Somebody gets handed the hen do or the stag do, and a whole weekend abroad lands on one person.
The flights, the stay, the plan, the money, and a group chat with an opinion on all of it. It goes better when the whole group picks the plan and one app holds it together. Here is how to plan it, where to go and which rules to know.
What should a hen or stag do app do?
It should get the group to agree, turn the picks into a weekend plan, keep everyone on that plan and split the costs. Here is how SwipeSights, a group trip planner for iPhone, Android and the web, does each.
- Get the group to agree. Everyone swipes on real places in the city from their own phone, and the group’s picks decide the plan. Nobody has to referee the group chat.
- Turn the picks into a plan. The plan builds itself from the picks: nearby stops share a day, walks stay short, stops go in walking order, and each stop is timed around its opening hours.
- Plan the nights too. Daytime fun, dinner and the night out come in one plan, close together and on your dates.
- Keep everyone on one plan. Share it with a link that opens in any browser, so nobody has to ask where to be at eight.
- Split the costs. Log what each thing cost, who paid and who it was for, and see who owes whom.
How do I plan a hen or stag do abroad, step by step?
Settle the dates, the budget and the city, then let everyone swipe and let the plan build itself.
- Pick two weekends and a deadline. Check both with the bride or groom, then give the group a few days to say which works.
- Agree on a budget per person. Say a rough number for the whole weekend, travel and stay included. Too much for someone? Better to hear it before the flights are booked.
- Choose the city. Somewhere everyone can get to, with the kind of nights the group wants. The six cities below are a good start.
- Start the trip and share the link. Friends can open it and swipe in the browser, with no account and nothing to install.
- See what is on that weekend. SwipeSights shows real local events on your dates, so nobody hears about the festival on Monday.
- Let the plan build itself. Pick when the plan builds, and the picks become a day-by-day plan in walking order.
- Share the plan. One link that opens in any browser, so everyone knows where to be and when.
- Split the costs as you go. Log each cost with who paid and who it was for, and settle up once, at the end.
Free trips take groups of up to 3, and a hen or stag group is often bigger. Premium takes groups of up to 20: Trip Pass from $12.99 for one trip, or a Year Pass from $29.99 covering every trip you create for 12 months. One person upgrades and the whole group gets it. There are no per-person fees.
Which European cities work for a hen or stag do?
Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon and Madrid all suit a group weekend, and each has a full SwipeSights guide.
- Prague has long been a stag and hen favorite. Book a brewery tour, a table in a beer hall or a boat on the river, then a jazz cellar or a late club.
- Budapest is one of Europe’s big weekend-away cities: a river cruise, a wine or pálinka tasting, a late soak at the Rudas Baths, which open for night bathing on Friday and Saturday, then the ruin bars and clubs of the Jewish Quarter.
- Amsterdam welcomes groups but not rowdiness. A canal boat with drinks, a jenever tasting, a long dinner in De Pijp and a club night go down well, and Eurostar trains run direct from London in about four hours.
- Barcelona suits groups who come to eat, sail and dance: a long tapas dinner at 9pm, a sailing trip or a cooking class, cocktails in El Born, then the clubs on the seafront at Port Olímpic.
- Lisbon does long nights well: petiscos (small plates), a fado house, then the bars of Bairro Alto and Pink Street in Cais do Sodré. A sunset boat trip on the Tagus is an easy group booking.
- Madrid’s nights start late and run until morning: dinner at ten, a flamenco show, the bars of Malasaña and Chueca, clubs that fill after 1am, and chocolate con churros at San Ginés, which is open around the clock.
How do we split the costs without the bride or groom paying?
Log every shared cost with who paid and who it was for, and leave the bride or groom out of the split: their share spreads across everyone else.
In SwipeSights, costs split on the trip’s plan page on the web. Add what something cost, who paid and who it was for, and it splits evenly between those people. The page then shows who owes whom, in any of 15 currencies, pounds and euros among them.
Renting one big place for the group? The Airbnb split calculator splits the stay by the nights each person stayed and by who got the bigger room, which is fair when someone flies in a night late.
What local rules should we know before we go?
Look up the rules on pub crawls, drinking in the street and noise, because Prague, Amsterdam and Barcelona all have some.
- Prague. Organized pub crawls are banned in the center between 10pm and 6am. Night quiet runs over the same hours, and the city police enforce it in the residential streets of the center.
- Amsterdam. Drinking in the street is banned in most of the center, and drunken nuisance is fined. The Red Light District is a neighborhood where people live: don’t photograph the women in the windows, and keep your voice down at night.
- Barcelona. Since 2026 the city fines organized pub crawls, drinking in the street and props with sexual themes, and walking the streets in swimwear away from the beach can bring a fine too. Leave the novelty kit at home.
Going to Budapest, Lisbon, Madrid or anywhere else? Check the city’s own rules before you go, because they change. One custom worth knowing in Budapest: many Hungarians still do not clink beer glasses, though wine and pálinka glasses are fine.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app to plan a hen or stag do?
SwipeSights, a group trip planner for iPhone, Android and the web: everyone in the group swipes on real places in the city, and the picks become the weekend’s plan. The best man or maid of honour is not left organizing it alone, and the costs can be split in the same trip, with the bride or groom left off the bill.
What are the best cities in Europe for a stag do?
Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon and Madrid all suit a stag or hen weekend: beer halls in Prague, ruin bars and late-night baths in Budapest, canal boats in Amsterdam, tapas and seafront clubs in Barcelona, fado and Bairro Alto in Lisbon, and nights that run until morning in Madrid. Check the local rules before you book, because Prague, Amsterdam and Barcelona all restrict pub crawls or drinking in the street.
How do you split costs on a hen do?
Log each shared cost with who paid and who it was for, then settle up once at the end. To cover the bride, leave her out of the split and her share spreads across the rest of the group. SwipeSights does this on the trip’s plan page on the web, in 15 currencies.
How far in advance should you plan a hen do abroad?
Start at least three months before the weekend, and earlier for a big group or a summer date. Fix the dates and a budget per person before anything else, then give the group a deadline to say yes.
How many people can join a hen or stag do trip in SwipeSights?
In SwipeSights, free trips take groups of up to 3, and Premium takes groups of up to 20: Trip Pass from $12.99 for one trip, or a Year Pass from $29.99 covering every trip you create for 12 months. One person upgrades and the whole group gets it. There are no per-person fees.
Are pub crawls banned in Prague and Barcelona?
In Prague, organized pub crawls are banned in the center between 10pm and 6am. Barcelona fines organized pub crawls, drinking in the street and props with sexual themes. Plan the nights around beer halls, boats, long dinners and clubs instead.
Plan the hen or stag do together
Start the trip, send the link to the group, and let the picks become the weekend.
SwipeSights: plan the whole group trip together.
