Students who have yet to make spring break vacation plans might
encounter more problems as spring break approaches. Many flights
are full, and good deals and cheaper rates have already passed by,
said Kelly Healy, STA Travel manager.

“It’s been so busy for spring break,” Healy
said. She said business has been non-stop and STA, located in
Oklahoma Memorial Union, gets at least 50 customers a day.

Healy said spring break, summer, Thanksgiving and Christmas are
the busiest times for STA compared to slow months like August and
September when students are in school.

“The main problems are that people are waiting to the last
minute,” Healy said.

She said there is still hope for a trip but students must have a
flexible budget.

Healy said Las Vegas might be a good option for procrastinators
because there are still hotel rooms and flights available at good
rates.

Many students who have booked trips through STA plan to go
somewhere warm, Healy said. She said STA has booked at least 200
students for spring break, and at least half of those students have
made plans to vacation in warm-weather areas.

“People are going to Cancun, of course,” Healy said.
“Cancun usually books up the quickest.”

Mona Springfield, manager of Journey House Travel Inc. in
Norman, said many students have come in to book trips, but once
they find out how much a trip costs they back out.

Springfield said $100-per-person per day is a decent guide on
how much students should expect to spend for a spring break
trip.

“I wanted to go to the beach,” said Kellie Jones,
pre-nursing sophomore. “I checked travel prices the other
day, but I can’t afford it because I’m a poor college
student. I should have started planning sooner.”

Jones said she didn’t get a trip planned, but she is going
to Galveston, Texas, with her family instead.

Other popular spring break destinations include New York, Los
Angeles, South Padre Island, Texas, Las Vegas and Europe, Healy
said.

Marissa Sublett, University College freshman, said she was
planning to go to Puerto Vallarta or Acapulco, Mexico, but her
group’s plans fell through because there were only three
girls, instead of four, so hotel prices were too expensive.

“With three to a room, costs went up from like $674 [for
four people] to like $800 [for three people],” Sublett
said.

Healy said students began planning trips as early as
November.

Some of those students who planned early got to take advantage
of special early-booking offers, but those students who still want
to plan a trip should be ready for higher prices.

“There are advantages to booking in advance like right at
the new year,” Springfield said. She said students booking
now are having to pay premium prices.

Availability is a big factor in determining price. Many of the
hotels are booked already, and those that are not are more
expensive.

“If there were any good quality hotels, they were sky high
in price because we were so late,” Sublett said. She said
they even started planning their trip the first or second week of
the semester.

Sublett said she needs to start planning next year’s
spring break trip this summer.

Healy said as of now it would be cheaper to fly to Europe rather
than to New York or Los Angeles because flights to Europe are open,
whereas flights to New York or Los Angeles are full. She said fares
can vary among departure cities.

“If they can leave from Dallas, it might make it a lot
cheaper,” Healy said. One flight to Los Angeles from Oklahoma
City was almost $200 more than it would be if someone flew from
Dallas.

Springfield said flights from Dallas are cheaper because they
offer charter flights, which means flights and airlines work
directly with the tour companies.

Healy suggested students still making spring break plans should
make sure they work with a good travel agency. She also said
reading the fine print is very important and knowing the
cancellation policies is important.
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