March 30 through April 3 is the week of California State University, Monterey Bay’s Spring Break, where professors, staff and students will finally get some scheduled vacation time. Many students visit their hometowns over the break or end up traveling somewhere new – if they can save up enough for a trip. If you’re looking to travel over Spring Break, but have concerns about the cost, here are some of the cheapest destinations to vacation at during the first week of April.
San Diego
San Diego is a great place to travel on a budget because it’s engulfed by the beach! The weather should be nice enough that you can lay in the sand all day, which doesn’t cost a penny. Flights from San Jose to San Diego during Spring Break are going for $90 to $150 round trip, which is pretty affordable for an airplane ticket. Depending on your car make and model, you can consider if you’d like to take a road trip from Monterey to San Diego instead- taking a few friends in the car and all pitching in on gas money. If your car has good gas mileage, it might end up being cheaper than everyone paying for their individual plane tickets. Although it’s a long drive, you’ll have a car to explore the city in, which is a huge plus! One bedroom Airbnb’s in the area can be found for $50 and under a night, and if you are okay with having a shared room, you can find something even cheaper!
Flight + room for five nights = approximately $375
Portland
Flights to Portland are super affordable at the moment, ranging from $90 to $145 round trip. Airbnb’s in this area are a tad bit more expensive, with $50 being the lowest price for an unshared room. Although, one bedrooms are going for about $50 to $80 a night, which is still a pretty great price! Portland is a little on the colder side, so you might spend a little money on indoor activities, but there are plenty of hikes to go on and parks to see on the outskirts of the city that you can visit for free! It all depends on your personal budget, but if you stick to exploring the city, you can make your trip real cheap!
Flight + room for five nights = approximately $470
New York
Surprisingly, flights from San Jose to New York City during Spring Break can be found for as little as $192 round trip on Google Flights! This may seem pricey, but for an extremely popular destination like New York, it’s really a steal. When you get to the city, you don’t need to rent a car or take any Uber’s, due to its amazing public transportation. The Airbnb’s vary a lot in price in this area because there are as many super elegant rooms, as there are small and shared ones. The cheapest one bedroom listed on Airbnb over break is $26 per night and there are many rooms of similar price points, ranging from $26 to $38 a night. Although this destination is all the way on the East Coast, it can cost around the same as a closer destination, due to the discounted flights!
Flight + room for five nights = approximately $400
Miami
If you want a toes-in-the-sand, bikini-wearing, party-all-night kind of Spring Break, Miami is the cheapest place for it. At the moment, roundtrip flights out of San Francisco to Miami can be found for about $200 to $300. This is indeed the priciest flight, but it’s less expensive than other traditional Spring Break destinations like Cancun and Cabo. The Airbnb’s in this city are extremely affordable, with most one bedroom Airbnb’s costing under $40 a night. Although you might be spending a good amount of your budget on drinks during your stay, Miami is a great option if you want a place with low costing travel fees and room and board.
Flight + room for five nights = approximately $400
Yosemite
This is a different type of vacationing experience, but if you enjoy the outdoors, Yosemite is a beautiful place to travel to. You’d be camping and if you’ve never been camping, it is a super fun experience to have. The campsites cost about $45 a night, but multiple people can stay on the same campsite and all pitch in for it. It takes about 3 ½ hours, so you would only need a tank of gas or two to get there and back. You and your group can buy hot dogs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat as you camp – if you decide to shop on a budget, you might only spend $50 on groceries for the trip. If you’re looking for adventure, Yosemite would be a great spring break destination!
Price for trip = approximately $325
If you really want to travel, don’t let the money signs turn you away from your desires! There’s always ways to make a trip cheaper, like getting a small room, finding a discounted flight, traveling in a huge group or eating instant noodles during your stay. Wherever you decide to go, you’ll get to experience a new place, which will make this spring break a fun one.