White Water Rafting Stag Do

A white water rafting stag do puts six to eight of you in an inflatable boat, hands everyone a paddle and points you at a river that’s moving a lot faster than you are. A guide sits at the back shouting instructions. You do your best to follow them. The river does its best to throw you out.

I rate it because it’s one of the few stag activities where the whole group genuinely has to work together. Paddle out of time and the raft spins in circles. Ignore the guide and you’ll end up wedged on a rock while the boat behind sails past, waving. It’s teamwork with a lot of shouting, which is basically a stag do in miniature.

And yes, someone goes in. It’s usually the one who swore blind he wouldn’t.

Nobody needs any skill. The guide does the steering and the safety talk, you supply the muscle and the screaming. That levels things out nicely, so the gym lad and the lad who gets out of breath on the stairs are equally useless for the first ten minutes.

It also hands you material for the evening. Who fell in, who screamed, who “accidentally” nudged the stag overboard on the calm bit. Plenty of guides will happily encourage a bit of mischief once you’re through the rapids, from swimming sections to splash fights with the other raft.

Best of all, you finish soaked, starving and pleasantly knackered, which is the ideal state to start a long lunch.

In the UK, the National White Water Centre at Bala in North Wales is the name you’ll hear most. The river there is fed by dam releases, so it’s less at the mercy of a dry summer than most. Cardiff International White Water is a purpose-built course by Cardiff Bay, handy if you want rafting in the day and a big night in Cardiff after. In Scotland, the River Tay is a classic, and you could tie it in with a weekend in Edinburgh if the lads don’t mind a drive.

Abroad, Slovenia’s Soča river is well known for rafting in clear, properly cold water. You’ll also see Dunajec river rafting on Krakow packages, but be warned, that one’s a gentle float through a gorge on wooden rafts rather than white water. Lovely scenery. Fewer bragging rights.

• Booze after, never before. Providers won’t take anyone who turns up drunk, and they’re right. Save the pints for when you’re dry.
• Swimming. You’ll wear a buoyancy aid and helmet, but everyone should be comfortable in water. Mention any non-swimmers when you book.
• What to bring. Wetsuits are usually provided. Bring swimwear, old trainers you don’t mind ruining, a towel and a full change of clothes.
• Group size. Rafts usually take six to eight, so bigger groups get split across boats. Which means you’ve got yourselves a race.
• Timing. Book it for the morning or early afternoon. Rafting on a Sunday hangover is a special kind of misery.
• Water levels. Rivers depend on rainfall and releases. Ask what happens if the levels are too high or too low on the day.

Rafting sits nicely next to the other wet stuff. Pair it with coasteering if you’re near the coast or gorge walking if you’re in the hills, then thaw out on a pub crawl that evening. Fancy something drier for day two? Have a look through all our stag do ideas.