Top 12 Barcelona Hen Do Ideas

After my 15 years living in Barcelona, and over 10 years working with groups visiting Barcelona, I’ve decided to write a blog highlighting the most popular and well developed Hen do Ideas in Barcelona, and also put some of my city knowledge down in black and white. If you’ve ever spoken with me or any of my colleagues by phone, you’ll know that we’re very knowledgeable about the city and we think it’s important to share this knowledge with our clients. I’ll be doing this in the form of a few different blog posts over the space of 1 month or so.

People always ask us what’s a popular Barcelona hen do activity. And the answer really comes down to what type of group you are! what type of people are in your group. The same answer applies for restaurants. Do you like spicy food? Do you like seafood? Are you vegetarian? (You can check out my recommendation for my Top 10 restaurants in Barcelona HERE.

Some groups prefer out doorzy activities and events such as picnics and some sightseeing, which Barcelona has a lot of.  Some groups don’t like strip show type events! (Although many do). Some prefer to do a Butler in the Buff event, because it’s less intense or intimidating.  We all have our preferences.

And so based on the above, here’s my diverse pick of my personal favorite top 12 Barcelona Hen Do Ideas. We organize all the following ideas for many hen groups on a weekly basis. And so, my team and I have a lot of experience with them all.

I want to note that dotted through this blog you’ll notice the use of some oddly structured words such as classy hen do Barcelona and the odd use of Barcelona Hen Do Ideas. These are simply key words for Googles SEO algorithms.

No 1. Barcelona Beach front Picnic

So, we can start off with something classy and out doorzy. We’ve had the beach front picnic for a few years now, and it’s way more popular than I ever thought it would be. And rightly so. The girls who manage our Barcelona beach front picnic are fantastic and have a great eye for detail when setting it up. Plus, they source the freshest foods, literally the day before each event.

A selection of cheeses, cold meats, fresh fruits etc. are all bought locally. We don’t use cheap nasty packaged foods from Carrefour or Alcampo (these are our equivalents to Tesco and Asda), we source from local markets and delicatessens. And if you like your breads, which I wish I didn’t so much, but I do. You won’t be disappointed, because we get a great selection of fresh baked breads including gorgeous spreads to snack on, such as pate and tapenades.

The picnic layout is set right next to the Bogatell beach front, which is obviously stunning, with the Mediterranean Sea views and vibing beach front. The girls include large comfy pillows, flower arrangements and balloons with a little bit of color coding included. The original idea was always to make the set-up Instagram Worthey, and in my professional opinion I’d say they pull it off very well every time. The girls are a very welcomed part of the BCN team.

Our beach front picnic includes plenty of alcohol, such as cool whites and rose wines to stay cool during the summer days, some soft drinks and water of course. If you want to bring something a little bit stronger, you are more than welcome too. In my opinion, it would be silly not to.

The duration of our picnics is around 2 hours. There’s no rush at all, but in general we find that 1.5 hours to 2 hours is just about right for most groups.  After the picnic, if you’re thinking, where do we go from here? have no fear. Because just across the road you have Bogatell beach and Mar Bella beach. Both of which have fantastic Chiringuitos (beach bars). In fact, Mar Bella beach is known as a Barcelona’s gay beach, and so the Chiringuito is generally always a busy location and usually playing some loud and lively music.

And so, I would always suggest bringing an extra bag with some beach towels and beach wear as this is likely your next stop.

For prices and more info on our beach front picnic click HERE.

No 2. Helicopter tour Barcelona

We all seen Barcelona city when flying in on the plane (unless haven’t yet of course!). And it looks just stunning, as we’re flying in over the ocean in our Ryan Air or Easy Jet flights. So as for what it might look like from a helicopter with a bird’s eye view, you can only use your imagination.

I’ve done the helicopter city tour once, just a few years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I know the city like the back of my hand, and so for me it was a very different experience, looking at all the streets and plazas where I’ve lived over the years and made so many memories. It was very reminiscent for me. And so, I guess for this reason, I’d probably recommend doing the helicopter tour towards the end of your weekend after you’ve explored the city a bit.

The flight lasts for about 15 minutes, and so you’re up, and next thing you know you’re back on solid ground again. Although the flight time does depend on what route you decide! The Barcelona route takes you up over Gotic/El Borne areas, then over Eixample (click HERE for a nice image I love of Eixample) And then you’ll get a great view of Gracia, which is where the Gracias festivals take place. Then of course you’ll get the birds’ eye view of Sagrada Familia. What an amazing sight that was.

There’s another helicopter tour route which will take you right up to the Montserrat mountains, which is only a short drive from Barcelona. I never did the Montserrat helicopter tour, but even just to drive up to Montserrat is kind of breath taking. It feels like you’re in a movie set or something in that sense. I won’t say it’s like being in another world, but there’s definitely something very godly about this place. (I’ve added another photo link HERE of Montserrat)

For prices and more info on our helicopter tour Barcelona click HERE.

No 3. Nude Life Drawing Class

So, this is some adult fun with a bit of taste to it. I’d say this is 100% on my classy hen do Barcelona side of things.

First of all, I always recommend doing this in the afternoon. Just because of the location and plus it’s not really a boozy event at all. We offer a complimentary class of Cava on arrival. As well as that, you will have a few snacks and drinks throughout this 90-minute class.

The reason I recommend the afternoon is because life drawing is a perfect event to do before a restaurant booking. Maybe for a bit of Brunch or even lunch if you’re feeling up to it! Our studio is in the very beautiful area of El Borne, where there’s many gorgeous little streets to wander, with boutique shops etc. and more importantly many little terraces to sit and have drinks and tapas.

Our male life drawing model is very professional and has been doing this for some time now. He’s also actually one of our butlers for our Butler in the Buff event. Although he was first a male model and life drawing model before working with us as a butler. I should mention that we don’t only have the 1 model, we do have a couple and it’s also possible to request a Female model for life drawing.

As mentioned, our nude life drawing class lasts for approx. 90 minutes. And it’s set in an old art studio in El Borne area. The studio has a lot of character which is just perfect for the art décor setting.  Our instructor, or art teacher is called Benet. Benet’s an amazing artist and has a lot of years’ experience, not only as an artist, but also teaching people how to get in touch with their inner artist. Benet will show you and your friends how to study the form of the naked body and how to skillfully put what you see in front of you on to your canvas. From what I remember while writing this, I’m certain you’ll have 2 or 3 canvases, and your model will be asked to pose in 2 or 3 different positions. And so, you’ll have a couple of attempts to practice before completing your final art piece.

Most groups that I have seen at our life drawing events do a terrible job of drawing the body. Let’s be honest, it’s not so easy. But in my experience, this is exactly why people have so much fun at an event like this. I find that most groups enjoy the provocative theme to the event as well as the skill included and the gorgeous art studio setting. Then on top of that people just enjoy laughing at their friend’s disaster of a drawing afterwards.

This event is different, it’s a conversation piece. Probably not one you’ll do twice in your life, and so for that reason I guess it’s a once in a lifetime experience.

For prices and more info on our nude life drawing click HERE.

No 4. Private yacht charter

All our yachts, catamarans and water sports booked through our company are situated in Port Olympic. Firstly, because it’s very accessible, and secondly, it’s a great location for food and drinks either before or after your charter. Right next to Port Olympic you have Club Pacha, Shoko, Opium and CDLC. All these locations are amazing daytime beach bars, and, in the evening, they become some of the biggest night clubs in the city. You also have beaches on both sides of the port. My preference would be Bogatell / Mar Bella beach. And I would say most people who live in the city would agree with me on this. Maybe sometime soon I can write a post about it. If I do, you can follow to that post HERE.

Personally, I haven’t been out on a Private Yacht in a few years now. But the last time we went out was amazing. From What I remember, I think it was an 11-person capacity, Sun Odyssey, which we have a few in Port Olympic. These yachts are gorgeous and impressively spacious.

Our yachts are very well maintained, and all have speakers on board so you can play your own music. The speakers are good size and with great sound. They’re definitely suffice to have a great yacht party. We also provide a reasonable amount of alcohol for groups (which is included in the price). Beers, wine, sodas, waters etc. Everyone in the group will usually get at least 2 or 3 drinks each. Although, it wouldn’t be sailing without a bottle of Sailor Jerry Rum & Coke. Or maybe you girls would prefer a Gin & Tonic! So yes, you can bring your own food and drinks as well.

Groups should also bring some swimwear, as our boat captains will always stop off at a location where they can anchor for at least 1 hour, letting everyone cool down in the Mediterranean Sea.

For prices and more info on our private yacht charter Barcelona click HERE. 

No 5. Private Catamaran Charter

As much as our yachts are beautiful and give us a taste of living the high life. Our catamarans are next level. Compared to the yacht’s 11-person capacity, one of our catamarans has a capacity of 26 people. And another has a capacity of 31 people. These things are huge. I was speaking with one of our partners just last week and found out that we have a delivery of a new catamaran for 2024 with a capacity of 36 people. So, I’m looking forward to getting an afternoon on that.

Like the yachts, we have good quality speakers throughout the boat with a Spotify account linked up, so you can play any music or any play list you want. Our catamarans even have Wi-Fi on board for everyone to use. So, guests can feel free to post photos or even go live while sailing down the coast.

With every charter we include a selection of snacks such as chorizo, fresh olives, crisps, nuts etc. And, some alcohol. At least 5 or 6 bottles of different wines and some beers, soft drinks and water. There’s always enough to go around. But as always, I would suggest you bring some extra drinks and possibly even food to enjoy while out at sea.

The nets on the front of the catamaran comfortably seat around 15 people, and inside also seats around 15 people, possibly a few more. So, space for sunbathing is definitely not an issue. And while some of you are basking in the sun, for those of you who are feeling a bit livelier. You can take advantage of our SUP paddle boards and Snorkel equipment.

I would like to note that we don’t own the catamarans. These things are ridiculously expensive luxury items, and it takes an expert to sail them and keep them maintained. In fact, now that I mention it, we don’t own the yachts either! Although we do have a great long-term relationship with the owners, and because of that, we also have the best prices possible. Which means we can offer the most competitive prices in Barcelona without having to add on any extra percentages or hidden fees. I think it’s important to be transparent about this.

For prices and more info on our private catamaran charters click HERE.

No 6. Roof Top Bar Crawl Barcelona

Back to the Classy hen do Barcelona. For me personally, I think a bar crawl is the best way to experience the night life of a city on the first night. I had an experience when visiting Prague with a colleague for a meeting, and before meeting the guys who we now do some business with, I had no idea where me and my colleague were, or what direction we should go.

Thankfully we were there to meet guys who are in the same business as us. These guys were able to show us some different spots. Although we didn’t just go to a few spots! We went to popular cocktail bars, shot bars, fancy terraces, and we were even shown around a few completely different areas in the city. On top of that we ended up in a few very cool nightclubs for free. There’s no way we could have done that without putting in a decent bit of research before going to Prague.

With that experience we decided to develop the first Roof Top Bar Crawl in Barcelona. Rather than taking groups to a few different street bars around Gotic and El Borne (which is still great fun of course). We thought it would be a nice idea to incorporate 2 or 3 popular roof tops. And so, we planned our roof top bar crawl to take groups on a route from the very beautiful Plaza Reial in Gotic Quarter, down to Port Vell, and then usually up into the area of El Borne. Along the way stopping into a few of our favorite roof tops which have views of Port Vell, and all the boats docked there, Montjuic, and from some from some you can even get a glimpse of the tops of Sagrada Familia towering over the city. Between roof tops we would then stop off at some nice cocktail bars, gin bars, shot bars etc.

Our guides have lived in Barcelona for many years, so they’re very knowledgeable and know the streets (and the people in them) like the back of their hand. Our guides will always have a quick convo at the beginning of the night to find out if anyone has any preferences and figure out what will work best for the group.

For prices and more info on our roof top bar crawls click HERE.

No 7. Butler in the Buff

Many years ago, another stag and hen company in Barcelona who we’re now competitors with (and I consider them to be close friends), approached me and asked me to be a butler in the buff for one of their events. At this time, I had no idea what a Butler in the buff event was. My friend explained the ins and outs of the event and what would be required from me. I kindly turned down the offer. But with that I left thinking that they must just hire anyone to do these events! Same goes for a few other events / activities they do. Personally, I think it’s important that people running events, whether a butler in the buff, mixologists for a cocktail class or someone sourcing foods for our beach front picnics should all be skilled in that events they work in etc.

When we started our company BCN and added the butler in the buff event to our portfolio I set out to learn a list of cocktails and perfect it. I decided that we would provide all the drinks and bring cocktail making equipment to all our events. On top of that it was important that not only were our butler’s regular gym goers, but they also have a background in mixology or experience mixing cocktails in a bar. It was at this time I was introduced to our now superstar butler in the buff LEO. Leo’s a very handsome guy, a regular gym goer with an outstanding physique and has many years of experiences in a fantastic brunch and bistro bar which we still go to quite regularly called The Benidict which you’ll find in the Gotic area.

These are all the traits necessary for someone to pull off an event like this and the traits to pull it off like a pro. Since then, all the butlers who are now part of our team have these similar skills and traits.

Taking all the above into consideration, it’s easy for me to say that our Butler in the buff event is probably the best in Barcelona. It’s definitely at the top end of my Top 12 Barcelona Hen Do Ideas.

For prices and more info on our Butler in the Buff event click HERE.