By Payton Buschhorn
With spring break 2023 coming up fast, college students will be flocking to the coasts to find an escape from school.
When going out of town as a college student a budget is most likely going to be in place.
For college students, spring break packages in different cities are available online. These packages include a place to stay and various activities.
Panama City Beach seems to have it all for students being the “Spring Break Capital of the World.”
The Panama City Beach packages for the week of the University of Tampa’s spring break UT starts at $319 for the entire week with the site Student Escape.
If you like the idea of a spring break package, Student Escape also offers other trips to South Padre Island, Texas and Daytona Beach, Florida.
These options offer similar deals to Panama City Beach, but are a bit more pricey, especially for Daytona.
Daytona Beach starts at $439 for the week, which is not too terrible considering the location and time of the year.
Places located near the beaches can run for much more for just one night. In my opinion, a package deal would probably be the best way to go when booking a spring break trip on a budget.
Airfare is not included in the initial price, but due to UT’s location, most of these options are just a couple of hour’s drive away.
If you want to plan a trip on your own, there are AirBnBs that offer an affordable price when splitting with a group.
The only issue is that these options become limited as the owners sometimes have an age restriction or do not allow college students without an adult.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is an option that would require a bit of individual planning to be done.
This beach town still offers reasonably priced places to stay and also has the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk which provides countless activities for people of all ages.
With any of these options, there will also be additional charges for food, gas and extra activities you wish to do.
While on a budget, many beach towns can be affordable for students and their friends to visit.
As UT students, we have a unique opportunity to go to the beach due to our optimal location in the Sunshine State.
Since UT is located near St. Petersburg and Clearwater, staying here is also an option. With just a 30-minute drive to the beaches, staying in Tampa would reduce the hassle of finding a place to stay.
For me, the best thing to do to save money is to stay at UT and access the beaches near us, but if you want to get away for a day or two, there is always the option of driving to one of the beaches a bit further away like Sarasota.