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How to Have an Unforgettable Spring Break on a Budget

You don’t have to book a flight to Cancun or get into the MTV party in Acapulco to have a memorable Spring Break. In fact, if you’re less than enthused about sun, sand and skin, you have a lot more options than those who only want to booze it up on the beach. Read on for inspiration and ideas for fun ways to spend your Spring Break that won’t break the bank.

Road Trip

Road trips are cheap, and they’ll make college memories you’ll talk about for decades. That’s a winning combination in my book. If you and three of your friends can come up with enough money for gas and cheap hotels, a road trip is a great spring break idea. However, you’ll be stuck in the car with these friends for hours on end, so you had better like them.  I’ve heard of road trips ending relationships, so Driver Beware.

You don’t have to go far to have a great time, though a cross-country road trip is classic. Think of things you would like to do in your area that you haven’t been able to do yet. Or think of a theme, like driving through tourist traps, or finding the best BBQ route in the Southern States. My dream is to do a road trip of the American South: I want plantations, hush puppies, civil war history and Creole cooking, maybe with a stopover in Nashville for the music scene. Spring Break doesn’t always require a beach.

Camping

Sites in the larger parks like Yosemite fill up during the summer, but in Spring the weather is just starting to turn pleasant, the crowds have not yet come pouring in, and prices are lower. However, even for Spring you should book your camp site a few months in advance. If you really need some beach time, there are a lot of camp sites on or near the beach. But if you just want to get out, go hiking and make some s’mores in a beautiful natural setting, there are unlimited options across the country. Just remember to bring your bug spray. You might also consider renting a cabin if you have a group of friends interested in roughing it in style.

Canada

The spotlight is on Vancouver for the Winter Olympics and the entire Canadian tourism industry is benefiting from the attention. Canada has a lot to offer to Spring Breakers, and not just because the legal drinking age in most provinces is 19 (Quebec and Alberta’s legal drinking age is 18). Quebec is the perfect place to practice your French (this is what you tell your parents), while hitting the club scene downtown. The weather may be cold, but the Canadians – at least in my humble opinion – are très chaud. What I like best about Quebec is the romantic old-world feel; the oldest part of the city dates back to the 1600s and the sites (and the clubs, pubs and bars) are all within walking distance of each other.

To enter Canada, you will need a passport if flying or a passport card if driving, swimming, boating, or walking across the border. Passport cards are less expensive than passports, but can only be used when traveling by land or sea to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

Contiki

My first solo trip was with a Contiki tour, and even though it was during the summer – it felt like Spring Break. Contiki tours cater to 18-35 year olds, and the guides are in that age range as well which means that partying, pubbing and clubbing tend to make it on the unofficial itinerary. If you haven’t been out of the country without your parents, an organized tour will help you gain confidence as a traveler, and you will probably make some new friends from other parts of the world. My tour had people from Italy, Australia, Canada, Japan, and New York. The worst part about a Contiki tour is that they tend to be whirlwind tours. You get to see a lot of the country, just not in depth. The best part about a Contiki tour is that it is affordably priced for young people: A 5 day tour in Australia starts at $515 for the land portion (you pay airfare on top of that).