Guys' trip destinations

Group trips fail on logistics rather than on destinations.

The three things that actually decide it: can a group of four to eight share accommodation cheaply, can you walk between the evening and the beds, and is there something to do in the day that is not drinking.

Everything below scores well on those.

The eight

1. Krakow, and Poland generally

The best value in the European Union for a group and it is not close.

An apartment that sleeps six costs what a double costs in western Europe, which is where the group saving actually comes from. The main square is the largest medieval one in Europe, the food is much better than Poland's reputation, and Kazimierz has the courtyard bars.

And there is a serious day to have, which our two-day Krakow route covers: Wieliczka salt mine, or Auschwitz-Birkenau, which is not a group-trip activity in the ordinary sense and is worth the day. The memorial books timed entry well ahead and a group of six will not get a same-day slot in summer.

2. The Balkans: Belgrade, Sofia, Tirana

Cheaper again, and almost nobody has been.

Belgrade's nightlife runs on floating river clubs and is genuinely distinctive. Sofia has mountains on the edge of the city with skiing in winter and hiking in summer. Tirana is the most improved city in Europe.

Our Balkans guide covers the route, including the honest note that the region spans five currencies.

3. Vietnam

The best long-haul value for a group, and the north-to-south route means everyone has an itinerary without negotiating one.

Ha Long or Bai Tu Long on a boat, which is a genuinely good group activity, and our first-timer guide is emphatic that the cheap cruises are the crowded ones.

And the motorbike warning, which that guide is blunt about: insurance is void without the correct licence, and this is the single most common serious problem a group has here.

4. The Alps in summer

Half the price of the ski season for the same mountains, and a chalet that sleeps eight is a fraction of the winter rate.

Hiking, via ferrata, mountain biking, lakes. Austria, Slovenia and the Dolomites are all materially cheaper than Switzerland, which our July guide covers.

5. A ski trip, in January rather than at Christmas

January is cheaper and has more reliable snow than the Christmas fortnight, which is the most expensive week of the season.

And the cheaper ranges are genuinely good: the Pyrenees, the Tatras, the Dolomites and Bulgaria. Our ski packing guide has the hire-or-bring decision, which matters more for a group because hire shops give group rates.

6. Portugal, for surf and cost

Ericeira, Peniche and the Algarve's west coast, with surf lessons that work for mixed ability and a country cheap enough that a week does not require a budget conversation.

Our Portugal budget guide has the numbers and the Algarve town by town picks the base.

7. Japan, which nobody suggests and should

An unexpected group destination and a very good one.

The transport removes every logistical argument, the food works at any budget, and there is a genuine day activity everywhere. Baseball, sumo if the tournament lands, the golf, the onsen towns, and skiing in winter.

The catch: accommodation does not scale for groups the way an apartment does, and Japanese hotel rooms are small. Book a house or a ryokan rather than six hotel rooms.

8. Cape Town, the long-haul one

Extraordinary value for a group at the standard you get, with an enormous range of things to do in the day: hiking, surfing, the winelands, sharks, and one of the great settings anywhere.

A house sleeping eight in Sea Point costs a fraction of the European equivalent, which our Cape Town nomad guide covers along with the honest safety picture and the load-shedding question.

The logistics that actually decide it

1. Six is the number. Eight is the ceiling for a group that still makes decisions. Above that, restaurants need booking, transport needs two vehicles, and the group splits anyway.

2. One shared pot, agreed before you fly. Everyone pays in up front for anything communal, and a splitting app for the rest. Settling at the end is where group trips go wrong, and agreeing the method beforehand removes it entirely.

3. One apartment, not six rooms. This is where the entire cost advantage of a group trip lives.

4. No compulsory schedule. Agree one thing a day that everyone does and let the rest be optional. The morning negotiation is what ruins the mood by day three.

5. Book the day activity in advance. A group of six deciding what to do at ten in the morning is a group of six having breakfast until noon.

The two that never work

A destination chosen for the stag-party reputation. Prague, Riga, Amsterdam and Budapest all became group destinations for that reason and are now the most expensive version of themselves for exactly that crowd, with venues charging a premium and locals visibly tired of it. The same cities are excellent trips if that is not the framing.

And a schedule that requires everyone to agree. Covered above and it is the real one.

Before you book

Girls' trip destinations is the parallel guide and covers different ground.

Europe on a budget and the cheapest European cities have the numbers behind the first two entries.

How to plan a trip has the sequence, which matters more for a group because the fixed points have to be booked earlier.

The best of hub collects the rest, and prices in our guides are in each destination's own currency with the converter doing the rest.

Regional and cost detail checked September 2026 against national tourism boards including Poland's and South Africa's. Group accommodation pricing varies enormously by season and by platform, and local restrictions on short-term rentals have tightened in several European cities. Here is how we research and re-check guides.