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By Lauren Bristow, Jayplay writer
How to avoid getting screwed when planning your spring break travel plans
For those looking for some fun in the sun this spring break, you don't want to end up like a past KU spring breaker with your face smushed against the dirty, dingy, stained Mazatlan, Mexico airport carpet.
Maggie Hodsen, Prairie Village senior, had just finished a week of partying her freshman year when she and 30 travel companions found themselves stranded at the Mazatlan, Mexico airport. The chartered flight that was scheduled to bring in another group of spring break revelers and fly Hodsen and her friends home couldn't land because of dense fog. After a day of delays, representatives from Hodsen's travel agency, Student Travel Services, were nowhere to be found when it came time to bed down for the night. They ended up sleeping on the airport's floor.
After more delays the next day, representatives from the travel agency appeared and shuttled the group back to a hotel. Hodsen and her buddies got one last night to party, as the flight never landed that day either.
"I kept thinking to myself What a great way to end a perfect week,'" Maggie Hodsen says.
Although she had some trouble getting home, Hodsen is impressed with the way the travel agency handled the situation. She's using it again for her this trip this year to Jamaica.
Airport delays and weary travelers are a given at spring break time because of the number of people on their way to drunken fun in the sun, say travel professionals. But there are a few things that you can do to keep from getting stranded.
There are many reputable travel companies out there but there are a few who aren't, so do a background check on your potential tour company before you buy your tickets. A good travel company will be a member of the Better Business Bureau, says Nils Dennis, owner of Spring Break Direct.com based in Ellicott City, Md. Spring Break Direct deals only with spring break tours and advertises on the Internet through search engines like Yahoo and Google. The bureau offers an online membership to Internet companies, which requires them to agree to an online code of ethics that requires complete truth in advertising, Dennis says. Members of the online bureau can't use terms like "best trips" or "biggest company" to lure potential travelers. Some companies claim to be a member of the bureau but aren't or are in bad standing, so check up on the claims that your potential tour company makes.
Shop around to find the best tour package that fits your needs and shop early. To get the best deals to hot destinations like Acapulco, Cancun, Mazatlan and Jamaica you should have bought your ticket last September, says Mark Devorak, Midwest regional vice president for Student City, a spring break tour company based in Peabody, Mass. If you aren't one of these early planners, you can still probably find a decent package, but be willing to shell out some extra cash. An average spring break package will cost between $750 and $950 depending on your
destination. And if that deal looks a little too good to be true — be leery, Devorak says. "There is no way that one company can sell the same basic trip for $200 cheaper than another company," he says.
If you're not looking for trip focused on drinking, try calling local travel agents to see what other type of deals are out there — Kristy Johnson did. Johnson, Lawrence senior shopped around and found a travel agent who she was comfortable giving her money to. She wasn't looking for the typical spring break packages that companies such as Student Travel Services and Student City were offering. "Since I'm an older college student, I'm not quite the 'party until 4 a.m. 18-year-old, sleep-two-hours-and-them-go-at-it-again,' [type] " she says. Johnson chose a hotel all-inclusive package, which includes meals and drinks at the hotel's six restaurants and seven bars. Johnson's travel agent has assured her that there will be plenty of college-aged spring breakers at her resort, not just families with small children.
For most students, the hotel all-inclusive is a waste of money, Student City's Devorak says. People don't take advantage of the package because the free food and drinks are only offered at their specific hotel. Instead he suggests going with a spring break allinclusive which offers meals and drinks at several restaurants and bars at your final destination. Want to spice up the trip? Other excursions can be added to your package like booze cruises where groups of spring breakers are boated onto the water in large boats, along with alcohol and snorkeling expeditions.
Sometimes it's just nice to see a friendly face in the drunken crowd — even if it is a representative from your tour company. During the Acapulco trip, Hodsen's friend cut her leg from the back of her knee to her butt on a piece of sharp metal while climbing over a chair in a crowded bar. An Student Travel Services representative was there in the bathroom to help bandage the bleeding limb so the girls could keep partying. "Crazy things can go down — especially if it's a group of girls," says Hodsen. "They keep an eye out on you."
photo illustration: Abby Tillery
— Lauren Bristow can be reached at lbristow@kansan.com.
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