Planning a bachelor party in the Great White North?
Canada is blessed with a diverse range of cities and towns, each offering a whole selection of ways to entertaining large groups of men. Whether you are looking for clubs and casinos or wilderness adventures, there’s something for all tastes. Most bachelor parties are now held over a long weekend so the ultimate destinations can offer daytime activities as well as some night-time fun.
In this guide, we’ll give you our top picks for bachelor party destinations right across Canada, from the major cities to some hidden gems.
Top Canadian Cites for Bachelor Parties
Along with the rest of the North America, the night life and range of entertainment on offer in our cities is legendary and each province has a distinct style of its own. From the big capitals like Toronto, Victoria and Quebec City to Calgary and Montreal there is something for every kind of bachelor party.
Choosing the city is merely a matter of how far you want to travel, how much you want to spend when you get there and what kind of party you want to throw.
We’ve narrowed down our choices to the top cities in Canada for a range of activities and entertainment; from sporting events to bars and clubs, unusual days out to the more traditional nights on the town.
What we’ve looked for is a big city base where you can get the best prices for a wide selection of ways to throw the ‘condemned man’ a weekend he won’t forget. Let him raise hell before the wedding bell!
We’ve also picked a couple of wildcard destinations that might go under the radar of most party planners but are well worth considering.
Toronto
Our first destination is the country’s largest city and a popular destination for bachelor parties coming across the border from the United States. Home to around 9 million people (GTA), the urban capital of Ontario is a hub for tourists and is the country’s busiest city.
As a result, it is well set up for both daytime and evening entertainment with plenty of hotels, restaurants and bars to help you while away some time in between your activities.
We’ve picked a couple of options that you might want to consider in Toronto for your bachelor party but if you are looking for something specific then check our the details of local party planners who can help you organize a tailor made weekend to remember.
Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Daytime Activities
There are lots of tourist traps in the city and if you’ve never been to this part of North America before then you don’t want to miss out on some photo opportunities at Niagara Falls. The city is also home to one of the largest art museums on the continent. The AGO has over 95,000 pieces of work in its permanent collection and to add a bit of culture to your weekend its well worth a visit if you get the time.
Any visitor to the city should stop by the Kensington Market; a bohemian district that has a trendy neighborhood of arty boutiques and stores with some hipster bars and restaurants.
However, here are some of our best picks for some more ‘manly’ things to do in the city as part of your wild weekend.
Watch a Sporting Event Live
Toronto is the only city in Canada to be represented in seven major league sports so there are plenty of options available for watching a local match whether you enjoy football, ice hockey, soccer or basketball. Stadiums are situated right across the city and you can book seats or a box via local ticket offices or direct through the club websites:
- Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League)
- Toronto Arrows (Major League Rugby)
- Toronto Blue Jays (Major League Baseball)
- Toronto FC (Major League Soccer)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (National Hockey League)
- Toronto Marlies (American Hockey League)
- Toronto Raptors (National Basketball Association)
- Toronto Wolfpack (Super League rugby league)
If you prefer to mix a little punting action with your sports then you could also consider a day at the city’s thoroughbred racecourse, Woodbine. Their calendar starts in the spring and race days are usually held mid-week as well as Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
And for any ice hockey fans in your group then the Hockey Hall of Fame is a must.
Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Craft Beer Tasting
The city has several brewing companies that offer tours to large groups and tasting in the their tap rooms. Some are smaller craft brewers whilst others are much larger. Our best choice is the Blood Brothers Brewing Company; a smaller, family owned business that offers a very decent welcome and where you can also get some food as well as a personalized guide to what you’re drinking.
Also worth checking out are the Bellwoods Brewery, Kensington Brewing Company, Steamwhistle and the Indie Ale House.
The Small Batch Despatch company also runs some specific tours for groups including travel arrangements to take in some of wineries and distilleries.
Get Some Gaming In
If you just want to kick back with your buddies for a bit of low-key fun before your night out then The Rec Room is a great place to spend a few hours of an afternoon. It’s a big and airy pub that has a lot of arcade games, pool tables as well as hosting live acts in the evening.
For some more immersive gaming then Toronto’s Secret City Adventures has a nice selection of escape room games to play.
Burn Off Some Adrenaline
There are some traditional ways to get rid of some energy before you head out for the evening and Toronto caters for all.
If you want to hit some paint-balling then Sgt. Splatters is the best place to head and is a large indoor field covering a two-storey 35,000 sq. ft building which emulates a war zone complete with abandoned cars.
Also popular is axe throwing and Batl Grounds was the first urban venue to offer this kind of activity with some great packages for groups.
If getting some inner-anger out is your thing then you might also be interested in the Rage Room, a specialist set-up where you can select from an arsenal of baseball bats, crowbars and other hand tools to smash up a space filled with all those things you hate; electronics, printers….you name it, you can bash it in.
For something a little different you could try stand up paddle boarding at Toronto Island SUP; a fun and challenging activity to try the company also offers this as a night-time experience.
Fancy trying your hand at a bit of stunt driving? Wings and Slicks has a great selection of experiences to offer groups including spin classes, learning to drift and ride alongs.
Image via Wings and Slicks.
Night-Time Entertainment
Toronto has an excellent reputation for its nightlife and there are hundreds of good bars and clubs that can offer VIP rooms and bottle service for your group. We’ve given our best choices of places to hit for a night on the town.
Go Clubbing
The city has dozens of great clubs and, depending on your music tastes, there is no shortage of ways to relive your wildest teen weekends.
Toy Box is one of the newest clubs to open in Toronto and gives a great night out, often hosting live performances and international DJs. Attracting a hip younger crowd, this is more of an informal nightclub with a relaxed dress code. VIP experiences are available with full bottle service and reserved seating.
If you want something a little more bohemian and with the option of a bit of chill then Arcane should be high up on that list. A unique and sophisticated venue, you can find an upbeat nightclub alongside a chilled lounge bar as well as a huge outside space. It’s a high-tech and modern club that features exotic performers and a state-of -the-art lighting and sound system to create a dramatic ambiance.
Image via Rebel Toronto.
By far the most popular club is The Rebel which is situated on the city’s waterfront and covers an impressive 45,000 sq. ft of space which includes a 65’ main stage. It’s a theatrical experience when you go with stunning multi-media outputs designed to fuse music with visual storytelling.
Hit a Gentleman’s Club
Most bachelor parties try to shoehorn in some strip-club entertainment and Toronto has a couple of good options in this department but our vote goes to the Brass Rail Tavern. This Yonge Street strip lounge has a great reputation and is a great venue for bachelor parties. You can also find a full listing of other good strip clubs in Toronto in our full feature guide.
Image via Brass Rail Tavern.
Montreal
Next up we have Canada’s king of the party cities, Montreal. The second-largest city in the country, Montreal is known for being one of the most cosmopolitan and for being a dynamic hub brim full of culture and entertainment. With many festivals and activities for all seasons, there is always plenty to do here and has an excellent reputation for bachelor party events.
Image via Pixabay.
From high-octane, adrenaline-fueled fun to traditional stag weekend activities, there are lots of venues around the city specifically catering to large groups.
With the highest number of restaurants per capita in the whole of Canada, there are some fantastic eateries here and no less than you’d expect from this center of fine Francophile food.
Of course, the evening is when the city comes alive and the hundreds of excellent bars, clubs and lounges are open late into the night.
We’ve selected some of the best ways to spend your bachelor weekend in Montreal from the traditional approach to some more unique ways to get your jollies.
Daytime Activities
Old Montreal is a beautiful quarter of the city and well worth spending some time in if this is to be your first visit to the city. From here you can get settled and have a few pre-event drinks over lunch. We can recommend Les Enfant Terribles restaurant which sits at the top of the observatory tower and gives you some stunning views over the city. It’s an elegant way to kick off proceedings and is pretty pricey but there are plenty of cheaper eateries all around this area.
So, what do you do after lunch to send the groom off in style for his wedding day?
We’ve got a selection of just a few ideas for daytime activities that Montreal can offer for a great bachelor party.
High Octane Stuff
If the groom and his party are into cars and love motorsports then we can fully recommend hitting the city during the build up to, and during, the Montreal leg of the Canadian Grand Prix. Whilst the cost of staying in a hotel during this time will undoubtedly almost double, it is worth being a part of the hype that surrounds this annual event. From racing car street fairs on Crescent to the glamorous official parties around the city, the whole place goes mad for Ecclestone’s carnival of cars.
Outside of this three-day event, there are other ways to satisfy the motor-heads in your party. Montreal Exotics can offer experiences of driving some of the world’s finest supercars so you can emulate the thrills of handling maximum horsepower.
For something a little less expensive and far more accessible, Montreal is home to Canada’s largest indoor karting track, Action 500. They offer some decent group packages including some combo options where you can also add in some paint-balling, laser tag or an escape room experience.
Vortex Racing can offer you a taste of what it’s like to drive an F1 car with their state-of-the art professional simulators. Able to deliver up to 2.5 Gs of force feedback this hyper-realistic and immersive experience is a must for racing fans.
Image via Vortex Racing.
If speeding on land isn’t your boat then maybe an actual boat will be. Jet Boating Montreal offers some great experiences around the Old Port and Lake Saint-Louis. With spin boating and jet boating they can also build you a group package to include zip lining at the Clock Tower Pier.
And it doesn’t have to be engines that give you a white knuckle ride with white-water river rafting available on the Rouge River via New World. An hour away from the city, packages can be organised for your group from half days to full weekends including camping out.
Shoot Some Guns….and Kill Zombies
The Tir Du Soleil is an indoor recreational facility where you shoot air guns from semi-automatic or sports pistols to revolvers and rifles. It’s a safe shooting range but you can also combine this experience with a trip or two on the Extreme Machine.
Presented by their sister company VR Extreme, these virtual reality platforms can send you into your choice of six dimensions; from paragliding and roller coaster riding to off-road driving. We can recommend the interactive zombie experience in which you are equipped with a gun to help fight the apocalypse.
Release the Rage
If guns aren’t your weapon of choice then we have plenty of ways that you and your boys can thrash out that battle of who is the best.
a specialist indoor axe throwing activity center where you can lob more than eight different weapons at targets from ninja stars and tomahawks to Viking axes and hatchets. Rage are another company that offer a similar service and are also known for being able to cater for large groups.
Image via Combat d’Archers.
Combat d’Archers also offers axe throwing but they specialize in combat archery so you can engage in one-to-one warfare with your party. The center also has a demolition room where you can knock seven bells of shit out of electronics and other breakable items. Your weapons of choice range from baseball bats and crowbars to axes and sledgehammers. Far more fun than you’d think and a great release of any pent-up work stress before your big night out.
Sports De Combats offer a similar selection of experiences including their own Rage Cage. Dodgebow is also a good option and their insane blend of dodgeball meets archery is perfect for a bachelor party activity in Montreal.
Exercise Your Mental Prowess
Escape rooms have become something of a phenomenon of the last decade and paying to be locked in a room with your buddies might not be everyone’s idea of a good time. However, these sessions are a great team-building exercise which is perfect if the groom’s group of guests don’t know each too well.
A/Maze is a recommended escape room center which has several options for the theme of your puzzle. From a nuclear bunker to a psychiatric asylum, each room can only be unlocked when you have solved the clues…..or when your allotted time runs out. More fun that you’d first think.
Party in the Summer Sun
Every year between May and September, the Plaine Des Jeau hosts a weekly Sunday party in the park in the form of Piknic Électronik. Details of these events and the artists booked are available on their website but this is in excellent way to round off your weekend by chilling in the open air with your buddies.
Image via Piknik Electronik.
All Day Pub Crawl
There are an amazing number of exceptional bars around the city but the best way to experience locally brewed craft beer is to go on an organised tour. Yes, it can be more expensive than stumbling door to door around town but this way you get your transportation and food included as well as having someone else take responsibility for where you are headed.
Montreal Craft Beer Tours takes in at least three microbreweries where you can taste and pair six different beers and get an insight into how they are made.
Night-Time Entertainment
At night, Montreal’s hospitality really comes alive and it is after the sun goes down that the entertainment district of Quartier des Spectacles really sparkles. There’s plenty of options for bachelor party groups and we’ve given just a few suggestions to get you started.
Casino Nights
Montreal has the largest casino in Canada in the shape of Casino de Montreal. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the place boasts some of the best entertainment in the city. From the table gaming basics like baccarat, blackjack and craps to poker, roulette and keno there are plenty of ways to win some money as well as hundreds of electronic games.
Image via Casino Montreal.
The OK Poker Lounge is a great place to head but you can also arrange for a private package with your own room, personal dealer and bottle service.
As a venue, they host regular entertainment including dinner shows, cabaret and live acts from DJs and stand up comedians to boxing events and bands.
There are also five restaurants and four main bars on site so more than enough to keep your party occupied.
Bar Crawling
There are so many great places to drink of an evening right across the city that we can’t list them all. At the end of the day, you’ll probably end up going to one that is near your hotel or the club you are visiting. However, we can recommend a few great places that are worth including if you are stuck for ideas or want to start at one before crawling on to the next:
- For cocktails – La Distillerie
- For live music – Grumpy’s Bar
- For whisky lovers – Whisky Cafe
- For craft beers – Vices & Versa or Brutopia
- For the craic – Hurley’s Irish Pub or McKibbin’s Irish Pub
- For cheap beer – Barfly
- For retro gaming – North Star Pinball
Image via Northstar Pinball.
Go Clubbing
The city is packed with lively nightclubs, some huge and some more intimate than others. By far the most popular for visitors to Montreal on a night out is either Stereo or Muzique. Both are busy electronica and dance music venues with some great DJs and are always busy on the weekends.
Le Rouge is a smaller club that has two floors each having a different vibe and specialising in either house music or hip hop with some top40 stuff thrown in too. It’s a popular locals club and they offer bottle service for groups.
Hit the Gentleman’s Clubs
Chez Paree is one of the best regarded strip clubs in Montreal and has a reputation for being somewhat more sophisticated than some of its competitors. With over 80 ladies dancing here (not all at once), they certainly offer a great selection with a stylish venue and erotic atmosphere.
Image via Chez Paree.
For a less formal option, Bar Downtown is also a decent choice with four VIP sections and 20+ private cabins for one-to-one dances.
Vancouver
Another of Canada’s big tourist cities, Vancouver on the west coast is a diverse and spectacular location with everything on offer from ski resorts and speedways to sports, nature and big city fun. There are plenty of clubs including strip and dance plus bars galore offering everything from craft beer to whisky, cocktails to cannabis.
Image via Pixabay.
It’s a beautiful city and the most densely populated part of Canada as well as attracting millions of tourists from around the globe. As a result, it knows how to cater to a wide range of people and there is no shortage of things to do during the day or evening on your stag weekend away.
The city also has a couple of great event planning companies that can take the strain of the organization for you so you can all enjoy the weekend away. Try the Wicked Bachelor to help you plan the ultimate stag party.
Daytime Activities
First up we have some suggestions of things to do during the day, whether this is before a big night out, the main attraction or something to do on the morning after.
Embrace Nature
Vancouver’s proximity to some great mountain ranges, parks and lakes makes it an ideal place for hiking, camping and kayaking; all of which are popular pastimes for the locals. As a result, there is no shortage of places to go for this kind of activity and you can even rent kayaks on the waters around the city and Kayak Vancouver or Vancouver Water Adventures can book an afternoon for you.
As for hiking, Vancouver Trails has a huge selection of suggested trails through national parks, beaches and mountains to suit all abilities and experiences.
Whilst we’re on the subject, Grouse Mountain is an excellent spot to get a panoramic view of the city and the Sky Ride to the top is pretty spectacular.
Image via Grouse Mountain Sky Ride.
Take a Tour of the Local Breweries
Just like other major Canadian cities, Vancouver has a thriving scene of small craft microbreweries. There are lots of tour operators who can take you around a selection of these so you can get a guided tasting session with some of the best. Canadian Craft Tours run several all-inclusive trips that can be tailored to your party size and budget.
If you think your boys could do with some exercise then you could consider doing one of these tours by bike. A ride of about seven miles, this tour by Bikeabout takes in half a dozen great breweries along the route.
Jump Off a Bridge
Why not let the groom take the plunge before he takes the plunge by letting him drop 150ft from above the Nanaimo River. Located a ferry ride away from Vancouver, this amazing opportunity has only been completed by about a quarter of a million humans so that would make your group a pretty select bunch of people. Earn bragging rights by competing in up to 16 different styles of jump including the ‘Corkscrew’, the ‘Hover Drop’ and the ‘Front Flip’. Check out all the details on the Wild Play website.
Stock image from Pixabay.
Take To The Surf
This rugged coastline offers some great surfing if you and your buddies are into a bit of aerial action or tube-riding then Vancouver has some good options. Take your own gear with you and head to Long Beach Tofino for what is reportedly the best surfing in all of Canada.
New to the sport? Then you can get some surf lessons with your party or hire the gear you need from local tour companies like the Surf Sister School and Surf Shop.
Night-Time Entertainment
Vancouver is renowned for its nightlife and there are several areas that have a great atmosphere after dark. The first is Downtown, then you have the area known as The Strip (see below) as well As Gastown, Kitsilano an excellent place for pubs and beer halls. Not forgetting the waterside bars and eateries at Coal Harbour, a perfect for a pre-evening meal/drink and to watch the seaplanes landing before sunset.
We’ve picked a couple of ideas to entertain your bachelor party buddies on an evening out in Vancouver.
Take a Booze Cruise
Fairweather Cruises runs a selection of private evening charters on their fleet of boats some of which are ideal for stag parties. Guest capacities range from 8 people to over 300 and can include on-board catering as well as a licensed bar. Views from the water are a perfect way to enjoy this stretch of coastline and can be booked for a daytime event as well as for nights.
Hit the Tables
Vancouver has several casino hotels and resorts as well as some standalone casinos. Most are open 24/7 and have good poker rooms in addition to the usual table games and slots. However, our choice goes to the Parq Casino which has some great VIP poker rooms, private dealers and a more exclusive setting. For a lower budget you could also take a look at the River Rock Casino or Hard Rock Casino. The latter has some great live acts and entertainment and incorporates more of a bar feel than the Parq.
Hit the Strip Bars
No, not that kind of strip bars….
Granville Street is also known as The Strip and is a 1920s Parisian style road that runs from Nelson Street to Robson Street. It’s party central after hours and it’s here that you will find the best late-night bars and clubs as well as the actual strip clubs.
Most of the bars down this street are very good and we wouldn’t try to steer you clear of any of them. However we can recommend The Roxy, The Morrisey Pub and Donnellan’s Irish Pub as being particularly good.
Then Hit The Strip Clubs
On the same street you can find The Granville Strip Club which is a full nudity show lounge that has a huge two-storey open dance hall. Its not a spit and sawdust kind of joint and the atmosphere here is welcoming but erotic. A short walk away you can also find the Penthouse Nightclub and The Platinum Club.
Image via Granville Strip.
Head to Downtown Vancouver to visit Brandi’s Lounge, another first rate strip club that has reportedly attracted the attentions of A-list Hollywood stars including Ben Affleck.
Calgary
On the eastern side of the Rockies, Calgary (of course) has a reputation for being Cowtown due to its annual stampede. There is no doubt that this summer event is worth attending and if your bachelor party can be timed to coincide with this 10-day event then you will be part of the ‘Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth’. With wall-to-wall rodeos, stage shows and events like chuckwagon racing, concerts and more, it could be an ideal opportunity to let out your inner cowboys.
Of course, the city has far more to offer than just this one festival and we’ve just given you a few ideas to get you on the right track.
And, if you are struggling to pull together an ideal weekend away with your boys then there are a couple of great stag party planners in the city who can help tailor your break to your budget. A great solution for the best man who can’t make a decision and perfect if you just want to enjoy the festivities without the responsibility. Carte Blanche is reportedly a good company to use.
Image via NeedPix.
Daytime Activities
The cleanest city in the world, Calgary is also Canada’s sunniest major city and enjoys more than 2,300 hours a year when the sun is shining. Plenty of daylight to enjoy some of these activities during the day.
Get Some Winter (or Summer) Sports In
Calgary was the first Canadian city to host the Winter Olympic Games back in 1988 and the legacy of that honor can be seen at the Winsport Canada Olympic Park. Though a professional training facility, the venue also offers some great winter activities including skiing, snowboarding, skating and snow tubing. During the summer, there is also plenty to do here including zipline tours, bobsleighing and freefall bungee jumping.
If you want to try the ‘ultimate’ Canadian winter sport (!) then the Calgary Curling Club can offer private parties lessons in this unique pastime including a full bar and catering after your time on the rink.
The city has two professional sports teams in the Calgary Stampeders (CFL Football) and the Calgary Flames (NHL Hockey), both of whom play regular matches during the year.
Just north of the city limits you can also find a Grade A horse racing track in the form of Century Downs. There is regular harness, thoroughbred and quarter horse racing on their program. There is also a casino of sorts on site with plenty of slots and electronic games to occupy you between races.
Unleash Your Inner Music God
Music fans might be interested in Studio Bell (The National Music Centre) where you can hire a recording studio, catch a concern or tour their rare exhibits which includes the ‘Sistine Chapel of Rock’N’Roll’, the Rolling Stones Mobile recording studio.
Adrenaline Action Games
Capture The Flag games are always pretty high energy and incorporate both paintball and airsoft weaponry to give your group a taste of war. The Calgary venue takes in all the stunning scenery of the Cochrane area so this is the great outdoors on steroids. They also offer drone flying, archery tag and axe throwing so you can really go all out for some action.
Archery Games also provides a good option for some Hunger Games style combat in their own indoor arena. Or, you might want to try the BATL axe throwing grounds who can host private parties of up to 150 people!
Another paintballing option is Eat Paint which has specific stag party packages including a Commando rental which includes upgraded guns.
In this neck of the woods you can also find some of the best bouldering terrain in the country. Not for amateurs, Bolder offers some great indoor training walls to have a go at before you cut your teeth on the Rockies (literally!). Located right in the city, you can book a few hours and still have plenty of time for some drinking.
Wilderness Adventures
The only city in Canada that links the peaks with the prairies, you could bring out your inner survivalist by taking on the Rockies. With mountains, lakes and glaciers to explore, there is plenty to occupy nature loving bachelor groups.
For some great team-building activities White Mountain Adventures run group packages such as Mountain Quest, Snowcat Shoe Adventures and Heli-Hiking or even the Rocky Mountain Mini Olympic Games.
Image via White Mountain Adventures.
The Banff National Park has a lot of tours are a good tours available including beer cruises on Lake Minnewanka, Icefield hiking, guided fishing trips and more. Jasper Tours can put together an itinerary for you to suit your group.
Inexperienced parties should consider a tour company like Yoho Adventures which can offer hiking tours in the Rockies.
Night-Time Entertainment
As for evening entertainment, the city is crawling with great bars and a few very decent nightclubs as well as some more traditional bachelor party activities.
Enjoy a Striptease
Calgary has half a dozen gentleman’s lounge bars and strip clubs, each offering a similar style of entertainment. From the more sophisticated and modern venues like the Boudoir to the classic go-go dances of The Cathouse, there is something for all tastes and budgets.
The Boudoir Rouge has more of a nightclub feel to it and the company, FM Entertainment, can plan a complete package for you including limo rides and private rooms with personal entertainment.
Hit The Bars and Clubs
Like many Canadian cites, Calgary has a diverse range of pubs and clubs from trendy modern hot spots to traditional bars. With hundreds to choose from we can’t name them all but well recommended is the Cowboys Dance Hall where you can ‘have the most fun with your boots on’. This is not a traditional cow-pokes dive but an excellent nightclub that is laid-back, modern and every night is party night.
Other clubs that have good reputations in the city include Habitat Living Sound and The HiFi Club.
For something a little different you could give the Pedal Pub a try, this mobile bar is powered by your party as you tour the city whilst enjoying a few beers.
Image via Pedal Pub, Calgary.
And, if beer is where your heart is then there are a lot of microbreweries and bars with great craft ales. The best way to see the most popular one is through a booked program and Canadian Craft Tours offer a nice round trip of about 3-4 hours which can include Axe Throwing or Archery Games if you wish.
Or, for the more refined gentlemen, you could consider a whiskey tasting evening at the Bourbon Room. An elegant and more mature venue there are more than 120 different craft spirits to try.
Poker Night
Calgary has a couple of good casinos as well as several hotels that have casinos on their resort. Our best pick for an evening out is the Cowboys Casino which has a 24-hour poker room. They also have the usual slots and tables games plus a high limit. Their entertainment pits have access to a great central bar that serves a great drinks selection plus good food. The casino is the official post-match venue for post Flames games and can get pretty lively on these nights.
Image via Cowboys Casino.
The Grey Eagle Resort and Casino is also well worth a look and this 84,000 sq. ft gaming complex also includes 24/7 poker facilities.
Halifax
The coastal city of Halifax might not be the natural bedfellow for partying but there is more than meets the eye here particularly if you are looking for an alternative to some of the more traditional options.
Image via Pixabay.
The city’s nautical pedigree makes it an ideal location for any seafaring guys who fancy some sport fishing. There are quite a few charter companies who can take you deep sea fishing including Murphy’s and Peggy’s Cove both of whom can be booked via Ambassatours. If you are stuck for what to do afterwards then the same company can also book you a party cruise on boat around the city’s harbor with a full cash bar, DJ and other activities.
For some more adrenaline fueled fun, Blue Shark Charters are a smaller firm but specialize in (surprise, surprise) big-game shark fishing. Don’t forget that there is also some freshwater fishing available.
Image via Blue Shark Fishing Charters.
For motor-heads, there is the Kartbahn Racing track where you can book a private session of karting or double up with some laser tag.
There are no strip clubs in Nova Scotia with the last one closing down in 2018 but there is a very decent casino in Downtown Halifax which has a range of table and poker games as well as the usual slots. The Casino Nova Scotia has a good guest services department who can arrange a private party for you and your guests.
Entrance to Casino Nova Scotia, Halifax. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
The city itself also has a decent selection of pubs and clubs for the evening’s entertainment. For high energy dance music try Pacifico; a modern club open late on Friday and Saturday nights, there is bottle service and VIP packages. The Dome Nightclub is also pretty popular and features four clubs in one.
If you’d rather just stick to a pub crawl then there are lots of microbreweries and bars, or you can engage the services of the East Coast Pub Crawls company who can arrange one for you. Our pick of the bars in the city would be The Seahorse Tavern on Gottingen Street, Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub on Argyle or, for a rough and ready wild night out, The Toothy Moose just a few doors down.
There’s also a lot of good eateries in the area so you won’t be short of places to fuel up. The best place to do this is down on the waterfront boardwalk where you can also visit some of the more touristy attractions.
Quebec City
The oldest Francophile city in North America, Quebec City is not everyone’s idea of a perfect bachelor party destination. With the oldest average age of any Canadian provincial capital it is considered one of the more traditional hubs in the continent yet there’s plenty to make a case for here.
Daytime Activities
Principally, the draw is for its skiing and there are three good resorts to find nearby. Our pick of these is Le Relais which is only half an hour outside of the city and offers some great skiing, on-site facilities and room rental as well as a ski-school for the less experienced members of your party.
Image via Ski Relais.
Close to the Parc National de la Jacques-Cartier, there’s lots of other things to do outdoors including ziplining at the Canyon Saint-Anne or maybe a camping trip could be perfect for your last weekend away with the groom? There are some camping grounds located nearer the urban edge of the parks whilst others require a bit of hiking and might appeal to any groups who want to go back to nature. There is some great fishing to be had around the area, too.
The UNESCO World Heritage old town of Quebec City is a good spot to hit for some quirky bars and has a buzzing atmosphere at odds to its traditional cobblestone streets. It’s certainly a good spot to head in between your daytime action and night-time activities.
All in all, the city itself has plenty of diversions for a group looking for an alternative to the modern appeal of many of the options on our list.
Night-Time Entertainment
There are a couple of strip clubs in Quebec City offering the chance to give the groom and the rest of the bachelor party a more adult treat and most have reasonable reputations. They all offer VIP bottle service for large groups but it can be quite costly, as well as those all-important extras such as lap dances.
Our pick of the bunch is the Cabaret Le Folichon which has been running for the last 30 years with a high-standard of entertainment and service. They put on some great shows and serve good food with a more sophisticated atmosphere than your typical North American ‘spit-and-sawdust’ strip joints. Also worth mentioning is the Bar la Broussaille, a strip club with more of a party vibe.
Image via Bar la Broussaille (Facebook).
Unlike Montreal the casinos in Quebec City are pretty small and don’t offer the same kind of elegant high-rolling experience but there are one or two salon bars in town that have gaming devices, not quite the same but they each have cocktail bars and live music. This can make them a nice early-evening place to head before hitting the bars and clubs.
Speaking of which, there are a good handful of these in the city some with live acts and others with some pretty good DJs. Our pick of the bars is La Piazz, a small basement venue that gets quite cosy on the peak evenings but has a nice vibe, outdoor seating and some great live bands performing.
For something bigger and a little wilder then head to the Dagobert which knows how to throw a party.
Winnipeg
Manitoba’s capital is certainly an interesting selection as a destination for a bachelor party weekend away and may not offer the traditional diversions but does have some interesting options.
Image via Pixabay.
Known as the ‘Gateway to the West’, Winnipeg is a misunderstood city that has had a bad reputation over the years but has recently developed into a thriving cultural destination. It hosts dozens of festivals throughout the year including live music, comedy and sports.
With its unique climate and the arctic temperatures, winter means that the city benefits from an instant skating rink as the Red and Assiniboine Rivers freeze over. Offering around 8.5km of skating, it effectively becomes the world’s longest natural rink.
You can find the usual highlights of a stag party weekend located around the city including
- Karting
- Casinos
- Poker Rooms
- Games Centres
- Brewery Tours
- Ice Hockey Game
- Baseball Match
- Indoor Boulder Climbing
- Strip Clubs
A couple of unusual things to do on your weekend in Winnipeg also include a Cannabis Tasting Tour as well as speedway racing at the Red River Co-Op Speedway.
Image via Red River Co-Op Speedway.
We can also recommend the Thermea Nordik Spa Center, located close to the Crescent Drive Golf Course so you can combine a few holes with a relaxing soak in an outdoor hot spa pool.
As for clubs and bars, there are dozens of great places to choose from but we’d suggest the King’s Head, High and Lonesome and Wee Johnny’s Irish Pub.
Wildcards: Unusual Bachelor Party Destinations
Of course, one of the biggest draws that Canada has to offer over the neighboring United States is its wilderness and to get a truly authentic Canadian bachelor party you might want to consider going off grid.
Quebec is an absolute paradise to do this in and you don’t have to venture far outside of Montreal to reach the Laurentians where you can take part in snowmobiling, dog-sledding, ice-fishing, and snowshoe hiking.
Image via Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc.
Rugged as it comes, this endless wonderland covers more than 10,000 km of trails. You don’t even have to rough it if you don’t fancy being a Les Stroud wannabe. There are some five-star resorts dotted around and our best pick is the Pourvoirie du Lac Blanc. From here you can book some half day or day long excursions out in the snow including speeding through the forest with a team of huskies. The hotel stocks a nice selection of whiskies to kick back with in the evening and they can even organize a private events room to host your own poker night afterwards.
Another good destination for winter sports is the spectacular Whistler, a town north of Vancouver in British Columbia. One of the host venues for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics there is a good range of activities on offer including snowshoeing, tobogganing and skiing.
However, the town itself also has plenty to offer its bachelor party groups including the good old-fashioned activities of axe-throwing, escape rooms, zip-lining and shooting as well as a great local craft beer scene to enjoy. Our top pick for some outdoor adventure has to be the white water river rafting tours run by Wedge Rafting.
Another idea that might not be too PC these days but is still a favored option for many guys is big game hunting. There are lots of destinations around the country where you can legally (and safely) hunt black bear, moose, caribou, wolves and mountain goats. Diana Hunting can arrange all the details of your party and you can choose which provinces from British Columba, Yukon, Newfoundland or Alberta.
Image via Diana Hunting.
Our final wildcard will appeal to those guys who have always been drawn by the lure of an open road and a Hog to saddle it on. Okay, so maybe you don’t get a Harley Davidson but a motorbike tour of the remote ribbon roads of the Yukon has got to be a good bachelor weekend (or week) away. There are a couple of companies that will rent you the bikes including one just over the border in Alaska as well as Edelweiss Bikes that runs a specific package tour in the summer.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons.
