Spring travels serves up locales full of flowers (tulips in Amsterdam, cherry blossoms on Mount Yoshino) as well as beaches packed with revelry. Like winter and summer—largely because of school breaks—spring is a high-traffic travel time. Spring break season, from early March to early May, in particular unleashes thousands of college-aged tourists on popular coastal towns in Florida, California, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Places like Cancun, Daytona Beach, and San Diego can be incredible fun this time of year, if that’s what you are looking for, but a bacchanal-tinged beach vacation isn’t the only experience that spring travels offer. With Travel + Leisure, explore the range of spring getaways available this season.
Spring Break Destinations
While ski season may be drawing to a close, warmer weather destinations maintain their heat. Hot spots along the Gulf and the Caribbean remain both crowded and expensive through the end of spring, but that also makes for a vibrant party scene. Meanwhile quieter spring break destinations are just starting to warm up: Charleston and Savannah share with travelers their complicated beauty and history, while blockbuster national parks like the Grand Canyon are neither too hot nor too crowded this time of year. Spring break is a good window of time to plan a road trip or, post-frost but pre-mosquito, give glamping a try. Watch the southwestern U.S.’s deserts bloom, or spot the new lambs just born across the British Isles. Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, Athens, Tokyo, Bermuda, and D.C. all boast mild temperatures and plenty to do. But plan carefully: not all destinations wear this time of year gracefully. In New England, for example, spring is better known as mud season.
Whether you are looking for a riotous party on a warm beach, a winding drive up through Wales’s sheep-littered mountains, or a mouthwatering bowl of real Tokyo ramen, T+L has the latest and best information on springtime travel destinations and getaways.
