The UK’s best cities for group getaways

Whether you are a large friend group on the hunt for something fun or simply want to spend quality time with your closest confidants, a group getaway is the perfect choice.

To plan the best getaway for every kind of friendship group, we searched the UK for the country’s best group activities, spas, shopping centres, bottomless brunches, and nights out. These were then sorted and ranked based on a range of factors such as quality, drink prices, and reviews.

Whatever your friend group’s vibe, we’ve tracked down the best cities for a chilled-out spa weekend, extravagant shopping sprees, or a lively night out on the town.

The best group getaway destinations

Taking the top spot as the ultimate group getaway destination is Nottingham, with a total score of 86/100. If you’re stuck on a place to go away with friends, Nottingham is the perfect all-rounder, offering plenty of shops, brunches, and group activities guaranteed to keep the whole group happy.

Earning second place is London, with a score of 80/100. The capital received the highest scores in the rank for both group activities and shopping.  Following just two points behind in third place is Plymouth, with a total score of 78/100 in addition to boasting one of the best scores for a night out in the UK.

Bristol earns fourth place, earning a total score of 77/100, whilst Brighton and Newcastle shine through as social hotspots in joint fifth place, with scores of 76/100 thanks to consistently high scores across all metrics.

Looking at the stand-out cities for each category, Plymouth and Edinburgh take the top spot for the best nightlife, with a score of 91/100. Both cities boast over 40 highly-rated bars and 20 highly-rated nightclubs between them, making them the ultimate choice for a night on the town.

Ranking highest for group activities with a score of 91/100, London is the place for friends to come together for head-to-head experiences such as axe throwing, crazy golf, and escape rooms.

As for bottomless brunches, Sheffield takes the crown with a perfect score of 100/100. The city boasts over 50 venues offering bottomless brunches, so visitors are truly spoiled for choice.

For those seeking a more relaxing break, Nottingham is the place for you with a score of 89/100. The city plays host to several highly-rated spas and facilities spread across its centre, so you’re sure to leave feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

When it comes to shopping, London reigns supreme with a score of 80/100. This makes it the perfect destination for some group retail therapy with iconic luxury stores and unique markets to suit every taste.

The best destinations for group activities

If you’re looking for a more action-packed getaway, London scores the highest for overall group activities. But there are plenty of options for those looking for activities outside the capital.

Head over to Plymouth if you want to try your hand at axe throwing, an exhilarating group activity packed with adrenaline and technique. Scoring 74/100, the city has four unique venues with an overall rating of 4.9 out of five stars. You can also find several popular axe throwing venues in Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester.

If you’re a crazy golf pro, then Manchester is the city for you, with a score of 60/100. The city is home to several crazy golf venues, giving you plenty of flexibility and choice when booking your group trip. Newcastle and Belfast closely follow as the runners-up, falling just one point short.

If you're a music enthusiast, make your way to Bristol for an exceptional karaoke experience. With a perfect score of 100/100, Bristol is the undisputed karaoke capital of the UK. There are over 50 venues across the city that will allow you belt out a classic song with friends. Brighton and Liverpool also have an impressive array of venues where you can sing your heart out.

City centre hotels

With prime city centre locations and high-quality facilities, our hotels help to put you right in the heart of major UK cities. These include:

• Brighton
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• London
• Manchester

Data Methodology

To find the UK’s best group getaways, we created a shortlist of cities across the UK and then defined metrics to score each city. The result is a weighted rank spread equally across the scores for each metric.

Nightlife, Shopping, Spas, Bottomless Brunch and Group Activities (specifically Axe Throwing, Crazy Golf and Karaoke) were used as metrics. To generate a score for each one, we used Google Maps to find all venue results for each category and extracted the number of venues and average ratings.

For Nightlife, we also considered the average price of a pint in each city, which was taken from Numbeo along with the number of bars and nightclubs with a rating above four stars.

For Shopping, the number of shopping centres was also weighted against the reviews and ratings. The weighted ranks for each metric were then aggregated to create a final weighted rank for the ultimate group getaway.