It’s pretty easy to arrange a bog standard stag do. Check that everyone’s free, find a vaguely convenient cluster of pubs to drink in (possibly even the ones that you normally visit) and then make your way from one to the other over the course of the evening.
If the organiser considers himself a bit of a joker, you might have a suitably “hilarious” fancy dress theme to make it obvious to everyone that you’re celebrating the end of your friend’s singledom.
So far, so boring.
Others are a little more adventurous. Travelling stag-dos once used to take the ferry across the Channel for the various carnal delights of Amsterdam and its notorious Red Light District. Then, as the Euro area expanded to include cheaper areas with stronger beers, Poland and Czech Republic became popular, to the extent that today Prague is full of groups of boozy British blokes.
The expansion of the aviation industry over the past years means that more imaginative souls can do better than that, especially with a decent amount of planning.
Gentlemen, I give you Malta.
An Island in The Sun
Malta is a small island 50 miles or so from Sicily in the Mediterranean that was part of the British Empire for a hundred and fifty years, up to its independence in 1964. It remains part of the Commonwealth. One big advantage therefore (though perhaps not for creating humorous anecdotes for the wedding itself) is that the vast majority of its residents speak English. Asking for directions or more beer isn’t going to be a problem.
Feel The Heat
Another huge plus is the weather. Whereas there’s a certain kind of fun to be had in slipping over in the icy streets of an Eastern European city in the dark of winter, in Malta it’s hot enough to wear a t-shirt and shorts all year round. You can’t wind surf or jet ski in Amsterdam
No Hassle
At a mere three hours flight away, getting there and back in a weekend is more than feasible, whilst if you book your Malta airport shuttle transfer online it means that you can drink as much or as little on the plane without worrying about renting a car or taking public transport.
Small But Mighty
Malta is a relatively small place, to be sure, but at more than 450,000 people, it has a larger population than a number of UK cities with big reputations for wild nights on the town. As a consequence, there are plenty of things to do both in the day and evening. These range from climbing and abseiling, to the previously mentioned water sports, to karting, cycling or a sedate round of golf. If the group needs something a little less intense in order to recover, you could always consider taking a look at Malta’s history. For anyone interested in history more generally, or just those with a sense of the wars their fathers and grandfathers fought in, Malta was an important part of the war against the Nazis. There are a number of scuba diving companies that offer the chance to visit some of the wrecks surrounding the island that are a legacy of Malta’s pivotal role in the British navy maintaining control over the Mediterranean.
Nightlife
For nightlife, the place to go is Paceville, a vibrant area of clubs and bars and where stag do groups can find a lively atmosphere, music, fairly cheap booze and plenty of beautiful women looking to party. Packed with different options to choose from, Paceville is a well known landmark on the European dance scene and frequently hosts top DJs. In short, Malta has everything that a self-respecting group of lads could ask for.
Guest post provided by Holiday Transfers, an airport shuttle service with a passion for travel. Follow @HTransfers on Twitter for more holiday tips and advice.
image is from Wikipedia
