Hen and stag dos head to foreign shores

Hen parties and stag dos are moving away from the UK onto foreign shores as brides and grooms-to-be become more adventurous with their last days of freedom, according to one expert.

Leading organiser of stag and hen weekends Release Travel claimed that people do not want to go to the same UK destination "over and over" for pre-wedding parties.

Consequently, they are heading to places such as France and Spain, which can both be reached by ferry, in a bid to "better" the last celebration held in their circle of friends.

Ben Rodger, marketing manager of Release Travel, said: "Many more traditional UK stag and hen destinations have now been explored by groups.

"They are looking to travel to destinations that they have not yet visited on a stag or hen celebration."

He added that this concept makes "perfect sense" if you consider that one friendship group may have already been on four or five stag weekends in the same place.

Research conducted by the Halifax found last year that 8.6 million Brits have taken a single-sex holiday in the past 12 months and 25 per cent of those were stag or hen trips.

Furthermore, 26 per cent of men had been on a single-sex break in the past year, compared to 19 per cent of women.