How to: Redeem your spring break without breaking the bank

Even though for many people their spring break was quickly cut short or even canceled many students at the end of this global quarantine will want redemption on their fun vacation they had planned. This cancelled event, often referred to as spring break, is an exciting change of atmosphere for not only college students, but also many high school students. Even though our school district only gives us a true week long spring break every other year, that doesn’t stop many students and families from throwing out the hats and gloves for sunblock and a swimsuit. While most people want to take this short vacation many times, it is very difficult to make a trip work considering one of the main things holding them back: Money. It’s no surprise that even taking a couple day trip can easily cost a person a couple hundred dollars just for the flight and a place to stay. But, if you can be creative, you might be able to avoid breaking the bank and make your trip a lot more affordable.
One big burden of travel is finding a place to stay. The traditional hotel can be very spendy, costing hundreds of dollars. Luckily, there are a couple of simple tips that will make finding a place to stay cheaper. If you have family or friends living somewhere that you would like to go, take advantage of it. Many times if you reach out to your family or friends, they will be more than happy to have you stay for a couple days. While you catch up with some loved ones, you will also be saving hundreds of dollars that you would otherwise be spending on just accommodations.
Now not everyone has the luxury of having friends or family to stay with. So one thing that you can look into is an Airbnb. These can either be very elegant and nice and cost mucho dinero, or they can be very reasonably priced. Looking at some of the Airbnbs in Arizona, I was pleasantly surprised to see there were some for as little as $50 a night compared to most three-star hotels which are about $100 a night.
Another tip I have is to not be too picky when looking at destinations. It’s no surprise that one of the biggest costs of traveling is the flight, especially during spring break season. Around this time, airlines become marketing “geniuses”. They know that many students will have time off from school and will be looking for a quick getaway. So what do they do? They jack up the prices. For example, a roundtrip ticket to AZ is typically only a $100-$200 ticket during the year but over spring break, they range from $300-$400 dollar per round trip ticket.
When looking for flights, there are a couple places that I personally recommend and use for looking for tickets. If you are not picky, apps/websites such as SkyScanner let you explore multiple destinations at the lowest prices that they can find. Currently, when I was on the explore page of the app SkyScanner, I found a trip from Minniapolis to San Juan, Puerto Rico for only $150. Another app/website that I recommend is Kayak, this app offers many similar features of being able to search for multiple flights to multiple destinations at one time.
If you do have a specific location that you know you want to fly to, make sure that you look at multiple different airlines and airports. Sometimes it’s cheaper to drive to another airport and fly out from there, than it is to fly out of your home airport.
One final quick tip is to look at flying multiple airlines one way. Let me explain: while my dad and I were looking at flights to Arizona, we found that it was cheaper to fly a one-way flight with American Airlines and then a returning flight through Allegiant. By booking these two different one-way flights we were able to save about $60 each on our flight to and from Arizona. Although it takes more time to book through different airlines, it is worth a shot to save money.
Overall, if you want to take a trip but are concerned about how much money you will be spending, think about these tips. Don’t be afraid to play around with some locations and websites to make sure that you are saving as much money as you can on your next adventure. Your next vacation doesn’t have to break the bank!