CHICAGO, Feb. 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 55 percent of college students are planning to travel for Spring Break this year, with Las Vegas, Cancun and Punta Cana topping the list of the hottest destinations, according to the latest booking and survey data from CheapTickets.com.1 Spring Breakers are also flocking to Florida as the state's beaches occupy five of the top 15 spots.
Students report price playing the biggest role in determining their Spring Break destination, followed by the locale's party scene and weather. Seventy percent of students plan to spend less than $1,000 and are stretching budgets by buddying up and road-tripping:
- Nearly 50 percent plan to drive rather than fly to their destination, likely sharing gas expenses.
- 95 percent will share hotel rooms with friends (with 12 percent staying over seven to a room). Though chances are they will not be doing that much sleeping in those rooms.
- Over 40 percent confess staying up at least 24 hours on a Spring Break trip, while 8 percent admit to going 48 hours without sleep.
CheapTickets.com Spring Break List and College Crowdometer
To help students find the most popular places to go and get the most bang for their buck, through a combination of booking and survey data, the CheapTickets.com Spring Break List identifies top college Spring Break destinations and calculates average hotel and flight prices,2 while the CheapTickets.com College Crowdometer maps the Spring Break schedules of 50 of the largest U.S. colleges.
"Since so many students are opting for Spring Break road trips and sharing rooms with friends, staying within a $1,000 budget at most of the top destinations is definitely doable this year," said Brian Wolf, general manager of CheapTickets.com. "On top of the already low prices on CheapTickets.com, savvy students can look for hotels offering discounts in the top spots, but should book sooner rather than later as prices will likely go up as spring travel demand increases."
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CheapTickets Top Fifteen College Spring Break Destinations |
2015 Average Daily Hotel Prices |
% Difference Year- Over-Year |
2015 Average Airfare |
% Difference Year-over- Year |
|
| 1 | Las Vegas, Nevada | $119 | -5% | $344 | -1% |
| 2 | Cancun, Mexico | $314 | 20% | $548 | -3% |
| 3 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic | $364 | 11% | $606 | -1% |
| 4 | Miami, Florida | $240 | 1% | $379 | -3% |
| 5 | Los Cabos, Mexico | $294 | 17% | $525 | -7% |
| 6 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | $206 | 3% | $471 | 7% |
| 7 | San Diego, California | $156 | 9% | $376 | 2% |
| 8 | Daytona Beach, Florida | $163 | 8% | $392 | 9% |
| 9 | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | $101 | 7% | $324 | 3% |
| 10 | Nassau, Bahamas | $332 | 44% | $510 | Flat |
| 11 | Fort Myers, Florida | $202 | 23% | $381 | 2% |
| 12 | Panama City Beach, Florida | $220 | 4% | $441 | 4% |
| 13 | Cocoa Beach, Florida | $132 | 6% | $349 | 1% |
| 14 | South Padre Island, Texas | $222 | -2% | $376 | 15% |
| 15 | Gulf Shores, Alabama | $189 | 52% | $402 | 3% |
- Las Vegas meets students' price and party requirements and is one of the cheapest destinations on the list with prices down 5 percent from last year.
- For those looking to get their groove on but still have room to spread out on the beach, the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Ala. offer parties and sunshine on the cheap – and with less crowds. Spots like the world-famous Flora-Bama Lounge and Package (situated on the Florida-Alabama border) are sure to be filled with college spring breakers.
- The week of March 15 has the highest concentration of schools on Spring Break, followed by the weeks of March 8 and March 22.
CheapTickets.com's Tips for Saving
Since Spring Breakers are out to find the best deals, CheapTickets.com offers the following tips for saving some extra money:
- Bundle flight and hotel: For those flying and staying at a hotel, use promotion code SPRINGBREAK for $150 off a qualifying vacation package.3
- Check out hotels offering special Spring Break discounts: Dozens of CheapTickets.com hotels in top Spring Break destinations are offering deep discounts of up to 55 percent. Click here for details.
- Book now, pay for it later: Of those students not hitting the sand and surf this spring break, the majority report cost as the reason they plan to stay home. However, nearly two-thirds say they would be more likely to travel if they could "put their vacay on layaway" and pay for it later. Possible now with PayPal Credit on CheapTickets.com. No credit card necessary.
1Surveys were fielded by CheapTickets.com to 500 college students via Google Consumer Surveys from Jan. 12 – 28, 2015.
2Top 10 college Spring Break destinations were nominated by CheapTickets.com staff and ranked using aggregate hotel data. Rankings are based on CheapTickets.com hotel bookings as of 1-30-15 for March arrivals. Average daily hotel rate and average flights prices were calculated by taking the average price of all hotel and air bookings purchased on CheapTickets.com as of 1-30-15 for travel in March.
3Valid on qualifying vacation packages that include a flight and hotel of four or more nights, booked by 3-1-2015 for $1,000 or more for travel by 6-30-15. Excludes Las Vegas. For full terms and conditions, click here.
About CheapTickets.com
CheapTickets.com is a leading seller of discounted leisure travel products. CheapTickets.com provides consumers access to its collection of airfares on hundreds of airlines. In addition to cheap flights, CheapTickets.com's family of discounted travel products includes cheap hotels, cheap cruises, cheap rental cars, cheap vacation packages, vacation rentals, last minute trips and event tickets. CheapTickets.com offers the CheapCash program where customers can earn rewards towards hotel stays when booking flights through the website or when booking either flights or hotels through the mobile apps. Follow CheapTickets.com on Facebook and Twitter for more cheap travel deals and giveaways. Founded in 1986, CheapTickets.com is a brand that is owned and operated by Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE:OWW).