is greener.
The Grassmarket is a historic market place and home to an astounding array of pubs. They are friendly, have a good atmosphere and are open to stag party pageantry. It is not uncommon to find the teenage mutant ninja turtles, slightly worse for wear, stood next to you at a bar with a niche shaped water pistol filled with rum. There are clubs in every direction with Espionage and Bongo being the popular choices.
Edinburgh Stag Party Ideas | Food
The food and restaurants we have in Edinburgh and across Scotland are second to none. If you’re coming for a stag weekend with a group of foodies, you will not be disappointed. If you’re looking for good food, we definitely recommend: The Honours, Chop House, Steak, and the Devils Advocate.
My colleague, who considers himself a kebab house connoisseur, would not forgive me if I didn’t mention the takeaways. Apparently, from his considerable experience, Fife has the best chip shops and kebab houses in the world, and Edinburgh takes the second place. No doubt you will give them a thorough going over when you are all danced out and making the walk back to your accommodation in the early hours.
Finally, I can’t talk about food in Edinburgh without giving a shout out to Brunch and Supper. An awesome café on George IV bridge in Edinburgh city centre, and they provide the first-class catering for all our tours. Very good food indeed.
Activities in and around Edinburgh
Activities and adventures are a must for every stag party and this is often a motivation for people choosing to visit Edinburgh for a stag weekend. The proximity and volume of cool and exciting things to do on a stag party in Edinburgh is, in my opinion, unrivalled within the UK. And I guess that is why, as the word spreads, more people think that Edinburgh is the place to visit.
Now that I have lured you into a false sense of security, with my top tips and handy hints, Bam! I hit you with some truth. Whiskey tasting, dungeon ghost tours, bubble football and a wee wonder around Edinburgh castle are great… particularly if you are visiting Edinburgh for an accounting convention or on a coach trip with your gran. However, a big bad stag party needs a real adventure! It just happens that adventuring is what we do…
Coasteering adventures from Edinburgh for the brave!
And canyoning trips from Edinburgh for those extreme sports fanatics looking for their adrenaline fix.
Disclaimer: We have all the love for Edinburgh castle and really do like whiskey tasting and a dungeon tours, we did it for our Christmas night out last year. Just making a point…
Key things to remember:
- Choose the right part of the city to stay
- Eat good food
- Stick around at the Cowgate and Grassmarket, at least until you get your bearings
- Come on a canyoning or coasteering adventure, if you’re into that kind of thing
MY Adventure and Intrepidus Outdoors are adventure tours and outdoor experience providers, both based in Edinburgh, Scotland. We specialise in private and open canyoning, coasteering, mountain biking and hill walking tours, and deliver these adventurous experiences across Scotland. We are also a provider of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Expeditions where we run bronze, silver and gold level awards for young people.
If you are looking for additional information about adventures from Edinburgh, we have published a number of blogs:
- 6 steps to being happy like a Scot here
- You’ll never get bored in Edinburgh here
- Best Budget Hotels and Hostels Edinburgh here
- Hen Party Adventures Edinburgh: here
- Stag Party Outdoor Adventures Edinburgh Essentials: here
- SUP, A Buying Guide: here
If you haven’t already seen it, check out the our Trip Advisor, Youtube channel, Visit Scotland page and blog to hear about how others found their outdoor adventures with us! Equally, if there is any gear that you would like us to review, drop us a DM.
