When is the best time to book a stag do?

We know life can be busy, and booking a weekend away can be a lot of admin. When it comes to booking a stag do, you want the best price possible, while still having the best weekend possible. It’s sometimes difficult to coordinate your weekend a long time in advance, particularly when you have a large group of people to organise. However, booking early has significant benefits.

At The Stag Company, we have looked at our own enquiry data to give you guys some pointers on when to book to get the best deal financially and also to ensure you have your stag do the way you want it, partaking in activities that you wish to do.

We have seen a consistency in late bookings with stag groups, which we understand is often much more of a convenient way of organising. However, like anything, it is better to book in advance, particularly if you are looking to travel abroad.

This way, you and the lads have a better chance of securing competitive rates, and you’ll have ample time to save up pennies for your beery, boozy nights. Popular UK destinations and activities also suffer from becoming heavily booked up in popular times. It is not uncommon that venues will increase their prices in busy times, so booking early gives you a better chance of securing availability and keeping costs under control.  

A common controversy with stag parties, that may impede booking prematurely, is the concern that there will be a frequent change in your group quantity, usually people jump on board at a later date, or some decide they can’t make it! For those of you travelling abroad, it’s a little more difficult and we know you don’t want to be faffing around with name changes.

However, if this does happen, most airlines will allow the name change on a flight, with an admin fee applied. Airline name changes can come with significant fees, so always check the latest terms before confirming everyone’s details. If you’re concerned about changing your group capacity for activities, our suppliers are normally happy to accommodate this change, and you may only have to pay a small fee.

Secondly, when booking early, you guys may feel the weighty burden of having to gather the funds together, quickly. This is why The Stag Company has created a part-payment scheme, which is optional. This means you can pay in instalments that suit you and the rest of the group, so no one is excluded and the weekend will generally be much more affordable.

These monthly payments can be arranged for your pay day, so a set amount goes out each month based on your budget, rather than you having to fork out the total amount in one hit.

You’ll reap the benefits of this when it comes to the big weekend. You’ll have a better chance of booking the hotel you want, and the activities you want without worrying about availability. You’ll have more time to save some extra money for those boozy nights, wherever you decide to go. 

When do stag groups start planning their weekend?

Whether you’re going abroad or staying in the glorious UK, it’s worth getting organised early! Our enquiry data shows that plenty of stag groups leave things surprisingly late. That can work, but it gives other groups more time to snap up your preferred hotel, activity and destination.

We looked at when customers enquired about stag weekends compared with the dates their events were due to take place. Here’s what we found:

In 2025, the typical stag enquiry came just 81 days before the event, or less than three months ahead. A quarter of enquiries came within four weeks of the stag weekend, while another quarter arrived six months or more in advance.

For comparison, hen groups enquired a median of 205 days before their event in 2025, compared with 81 days for stag groups. So while the hen parties might already have a spreadsheet and matching outfits sorted, the lads are sometimes still arguing over which weekend everyone can do.

When do most stag groups enquire, and is that actually the best time to book?

Our data tells us when people start enquiring, not necessarily when they should book. Leaving it until 71 or 81 days before the event might work for a flexible group, but it can mean fewer accommodation choices, less availability for popular activities and a shorter window to collect everyone’s money.

For a big group, an overseas trip or a busy summer weekend, we’d aim to get the main plans sorted around six months ahead. For a smaller UK stag with flexible dates and activities, you may have more room to leave it later. The key is to agree the date, budget and guest list as soon as you reasonably can.

The earlier you book, the more time you and your mates have to sort out the money!

If, however, you feel that booking a stag do early is simply unfeasible, it shouldn’t be a concern.  As mentioned previously, our trained party planners often have to manage an inflow of late bookings.  The chances are, you will still be able to take part in the activities and fly to the destinations you originally wished to go to, it’s just recommended to book early, so you and the lads can reap some of the financial benefits as well as booking your first choice of destination, activity, accommodation or flights!

January is traditionally a busy time for people planning stag weekends, but the important thing is how far ahead you start organising, not simply which month you enquire. A stag do in June and one in November will have very different planning deadlines.

How far in advance should you book a stag do?

As a general rule, we recommend aiming to book around six months before the stag weekend, especially for overseas trips, larger groups or popular summer dates. You could start discussing the guest list, budget and destination around eight or nine months beforehand. That’s our recommendation, rather than a claim that every group needs six months to organise.

The planning will involve forming a list with the groom, gathering contact details, working out a potential destination and what activity the groom would love to do.

Is there a quieter time of year to organise a stag do?

We help lads organise stag weekends throughout the year, including plenty of last-minute trips. If you’re planning in autumn or winter, it can be a good opportunity to get ahead of the rush for popular spring and summer dates.

There’s no need to wait until January to get things moving. If you already know the dates and the guest list, getting a quote before Christmas could give you more time to organise everyone.

It’s also worth asking our party planners whether any offers are available for your chosen destination and dates.

Does the destination affect when you should book?

Many holiday destinations have periods of time when they offer lower-priced flights, so this is something you need to look out for if you are looking to leave our British shores! 

If you haven’t decided to travel abroad, then some destinations are more popular to the masses than others, for example Brighton and Bournemouth have large quantities of people flocking to the shores in the sunnier months. 

So if this is something you are looking to do, it may be necessary to get a little more organised. Major cities such as London and Manchester are a little more consistent throughout the year and are not dependent on seasonal bookings.  

If you’re booking an EU destination outside the summer time, don’t be complacent and remember that the weather will obviously be colder and also, if it is nightlife that you are travelling for, remember that some seasonal nightlife spots may be quieter than they are in the middle of summer when the cities are overflowing with boozy tourists.

When is the cheapest time to bag a bargain and book a flight?

You have to be on the ball if you want to bag a cheap flight. The best thing to do is get prepared. Know where you want to go and what month you are looking to go in. Then go to your preferred airlines’ websites and sign up to receive their emails.  You can get them to send you information about batches of flights. If you do this with more than one airline company, then you can price compare and will be sure to bag yourself a bargain.

To all of you lads, who are refusing to shake your last-minute booking ways… you can also sign up to newsletters on the airlines’ websites. Signing up will allow them to send you various offers throughout the year, including offers available in peak times, so even if you know where you're going for a last minute stag do, but it’s not yet booked, you may still be able to get a cheap flight!

Another little pointer: compare different departure days and times rather than assuming a particular weekday will always be cheapest. If you’re flexible about travelling midweek, you might save some pennies.

Can you get any offers with us?

We provide offers for some key holiday dates within the year, for example Easter, St Patrick's Day and Christmas.

If you aren’t bothered about following the sun on your bachelor party, then an Amsterdam stag do for example, is a popular destination and is very lively in winter months!

We would recommend speaking to our party planners and asking if there are any offers on at the time, we may be running a special offer or have one in the pipeline that is about to go live.

Does the quantity of people affect when it’s best to book?

We know that group sizes can change throughout the booking process, particularly with you lads. We have solid relationships with our suppliers, so the majority of the venues and activities we offer are flexible when group numbers change. Our party planners are happy to do the admin for you too!

Many of the adrenaline junkie activities that you guys partake in get heavily booked up as they are very popular and don’t just appeal to stag groups. If you have a specific activity in mind, then make sure you are prepared to book in advance. If you don’t manage to book early, compromises will have to be made, for example, sharing the go-kart track, instead of having it exclusively to your group.

Should we prioritise anything first, when booking?

Flights and accommodation should be prioritised if you are going abroad, largely because they get booked up, but the earlier you book, the more money you could save. We can arrange the stag accommodation for you, which is key as many hotels won't accept big groups of lads.

Use your common sense, don’t go booking an activity in Bratislava and then realise that you’re unable to attend because you can’t find accommodation and there are no flights available.

Why do groups hesitate when booking in advance?

When booking long in advance for destinations abroad, people are concerned about committing to the holiday until they know that flights have been released and that they are affordable.

We also feel that, particularly if the group has a varying age range, then people are concerned about paying in one go – which is why we decided to provide our customers with the option of payment instalments. This means that, if some are concerned about being able to afford the trip, it's less of an upfront requirement, with a £1 deposit per person for eligible bookings.