Best stag weekends - Prague, Czech Republic

-->Need help planning where to go on your stag weekend? You've come to the right place. There are loads of great places to go for your big do, many in the UK, many abroad. Recently foreign destinations have soared in popularity, especially holiday destinations in Eastern Europe. Bratislava, Warsaw, Krakow - all big with gangs of youths ready for their stag or hen weekends. But out of everywhere on offer, one place stands out as the most popualar stag and hen destination - Prague. Located in the Czech Republic, Prague has become synonimous with groups of revellers out to have a good time.
So what does Prague have to offer? Well, everything you could think really when it comes to activities and nights out. The city itself is relatively small which makes getting around nice and easy - a couple of central areas, especially Wisconsin Square where much of the citys nightlife revolves. The city is also extremely cheap - people often talk of 50p pints in the bars and this is true if you pick the right watering hole. This can make for a really cheap night - generally any beer won't cost you more than £1 so a night of 10 pints or so won't be much more than a tenner!

Another key element of many a stag weekend are the strippers! And Prague certainly has alot to offer in this department. There are many establishments that offer this kind of service in safe surroundings. Prices have risen slightly in recent years so don't expect a dance for £2 but prices are certainly fair, and all the clubs have a host of beauties to choose from. Prague is pretty much busy all year round so you should feel very safe entering this kind of place or even just walking around - certainly any of the horror stories you hear about Eastern Europe are very very rare here - the locals are friendly if you are friendly back to them!


Prague at night

The city also offers much more for stag weekends apart from these two things. Shooting, skiing, brewery trips, archery, bobsleds and golf are all on offer nearby Prague. And hen weekends will love the array of shopping on offer!

All in all Prague is certainly one of the best holiday destinations for a good stag or hen weekend. With so much on offer, at cheap prices, the city has pretty much everything you could ask for from an eventful weekend.

How to Choose your Holiday

The world is becoming more affordable and more accessible which is great; the only problem is, this makes the decision of where you should go on holiday this year, and indeed which type of holiday you should take, all the more difficult. Do you want to spend two weeks sunbathing at the beach or gallivanting around art and culture filled cities? A mix of both? Perhaps you want something altogether different, such as a week spent in remote, idyllic countryside with nothing more than a nice glass of wine and a good book. Or, you might want to be get your heart pumping with an adventure and activity filled break. The choices are absolutely endless! If you’re struggling to decide what type of holiday you should take and where, keep following our blog which will help you determine what is the right choice for you, along with some perfect holiday destinations that won’t break the bank. Let us know what your output is! 

Happy christmas and have a great new year!

A Best Holiday Destinations special warning to ALL SWIMMERS

Here at Best Holiday Destinations we want to look out for our readers. So we thought we should publicise the following little incident which took place in Croatia - one of our top summer holiday destinations. 

So please...if you do go swimming this summer...please try not to get your testicles caught in your deckchairs. You have been warned.

Big Holiday – New York, USA (part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of our look at New York City. Day two took us up to Central Park – a huge 843 acre public park in the heart of Manhattan. It occupies roughly 60 blocks (streets) in length so to walk the entire length from top to bottom would take almost an hour. We explored the southern half of the park, which was a hive of activity. A range of sports were being played round the park, one of several lakes was scattered with rowing boats, while kids played on the rock formations which were originally imported from a tectonic field in Canada.

Central Park Boating Lake

Several pedestrianised roads run through the park which helps it gain its reputation as one of the roller blading capitals of the world. Joggers and walkers of all ages also occupy these lanes. There’s also a range of interesting architecture around the park including Cleopatra’s Needle, a castle, fountains and such like. The scale meant we didn’t even see the Zoo or the famous ice rink. One of the highlights was a DJ playing funky house in a clearing, with dancers of literally all ages form 4-90 dancing away to the beats. Something we certainly wouldn’t get here in England.

Autumn in Central Park

Times Square, a few blocks down from the park, was our next stop. A major intersection in the city, the square boasts enormous neon advertising boards on all sides, and its aesthetics combined with its situation in the midst of the theatre district, has helped make it the worlds most visited tourist attraction with 39 million visitors annually. It’s scale really helps it s**t on Piccadilly Circus, London’s only “comparable” neon advertising tourist attraction. There’s hundreds of theatre/comedy salesmen loitering while there’s a range of shops and sights that link around the square itself. Its also host to one of the most famous New Years Eve parties in the world, featuring the Ball Drop at midnight. One thing to note is many of the bars, clubs and restaurants nearby are of course tourist traps offering average food or drink at expensive prices. We avoided the area for our night out and instead headed back to East Village for some exceptional BBQ ribs and chicken (with the whole caboodle of classic sides, coleslaw, fries etc) washed down with some tasty US lager.

Times Square, New York

One thing to note when visiting New York, or most of the US for that matter, is that tipping is essentially compulsory. Due to low minimum wage, waitresses are relying on tips to make up the bulk of their income. 15% is standard anywhere where you are served, including when buying a beer in a pub. Failure to tip will result in 1)being called a cheapskate or more likely 2) being thrown out of the establishment and told never ever to return. Something to note when budgeting for your trip.

Part 3 coming soon on Best Holiday Destinations! Email us if you have any queries.

Big Holiday – New York, USA (part 1)

Nowhere says Christmas more than New York. So when debating where to go on holiday this December for a wintery city break, New York was the first destination to come to mind. And eight hours after jetting off from Heathrow, we were touching down at JFK for five days of sights, culture, food, drink and tinsel at surely one of the best holiday destinations in the World.

We stayed at Hotel 17 – a cheap hotel in Manhattan’s East Village with shared bathrooms, small but comfortable rooms, and above all an excellent location just minutes from East Village’s bars, cafes and restaurants and also really close to New York’s subway system. Our first stop was Wendy’s burger joint for a taste of NY’s fast food scene. Pulp Fiction’s Big Kahuna Burger scene sprang to mind. We then proceeded to hit the East Village bar scene – in our first bar a round of Jaegarbombs was greeted with an “Oh my God you’re from England” from the barwoman, and a generous 30% off the tab to ensure we had “the best introduction to NY possible”. This kind of friendliness was encountered throughout the trip, dispelling the myth of mardy, arrogant and impatient New Yorkers (towards British tourists at least). The highlight from the 1st night was Old McSorley’s Ale House, one of the oldest pubs in New York boasting some tasty ales. The constant buy one get one free policy and sawdust on the floors help create a great atmosphere in a historic pub.

New York Cab

Day two saw us travel south on the subways to Wall Street, with a wander round the financial district in the Southern tip of Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty is visible from the riverside if you don’t fancy a ferry over – it’s current renovation works make it visible from the outside only so no climbing to the top of the head for the time being. A trip to the sombre Ground Zero site is a must – you need a free ticket in advance to gain access to the site itself, which is now home to two huge waterfalls where the Twin Towers once stood. Otherwise the visitors centre is just off-site which again is an emotional experience. One World Trade Centre, the new flagship tower in the rebuilding project, is growing quickly (see below) and is beginning to command the Downtown skyline.

One World Trade Centre

Our evening took us north to Broadway, for a stand-up comedy show. We were sold the tickets at Wall Street, with Chris Rock on the lineup and plenty of free drinks included in the measly $15 price tag. Unfortunately, upon arrival we discovered Chris rock was NOT on the lineup and only one free drink per person was provided. We had fallen for a classic tourist sales scam. After complaining to the manager we were given plenty of free drink and had a really good night but it is something to watch out for, street vendors are everywhere touristy in NY and many are out to make a quick sale.

Part 2 coming soon – Times Sq, Central Park & street dancers on the way - subscribe to keep updated!

Happy Christmas everyone!

Best Clubbing Holiday Destinations in Europe – Ibiza

Ibiza is truly one of those rare destinations where you experience a very special feeling as your plane touches down on the runway. It’s a country that keeps hundreds of thousands of visitors coming back year after year, a place where (almost) anything goes and different nationalities come together and celebrate the summer season.

Ibiza is one of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain – it can be reached in 2-3  hours from the UK or by boat if you happen to be driving through Spain. It came to prominence in the late 80s when Danny Rampling and Paul Oakenfold brought what they saw whilst on holiday in Ibiza back to the UK, helping kick off the acid house scene and spreading the word of what they experienced in Ibiza. From then on, Ibiza grew and grew and it is now a mecca for clubbers across the globe, it’s a place like minded people can come and unite around the central theme of dance music. It’s a true summer holiday destination.

The famous Space Ibiza terrace

There are several different areas to Ibiza – San Antonio in the West is largely populated with young people out to enjoy themselves on holiday – the demographic is largely English here, with plenty of late night bars, clubs and beaches. The famous Cafe Del Mar as well as Mambo and Ibiza Rocks hotel are also found here. Ibiza town and nearby Playa d’en Bossa in the south east are slightly more upmarket destinations attracting more Germans, Italians and Spanish. Space Ibiza and Pacha, two of the most famous and well-regarded clubs in the world, are located in this region.  In between the two are another two famous clubs – Privilege and Amnesia. The clubs in Ibiza are sights to behold, mostly holding around 5,000 people with many different areas. Needless to say come summer they attract the biggest DJs such as David Guetta, Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, Swedish House Mafia, Carl Cox and Pete Tong. As far as clubbing holidays go – Ibiza is certainly the number one destination in the world.

The Sunset Strip, West End

It’s not just the clubbing either that makes Ibiza so attractive – there are dozens of beautiful secluded beaches easily accessible with a car, as most people stay in the main towns you can find some gems to relax at. In addition, the seemingly endless sunshine, the temperate Mediterranean sea and a host of chilled beach bars offering delicious cocktails and Spanish food, Ibiza is truly one of the best holiday destinations around.

Greek Islands voted most beautiful in Europe

UK holiday makers have voted the Greek Islands the most beautiful holiday destination in Europe.

Zoover.com conducted the survey, asking users for their top holiday getaway in Europe. The survey generated a massive 14,000 responses, 44% of these voted for the Greek Islands as their number one - compared to Spain in second place with 17% of the votes - certainly a wide victory margin. The beautiful coastal islands of Croatia were in 3rd place with 16% of the vote.

The Greek holiday board will no doubt be extremely happy and proud of this result. They cite the variety of options on offer for tourists (Greece boasts over 3,000 different islands), the delicious local cuisine, along with the islands' natural beauty, as the key reasons why the Greek Islands took the top spot by such a large margin. The island of Samos was voted top in the individual stakes - with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. I've not yet been to Samos but after this survey I have to say I am tempted to give it a visit now.

 Samos, Greece

The result is likely to be swayed fairly significantly by popularity - a much larger number of people have been to Greece and therefore a larger number of people will have voted for the islands as their number one. It would be interesting to see the breakdown of votes for tourists who have been to both Croatia and Greece, for example. I think a good proportion of people who have been to Croatia would have voted for it above Greece - from my experiences the islands there are unmatched anywhere else in Europe (that I have been). The country is still growing in popularity, with several European heavyweights such as Spain, Greece and Italy still commanding a much larger percentage of the UK holiday market. If the survey could avoid or absorb the bias in voting somehow to play out the contest on a more level playing field, to weight less visited destinations, it would be interesting to see a revised list of the top results. I think we would see some unexpected (and perhaps fairly unknown) results in the top 10.

The list does, however, certainly give some decent pointers for some of the best holiday destinations in Europe.