It's never to early to start planning for Spring Break

By Bethany Crane

October 22, 2008 | Already thinking of a way to get away from the snow? Sick of spending your spring breaks in Utah? With the right information and timing you could have the best spring break possible, and not pay an arm and a leg.

There is more than one way to plan a trip, but hopefully this will give you an idea about how is best to plan one for you and any friends coming along for the ride. There are several sites online that show multiple airlines to compare side by side to see which one has the best deal for your fabulous vacation.Sites such as Travelzoo, where dates are adjusted easily to fit your schedule and many search sites are used at once. Another site specifically made for students is STATRAVEL . "It's easier online, I don't have to talk to anybody, just print out my ticket and go," said Jennifer Dickson.

Jill Smith is an award winning travel agent in Smithfield who created her own private agency called Moonlight Travels. She has spent more than 10 years in various agency positions and has now found her forte and her clients agree that she is one of the best.

There are many advantages to using a travel agent to plan your vacation.

"It was nice to have her because when we wanted to leave early, she just changed our tickets electronically and we didn't have to deal with the airports." said Shauna Thomas, a client of Smith's.

Travel agents are able to see deals at the earliest possible time, and compared with the deals you find online you could be saving hundreds of dollars. You can give an agent a dollar figure of how much you can spend on a trip and have them find deals solely based on your budget.

Travel agents see schedule changes, delays, anything that could go wrong and is available to inform you before you find out at the front desk of the airport.They deal with the airline representatives and make changes to your ticket far more easily than you could yourself.Online deals are only available then and there,but an agent can hold your ticket until your plans are finalized and you don't lose the great price. The essential message here is that travel agents have ALL the information.

"I don't think I even sell anything without looking at it a different way to see if I can save them money." said Smith.

Whether going through an agent or simply buying your ticket online there are a few travel tips for scheduling that should be noted. When planning for spring break, our vacation falls during off season where the costs are far lower than during the high season.When buying a ticket online try to buy it on Tuesday through Thursday. Monday and Friday deals are usually taken because those are business traveller days and weekends are more expensive because of availability. Few people take advantage of the fact that we get out of school early in the spring where travel deals are also available. Take advantage of the month of May if at all possible.

Group deals are the best to save you money if you want to escape Utah with all your friends. Cruises offer group rates, and an agent will be able to see the best group rates and adjust tickets and prices if some of your friends can't make it later on. If you pick spots that aren't the popular tourist destinations but are nearby you can find even better deals and only be an hour away from everything you want to see. Tour groups that are more international offer rates especially for students. If you're like me you automatically think of the elderly couples escaping winter through tour groups. Tour groups for students are comprised mainly of students so the age group can make it a lot of fun and provide experiences you can't have when touring by yourselves.

Some examples of deals that are available are plane tickets to San Diego and L.A. for $179, 3-4 night cruises out of L.A. for under $600 including airfare. Tickets to Ft. Lauderdale can be as low as $320, where a large number of cruises leave from. Group rates will drop some of these prices even further, an agent could do comparison pricing depending on the number of people going.

Hotels are an expensive dynamic of trips, also a cost that can be alleviated by the number of people going. Trip Advisor can provide room rates, ratings by travelers, etc. When it comes to hotels don't be too stingy, because though it is usually just a place to sleep the quality is usually determined by the price.

It's never too early to start planning this out! The earlier you find things the better the deals will be.Get a group of friends together and enjoy this spring break like you never have before. Contact information for Jill Smith is 435-563-4024, mltravel3@aol.com.

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