Spring Break

Spring Break

February-April

Spring Break is an annual celebration of spring—and of school vacations—by an estimated two million college students who whoop it up, sunbathe, party, drink, dance, and listen to loud music.
From the early 1950s until 1985, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was a prime destination. In 1960 the movie, Where the Boys Are (based on the Glendon Swarthout novel of the same name), featuring Connie Francis, George Hamilton, and Yvette Mimieux, was all about spring break. It gave Fort Lauderdale great national exposure. But the hordes of students got to be too much; by 1985, 350,000 people took over the city for six weeks and tied up not just traffic but the legal system. Fort Lauderdale started clamping down, and now only about 20,000 students visit.
Popular destinations today include Panama City Beach, Fla., Daytona Beach, Fla., South Padre Island, Tex., Palm Springs, Calif., the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Mexico. To lure the spring breakers, various towns and resorts spend millions of dollars and offer an abundance of free activities, including beach sports, concerts, movie premieres, and contests.

CONTACTS:
Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau
Cancun Center, 1st. Flr., Blvd. Kukulcan
Hotel Zone
Cancun, Q.Roo 77500 Mexico
52-998-881-2745; fax: 52-998-881-2774
cancun.travel/en
South Padre Island Convention & Visitors Bureau
600 Padre Blvd.
South Padre Island, TX 78597
800-767-2373 or 956-761-3000; fax: 956-761-3024
www.sopadre.com
Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau
16000 Front Beach Rd.
Panama City, FL 32403
800-722-3224 or 850-233-5070
www.thebeachloversbeach.com

SOURCES:
Spring Equinox See Vernal Equinox
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