Dude, Where's the Bar?

Pack your clubs, sunscreen, and plenty of singles—these days, groomsmen are stretching the bachelor party into a weekendlong blowout.

• By Larry Olmsted
• Published 2004

For Gamblers
DREAM TRIP: LAS VEGAS
Sure, Sin City has the country’s largest number of casinos—by a healthy margin. But more to the point, Vegas offers free booze, skimpy cocktail dresses, and carbon copies of New York’s hottest restaurants. Stay at Mandalay Bay (877-632-7800; from $109), whose massive casino offers direct access to the hotel’s 25 bars and restaurants. With an artificial shoreline and waves big enough to surf, Mandalay’s pool has long been the Strip’s steamiest daytime scene—and that was before the recent addition of a topless pool. For your red-meat fix, duck into Charlie Palmer Steak before heading to the new Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club—nearly two acres of implants under one roof.

CLOSER TO HOME: UNCASVILLE, CONN.
Mohegan Sun (888-226-7711; from $250) is the Northeast’s liveliest casino, with more than a dozen types of gaming tables and entertainment ranging from the Barenaked Ladies to the Harlem Globetrotters. Hit Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, the Dubliner pub, and the new Ultra 88 club.

For Golfers
DREAM TRIP: MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.
Myrtle is cheesy in the perfect bachelor-party way: Beachfront motel and golf packages are dirt cheap, meals come in the form of beer and wings at places like Dick’s Last Resort, adult entertainment is at every turn, and the 100-plus laid-back golf courses dispense on-course beers from beverage carts. (Don’t miss the International World Tour, with 27 replica holes from world-famous courses.) Stay at Barefoot Resort & Golf, where you’ll find four of Myrtle’s top courses (800-293-3981; three-bedroom villas from $115 a night). To start your trip on the right foot, check out cheap flights from Newark on Hooters Air.

CLOSER TO HOME: OCEAN CITY, M.D.
Ocean City is the quintessential beach- party town, with a boardwalk and a main drag, plus tons of bars, liquor stores, and rental homes. More than a dozen relaxed and affordable golf courses are on offer, but spring for the Links at Lighthouse Sound, one of the East Coast’s best. Play your nineteenth hole at the Party Block, three raucous clubs in one, then crash at the Commander Hotel (888-289-6166; from $85), which sits right on the beach.

For Sun Worshippers
DREAM TRIP: CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO
There aren’t many things better suited to male bonding than a day of marlin fishing on a private boat stocked with cerveza. ATV rides through the desert, party cruises, and great beach bars like the Office will round out your weekend. Bachelors should stay near the harbor at the Hotel Finisterra (800-347-2252; from $125), walking distance from fish-taco stands and über-party bars like Giggling Marlin and Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo.

CLOSER TO HOME: THE JERSEY SHORE
Emulate Cabo on the Jersey Shore. Okay, not really. Still, charter-fishing boats are plentiful from Point Pleasant and Belmar (try belmarrentals.com), where Sandcastle Cottages rents fully furnished bungalows (732-681-0732; from $800 per week). Kelly’s Tavern is the traditional launching pad for a long night out with stops at meat-market meccas like Bar Anticipation and Martell’s Tiki Bar.