9 min readStag and hen parties (or 'sten' dos!) can be more than learner plates and pub crawls. Here are our suggestions if you fancy doing something a bit different with your group in and around Bristol.
From river cruises around Bristol's iconic harbour to trampoline parks and even making your own gin, there are plenty of activities to keep you entertained. Don’t forget to look at our accommodation and food and drink pages whilst planning your visit.
Thrill seekers
Venture into the scenic Mendip Hills with and give caving a go with Wild Wookey at Wookey Hole Caves, followed by a game of adventure golf. There's also the option to stay nearby at Wookey Hole Hotel.
Take a Leap of Faith at Bristol Zoo Project , with a range of activities available from Adventure Bristol to fill your day, including a 30ft high wire ladder rope race, leap of faith, situation survival to axe throwing, bubble football and laser tag. Once you’re done, you grab a snack and drink from the nearby café, or stroll around spotting animals.
If an urban adventure takes your fancy, Adventurous Activity Company also run a range of activities in the city, including high ropes course, abseiling, mountain biking and canoeing in the harbour.
Challenge your group to try something new with stand up paddleboarding, guided by SUP Bristol. They'll get you playing games and activities on the water with a backdrop of the Bristol's beautiful harbourside.
Image: SUP Bristol, credit Carolyn Eaton
Challenge accepted!
Take part in a range of indoor and outdoor activities with ACF Teambuilding and Events just outside Bristol, such as clay pigeon shooting and air rifle shooting, Segway rides and 4x4 off-road driving - your stag or hen could even have a go at driving an Armoured Personnel Carrier!
If you prefer calmer activities, ACF also run wine tasting and vineyard tours, chocolate and perfume making classes, or mindfulness workshops.
Image: ACF Teambuilding and Events
Enjoy a range of outdoor challenges at Mojo Active, from rifle shooting and archery to blind 4x4 driving! Compete in a range of team games, or take on the 400m military style assault course!
For more fun and outdoorsy days out, head to Mendip Activity Centre in Somerset. Try their Mission Impossible challenge to test your teamwork skills, or give Archery Active a go - it's the ultimate team combat sport and combines the best bits of paintballing, archery and dodgeball.
The activity centre also has a range of other activities for you to choose from, including archery, axe throwing, air rifles, raft building or caving in the Mendip Hills. Once you’ve worked up an appetive, grab dinner and a well-deserved drink from their on-site Alpine Lounge.
Image: Frisbee Golf at Mendip Activity Centre
Sporty activities
Fancy some high adrenaline fun on two wheels? Head to the North Somerset Hills and get your group mountain biking trail paths at Ashton Court Estate with Pedal Progression.
Image: Pedal Progression
Take your stag or hen out on for a slice of the ocean at The Wave, where you can stay overnight and chill out next to the lake at The Camp before taking on the waves in a surfing or body boarding lesson. A variety of adaptive lessons are also available.
Image: The Wave
Fun and games
West Country Games host a variety of silly games which are perfect for your stag or hen party, such as Cider Run, Drunk Pub Skittles, Welly Wanging, West Country Wipeout and Pitchfork Duel.
Image: West Country Games
StagWeb also offer a range of fun things to fill your weekend, from bourbon tasting to their Zombie Survival game! GoHen can put together a package of activities and accommodation for your group, whether you want a night on the town, a cocktail workshop or a horror escape room.
Image: Bristol Stag & Hen
Take on a range of virtual reality experiences at MeetspaceVR, where up to six people can play at once. Choose to compete against each other or co-operate to survive your mission.
Don your jumpsuits at Alcotraz Bristol, smuggle in your liquor of choice and enjoy bespoke cocktails from the comfort (or not) of your jail cell!
Image: Alcotraz
Explore a mesmerising labyrinth of over 40 spaces at Wake the Tiger, from ice caves to the new OUTERverse, before refuelling at their Guildhall Café Bar.
Image: Wake the Tiger, credit Andre Pattenden
Zoom around 800m of exhilarating bends, straights, chicanes and ramps at Absolutely Karting - once you’re done and if your group is feeling peckish you can also opt in for food and drink to be provided trackside.
Get competitive with some bowling at Roxy Lanes in the city centre, which also has pool tables, batting cages, ice curling, shuffleboard and arcade games as well as a bar and pizza menu.
Image: Roxy Lanes
Take on both of the mini golf courses at Par 59, or challenge your group to a game on interactive darts, with games including Bullseye! You can also enjoy bottomless drinks with some South East Asian-inspired bites every Friday from 5pm for £35 per person.
Flight Club has a selection of games based around social darts for competing against your friends, or get your group pumped up at Whistle Punks with an afternoon of axe throwing! Learn how to throw an axe, take trick shots and throw two axes at once. Whistle Punks have various group bundles, with optional food and drink packages. Visit Bristol users can chop 15% off their ticket using code VB1521.
Image: Whistle Punks Bristol
Release your inner child at AirHop, the world’s biggest trampoline park. Tackle the obstacle course, see how you fare at dodgeball, or book one of their Party Packages, with options including an Extreme UV session.
Image - AirHop Bristol
Book a private boat trip
Cruising around the harbour or Avon Gorge is a wonderful way to see the city and relax. Bristol Ferry run special services for stag and hen groups, including Craft Ale and Prosecco package tours, while Bristol Packet give you the choice of a River Cruise, or Tour of Dockside Pubs. Perfect for taking in Bristol’s landmarks with some pit stops at local watering holes along the way.
Image: Bristol Packet
Cheers to love
Is your stag or hen a beer lover? Take a craft beer tour of the city, sampling beers from local breweries.
Or visit the Wiper and True taproom to taste a range of local beers, or learn about the process of beer making on one of their brewery tours. More importantly, when you’ve finished your tour you’ll enter the accessible taproom, where you’ll sample a pint of super-fresh beer direct from the source!
You can also book on to regular tours and tastings at Bristol Beer Factory's taproom in Southville, and the Lost & Grounded Brewers taproom in Brislington.
Image: Wiper and True taproom in Old Market, East Bristol
You can't visit Bristol without sampling a West Country cider! Find out more about Somerset’s Thatchers Cider on a tour of their huge cider farm just outside Bristol, or head to the Cider Box, The Apple of The Orchard to try more local tipples.
Take a tour of a local vineyard and try award-winning wine at Aldwick Estate. Learn about the history of the vineyard estate, and learn from a knowledgeable guide. Make a weekend out of it and stay overnight at Aldwick Estate’s on-site, self-catered apartments.
Wine tours are also available at Woodchester Valley Vineyard to the north in the Cotswolds, where overnight accommodation is also available on-site. Wine & Cheese Tours of the Cheddar Valley are also available from Good Stories in Food throughout the year (who also run a 'Happiest Hour' drinks tour in the centre of Bristol, where you'll get to try some local beers, gin and wines).
Image: Aldwick Estate
If you want to stay in the city, book a wine tasting class or join a wine dinner with Bristol Local Wine School, check out the latest pours and events at KASK in Bedminster, or book on to one of the spirit tasting events at Spirited nearby.
Is gin more of your thing? Join a tour of 6 O’Clock Gin's distillery in Thornbury, and learn about all the steps of the gin making process from botanicals to bottling, with the chance to sample some too!
Image - 6 O'clock Gin
Get Creative
Pick from a range of experiences on Yuup's website, including Terrarium workshops, cooking classes, and many more.
Or join Graft for a graffiti workshop or mural painting session, where you'll have a go at using stencils and spray paints to create your own artworks to bring home.
Image: Graft
Take a tour
Learn more about Banksy and Bristol's world-famous street art scene on a Street Art Walking Tour with Where The Wall.
Interested in history? Enjoy access to subterranean passageways, WW2 air raid shelters and rooftop vistas with St Nicholas Market Tours.
Of if you're fans of spookier tales, join a Bristol Ghost Tour, or hear about the more gruesome side of Bristol on the Blood & Butchery in Bedminster walk.
Image: St Nicholas Market & air raid shelter walking tour
If you want something self-guided for your group to enjoy, discover Bristol's murals, monuments and most mysterious corners with Treasure Hunt or puzzle-filled walking tours.
For a relaxed day to recuperate after some serious celebrating, join an award-winning day tour with Mad Max Tours. Visit some of the most iconic places outside the city such as Stonehenge, Wells and Cheddar Gorge, and let someone else take the strain of negotiating all those country lanes.
Image: Treasure Hunt Bristol
Pampering sessions
If you are looking for a pampering session Bristol has a range of days spas and spa hotels all catering for therapies, massage and holistic treatments, including HarSpa at Harbour Hotel Bristol, Bristol Lido and Aztec Hotel & Spa as well as those offering beauty treatments.
Image: The Lido
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