My Portsmouth Stag Weekend: Real Stories & Reviews

Editor's Note (December 2025): These real stories from past grooms and best men have been updated to ensure all travel tips and activity details are current for the 2026 season.

Choosing a stag do destination can be tricky. You want somewhere lively, affordable, and packed with unique activities.

Portsmouth is the perfect South Coast destination. We’ve compiled two real diaries from recent Portsmouth stag weekends. Whether you want to catch a Conger Eel or play football in goggles, here is exactly what to expect.

Review 1: The "Fisherman" Weekend

The Vibe: Foot Darts, Deep Sea Fishing, and Popworld.

Friday: Arrival & Foot Darts

We were booked into the **Ibis Portsmouth Centre** for my stag weekend. The location was perfect as we were right in the centre of the city, meaning we wouldn't have to spend lots of money on taxis.

Our first event was **Foot Darts**. It basically involves kicking a Velcro football at a large inflatable dartboard. The venue was only 2 or 3 miles from the hotel. We played variations like “higher and lower” and “red and black,” and I managed to score the highest score on the “High Score” game (obviously!).

Friday Night: The Dockyard & Popworld

We started the night off in the **Dockyard Pub**. We were all pretty peckish after the Foot Darts so we had some really tasty burgers to fuel us up. We had planned just to have a bite to eat and move on, but the atmosphere was so good that we ended up staying there for the whole evening.

Eventually, we headed off to **Popworld Nightclub**, where we were booked in on the guest list. It was everything you would expect—cheesy music and happy people. The perfect way to finish off the first night.

Saturday: Deep Sea Fishing

For the main Saturday activity, all eight of us were booked in to go **Deep Sea Fishing**. At 7.30am we caught taxis to **Southsea Marina**, nursing some monumental hangovers.

For the first half-hour, no one was enjoying the trip! However, this soon changed when we got to the fishing grounds and set ourselves up with “hairs of the dog”. The guys on the boat were right on the money and within an hour or so I had pulled in a decent-sized Conger eel! We were out on the water for about 6 hours and by the time we got back everyone was mildly sunburned, but very happy.

Saturday Night: Pryzm

We kicked off the Saturday night festivities with pints at the **Brewhouse and Kitchen**. We then headed back to our favourite spot, the Dockyard, before moving on to **Pryzm**. Because we were on the guest list, we skipped the queue. I don’t remember massive amounts about it apart from the light show, but I was assured by the lads that I was in the middle of it all right up until the very end!

Review 2: The "Goggle Football" Weekend

The Vibe: Goggle Football, Sports Day, and a Lost Phone.

Friday: Goggle Football Chaos

My friend Jayden wanted his stag do in Portsmouth. We bundled into cars and drove down, checking into a great value hotel.

Jayden is a keen footballer, so I decided to level the playing field with **Goggle Football**. It’s 5-a-side, but you wear glasses that mess with your vision—making everything look further away or upside down! It was hilarious watching people kick fresh air and fall over.

Friday Night: The "Quiet" One

The plan had always been for a quieter Friday night, but that didn’t happen! We found ourselves visiting a range of bars, each one building the desire to keep drinking. We found ourselves in a huge popular nightclub, dancing away until about four in the morning. So much for a quiet one!

Saturday: Old School Sports Day

After a blur of a morning, we headed off to our next activity: **Old School Sports Day**. We took part in an egg and spoon race, a three-legged race, and a sack race. The overall winner was Kevin, who boasted about it for the entire drive back to the hotel!

Saturday Night: The Strip Club Incident

We spent the first couple of hours in a nearby pub playing Cards Against Humanity to recover. And then... well, it became a big night all over again! Pubs and Bars were visited, Jagerbombs were drunk, and a **Strip Club** was enjoyed by all.

It was enjoyed so much that one of the lads left his phone there, forcing him to make up a story about how he lost it once he got home to his wife! We ended the night in a cheesy club with cheap drinks, which seemed like the perfect place to end our Portsmouth Stag Do.

The Verdict

Portsmouth turned out to be an absolute gem of a stag do destination. Whether you want to fish in the Solent or play football in goggles, it delivers.

The Stag and Hen Experience has been creating bespoke weekends since 2009. If you want to replicate these itineraries, get in touch on 01202 566100 or browse our Portsmouth Stag Packages to start planning.