Many may think that Spring Break is so far away and there is no need to even be thinking about it right now. However, this beloved holiday is closer than one might think and the time to plan is NOW! Here’s why:
- Tip #1 The Cruise Route:
Who doesn’t want to take a trip to a tropical destination during this time of the year?! Cruises are always a great option because you pay for food (most of the time all you can eat buffets, lit!), lodging, and constant entertainment for one low price. The thing about planning a cruise though is that you should book them in advance to get the best price from the cruise line and to plan ahead on a payment schedule/plan. The closer you get to the date the more expensive the trip will be, a good rule of thumb would be to discuss a cruise with your friends at least 6 months in advance for properly scheduling.
- Tip #2 Finding a Place to Stay:
One of the most complicated yet major keys when traveling is determining where the heck you’re going to stay once you get there. First you have to establish the destination, which is equally complicated, which brings up the condo vs. hotel debate (especially if you plan on beachin it). Perks of getting a condo: Being able to have a stove and cook your own food makes eating cheaper, more private and intimate, free parking, WAYYY more space to move around, and can fit more people for a lower price. Disadvantage: No house-keeping, usually, which is always nice to have in a hotel. Perks of hotel life: House-keeping, room service, and the feeling of being pampered and taken care of. Disadvantages: Not able to fit more than 4 people in a room comfortably, no privacy, no stove to cook with so having to plan a bigger budget on food, the possibility of not having free parking, and having only one bathroom for multiple people per room which makes getting ready with a group take longer which leads to having to get up earlier to get the most out of the day. At the end of the day, figuring out where you’re going to stay even if it’s just used to sleep and change and that’s it is crucial in planning the perfect vacation, so figure out which is the better option based on the length of your stay and the budget you’re working with.
- Tip #3 Determining the Most Accurate Amount of People Coming
Whether it be 3 or 20, figuring out how many people will accompany you on the trip is another important aspect of planning a great spring break. The key to this is the more people= the cheaper the trip will be. Yet, more people means finding a large enough lodging space to accommodate larger groups which can sometimes be difficult. Also, trying to figure out who’s booking what and who’s paying who, with this I would suggest to appoint the most organized and timely person for this job because they’ll be more helpful in getting the job done in an orderly fashion. Finally, trying to determine an itinerary, not everyone’s going to want to do the same things at the same times so organizing a day by day schedule proves difficult. With this, just try to keep in mind what the majority of people want to do on the group and plan around it, also creating a group message is very important especially for communicating with those who like to go off and do their own things. In some cases, less is more, but in this case, it would probably be wise to go more. However, when going with more people, make sure you can tolerate those going for long periods of time because you’ll be seeing a lot of them over the course of the week.
- Tip #4: Timeframe of the Trip
Another very important step after figuring out the destination of your spring break is deciding how long you want to stay. This part comes after setting your budget for the trip because how long you stay is dependent on how much money you’re willing to pay, which should be one of the first things discussed when planning. When deciding how long you want to stay think about these key factors. 1) How long is it going to take you to get to your destination? If you won’t arrive until later in the afternoon and you want to have 5 full days of vacation, then you should probably think about adding an extra day, the first day, as a travel day to get there, unpack, go grocery shopping, and rest after your travels. 2) Think about the possibility of having homework, tests, or quizzes when you get back. In college professors love to load you with tons of homework and possibly even schedule a test once you get back from vacations. So to prepare for this very likely possibility, you should plan to leave on a Friday in order to get back to campus in time to properly prepare yourself for the upcoming week and give yourself to get out of vacation mode. 3) Do you plan on going home at any point in time to see your family? If you don’t plan on going home at all during spring break, then this doesn’t concern you. However, if you do want to go back home I would suggest to go back the Friday you get off and then plan to leave home Monday, your travel day, so that you can at least visit for a few days.
- Tip #5: Plan to have FUN
At this point of the semester you’re going to need this break to reboot and recharge for the rest of the year. Either resolve or leave any drama you have behind and any other negative energy and stress behind to not create a negative vibe on your vacation that you’ve planned so hard for. Spring Break is all about having a BREAK, so give yourself one. Soak up the sun, get some fresh air, sleep and relax you deserve it and be ready to come back and kill the rest of this semester!