Spring Break 2017: Where Are Agents Sending Their Clients?

It’s holiday time and in some areas of the country, Old Man Winter is hitting hard, so of course that means it’s the perfect time to plan your spring getaway. Where you go for your break depends on a variety of factors. Are you a college student or a parent looking to get in some quality time with your children on spring break? Do you have a big or a tight budget? How much time do you have? Are you adventurous or more laid back? All of these answers will narrow down where you should spend your break.

Before you choose a destination, we asked several travel agents to tell us what the hottest destinations for spring break are for the upcoming year.

“Aruba is a fantastic island to take a family vacation for spring break,” said Leah Dugan, an Independent Travel Professional with Elite Escapes Travel.

Aruba is a tiny Dutch Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela. “Many of the hotels are very close to the beach and the local restaurants have a fun atmosphere,” said Dugan. “Aruba has a dining plan that can help off-set the cost of meals without making the clients feel like they don't have a choice of restaurants.”

Olga Leonetti, a travel professional with Centre Holidays and Travel The Skies agencies, recommends either Mexico, Jamaica or the Bahamas. “Each destination offers something for each budget range and for everyone from solo travelers, groups, families, and couples,” she said.

Kerry Mooneyham agrees that Mexico as a great spring break destination. “There just isn’t any place where the dollar goes further, and college students especially appreciate knowing how much they will be spending upfront,” said Mooneyham, of Midwest Travel Solutions. “This makes all-inclusive vacations a perfect fit for spring breakers.”

Another hot destination outside of the United States is Punta Cana, part of the Dominican Republic. It is slowly becoming a hot spring break destination. Here you can race speedboats, hop on a party boat or go deep sea fishing or swimming with sharks, dolphins and stingrays.

“I just hope that the integrity of Punta Cana isn’t compromised for sake of accommodating wild 20-somethings for the week,” said Debbie Santiago, owner/operator of You Deserve Travel.

For the adventurous type of vacationer, Marinel de Jesus recommends that spring breakers visit the Inca Trail in Peru, especially if they love hiking. “It’s a moderate trek that takes you to a historic place, Machu Picchu, and affords you amazing landscapes and local cultures,” said de Jesus of Peak Explorations. “It’s a relatively cheap and short flight from anywhere in the U.S. and requires no fluency in Spanish to get by.”

The Inca Trail is actually a 20-mile excursion through three trails – Mollepata, Classic, and One Day. Keep in mind that it can take a few days to hike the entire thing, but then you can take the rest of your beak to explore other historical Inca monuments once you are done.

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