Dublin Two Nights

Your weekend, day by day

1. 1

   Day 1

   

   Guided bar crawl

   From about 20:00 · 5 hours

   Arrival day. The transfer brings the group into the centre, then the guided pub crawl in the evening: a run of pubs and bars with the guide handling the doors. Last orders come earlier than in mainland Europe, so start on time.

   More about this+

   Dublin crawls meet at 8pm, and the group needs to be there by 8.15pm or risk missing the start. Expect around five hours across five or six pubs and bars, a pint of stout on arrival, three or four shots along the way and entry to a club to finish. Some routes lean on live music, which is the point of a night out here. Public crawls take groups of up to about 20; from 21 upwards you can have a private guide. Smart casual is the safe choice for the club at the end, and 18+ ID is checked.

   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. The guide knows the doors, so you skip the queue and the group is not turned away for being too large.

   Most crawls include a welcome drink or a shot at each stop, and entry to the final venue. The rest is on you. Groups from several bookings are often merged, which some stags like and some do not, so ask whether yours is private.

   Dress code is the club's, not the guide's. No trainers and no sportswear at the last venue, and matching shirts get refused at some doors.

2. 2

   Day 2

   

   Add-on

   Treasure hunt & city quest

   From about 13:00 · 2 hours

   If the group picks the treasure hunt, teams work round the centre with clues and photo challenges, scored against the clock and finishing in a pub. Comfortable shoes, a charged phone and a jacket: it goes ahead in the rain.

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   Dublin's hunts are app-based and self-run, so the group starts whenever suits on the day rather than at a booked time. Teams of two or more each need a captain with a charged phone, and the route unlocks clues, puzzles and photo challenges at GPS points across the city centre, with a live scoreboard. The city version takes about two hours. The pub version is the obvious stag choice: each stop is a pub where teams answer trivia rounds, and you pick the pub within each area yourselves.

   Each team gets a route, a set of clues and a list of photo or video challenges, either on paper or through an app. You work your way round the city centre, collecting points, and everyone meets at a pub at the end where the scores are read out.

   It runs two to three hours on foot and it covers a fair distance, though at your own pace. Most of the scoring comes from the challenges rather than the clues, so the daft teams tend to win.

   Comfortable shoes, a charged phone and a jacket. It goes ahead in the rain.

3. 3

   Day 3

   

   Bubble football & human table football

   From about 11:00 · 1 hour

   Departure day. If the group picks bubble football, it is five-a-side in inflatable zorbs in short refereed matches. Sportswear and trainers, no studs, and empty pockets. Allow for the transfer back to the airport afterwards.

   More about this+

   Bubble football in Dublin is usually played on outdoor all-weather pitches such as those in Templeogue, south-west of the centre. A game lasts an hour with ten suits rotating five against five, and groups of 20 or more get about 90 minutes. Arrive 15 minutes early. Wear trainers and a T-shirt: football boots and bare chests are not allowed, and the suits take players up to about 6 foot 5 and 22 stone. The exact pitch is often confirmed only two weeks before, and a mobile version can come to your accommodation if there is open space.

   In bubble football you climb into an inflatable zorb that covers you from the knees up, then play five-a-side. Most of the game is flattening each other, and the ball is close to an afterthought. Referees run short matches with breaks, because it is hot inside the bubble.

   Human table football straps the teams to horizontal bars in an inflatable pitch, so you can only move sideways. It is less physical and better for a mixed-fitness group.

   Sportswear and trainers, no boots with studs. Empty your pockets and leave watches and glasses with the kit bag.