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JAYPLAY = 10.04.2007
Theresa Rohlfs thrives on spontaneity.
In fact, she all but refuses to decide any vacation plans until the night before she leaves. Last year, she and a friend were headed to Dallas for a "just because" Texas road trip. They decided to take a break in Oklahoma City for the night and continue the journey the next morning. With a tent in their trunk, they searched the yellow pages for a nearby park, and set up camp there. Despite a run-in with a more than slightly creepy camping neighbor, Rohlfs, Topeka senior, says last-minute flexible travel is the only way
she'd have it. She and her friends never bring maps, and never have a concrete plan. "If you don't have a destination, you can't get lost," Rohfs says.
As for this fall break, she says she won't decide until the Wednesday night before it begins. A car trip to Chicago might be in order, but she doesn't want to pencil anything in too early. "It's more fun that way, being spontaneous. It's just what I always do."
For those of us who don't have enough gumption to set out without a map and without a destination, last-minute fall break ideas don't have to be
so lax and unplanned. If your Fall Break is still an empty slate, but you're yearning to escape the prairie land, it's not too late. Here are some suggestions for structured yet spur-of-the-moment vacations.
So go on, use the next seven days to do your research and figure out where Fall Break 2007 can take you with a little careful planning. Or live it up à la Rohlfs. Just be careful in the campground. Bon voyage!
ELEVENTH-HOUR VACATIONS
by Ashley Thompson Yes, you CAN have a great trip last-minute. Here's how.
1. CELEBRATE WITH THE CANUCKS
Head north for a French-Canadian experience in Montreal through www.lastminute.com. Booking a mere three days in advance means savings of up to 70 percent off normal prices for a similar vacation package. This means fares that will be friendly to your penny-pinch budget. Although prices fluctuate, a three-day weekend getaway to Montreal can cost you as little as $450 for a round-trip flight from Kansas City and hotel
accommodations. You obviously need a nice chunk of extra change to foot that sort of bill at the last minute, but it's hard not to appreciate the bargain. As a comparison, a typical round-trip flight to Montreal can cost around $500 alone, and that's without the mid-class hotel thrown in there. Remember, though, that a passport is required to cross into Canada as of Jan. 23, 2007, according to the U.S. Department of State homepage.
2. CAJUN SENSATION
If you have yet to process your passport, www.
lastminute.com is chck full of weekend deals within the United States, as well. Packages to New Orleans are even more of a bargain, with prices for a three-night vacation including airfare and hotel ranging from $275 to$ 325. If purchased within a week's notice, a plane ticket alone to the Big Easy costs around $200 on Travelocity.com.
Key Web sites for last-minute travel
www.lastminute.com
www.megabus.com
www.hostels.com
www.hostelworld.com
www.llthourvacations.com
www.travelocity.lmdeals.com
3. BOOK IT TO CHI-TOWN
3. BOOK IT TO CHI-TOWN
Travel to Chicago via the Megabus, a bus service with routes between Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago with prices that are a student's dream. The 10-hour ride costs between $1 and$ 40 one-way, depending on how far in advance you book the ticket. With a one-week notice, bet on $25, but a$ 50 round-trip ticket to Chicago almost certainly beats paying for gas or a plane ticket.
Megabus entered the Kansas City market in March 2007, and distinguishes itself from other bus services because of its highly discounted prices, its express trips (meaning no more than one or two quick stops along the way), and its
guaranteed seating, says Dale Moser, president and CEO of Coach USA, Megabus's parent company. From Kansas City to Chicago, the bus stops once in St. Louis, and stops only once for a 10-minute break between St. Louis and Chicago.
To nab the best deal possible—the elusive $1 seat—Moser recommends booking as much as six weeks in advance. But, he says, last-minute Megabus prices can still cost less than driving, flying, or taking another bus service. "We're becoming an economical alternative to these other options," Moser says.
Joe Thurston, Prairie Village senior, is planning his second trip with Megabus for fall break, this time to St. Louis to visit family
and friends. He paid $10 round-trip for his ticket. This summer, he went to Chicago via the Megabus and paid$ 20 round-trip."It's comfortable travel. In the back few rows, there's more leg room," Thurston says. If you're fortunate enough to have a friend or relative to stay with like Thurston and Rohfs plan to do, that takes care of accommodation. If not, though, there are economical last-minute options to save you. Hostels in Chicago, such as the Chicago International Hostel, run at about $25 per night per bed. Using Web sites like www.hostelworld.com or www.hostels.com allows you to read reviews and ratings of the hostels before making a final decision.
Immerse yourself in Western Kansas nature en route to mountainous and metropolitan Denver. Although gas prices are swelling right now, a round-trip road trip to Denver would cost you approximately $100, assuming the 568-mile trek is driven in a car that can get 30 miles to the gallon, and if gas by the gallon hovers around$ 2.70.
4. DRIVE YOURSELF TO DENVER
While staying in Denver, check out the mountain activities nearby for cheap—if not free—entertainment and nature enjoyment. For lodging, www.hostelworld.com and www.hostels.com have a wide variety of listings in locations and qualities, and rooms tend to be nearly always available in cities as large as Denver. Thurston says he's visited Denver last minute and found a suitable hostel on the fly. Not only does it make sense economically, he says, it's also a great travel atmosphere.
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