Planning a guys trip is where group chats go to die. Someone wants golf, someone wants a casino, half the group has a budget and the other half has a credit card, and nothing gets booked until flights double. This list is the shortcut: sixteen destinations we would actually plan around, split between the US and abroad, with real budgets and the warnings nobody puts in the brochure. Only have a weekend and an East Coast zip code? Start with our best weekend getaways from NYC.
Budgets below are per person for a three to four day trip, covering a shared room, food, drinks, and activities, with flights extra unless noted. And if you are planning the other half of a wedding party at the same time, we wrote the matching best girls trip destinations guide too, so nobody can accuse you of playing favorites.
| Destination | Vibe | 3-day budget pp | Best months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas | Casinos, shows, excess | $900-1,500 | Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Nashville | Live music, honky-tonks | $700-1,200 | Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct |
| Austin | BBQ, music, lake days | $650-1,100 | Mar-May, Oct-Nov |
| Denver and ski towns | Ski, breweries | $900-1,600 | Dec-Mar; Jun-Sep hiking |
| Miami | Beach clubs, nightlife | $900-1,600 | Nov-Apr |
| New Orleans | Food, music, walkable chaos | $650-1,100 | Feb-May, Oct-Nov |
| Scottsdale | Golf, pool season | $800-1,400 | Nov-Apr |
| Mexico City | Food, lucha libre, mezcal | $500-900 | Mar-May, Oct-Nov |
| Cartagena | Old city, rooftops, islands | $550-950 | Dec-Apr |
| Medellin | Nightlife, paragliding | $450-800 | Dec-Mar |
| Lisbon | Cheap Europe, surf day trips | $600-1,000 | May-Jun, Sep-Oct |
| Prague | Beer, walkable old town | $500-900 | Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct |
| Munich (Oktoberfest) | Beer halls, bucket list | $900-1,600 | Mid-Sep to early Oct |
| Tokyo | Food, arcades, karaoke | $700-1,200 | Oct-Nov, Mar-Apr |
| Bangkok | Street food, rooftops, muay thai | $400-750 | Nov-Feb |
| Queenstown | Adrenaline, ski, wineries | $900-1,500 | Dec-Feb; Jul-Sep ski |
Best guys trip destinations in the US
No passports, short flights, and nobody gets lost in translation. These seven cover every kind of group, from golfers to guys who just want a good bar crawl.
1. Las Vegas
Vegas is still the default for a reason: no other city concentrates casinos, pool parties, shows, steakhouses, and 4am decisions into four walkable miles. It works for bachelor parties, poker groups, and fight weekends equally well, and off-Strip spots like the Arts District give you a break from the machine.
The candid warning: Vegas gets expensive fast, so budget double what you think. Resort fees, $9 coffees, club covers, and one bad hour at the tables add up quickly; $900-1,500 for three days is realistic if you gamble lightly. Go March to May or September to November, because summer on the Strip is 110 degrees of regret.
2. Nashville
Nashville is the best pure bar-crawl city in America. Lower Broadway’s honky-tonks have free live music from noon onward, the hot chicken is real, and the Ryman and Grand Ole Opry give the trip some substance. It suits groups who want music and beers without needing bottle service to feel like something happened.
The warning: you will not be original here. Broadway is wall-to-wall bachelor and bachelorette parties most weekends, and downtown hotel prices have climbed to big-city levels. Plan $700-1,200 per person, book rooms early, and go April to June or September to October for rooftop weather.
3. Austin
Austin is for groups that want variety: brisket lines in the morning, Barton Springs or a boat on Lake Travis in the afternoon, live music on Rainey Street at night. Add a Formula 1 or college football weekend and the trip plans itself. Food is the sneaky headliner, from taco trucks to barbecue worth a 90-minute wait.
The warning: June through September is brutally hot, and South by Southwest and F1 weekends triple hotel prices. Go March to May or October to November and expect $650-1,100 per person. It is a driving city once you leave downtown, so budget for rideshares.
4. Denver and the ski towns
For a winter trip, fly into Denver, rent a big house with a hot tub in Breckenridge or Keystone, and ski three days with the crew. Summer works too, with hiking, mountain biking, and a Red Rocks show as the anchor night. This is the pick for groups who want to do something all day, not just drink.
The warning: peak ski weekends cost double, and lift tickets sting if you did not buy passes months ahead. With lodging splits, lift access, and rentals, $900-1,600 per person is honest for three days. January midweek is the value window; holiday weeks are chaos.
5. Miami
Miami is the closest the US gets to a proper international party city: beach days, Cuban food in Little Havana, boat rentals on Biscayne Bay, and clubs that do not close so much as fade. It suits groups who want nightlife with a beach recovery program built in.
The warning: this is bottle-service economics, and covers, cabanas, and 20 percent auto-gratuities push a big night past $300 each without trying. Plan $900-1,600 per person, go November to April, and skip March unless spring break crowds are the goal rather than the obstacle.
6. New Orleans
New Orleans is the best food-and-music city in the country, and everything sits within a walkable square: jazz on Frenchmen Street, po’boys and gumbo, daiquiris to go, and a casino if the group needs one. It suits crews that want atmosphere and stories over velvet ropes.
The warning: Bourbon Street is a tourist trap best given one hour, not one night, and late summer is hurricane-and-humidity season. Eat and drink a few blocks off the main drag, go February to May or October to November, and $650-1,100 per person covers it comfortably.
7. Scottsdale
Scottsdale is the golf trip, full stop: nearly 200 courses within 45 minutes, guaranteed winter sun, steakhouses, and Old Town bars afterward. Rent a house with a pool, play 36 holes on the middle day, and the trip runs itself. Spring training in March adds baseball to the mix.
The warning: January to April is peak everything, with green fees at the name courses running $200-400 a round, so tee off at twilight or play the excellent municipal tier. Summer is 110 degrees and only worth it for the hotel deals. Plan $800-1,400 per person including golf.
Best guys trip destinations outside the US
Search for the best places for a guys trip outside the US and you get lists written from a desk. These nine are the ones we would actually book, with the safety notes that belong next to them.
8. Mexico City
Best months: Dec–Feb · 7–23°C days · dry (ERA5 climate data)
Mexico City might be the best-value guys trip in the hemisphere: world-class tacos for pocket change, lucha libre on Friday night, mezcal bars in Roma Norte, and the Teotihuacan pyramids an hour away. Food-first groups will think they invented it. Our full things to do in Mexico City guide maps a proper long weekend.
The warning: stick to Roma, Condesa, and Polanco, and take Ubers everywhere after dark, because petty crime is real even in nice areas, and the 7,350-foot altitude plus street food will humble somebody in your group. Go March to May or October to November. $500-900 per person goes a long way.
9. Cartagena
Cartagena packs colonial streets, rooftop bars, salsa clubs, and Rosario Islands boat days into one very photogenic walled city. It has become a major bachelor party destination because a villa in the old town splits cheap between eight guys and the group photo does the marketing.
The warning: the street hustle is relentless, and groups of guys get targeted with inflated bar tabs and aggressive vendors, so agree on prices before you sit down and keep the party in places you chose yourselves. It is hot and humid year-round; December to April is the dry window. $550-950 per person.
10. Medellin
Medellin earns its hype: eternal-spring weather, paragliding over green mountains, a legitimately great food and coffee scene, and nightlife around Provenza that goes as late as you do. It is also the cheapest trip on this list for what you get, at $450-800 per person.
The honest safety note: dating-app and drink-spiking robberies targeting foreign men are a documented, ongoing problem. Go out as a group, watch your drinks, skip the apps for the weekend, and treat late-night solo wandering as off the table. Do that and most crews have a fantastic, incident-free trip. December to March is driest.
11. Lisbon
Best months: Jun–Aug · 18–28°C days · dry (ERA5 climate data)
Lisbon is Europe’s easiest guys trip: cheap by Western Europe standards, sunny most of the year, with Bairro Alto’s bar maze at night and surf lessons or a Sintra castle run by day. Groups that want a European city break without Paris prices land here first.
The warning: those postcard hills and cobblestones are genuinely punishing after midnight, and restaurants on the main squares charge double for worse food, so eat one street back. Go May to June or September to October to dodge peak crowds. Plan $600-1,000 per person plus flights.
12. Prague
Best months: Jul–Sep · 15–25°C days · rainy (ERA5 climate data)
Prague remains the beer capital of the planet, with world-class pilsner at $2-3 a pour, a walkable medieval center, cavernous beer halls, and beer spas, which are exactly what they sound like. It is one of the cheapest European cities for a group, which is why it also features in our best budget destinations roundup.
The warning: Prague has hosted two decades of stag parties and locals are tired of them, so a loud group gets cold service fast. Skip the strip-club touts and airport taxi hustlers entirely, use the ride apps, and keep it civil. April to June or September to October, $500-900 per person.
13. Munich for Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest is the bucket-list version of a guys trip: six million people, liter steins, brass bands, and beer tents the size of aircraft hangars, running mid-September to early October. The rest of the year Munich still delivers, with beer gardens, Bayern Munich matches, and Alps day trips.
The warning: during the festival, hotel prices triple and the big tents require table reservations for groups, booked six to nine months out, so plan it like a wedding. Weekday mornings are the sane window; weekends are a scrum. Budget $900-1,600 per person during the fest, $600-1,000 any other time.
14. Tokyo
Best months: Sep–Nov · 14–22°C days · rainy (ERA5 climate data)
Tokyo is the trip your group will reference for the rest of their lives: conveyor sushi at 2am, arcades and batting cages, karaoke boxes, sumo if the calendar cooperates, and the Golden Gai bar maze where each bar seats six. It suits crews that want stimulation over sunbathing.
The warning: in Kabukicho and Roppongi, never follow a street tout into a bar, because spiked-drink and inflated-bill scams specifically target groups of foreign men. The long flight is the other real cost. On the ground, $700-1,200 per person works since food is a bargain. October to November is the sweet spot.
15. Bangkok
Best months: Dec–Feb · 22–32°C days · dry (ERA5 climate data)
Bangkok is the classic for a reason: rooftop bars, muay thai fights at the historic stadiums, street food that outclasses most restaurants back home, and easy day trips to temples or floating markets. It is the cheapest big trip here at $400-750 per person once you land. Our things to do in Bangkok guide maps the good stuff.
The warning: the gem-shop and tuk-tuk scams are older than your group chat and still work, so ignore anyone who says a temple is closed. Give Khao San Road one hour for the spectacle, then drink where locals drink. Go November to February, before hot season turns the city into soup.
16. Queenstown
Queenstown is the adrenaline pick: the world’s original commercial bungy jump, jet boats through canyons, skydiving over lakes, mountain biking, and Central Otago wineries for the recovery day. From July to September it doubles as a legitimate ski trip. Groups that measure a weekend in activities rather than bar tabs should look here first.
The warning: it is far, and New Zealand prices hit hard, with big-ticket activities at $150-300 each, so the $900-1,500 per person budget assumes you pick three or four and skip the rest. December to February is summer; book everything ahead because the town is small and sells out.
FAQ
How far in advance should we book a guys trip?
Three to four months out for US cities, six or more for international trips, and six to nine for Oktoberfest or peak ski weekends. The real killer is flights for a big group, so lock those first and let the rest follow.
What is the cheapest guys trip that still feels big?
Bangkok and Medellin deliver the most per dollar once you land, at $400-800 per person for three days. Domestically, New Orleans and Austin beat Vegas and Miami by a few hundred dollars each without feeling like a compromise.
Where should a mixed group of golfers and non-golfers go?
Scottsdale, and it is not close. The golfers get 36 holes, the rest get the pool, Old Town bars, and hikes, and everyone reconvenes at dinner. Vegas is the backup, since its courses are solid and the non-golfers need no itinerary.
Is Medellin safe for a guys trip in 2026?
Safe enough with rules: stay in Poblado or Laureles, move as a group at night, guard your drinks, and skip dating apps for the weekend, since targeted robberies through them are a real pattern. Groups that follow that playbook overwhelmingly report great trips.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.