Student Spring Break on a Budget
Sunday, 21 March 2010 22:24
Spring officially started on March 21 this year. But for the students of the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, spring started more than a week early when students fled campus in search of sand and sun.
Sara Locker, a psychology senior at the UA said, “I’m graduating in May so I want to have one last 'Spring Break experience' while I’m still in college, but because of the economy I will definitely be on a budget.”
Puerto Penasco, Sonora (or "Rocky Point") is usually a “go-to” for Arizona spring breakers because of the abundant bars, low prices and the relatively short drive to the beach town. This year though, the Rocky Point tourism office has reported that the American economic recession and Mexican drug wars have resulted in a 50 percent drop in visitors in the last two years.
Locker and 15 of her friends travelled to Rocky Point despite violence warnings by the U.S. Department of State. She said that although the warnings made everyone a little nervous, “we
were smart about it and we all had a great time.”
As Rocky Point's third biggest source of income, the drop in the city's tourism resulted in reduced rental prices of houses and hotels. Geri Utter and her husband manage over 30 properties in Rocky Point, ranging in price from $100 to $800 per night.
Utter said that although spring is one of her busiest seasons in term of demand, she did have to drop their asking price by about 15 to 25 percent this year.
Locker explained that she was able to keep travel expenses down by spliting the cost of the house with a large group of friends, bringing plenty of food to make at the house, and splitting other costs such as alcohol and Mexican car insurance.
View Driving from Tucson to Puerto Penasco in a larger map
Other popular spring break locations include:
1. Cancun, Mexico
2. Acapulco, Mexico
3. Las Vegas
4. Key West, Fla.
5. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
6. South Padre Island, Texax
7. Panama City Beach, Panama
8. Nassau, New Providence Island
9. Miami
10. Jamaica, Caribbean
Written by Bridget Miller You are reading Student Spring Break on a Budget articles
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