This summer of thousands of revellers, stags and hens will descend on a British seaside town that is cementing its reputation as the UK's answer to Benidorm.
The Costa Blanca resort is loved by millions of Brits thanks to the unbelievable value of a stay there, near guaranteed sun and the presence of many UK icons.
The likes of 80-year-old dancer and illusionist Sticky Vicky, Uncle Ron’s Big Benidorm Breakfast challenge and the ITV hit Benidorm have put and kept the seaside town on the map.
While return flights around three hours in length that are regularly available for £30 are unlikely to put many people off, there is a town much closer to home that has lots of things in common with the Spanish resort.
Bournemouth in Dorset is the UK's answer to the great Spanish settlement. Like Benidorm, it is a beacon of debauchery.
In Benidorm you can bag pints for 80p from Uncle Ped’s and Cafe Benidorm, while a large cup of vodka can be bought from certain bars for the equivalent £4.
In Bournemouth the booze isn't quite as cheap, but with the average pint costing around £4 it won't be as expensive compared to other cities (for comparison, the average pint in London is £5.99), not to mention you won't struggle to find happy hour deals and cheap shots in the clubs.
With cheap booze and heaps of different clubs and bars, it's not surprising that Bournemouth is a firm favourite with stag and hen dos.
Last Night of Freedom, a stag and hen do organising company, organised twice as many trips to Bournemouth in 2022 as Barcelona, with 76 groups visiting the coastal town in one weekend alone.
More nearly-weds and their followers currently head to Bournemouth for a final night of freedom than go to Ibiza and Krakow, with the town centre crammed full of boozed up lads dressed in wedding dresses, penis costumes and inflatable dinosaur outfits on a Saturday night.
The club scene in Bournemouth has boomed in recent years, with the likes of Cameo, Canvas and DYMK upping the ante in terms of their nights to compete for the tourist pound.
On a Saturday night Halo transports punters to a scene that feels like it's from the heady days of Magaluf circa 2008, with shot girls ferrying Jager bombs around the dance floor, a confetti cannon which blasts several times a night and a troupe of sparkler-carrying promoters who deliver bottles of Champagne to the stony faced lads vaping in the VIP area.
Promoters for the towns numerous strip joints patrol the town centre at night, trying to tempt in potential punters as they pour out from the clubs.
Tiki Beach Bar, Aruba and Sunset Beach Club run along the seafront and let drinkers kick back in the sunshine on the warm summer nights. When the weather is good, the iconic Bournemouth beach can feel more like the Mediterranean than the Dorset coast.
Although it can't quite match the scorching temperatures of Benidorm at its summer peak, Bournemouth is the hottest place in the UK.
Landlords and hotel owners have embraced Bournemouth's growing reputation as the south coast's party capital.
Chains including Britannia have opened up very basic but incredibly affordable hotels on the seafront that attract many of those in search of a big one.
If you're on willing to skip the luxuries and only plan on catching a few nights of sleep, then the town's hotels selling rooms from just £30 per night are perfect.
Dozens of large homes geared specifically towards stag and hen dos have popped up in the suburbs of the city, laying on hot tubs, bunk bed dorms and wipe clean services.
After a 2019 backlash from well-to-do neighbours sick of all of the resultant noise, some letting company have hired security firms to stop the party from carrying on too deep into the night.
Once everyone has pulled themselves out of bed and to breakfast at one of the town's four Wetherspoons, there's plenty to do in the town during the day time.
The Party Boat Sunset Cruise will take you on a tour around Pool Harbour’s five islands before watching the sunset on Old Harry’s Rock. There’s an onboard DJ and BBQ, with nightclub entry once you get back on dry land.
Last Night of Freedom sends a lot of groups go-karting, axe throwing, crossbowing and to drive rage buggies. The Pedi Bus tour – a beer bike where you bring your own booze onboard – is an increasingly popular way of seeing Bournemouth.
A big hen-specific seller for the firm is the private outdoor spa with hot tub package, where groups can enjoy bonding among the bubbles with a bar tender on hand and a large cinema screen to watch films on.
Nude life drawing and a Spice Girls dance class are other options.
If you fancy exploring beyond the confines of the city, then a short bus ride out of the centre, over the chain-pulled ferry to Studland is certainly worth it for the beauty of the white cliffs, grassy headland and a patch of mini-woodland submerged in a bog.
In terms of icons, Bournemouth can't quite compete with Benidorm's heavy hitters except in the form of Stuart Henderson, a man judged to be the country's most tanned who can be seen soaking up the rays outside his hut on the beach.
Visually the towns are very similar. Both have long, sandy, flat beaches that stretch around the bay. Look up into the centre from both and you'll see large tower blocks rising high up above the skyline.
The contrast of the modernist architecture with the glistening sea and parched landscapes below gives the slight impression you've landed in a Gulf state rather than the south coast of England/Spain.
