Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Old Town closes, whisky, and rugby at Murrayfield
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the UK stag city that looks like somewhere you flew to. The Old Town sits on a ridge of cobbles and closes above the New Town, with the bars stacked into it. Groups come for the whisky, the rugby and a night that runs from a back bar to the Cowgate without a taxi. It is a city of hills, so plan the walking.
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Level: Easy
1 night
From £105 pp
Flights are not included.
Central accommodation in Edinburgh, within walking distance of the Old Town.
Level: Classic
Most popular
2 nights
From £239 pp
Flights are not included.
Two nights in a central Edinburgh hotel.
Level: All out
2 nights
From £465 pp
Flights are not included.
An upgraded hotel in the centre of Edinburgh, a short walk from the Old Town and the main station.
None of these quite right?
Pick the stay and the activities yourself and see your price per person in minutes, or tell us the group and we'll build it with you. Flights are not included.
1.5 hours
A host runs the group through a series of short events: tug of war, welly wanging, relay races, and in the highland version caber toss and hammer throw.
This is the place to do the highland version properly. Mini highland games run about 90 minutes on site, with roughly an hour of competition: caber tossing, haggis hurling, tug of war, and in longer formats welly wanging and putting the stone. Medals and miniature whiskies go to the winning clan, and tartan is encouraged. Sports day formats use pitches at Portobello, by the beach, and at Sighthill. Wear trainers, bring water and a change of clothes. A 90-minute indoor task challenge in a private bar room is the wet-weather fallback.
1.5 hours
A coach teaches the throw, walks you through the safety rules and stays in the lane with you.
Axe throwing in Edinburgh is in the city centre, including a games bar about seven minutes' walk from Waverley station. Sessions last an hour, with up to six people sharing a lane, so a group of 12 needs two lanes. An instructor runs a range of games, and some venues add knives and tomahawks. Closed, flat shoes are compulsory, long hair must be tied back, and no alcohol is allowed beforehand. That makes it a daytime activity: book it before the bars, not after.
2 hours
You get a reserved area for a set block of time, with the games on your table or lane and someone on hand to explain the scoring.
Edinburgh's games bars are in the leisure complex near the top of Leith Walk, about seven minutes' walk from Waverley, and up in the St James Quarter at the east end of the New Town. Rose Street has a smaller table-games bar. Packages run about two hours with two games and two drinks each, or two to two and a half hours of mixed activities with pizza for groups of six to 28. Daytime slots run hourly from midday to 6pm. Rose Street books an hour of pool, table tennis and shuffleboard with drink tokens. ID for 18+ is checked.
4 hours
Standard entry gets the group past the queue on a guest list, which matters because large male groups are the first ones a door turns away.
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.
1 hour
In bubble football you climb into an inflatable zorb that covers you from the knees up, then play five-a-side.
Bubble football for Edinburgh groups is played on five-a-side pitches at Portobello, by the beach on the east side, or at Sighthill in the west. A game lasts an hour, with an extra 30 minutes for groups of 20 or more, and you should arrive 15 minutes early. Wear trainers and a T-shirt: boots and bare chests are not allowed, and the suits take players up to about 6 foot 5 and 22 stone. Goggle football is the 18+ alternative. Pitches are outdoor 3G, and the exact venue may be confirmed only two weeks before.
2 hours
An instructor covers gun safety and the mount, then you shoot in small groups from a stand while the rest of the group watches.
Clay shooting from Edinburgh is at a ground outside the city, with transfers available as an add-on, so build in travel time. A standard session is an hour with a professional instructor and 25 shots each. A three-activity day adds archery and axe throwing, an hour of each, and takes three to four hours depending on numbers. It runs year round but is weather dependent, so wear outdoor clothes and waterproofs. Shoot before anyone has a drink, and leave the bars for the evening.
1.5 hours
You are briefed on safety and the rules, issued kit, then run a series of short game types across the afternoon: team deathmatch, capture the flag, defend the base.
The full-size option is outdoor laser tag on a farm near Winchburgh, west of the city. The site has eight game zones built like a film set, groups of up to 20 play six to eight games across two or three of them, and it is a drive out, so book transport. Outdoor airsoft sessions run two hours, with rifles and 1,000 BB pellets included. Closer in, a 60-minute Nerf combat session at the Sighthill pitches suits groups of 10 to 20 who want it lighter.
1.5 hours
A coach teaches the throw, walks you through the safety rules and stays in the lane with you.
Axe throwing in Edinburgh is in the city centre, including a games bar about seven minutes' walk from Waverley station. Sessions last an hour, with up to six people sharing a lane, so a group of 12 needs two lanes. An instructor runs a range of games, and some venues add knives and tomahawks. Closed, flat shoes are compulsory, long hair must be tied back, and no alcohol is allowed beforehand. That makes it a daytime activity: book it before the bars, not after.
A half-day is usually five or six game zones, played in teams with a marshal calling each game: attack and defend, capture the flag, and a last-man-standing finish.
2.5 hours
You are taught the controls on a practice area, then you ride the trail in a line behind a lead instructor, with a sweeper at the back.
2 hours
An instructor covers gun safety and the mount, then you shoot in small groups from a stand while the rest of the group watches.
Clay shooting from Edinburgh is at a ground outside the city, with transfers available as an add-on, so build in travel time. A standard session is an hour with a professional instructor and 25 shots each. A three-activity day adds archery and axe throwing, an hour of each, and takes three to four hours depending on numbers. It runs year round but is weather dependent, so wear outdoor clothes and waterproofs. Shoot before anyone has a drink, and leave the bars for the evening.
3 hours
Target archery starts with a coaching session on stance and release, then moves into scored rounds and a knockout between the best shots.
3 hours
Rafting puts the group in boats of six to eight with a guide steering and everyone paddling, running a graded stretch of river.
2 hours
You book a set number of lanes or oches for an hour or two and play through a scored league or a knockout.
Group bowling in Edinburgh is mostly in the city centre, including up in the St James Quarter, where packages for 6 to 28 come with a welcome drink and reserved lanes. Turns are timed at about ten minutes per person, with a pizza break on the food version. A boutique bowling package adds an hour of pool, table tennis, darts or shuffleboard. For pool, there is a hall with 18 American pool tables and a reserved area, and two-hour interactive darts sessions where the board keeps score. Packages run about two hours.
1 hour
In bubble football you climb into an inflatable zorb that covers you from the knees up, then play five-a-side.
Bubble football for Edinburgh groups is played on five-a-side pitches at Portobello, by the beach on the east side, or at Sighthill in the west. A game lasts an hour, with an extra 30 minutes for groups of 20 or more, and you should arrive 15 minutes early. Wear trainers and a T-shirt: boots and bare chests are not allowed, and the suits take players up to about 6 foot 5 and 22 stone. Goggle football is the 18+ alternative. Pitches are outdoor 3G, and the exact venue may be confirmed only two weeks before.
1 hour
A referee runs short matches with rotating teams, and most sessions mix dodgeball with other hall games so it does not become one long round.
1.5 hours
A pitch booking gives you the surface, the bibs and the balls for an hour or two, and you sort your own teams.
Footgolf is played on a golf course west of Edinburgh, towards Linlithgow: 18 holes with an event co-ordinator, taking about two to four hours depending on numbers. Studded boots are not allowed, and loud golf clothes are encouraged. Footdarts runs at the Portobello pitches and electric shock football at Sighthill. Both take about an hour (90 minutes for 21 or more) and need at least ten players. Venues are often confirmed about two weeks before. The footgolf course is a drive out, so arrange transport and plan it for the morning.
1.5 hours
A proper round means a tee time, a booked set of slots and most of a morning on the course, with clubs and a buggy hired if people have not brought their own.
2 hours
A host runs the group through a series of inflatable rounds: gladiator duels, bouncy obstacle courses, wipeout beams and a few games designed purely to embarrass whoever is losing.
Edinburgh's It's a Knockout runs about three hours on Saturdays only, outdoors and weather dependent, with giant inflatables, races, comic costumes and a T-shirt for everyone. The inflatable games format includes foam, gunge and water, so bring a full change of clothes and something to put wet kit in. Groups of eight or more are the norm. If the weather turns, a 90-minute indoor task challenge with its own host, in a private venue in town, is the fallback.
1.5 hours
A host runs the group through a series of short events: tug of war, welly wanging, relay races, and in the highland version caber toss and hammer throw.
This is the place to do the highland version properly. Mini highland games run about 90 minutes on site, with roughly an hour of competition: caber tossing, haggis hurling, tug of war, and in longer formats welly wanging and putting the stone. Medals and miniature whiskies go to the winning clan, and tartan is encouraged. Sports day formats use pitches at Portobello, by the beach, and at Sighthill. Wear trainers, bring water and a change of clothes. A 90-minute indoor task challenge in a private bar room is the wet-weather fallback.
1.5 hours
You stand behind a bar with your own kit and a bartender takes the group through two or three drinks, explaining the spirits, the shake and the balance.
Most of Edinburgh's group classes are on George Street in the New Town or in the leisure complex at the top of Leith Walk. Classes run about 90 minutes, or up to three and a half hours with a two-course meal, and cover two cocktails each. Several ask the whole group to make the same two drinks. Some city-centre slots are Fridays and Saturdays only, at midday, 3pm or 6pm. One New Town hotel bar just off Princes Street adds guestlist club entry before 11.30pm. It is 18+, so bring ID.
1.5 hours
A restaurant taking a large group will usually want a set menu, a deposit and final numbers a few days ahead.
The local evidence here is thin. One quick, informal option before a night out is a themed bar on George IV Bridge in the Old Town, where groups of four or more get reserved tables, half a pizza and a two-pint stein each over about an hour. If the group has a rented flat, a fine-dining kit can be delivered and finished at home, which needs an oven tray, a frying pan and two saucepans. For a proper sit-down dinner, ask us early so we can find a table that seats the whole group.
1 hour
A host pours a flight of four or five spirits and talks through where each comes from, how it is made and what you are supposed to be tasting.
Edinburgh's whisky tastings centre on the Royal Mile. A visitor attraction beside the castle runs a guided tour of about one hour 15 minutes, with a dram, an introduction to the aromas and a tasting glass to keep. A whisky bar just off the Royal Mile, stocking more than 200, hosts groups of four to 12 for a guided tasting of four. Gin tastings of at least four gins run Friday to Sunday, from midday to 7pm, with the venue confirmed about two weeks before. ID is checked. Take this side of the night first.
1.5 hours
A host pours a flight of four to six wines and takes the group through where each comes from and what to look for, with water and something to eat alongside.
2 hours
You get a reserved area for a set block of time, with the games on your table or lane and someone on hand to explain the scoring.
Edinburgh's games bars are in the leisure complex near the top of Leith Walk, about seven minutes' walk from Waverley, and up in the St James Quarter at the east end of the New Town. Rose Street has a smaller table-games bar. Packages run about two hours with two games and two drinks each, or two to two and a half hours of mixed activities with pizza for groups of six to 28. Daytime slots run hourly from midday to 6pm. Rose Street books an hour of pool, table tennis and shuffleboard with drink tokens. ID for 18+ is checked.
4 hours
Standard entry gets the group past the queue on a guest list, which matters because large male groups are the first ones a door turns away.
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.
2 hours
The night runs a couple of hours in two halves, with a compere linking three or four stand-ups.
4 hours
You meet the guide at a fixed point and move through a run of bars across the evening, usually four or five, finishing at a club.
Edinburgh crawls come in three shapes. The public guided crawl visits about six bars over five hours, shots included, and finishes with club entry. A private crawl for 11 to 50 covers three bars in about three and a half hours. Self-led passes send you the route a week ahead and run from 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Some routes meet on George Street and finish by 11pm, and one bans fancy dress. Photo ID is checked, and anyone too far gone is refused at the door, which matters on the steep walks between bars.
2 hours
A private booth means your group and nobody else, with a touchscreen catalogue, microphones and drinks brought to the room.
Edinburgh's private karaoke rooms are in the New Town, including on Rose Street, which keeps the group close to its bars. The Rose Street package gives a room for an hour with two drink tokens each, for groups of 8 to 20. A pool hall also has a private karaoke room for two hours with a welcome cocktail, for 8 to 16, with drinks brought to the room and pizza as an add-on. Smart casual is expected there, and ID for 18+ is checked. A late-evening slot works as the bridge between dinner and the clubs.
1 hour
Everyone gets a set of wireless headphones with two or three channels, each with a different DJ or genre, and a light on the headset showing what you are listening to.
In Edinburgh, silent disco is a one-hour walking tour, part flash mob, led by a guide on the same headphone channel. It starts from a bar by Hunter Square on the Royal Mile. Public tours run on Saturdays at 3pm, 4.30pm and 6pm and are shared with other groups, including families, so keep it clean. Groups of 20 or more can book a private tour. Arrive 15 minutes early, wear comfortable shoes for the hills and bring water.
2 hours
A tutor sets the group up with materials and takes everyone through the technique, whether that is throwing a pot, painting a canvas or building something to wear.
The workshop that suits a stag in Edinburgh is a two-hour graffiti masterclass in Corstorphine, west of the centre, where a professional street artist takes the group through spray paint and markers on a giant canvas. There is one artist for every 15 people, sessions run between 10am and 7pm every day, and parking is free. Wear old clothes. Drinks are allowed only by arrangement, so tell the organiser in advance. For something tamer in town, private function rooms off Broughton Street host 90-minute paint and sip sessions with wine.
1 hour
You are briefed, shut in and given sixty minutes.
Edinburgh's escape rooms hold two to six players each, so a larger group splits across rooms for the hour. The venue at Fountainbridge has six themed rooms but runs Sunday to Friday only, with fixed time slots and arrival 10 to 15 minutes before. That matters if the stag is on a Saturday. Another venue sits in the leisure complex at the top of Leith Walk. For a big group that wants to play together, a 90-minute traitors-style game of truth and lies runs in a private room in a city-centre bar.
1.5 hours
Tours run one to three hours on foot, by bike or in a minibus, with a guide who takes questions and sets the pace.
Edinburgh's tours lean on its history and its hills. A 75-minute ghost bus leaves from Waverley Bridge, and private one-hour ghost tours take groups of 8 to 20 into the hidden streets beneath the Old Town. E-bike tours run two to five hours with helmets and rain capes provided, which saves the legs on the climbs. A 75-minute walking tour of the places linked to a famous wizard series starts at the Greyfriars Bobby statue. Dress for the weather whatever the season, and save the ghost tours for an evening.
36 minutes
You brief the operator in advance on where the group will be and what you want done.
Two stitch-ups suit an Edinburgh stag. One is a 15-minute wake-up call at the hotel or flat the morning after a big night. The other is a comedy roast, where a live comedian takes the stag apart in front of the group at a venue of your choice, any day between 10am and 8pm. The roast needs booking at least 28 days ahead, and the stories, photos and background have to reach the comedian 14 days before, so start collecting early. Check that your hotel will allow the wake-up call.
1.5 hours
It is a proper life class with a female model, a tutor, and boards, paper and charcoal for everyone.
1.5 hours
You book a performer for a single set at an address and a time you give in advance.
We don’t name hotels here: the right stay for eight is rarely the right one for twenty. Each package’s page shows the stay it includes, and we match it to your group and dates.
Budget
The lowest price per head, so more of the budget goes on the weekend itself. Right for a group that only needs somewhere to sleep.
Plan it with us: hostel or apartment in EdinburghUpgrade
Your own rooms in a central hotel, close to the nights out. It costs more, and the mornings are easier for it.
Plan it with us: central 3–4★ hotel in EdinburghGroup house
A self-catering house for the whole group, with room to eat together and start the night in one place. The best fit for bigger groups.
Plan it with us: group house in EdinburghUnder 10
Most activities take a group this size as it is, a table for dinner is easy to find, and moving between bars is simple.
10 to 20
Pick activities that run in teams or heats, and book the dinner table and the first bar rather than walking in.
20+
Choose activities built for big groups, split into teams, and keep everyone under one roof or close together. Book tables and late entry well ahead.
Trains from London King's Cross take around four and a half hours, and the east coast line brings groups up through York and Newcastle. Edinburgh Airport is a tram ride from the centre, about half an hour. Flights are never included in our prices. Airport: Edinburgh Airport (EDI). Station: Edinburgh Waverley.
Year-round. The Six Nations weekends in February and March and Hogmanay at the turn of the year fill the city and the hotel rates follow, so set those dates months ahead. August is festival season and just as busy. Autumn and late spring are the quieter, better-value stretch.
2 nights
Edinburgh's night out is in the Old Town, and the Old Town is built on two levels. The Royal Mile runs along the ridge. Below it, reached by steep closes and stairs, are the Grassmarket (early drinks on a big square under the castle) and the Cowgate (a sunken street with most of the city's late licences within about 400 yards). Victoria Street links the two. The New Town across Princes Street Gardens is smarter: George Street for dressed-up cocktail bars, Rose Street for pubs. Everything central is walkable, but it's steep and cobbled. Murrayfield is out west past Haymarket, and Leith is a tram ride north.
A sunken street running under South Bridge and George IV Bridge, with clubs built into vaults and basements. Most of the city's 3am licences sit within about 400 yards: Three Sisters (a big courtyard bar that's stag and hen territory at weekends), Cabaret Voltaire on Blair Street (stone vaults, house and techno), Sneaky Pete's, The Bongo Club, The Mash House and Bannermans (the rock end). Busy and boisterous at closing time rather than dangerous.
Best for: The late end of every Edinburgh stag.
A wide old market square under the castle crag, lined with pubs with outdoor tables: The White Hart Inn, The Last Drop, Maggie Dickson's. After about 9pm on a Friday or Saturday it belongs to stag and hen groups. Victoria Street curves up from it to George IV Bridge, and the Bow Bar, one of the city's best whisky pubs, is a few minutes up the hill.
Best for: Early-evening pints in the open air before heading down to the Cowgate.
The tourist spine from the castle to Holyrood. Tartan-fronted bars are not a sign of quality, and the better pubs are usually within a minute's walk off the Mile: The Jolly Judge, The Halfway House, The Devil's Advocate. Under it is The Real Mary King's Close, a preserved 17th-century street you can tour.
Best for: Daytime: a tour, a dram, then down a close to a proper pub.
George Street is cocktails and dressed-up nights with an older, higher-spending crowd, and several bars add a service charge. Rose Street, the lane running parallel behind Princes Street, is lined with pubs, including The Abbotsford with its Victorian island bar. Panda & Sons, one of the world's best-ranked bars, is a block north on Queen Street.
Best for: A smarter dinner-and-cocktails evening, or a Rose Street pub crawl.
West of the centre. On a Scotland match day the Haymarket Bar is the staging post for the walk to the stadium, and the Roseburn Bar and the Murrayfield Hotel's Bothy Bar are the pubs at the ground. Most of these go one-in, one-out hours before kick-off.
Best for: Groups going to the rugby, or wanting the crowd without tickets.
The old port, now food-led drinking and craft beer by the water: The King's Wark, Teuchters Landing, Nauticus. Roughly 45 minutes' walk from the centre, or a tram. The last tram back leaves before 11.30pm, so plan on the night bus or a taxi.
Best for: Day two: a long lunch and a few quieter pints.
Edinburgh's licensing board sets the same maximum hours every night of the week: ordinary pubs to 1am, and venues with entertainment or restaurant facilities (most clubs and late bars) to 3am. Hours do not extend at weekends. Three Sisters runs 9am to 3am daily. Many proper pubs close earlier (the Roseburn Bar at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, the Bow Bar around midnight). The council's policy caps takeaways at 3am in the city centre. In August, during the festivals, hours have traditionally been extended.
Scotland play at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Saturday 7 November 2026 (New Zealand, 2.10pm), Sunday 15 November (Australia, 3.10pm) and Saturday 21 November (Japan, 2.10pm), then in the 2027 Six Nations against Italy (Saturday 6 February, 2.10pm), Wales (Saturday 13 February, 4.40pm) and Ireland (Friday 5 March, 8.10pm, Scotland's first ever Friday-night Six Nations game). On those days the West End, Haymarket and Roseburn fill from late morning and the pubs near the ground go one-in, one-out hours before kick-off. Trams run every few minutes to the Murrayfield Stadium stop; buy tickets before boarding.
Grassmarket to the Cowgate: 2 to 5 minutes on foot; they join at the bottom of Candlemaker Row and the West Bow (estimate). Grassmarket up Victoria Street to the Royal Mile: about 5 minutes, uphill (estimate). Old Town to George Street: roughly 10 to 15 minutes on foot across the Mound or North Bridge (estimate). Haymarket station to Murrayfield: 15 to 20 minutes on foot (Scottish Rugby and the council give different figures). City centre to the stadium: around 45 minutes on foot. City centre to Leith Shore: about 44 minutes on foot, or the tram.
In most cities the bars are on the high street. In Edinburgh the Old Town was built on a ridge, so the night happens underneath it. Start with pints out on the Grassmarket under the castle, then drop down into the Cowgate, a street that runs below the bridges, where the clubs are in old vaults and stone basements and most of the city's 3am licences are within a few hundred yards of each other. You walk under South Bridge at midnight with the city literally over your head.
Local tip: The closes and stairs between levels are steep, badly lit and slippery on wet cobbles. Take the main streets (Victoria Street, Candlemaker Row, Blair Street) after a few drinks rather than the shortcuts.
You're in the capital of Scotch, so drink it properly. Skip the tartan bars on the Royal Mile. The Bow Bar on the West Bow, at the bottom of Victoria Street, is a no-music ale house with a wall of around 300 to 400 whiskies and staff who'll steer you. The Athletic Arms in Fountainbridge, known to everyone as the Diggers, has close to 700 and is a proper rugby pub too. Let the barman pick one from each region and pass them round the group.
Local tip: The Bow Bar is small and standing-room only at peak times, so go mid-afternoon or early evening and don't take a group of twenty in at once. Children aren't admitted.
When Scotland play at home the whole west of the city turns blue. Fans march from Haymarket to Murrayfield, the Haymarket Bar is the staging post, and the Roseburn Bar and the Bothy Bar at the Murrayfield Hotel are full to the doors. Even without tickets, a pint in Haymarket with the crowd heading for the ground is a big part of an Edinburgh weekend in November or February.
Local tip: Scotland are at home on 7 November (New Zealand), 15 November (Australia) and 21 November 2026 (Japan), then Italy on 6 February, Wales on 13 February and Ireland on Friday 5 March 2027. Pubs near the ground go one-in, one-out hours before kick-off, so get there early. Haymarket to the stadium is a 15 to 20 minute walk, or a tram.
Edinburgh's Old Town was built upwards and over itself, and parts of the old city are still down there. The Real Mary King's Close takes you into a 17th-century street sealed under the City Chambers, with guides in character as the people who lived there. It's an hour, it's genuinely odd, and it works well as a hangover activity because it's cool, dark and quiet.
Local tip: Tours run every day of the year and last about an hour. Book a slot ahead at weekends. It isn't wheelchair accessible.
Sandy Bell's on Forrest Road has had traditional music every night since the 1940s. It isn't a gig: musicians turn up, sit in the corner and play for each other, and you stand at the bar with a pint and listen. It's the most Edinburgh hour you can spend, and it's five minutes from the Cowgate.
Local tip: Free to get in. Keep the noise down while they're playing, and buy the musicians a drink if you've enjoyed it. It's small, so split up a big group.
The Scottish morning-after is a roll with square sausage (Lorne sausage, sliced from a block), maybe a tattie scone and a fried egg. You won't find it in London. The no-frills cafés do it best.
Local tip: Order it 'roll and square'. Brown sauce or red is a matter of personal conscience.
Our picks, not bookings: we only book a venue if it’s in your plan. Places change, and we last checked these in October 2026.
Club and live-music venue
36-38 Blair Street, off the Cowgate
The Old Town's best-known club, in stone vaults under the bridges, with two floors and room for about 600. House, techno and touring DJs.
Ticketed club nights; book online. Door, age and dress policies are on the venue's FAQ page, not checked here. Expect ID checks. Treat it as a club night, not a costume venue.
Big bar with courtyard (stag go-to)
139 Cowgate
A huge bar on an old brewery site with a courtyard, booths with their own TVs, a Live Room, an Oktoberfest-style Maggie's Chamber and a karaoke pod. Open 9am to 3am every day and shows the big games. It's openly set up for stag and hen groups.
Has a dedicated Hens & Stags hire page and a private-hire brochure, and tables or areas can be booked. Drinks packages can be pre-booked. Over-18s for private areas per hire listings.
Whisky and real-ale pub
80 West Bow, foot of Victoria Street
A traditional, no-music ale house with hundreds of malts on the gantry and cask beer, a few minutes from the Grassmarket. The place for the group's proper dram.
Small and standing-room only at peak times. Go in the afternoon or early evening, in small groups. Children not admitted. Open roughly noon to midnight. No bookings found.
Folk-music pub
25 Forrest Road, by Greyfriars
Free traditional music sessions every night, running since the 1940s, five minutes from the Cowgate. The real Edinburgh pub hour.
Small, no bookings, free entry. Children not admitted. Keep it respectful while the musicians are playing.
Match-day rugby pub
1 Roseburn Terrace, by Murrayfield
A traditional local with booths and two lounges, walls covered in rugby, a short walk from the stadium. The classic pre-match pint at Murrayfield.
Private hire by enquiry. On match days it's packed and one-in, one-out well before kick-off. Open to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Cocktail bar (speakeasy)
79 Queen Street, New Town
Through a vintage barbershop front and down the stairs. Number 34 in the World's 50 Best Bars 2025, top of the Top 500 Bars list in 2025, and winner of the cocktail menu award at The 50 Best Bars 2026. One serious round before the night gets loud.
A small basement bar. Book ahead for a group and leave the costumes outside. Booking and group details weren't confirmed on its website during this check.
Activity bar (bowling and games)
St James Quarter, top of Leith Street
Bowling, pool, shuffleboard, darts, mini golf, shooting pods and arcades under one roof, for a group that can't agree on one thing. Open to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Large groups taken; lanes hold up to seven, so a big stag spreads across several. Has a dedicated stag and hen page. Late-evening age policy not stated.
Steakhouse (group dinner)
23 West Register Street, off St Andrew Square
Steak in the former banking hall of the National Bank of Scotland, a Grade A listed building. The grand group dinner before the night out.
Private rooms for 13 and up to 44; large groups by enquiry form. Kitchen closes at 10pm on Friday and Saturday. Smart casual.
Recovery breakfast
3a St Andrew Square
Opens at 8am every day; the bacon naan roll or the Big Bombay sorts most hangovers. Two minutes from Hawksmoor and Waverley.
Online bookings for up to 20, four months ahead; bigger parties by enquiry.
Late-night food
7 Nicolson Square, Southside
A Punjabi grill and takeaway that has fed the Southside since 1979, a short walk from the Cowgate. Tandoori dishes by day and kebabs late on Fridays and Saturdays.
Walk-in, no table reservations and no alcohol. The restaurant's own site says the kitchen closes at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, with kebabs and pakora only until 1am, though some listings say later. One review says cash only, so bring both.
Venue photos from Google Maps.
AFTER DARK
The Cowgate and the Grassmarket hold the late end of it, tucked under the bridges and a few minutes from the Old Town. The New Town is the smarter version of the same night. Whisky bars shut earlier than the clubs, so take that side first.
IN THEIR WORDS
Brilliant festival … the event was organised extremely well and there was always someone on hand to help with anything.
Yes. The package handles the planning — accommodation, activities and the nights out — so an organiser without stag experience isn't working it out from scratch.
Tell us what the group has in mind when you enquire and we'll say what's possible for that city and those dates.
Whatever isn't listed under a trip's "what's included" — flights, extra drinks, transport beyond what's stated and personal spending are on the group.
United Kingdom
Two football clubs and a night out to match
From £80 pp
Flights are not included.
United Kingdom
Everything is here, if you plan it properly
From £135 pp
Flights are not included.
United Kingdom
Canals, the Bullring, and every indoor activity going
From £85 pp
Flights are not included.
United Kingdom
Seven miles of sand and a compact night out
From £75 pp
Flights are not included.
Instant price
Pick the dates, the stay and the activities, add your details and your price per person shows straight away. Flights are not included.
The full quote follows by email, so the group can see exactly what's included.
Get an instant priceGET YOUR STAG PLAN
Where, when, how many and what you're into. One message and the plan comes back within 24 hours.