Trip Planning

There are a lot of spring break trip providers out there, and each one says they're the best. You visit their sites, you read about destinations (okay, simple enough...), party packages, bracelets (huh?), being VIP, becoming a campus rep (errr...), insurance, deposits, etc. etc. and now you feel like smashing your face through your computer monitor just to numb the pain. Well before you do that, we're gonna explain some of the most common stumbling blocks of this industry and save you the expensive facial reconstruction and the whole looking like a mummy thing. Ya, we're cool like that. You can thank us by sending us wads of cold hard cash. We're particularly fond of hundies.

Choosing a Destination

Everyone wants to know where the hot spot for spring break 2007 is gonna be, and getting a straight answer is not easy. No one really knows till everyone books, so by then it's kinda too late eh? But it's a pretty safe bet that Cancun will continue to be a hot spot for several years into the foreseeable future, and it's also a pretty safe to say that MTV will continue to go to Cancun to shoot shows as well, so if this is your life's goal (or hopefully, just a spring break goal), Cancun is a safe bet. FYI, MTV almost never announces where it's gonna be ahead of time. And in my experience, they shoot really early for some gawd forsaken reason (better lighting?), so unless you like shaking off your hangover to grind on some giant beachball prop and praying you don't fall off and look like a jackass, I'd ditch it and just do your own thing.

Pricing

Most spring break travel providers will list their prices on their sites via a booking engine. Prices are usually based on occupancy, hotel choice, departure and arrival destinations, and length of stay (which in almost all cases is a week). Most have no obligation, but it's a bit tedious to go through and compare prices for different variables, so it helps to narrow it down to a few destinations, and to have your other info (how many people are going with you, etc.) pretty much set before you start this task. Most trips will run you between $500 to $2000, with the average about $900 or so. This is a very generic ballpark estimate, but I'd say 90% of trips will fall within this range.

To Party Package or Not, That is the Question

Also known as Party Passes or Bracelets, a Party Package is a series of daily/nightly events that your travel provider puts together, and sells access to, for usually $100-$200 each (*a Party Package is generally not included in the price of your trip, though some events may be included). In other words, your trip provider will probably have some day parties and events that are free to everyone (well, everyone who bought a trip from them), but then at night they may have special events at clubs, and you could pay the $10-$50 each night to get in, or you can just buy the party pass and get in free every night of the week (usually you bypass the standard line, although you have to be in line with the other people who have purchased the passes. The only way to bypass both lines is to be VIP (we'll get to that later).

Anyway, generally they are a good deal because you are likely going to party every night you are there, and if you don't have a party package, you're gonna wait in line longer and pay more to get in and to get drinks. The only time when it's not worth it is if you don't think your particular travel provider will have the parties you want to go to (this is really hard to research beforehand because it's just not something you can know until you're down there) or if you won't be there long enough to make it worth your while (almost all party passes are for a week only -- in fact, I've never heard of any for any other length of time). FYI: You don't have to buy the party package of the travel provider you're using. You're free to buy anyone and everyone's if you want, and you don't have to buy it beforehand; you can buy it onsite if you want, although I've had many experiences where people were looking all over for the people selling the party passes and that became like a full day event for them (it might also cost you more, and be very careful of who you get it from. There are people who will try to scam you for things like that).

How Do You Get to Be a VIP? (Campus Reps)

Well, you have to earn it by selling enough trips. This is what it means to be a "Campus Rep". Basically if you are gonna buy a trip, and you know friends who are also going, why not coordinate all of it and buy a group package, and earn yourself enough "commissions" to qualify for either being a VIP, a free trip (or trips), and/or cash on top of that. It all depends on how motivated you are, and I've personally never done it, but I don't imagine it's that hard to just get it organized if you know of a group who wants to go anyway, especially if you are in a fraternity or sorority. It doesn't hurt to sign up and try it (no one has any sort of penalty for not doing well so far as I know).

Packing

See our Travel Tips page.

For more, you can also check out the FAQs.