What do you get up to at a hen or stag party in the mountains?

A hen or stag party in the mountains follows a simple formula: gather the gang in a house of your own, fill the day with an activity no one will ever forget – a snowmobile safari, skiing, a mountain hike – and round it off with a sauna, dinner and a party that goes on until the early hours. Here are the ideas that will make your mountain weekend the party everyone else’s is measured against.

Short answer: that’s why more and more people are choosing the mountains

City-centre hangouts follow a familiar pattern – activities, restaurants, clubs – and are in competition with everyone else’s. The mountains offer something different: a whole weekend together, in a setting that is an experience in itself, with activities that most of the group have never tried before. Having your own house is the secret. Instead of chasing after tables and taxis, you have a base where the party goes on all weekend: breakfast together, challenges and games between activities, and an evening that shifts from the sauna to the long table to the dance floor without anyone having to go anywhere. It also keeps the budget manageable – the cost of the house is shared amongst the whole group, meals are cooked or ordered together, and the money is spent on experiences rather than transport costs. Sälen is also easy to get to from anywhere in central Sweden, which is key when the group is coming together from different towns. Our plans for hen party in Sälen shows what the weekend might look like in practice.

Winter ideas: snowmobile safaris, skiing and après-ski

Winter is the classic season for mountain holidays, and there’s a packed programme of activities. Snowmobile safaris are the obvious highlight – riding snowmobiles in convoy across the bare mountain, ideally at dusk with head torches and a starry sky, is an adrenaline-fuelled experience you’ll remember for a long time; see our snowmobile safari-plan. A day’s skiing is a given if the group’s going: gather everyone on the slopes, crown the star of the show with a suitably humiliating helmet decoration, and round it off with an après-ski party where the party crowd can be seen and heard. For groups with mixed levels of skiing experience, the alternatives work just as well: dog sledding, snowshoe walking or a sledge race with your own rules. The perfect way to round off a winter’s evening: hot chocolate with all the trimmings by the fire whilst your fingers thaw. Remember to book activities in advance during peak season – snowmobile safaris and dog sledding fill up quickly during the school holidays – and to schedule the main activity for Saturday morning, whilst everyone is still full of energy.

Summer ideas: hiking, swimming and high-altitude adventures

A summer mountain break is an underrated trend – often cheaper, always sunnier and full of things to do. A group mountain walk with a packed lunch and stunning views is easy to organise and offers exactly the right mix of exercise, conversation and photo stops that a hipster craves; choose a route to suit the group’s fitness level and let the guest of honour wear the obligatory veil or costume all the way to the top. The adventurous option: downhill cycling in the bike park, a high-altitude adventure course or canoeing – activities where the laughter comes naturally. The trump card of the summer is the evenings: a dip in a hot tub or the lake, a barbecue on the terrace and midsummer light that means the party never has to move indoors. August also offers ridiculously beautiful late summer weather and warmer water. You’ll find more ideas for the dry season in our range of experiences – and anyone wanting to combine a night out with a race can plan their weekend around one of the valley’s summer events.

The relaxation track: spa, sauna and wellness in-house

Not everyone is into high-octane fun. For groups who prefer to celebrate in peace and quiet, with warmth and long conversations, the mountains’ wellness trails are unbeatable: a weekend centred around the sauna, an open-air hot tub, face masks, yoga on the terrace and food cooked by someone else. The mountain setting makes the spa experience truly special – sitting in a warm hot tub whilst the snow falls, or with a late-summer mountain view, beats any city spa by a mile. The plan is simple: book a house with a proper relaxation area, perhaps arrange for a therapist to come to the house (massages and facials can be organised on site), and plan the menu as part of the experience – ideally with a glass of bubbly in the hot tub as a must-have ingredient. Our wellness cottage for the group-These itineraries are designed for exactly this sort of weekend, where the plan is to have no plan at all. Feel free to mix and match: adventure on Saturday, wellness on Sunday.

The evening: a private chef, a themed party in your own home

Tonight is the party’s grand finale, and as you’re in your own home, you call the shots. The luxury option: a private chef who prepares dinner in the house’s kitchen whilst the group mingles – the guest of honour is celebrated with a menu fit for the occasion, and nobody has to worry about washing up or closing times. The budget option: a group cook-along as an activity, with pre-determined teams and dishes. Then: themes and games. The mountain cabin can handle more than a restaurant – a quiz about the guest of honour, challenges, fancy dress, karaoke and dancing to the playlist the group has put together in advance. The long table, the fire and the sauna give the evening its natural stages: dinner, party, and the night’s final dip in the hot tub under the stars. Practical advice: appoint someone to be in charge of buying drinks well in advance (the nearest Systembolaget is in the village of Sälen), plan the music and sound in advance – and remember that you need to be considerate of your neighbours even in the mountains, albeit with considerably more leeway than in a rented flat.

Praktiskt: budget och bokning för möhippan i fjällen

Here’s how to make the most of your weekend. Budget: the main expenses are accommodation, food and drink, and activities. Accommodation costs are shared amongst the whole group – in a large house, the cost per person is often surprisingly reasonable, especially outside the peak weeks of the high season – and food costs are kept down by buying in bulk. Spend your activities budget on one really great main activity rather than three mediocre ones. Be transparent from the start and collect a fixed amount per person in advance; this saves the organiser a lot of hassle. Booking: start with the dates (avoid major public holidays if the budget is tight), book the house first – ideally several months in advance, and even earlier for popular weekends in winter – and book the activities straight afterwards. Let us know it’s a hen or stag party when you book: we’ll help with the planning, tips and contacts for a chef, activities and that little extra something that makes the weekend personal. The exact same approach applies to the men’s equivalent – see our packages for stag do in Sälen.

Summary – how to enjoy a successful day out in the mountains

The recipe for a successful hen or stag party in the mountains:

• Book a house of your own as your base – the party goes on all weekend, with no need for taxis and no closing times.
• Choose a main activity to suit your group’s style: a snowmobile safari, a day’s skiing, a hike or downhill skiing.
• Or take it easy: sauna, hot tub and wellness – a mountain spa beats a city one any day.
• Make the evening a grand finale: a private chef or a cook-along, a theme, games and dancing.
• Work out the costs per person from the outset and book accommodation and activities well in advance.
• Just let us know it’s a hip party – we’ll help you organise it.

And once you’ve finished reading this section, the next chapter awaits – our guide to plan a mountain wedding shows how the mountains deliver even on the big day.