Planning for six is easy. Planning for twenty is a different job. Activities have maximum session sizes, restaurants need notice for a long table, accommodation has to keep everyone under one or two roofs, and club doors look at twenty men in matching T-shirts and say no.
None of that should put you off. Big stags are often the best ones. They just need planning around the size of the group from the start.
What makes big groups different
- Session sizes. Some activities are built for a team of six. Others run whole groups at once. Pick the second kind.
- Doors. Many clubs won't let in big groups of men together, and some cap groups at four. Plan to split up.
- Boats. In Amsterdam a self-drive boat takes twelve plus a sober skipper, so twenty needs a licensed boat with its own skipper.
- Accommodation. Twenty beds in one place exist, but they go early. Book the stay first.
- Drop-outs. The bigger the group, the more likely someone pulls out. Shared costs split between fewer people go up for everyone else, so agree the rules early.
Activities that work for 15 or more
These run big sessions or split naturally into teams. Prices are our lowest from-prices per person across our cities, checked in October 2026; each activity page shows which cities offer it and the price in each.
| Activity | From | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Paintballing | £24 pp | Two teams of ten is exactly how it's meant to be played. |
| Bubble football | £28 pp | Teams, chaos and nobody needs to be good at football. |
| Stag Olympics | £31 pp | Built for big groups, with a winning team and a losing one buying the first round. |
| It's a Knockout | £31 pp | Inflatables, relays and forfeits for a whole group. |
| Dodgeball and team games | £21 pp | Indoors, so it works whatever the weather. |
| Combat archery | £29 pp | Like paintball with foam-tipped arrows, and less painful. |
| Go-karting | £50 pp | Runs in heats, with a grand final for the fastest. |
| Boat party | £28 pp | Charter the whole boat and the group stays together. |
| Comedy club | £10 pp | A booked block of seats keeps twenty together for the evening. |
| Group dinner | £34 pp | A booked private room or long table, the one time everyone sits down together. |
Activities that struggle with big groups
These are brilliant for smaller groups but awkward at twenty:
- Escape rooms hold a handful each. You can book several rooms at once and race, but it splits the group for an hour.
- Jet skis, surfing and skydiving run in small slots, so a big group spends most of the session waiting.
- Cocktail classes and tastings can work, but check the room size. Some rooms are small; others take a whole group.
- Shooting ranges take turns on a few lanes. Fine for a morning, slow for twenty.
Running the night out
This is where big stags go wrong. Twenty men arriving at a club door together will often be turned away, however smart they look. Some simple rules:
- Book where you can. A booked bar area or reserved club entry gets the group in. Several of our trips include it, such as Newcastle Big Weekend and Liverpool Big Weekend.
- Split into fours and sixes for anywhere you haven't booked, arrive a couple of minutes apart and meet inside.
- Lose the matching T-shirts after dark. They're great for the daytime and a red flag at the door.
- Name a leader for each small group, with the plan and the next stop on their phone.
- Keep an eye on the worst-behaved one. One person can get the whole group refused.
Accommodation for a big group
Book the stay before the activities. For twenty, you'll usually be looking at a hotel with a block of rooms, or two or three apartments close together. Shared rooms and apartments keep the price per head down. If the group has a few early leavers or late arrivals, say so when you enquire, so we can plan the rooms around them.
Getting there together
For UK stags, a coach from home can be cheaper and easier than twenty train tickets, and nobody gets lost on the way. Ask us to add one. Abroad, we arrange airport pickups and drop-offs on most trips; flights are booked by the group, so share the exact flight you're on and make sure everyone books the same one.
Money with twenty people
Don't collect twenty people's money yourself. With us, the trip goes on one group link: each person pays their own deposit and balance, and you can see who has paid. The balance is due ten weeks before the trip, deposits aren't refundable, and inside 70 days the full cost is due. If someone drops out, the shared costs can rise for everyone else, which is the best reason to agree firm numbers early.
Cities that suit big groups
Look for cities where the nightlife is close together, so splitting up doesn't mean losing people: Newcastle, Cardiff and Liverpool at home, Prague and Albufeira abroad. Our guides to the best UK cities and best European cities have more.
A quick checklist for 15 or more
- ☐ Book the accommodation first, so the group stays together.
- ☐ Choose a daytime activity that runs whole groups or teams.
- ☐ Book the dinner, with a private room or a long table.
- ☐ Book the night out where you can, and plan to split into fours and sixes where you can't.
- ☐ Name a leader for each small group.
- ☐ Agree the drop-out rules before anyone pays.
Plan it around the number
Tell us how many are coming (a rough number is fine), the city and the dates, and we'll build a weekend that works at that size. Get your plan within 24 hours, or price it yourself first.