‘London flights are the worst': British stag dos are back, and Europe isn't happy

Telegraph

a day ago

'Keep it quiet, boys, and you can have all the fun you like when we land in Budapest …'
Wizz Air cabin crew member Lilla is addressing a row of rowdy British stags on the 11:30am departure from London Gatwick. The 14-strong group are wearing matching baby-pink stetsons with the price labels still attached.
A few rows in front, the stag and best man are dressed, respectively, in a white lace wedding dress and an Aladdin-style fez with silk knickerbockers. The pair shout and punch the air as they order €65 worth of gin miniatures from the trolley.
'London flights are the worst,' Lilla tells me when I discreetly ask whether these boozy passengers are the norm. 'A few weeks ago we called the police to meet us at Budapest as one group [of stags] got angry when we refused to sell them alcohol.'
When and where British stags can and should have their fun is a moot question across Europe's capitals these days.
Budget favourite Budapest is one of a roster of destinations, including Dublin, Prague, Blackpool and Amsterdam, that are trying to constrain an unloved category of tourism that's back with a vengeance for 2025.
'The bachelor parties dropped off sharply during Covid and now they are picking up again,' Budapest tour guide Daniel Seres explained to me a few days later as we strolled around District VII, the old Jewish quarter of the city and Budapest's unofficial party zone.
Szimpla Kert, the city's original ramshackle 'ruin' bar, had a long queue forming by the entrance at 12pm. On offer inside were racks of shots, craft beers and lángos, the local deep-fried flatbreads with cheese that are useful for lining stomachs before a day's boozing.
Several of Seres's friends were evicted from the quarter during the 2010s, he told me, as landlords capitalised on a stag-party bonanza by deciding to let their apartments on sites like Airbnb.
'We need the income from tourists, but these big party groups only go on the free guided city tours [rather than paid], and they keep locals awake as they sing, stumble around and are sick on the streets,' Seres said, adding that the disruption affects the few elderly residents who haven't been pushed out of the district.
The bus driver on the number 16 from Deák Ferenc Square to the Castle District on the Buda side of the city said he pretends he 'isn't going their way, or that I don't speak English' when he is confronted by a drunken group of British stags at his bus stops. The driver, who did not want to be identified, added: 'They mess up the bus and they never know where they are going, or they fall asleep and I have to deal with them at the end of my shift.'
Recently, Budapest has tried to pivot towards luxury tourism, and last year saw the arrival of W Budapest, a 151-room hotel in the Drechsler Palace, a neo-Renaissance building that previously housed the Hungarian State Ballet Academy.
In February 2025, Dubai luxury brand Al Habtoor relaunched a landmark former Ritz-Carlton pile overlooking central Erzebet Park, with a butler service and Bentley transfers.
Also upcoming, in 2027, is the Mandarin Oriental Gellert, a pet project of Ráhel Orbán, daughter of PM Viktor Orbán; Orbán junior promises to turn it into a 'luxury hub for super-rich Asians'.
This month, meanwhile, saw the unveiling of Radisson Collection Hotel Basilica Budapest, a luxury- and business-focused five-star beside St Stephen's Basilica.
'It is a big vote of confidence in Budapest as a city, and in the types of travellers coming here, that Radisson chose us over Romania, Croatia and Serbia for its first hotel in the region,' its duty manager Karsai Tibor told me.
This glittering array of luxury establishments has been accompanied by a crackdown on less desirable incomers. In 2017, Budapest banned the pedal-powered contraptions known as 'beer bikes' due to noise and safety concerns.
In 2020, new laws were brought in to curtail the city's red light district, and in 2023 District VII hiked fines for late-night shouting and public urination, with leaflets handed out at the airport – and written in English – warning tourists about these penalties.
In the same year, venues were given the right to refuse bookings for large groups. Most recently, on June 11, the Hungarian Parliament passed a new law that empowers local municipalities to restrict who may acquire property in, and move into, their towns, in an effort to block foreign owners from running lucrative party lets.
Many locals, Seres told me, welcome the moves and argue for smaller and better behaved groups of tourists as well as 'dispersed tourism', or the direction of tourists to districts beyond the traditional core of the city. 'It is hard for the elderly people who live in the central areas,' he said.
A few steps from the air-conditioned elegance of the Radisson's entrance, at St Peter's Basilica steps, I witnessed a different scene. This is the hourly departure point of the Budapest Beer Bus, a stag and hen favourite and a replacement for the banned beer bikes. Ahead of the 3pm departure, two groups queued impatiently. A posse of Britons were shirtless and pink-faced in the early summer heat. A stag group from Spain wore matching hats reading 'La Muerta de Juan' (the Death of Juan), declaring the demise of the titular stag at the hands of either beer consumption or his marital fate. The two groups let out a guttural roar as they boarded the bus, which circles around the city sights playing techno as passengers slake their thirst. Tickets cost €25 for an 'all you can drink' hour.
'I think it's a bit arsey to say we shouldn't come,' says Matt, a 31-year-old stag from the Wirral, when I ask him about the crackdowns in Budapest and elsewhere. Matt is wearing a cylindrical bluetooth speaker strapped across his chest that's playing house music. 'We're putting a grand each into the economy, after all.'
Back on the Wizz Air flight, we're about to land and a stag on the seat in front of me is snoozing with five stetsons piled on his head as the groom and best man are also catching some shut eye. It seems the group has already run out of steam.
Is the party over for stags in Budapest? It remains to be seen, but in the end we all have to come of age – global destinations and British men included. With that, we land to a feeble cheer from the men in pink hats.
Reclaiming their streets: How destinations are cracking down on the stag brigade
Amsterdam
In 2023 the Dutch capital banned alcohol-fuelled guided tours and cannabis smoking in the Red Light District. In the same year the city also launched the 'Stay Away' digital campaign targeting young British men with warnings about fines and arrests, and introduced restrictions on short-term rentals and alcohol sales during specific hours.
Barcelona
The city's actions against undesirable tourists include strict enforcement of noise and behaviour fines, cracking down on unlicensed party promoters and short-term rental properties, and implementing tighter restrictions on public drinking.
Blackpool
In October 2021, Blackpool Council announced a plan to shut its lap-dancing clubs and move towards a goal of becoming a more 'family-friendly' resort. In 2014, Blackpool followed other seaside towns like Newquay in outlawing specific items of 'offensive and revealing' fancy dress, such as mankinis.
Prague
The Czech city has also prohibited 'beer bikes', increased police presence in central areas, and discouraged promotions related to sex tourism and stag parties, including stag tours.
Our Prague travel guide
Krakow
The Polish city of Krakow has strictly regulated advertisements for strip clubs and 'gentlemen's entertainment' and is discussing stricter curbs on alcohol sales.
Lisbon
Actions include tightening regulations on short-term rentals, particularly in popular nightlife districts like Bairro Alto and Alfama, and increasing police patrols on weekends.
Dublin
Many hotels and venues in the Irish capital have adopted policies to refuse bookings for stag and hen parties. Targeted messaging also promotes 'cultural' tourism over boozy excursions.
Edinburgh
Anecdotally, pubs and clubs are refusing group bookings for stag and hen parties. The city has also increased street policing during its busy festival periods.