Students can save
on travel options
ByAnneHeitz
Staff Reporter
Spring break 1998 is fast approach
ing.
But for many students, it’s
approaching faster than the money to
get there.
Whether students want to walk the
streets of Chicago, soak in the sun of
South Padre Island, Texas, or ski the
slopes of Steamboat Springs, Colo.,
money may be the one luxury holding
them back.
But, by finding the best and cheap
est transportation, students may be bet
ter able to get to these destinations with
out spending their life savings.
Driving their own trusty vehicles
may seem like a cheap travel choice.
But, if driving, students will pay
between horn $75 to $200 on gas alone,
depending on die car and the location.
Also, the car’s value may decrease if
they pack on up to 3,000 miles, depend
ing on the number of miles traveled and
the car’s mileage before the trip.
Add the expenses of lodging, meals
and entertainment for the week, and a
long road trip may end up taking quite a
chunk of money.
Students who still prefer to drive
can consider renting a car or van..
Although many car rental compa
nies require the renter to be at least 25
years old, a few rental locations in
Lincoln rent cars to those 21 and older.
At Rent-Sum-Wheels in Lincoln,
renting a Grand-Am, and driving to
Chicago and back will cost about $ 185.
A van will cost up to $350.
Renting a car to go skiing in
Colorado will cost around $250, and
renting one to go to South Padre Island
will cost between $400 and $450.
To rent a car at Enterprise, you must
be traveling to one of the surrounding
states. They have a running rate of about
$210 to rent a car and $400 for a van.
Students who can’t drive or who
prefer another means of transportation
should consider traveling by bus or by
plane from Lincoln.
If purchased at least three days in
advance, a round-trip Greyhound bus
ticket to anywhere in the continental
United States will cost $98 this spring
break. Tickets to Chicago or other near
by cities regularly cost less than $98 and
will be discounted by 25 percent
If students prefer to travel by plane,
Lincoln Travel offers round-trip airline
tickets to Chicago for as little as $81.
Tickets to Steamboat Springs cost
about $240, and tickets to the
Harlingen, Texas, airport, which is the
closest airport to South Padre Island,
cost about $350.
New Century Travel Agency offers
airline tickets priced from $196 to $256
to reach Chicago or Colorado, but these
tickets must be purchased 7 to 14 days
in advance. These discount flights leave
Lincoln on only certain days.
For students to get the best spring
break travel packages, travel agents
said, they should start saving money and
planning now for next year’s week of
rest and relaxation. Many travel agen
cies said last week their 1998 spring
break packages were booked.
Velma Lassen, manager of AAA
Travel Agency, said the spring break
season is a popular time of year for
everyone to travel - not just students.
This makes it difficult to find an airline
ticket during spring break, she said.
“It’s a very busy time right now. We
are booked for many destinations and
have been for quite some time,” Lassen
said.
I ■ NG ,
[| ' -——"■ ' ■ ' 11 ■ ■ ' ■
Courtesy Photo
SPRING BREAK REVELERS party oa South Padre bland, Texas. Ifravel agents said the island has remained one of the
hottest college spring break locations for decades.»
Vacationers head south
for traditional hot spots
By Mike Kluck
Staff Reporter
The hot places for spring break
travel this year are just that: hot..
Daytona Beach, Fla., and South
Padre Island, Texas, still remain the
two most popular destinations for
university students.
But tropical destinations such as
Cancun, Matzatlan and Jamaica are
growing in popularity.
“Students are beginning to have
a little more discretionary funds to
go to some of these places,” said
Shasta Bunnell, a travel agent for
Executive Travel, 1212 O St.
“Most of the students can get as
good of a rate going into Cancun or
Jamaica as they can into South
Padre,” she said.
Bunnell said prices for Jamaica
or Cancun spring break trips range
from $500 to $600 this year.
The package trips are designed
to keep students safe, she said.
“The company we use has a staff
that helps students with sightseeing
and problems,” Bunnell said. But,
she added, “If students are going out
and looking for trouble, they are
going to find it.”
Craig Peters, a travel consultant
for Via Van Bloom Tour & Travel,
2143 O St., said the allure of South
Padre and Florida remains strong
for most spring breakers.
“I think kids just want to get to
sun,” Peters said.
South Padre and Daytona Beach
also remain popular because the two
places continue to advertise for stu
dents’ business, Peters said.
Peters said if students haven’t
bought their airline tickets to either
South Padre Island or Daytona
Beach, and they still want to spend
spring break there, they should con
sider driving.
Remaining airline tickets are
expensive, he said, and they cost
much more than the gasoline
required to drive.
Both Peters and Bunnell said
places like Pensacola, Fla., and Walt
Disney World in Orlando, Fla., are
less popular because they cost too
much for students, and it is difficult
for students to book reservations at
those destinations during spring
break.
Both also said some students,
plan Las Vegas spring break trips,
but they aren’t as popular.
Students interested in Las Vegas
are usually 25 years old or older, and
not in the typical 18- to 21-year-old
student crowd.
Both travel agents said they have
booked ski packages for several stu
dents.
But the beaches still beat the
slopes for most.
“We do have some interest in
skiing packages at Winter Park,”
Peters said. “For the most part, stu
dents want to go where it’s warm.”
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