One of the most exciting parts about college is getting to experience Spring Break with your friends. No school, no homework, and nothing but bonding with your BFFs in a non-academic environment. Although it might seem like Spring Break is nothing but fun and games, there is often a lot of organization that goes into it. When you’re so used to doing things with your friends that don’t require a lot of planning, it can be difficult sitting down with them to go over logistics such as budgeting. Here some things that I have learned over the years that could help you in your Spring Break planning.
- Plan early: The best way to approach Spring Break planning is to do it early! Although most schools have their break in March and it’s already mid-February, you still have time to “plan ahead” for a smaller or more local trip. Make sure you go through all the airline comparison websites, hotel comparison websites, and other websites that could contain valuable information pertaining to pricing and amenities. Take the initiative and set up a specific time for you and your friends to sit down and book your flights and hotel together to make sure that everyone knows exactly what the plan is before Spring Break creeps up on you and you’re left with no plans.
- Establish a budget: To ensure that everyone is on the same page, establish an overall budget ahead of time. Friend groups usually consist of people from all kinds of financial backgrounds, so if you want to be sure that everyone can participate, then allow everyone to chime in on how much they think they can spend on the trip as a whole. It’s also important to remember that if the total of your housing and flight costs is $750, that you won’t be spending more than that. You will most likely be spending a lot more than you expected on food, drinks, etc. so be sure to take that into account when budgeting!
- Take a vote: If everyone is completely torn on where to go, take a vote. I know that might sound simple, but sometimes the main point of disagreement for planning is the actual destination.
- Accommodate interests: Every one of your friends is unique, meaning that everyone has different interests. Some of your friends might be more interested in the beach and cabanas, while others might be more interested in excursions such as scuba diving or sightseeing. If there are 5 of you, and you’re going for 5 days, then it might be a good idea to let 1 person choose an activity for each day. The activity doesn’t have to take the the entire day, but will let everyone feel like they’re getting something out of the trip and will expose the rest of you to new experiences.
Don’t forget that your Spring Break destination doesn’t have to be tropical! My Spring breaks have been in Montreal, Florida, and New York meaning that two of those trips were in cold weather. Although we weren’t laying out in the sun on those trips, we still had a lot of fun exploring those cities. Wherever you go, be safe!