Club entry, VIP & booths stag do

The clubs that take stag groups are on the Strip in the New Town. A VIP table package runs from 10pm to 4am, with part of the booking credited to the drinks menu, and the bigger clubs stay open until 6 or 7am. The clubs themselves recommend arriving after 3am for the busiest part of the night, so pace it. Doors can and do refuse groups that are rude or too far gone. For a smaller warm-up, Old Town bars sell 90-minute group packages with a welcome drink, shots and platters. Bring photo ID.

The key Amsterdam rule: the clubs used for groups set a minimum age of 21, not 18, so check everyone's age before you book. Guest-list entry gets the group past the queue but usually has to be used before about 11:30pm, and the venue is often confirmed only a couple of weeks before travel. Clubs are in the centre or about ten minutes out. Smart casual is expected, and fancy dress or matching stag outfits are refused. A VIP table adds waiter service and a bottle with mixers, and the bigger clubs stay open until around 5am.

Barcelona's club entry is sold as prepaid entry with a drink included, so there is nothing more to pay at the door. The dress code is the thing to plan around: smart casual, with no sportswear, beachwear, trainers or flip-flops, which rules out what most of the group will have worn all day. Pack proper shoes. ID is checked on everyone, as entry is 18-plus. Clubs here fill late, typically from about 1am, so there is no need to rush dinner, and the biggest venues are along the beachfront.

Most of Birmingham's late venues sit on or just off Broad Street, with a second cluster around Temple Street in the centre. Guest-list entry usually has to be used before 11pm, and a couple of bars close the list at 10pm, so plan dinner to finish in time. Smart casual is the standard door code. Table and booth packages cap at around 20 people, and the reserved area is a base rather than a seat for everyone, so a big group books two. The busiest Broad Street bars trade until 3am at weekends.

Bournemouth's clubs are a short walk from each other in the town centre. The biggest, on Fir Vale Road, has two rooms, VIP booths and table service; guest-list entry on Fridays and Saturdays requires arrival before 11:30pm. A pop club on Old Christchurch Road offers reserved areas with a bottle of spirits, or prosecco and sharing cocktails, with guest-list entry before 11pm. Reserved tables with drinks packages on Yelverton Road take up to ten or 15 per table. Smart casual is the standard, and ID may be asked for.

Brighton's biggest club sits on West Street by the seafront, across three floors, with guest-list entry on Friday and Saturday nights; you need to arrive before 11:30pm, and it runs until 4am. Packages add reserved areas and drinks bundles. Smart casual is the standard. Door staff refuse anyone who seems intoxicated, so keep the earlier part of the night steady. A reserved area at a seafront party bar near West Street, with cocktails and shots, is the usual warm-up, and it keeps the group together before the club.

Cardiff's biggest club is on Greyfriars Road, holds around 1,500 and runs several rooms; guest-list entry there must be used before 11.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Most other packages are on or just off St Mary Street, where bars stay open until 3am on Friday and Saturday, with entry before 11pm or, at a couple of venues, 10pm. Reserved areas cap at ten per package, so larger groups book several. Some include a cloakroom token, which helps in winter. Dress is smart casual.

Dublin's main club strip is Harcourt Street, with more late venues a few minutes away around Camden Street and Wexford Street. Guestlist entry here comes with a cut-off: depending on the club, the group has to be through the door by 9.30pm, 11pm or midnight, so plan dinner and the pubs around that rather than the other way round. Smart casual is the norm, at least one well-known club sets its door age at 23, and doors refuse anyone who looks too far gone. Booths are usually sold per table of about six, with a bottle of house spirits and mixers.

In Edinburgh, guestlist entry usually comes with a time limit: the group needs to be in before about 10pm at some venues, which means eating early. Options include a late-night Irish bar with live music every night, a large club with three themed rooms and six bars, and a German-style beer hall with reserved seating, a stein and a schnapps. Smart casual is the safe dress code. Groups of six or more are the norm, and the whole group should arrive together to use the guestlist.

Lisbon's clubs are sold two ways. Standard guest-list entry gets the group into a club in central Lisbon with a drink each. The VIP option adds priority entry, a reserved table and a bottle of spirits with mixers for every four people, so a group of 12 needs three bottles and the package scales by the four. Smart casual is expected and ID should be carried. Nights in Lisbon run late, so there is no rush: eat properly, work through the bars first, and save the club for the end of the night rather than heading straight there.

Liverpool's nights split between Concert Square in the Ropewalks, Mathew Street and Hanover Street, with a few party bars on the Albert Dock. Guest-list entry usually has to be used before 11pm, and before 10pm at one Concert Square club and one dock bar. Smart casual is the standard, though the 70s-themed bars on Mathew Street welcome fancy dress. Reserved-area packages cap at six to ten people, so a big group books several. A Mathew Street bar pass covers guest-list entry to six bars.

For London groups, the reliable format is a reserved area with guestlist entry rather than turning up at a door. Packages in Covent Garden and Shoreditch give the group a set area for about two hours, with a welcome drink, two or three cocktails each and a round of shots, and VIP club packages hold a table for the night. Smart casual or better is expected, and six is a common minimum. Book the area for the time you will actually arrive, as reserved areas are held for a set window.

Newcastle's guest-list and reserved-area deals are spread across the Bigg Market, the Diamond Strip, the Cloth Market and Pilgrim Street, all within a short walk of each other. Packages typically combine queue-jump entry with a reserved area and a set drinks bundle, such as a bottle of spirits with prosecco, or a round of cocktails and shots. Smart casual is the standard, and some guest-list entry only applies before 10pm, so arrive in good time. A Bavarian-style beer cellar in the Bigg Market, with long benches and steins, is a popular first stop before the clubs.

Prague's clubs start late, so entry slots are generally from 11pm, with a guide meeting the group near Charles Bridge, taking you in past the queue and staying for the first hour. The best-known venue is a five-floor complex by the river, and the others used for groups are within about a 30-minute walk of the centre. Every door checks ID and expects smart casual. VIP packages add a reserved table and either a bar allowance per person or a bottle of spirits shared between about four. Book the VIP table for the main night and plain entry for the others.