You Don't Have to Be in College to Take a Spring Break, But You Can Spend Like a Student Cheap Tickets Offers Tips for Planning a Spring Break That Won't Break the Bank PARSIPPANY, N.J., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Spring Break is fast approaching, but great rates are still available on flights, hotels, and vacation packages to popular destinations. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20021107/CHEAPLOGO ) According to a leading online travel Web site, CheapTickets.com, the top destinations for this year's Spring Break season include Orlando, Las Vegas, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Miami, Ft. Myers, and New York. And consumers aren't just traveling to destinations within the U.S.; international travel during March 2004 is currently up 53 percent compared to last year, with the top five destinations being London, Cancun, Nassau, Paris, and Cabo San Lucas. So what's a last-minute planner to do? Sure, there's always the tried and true beach getaway to popular Spring Break meccas like Daytona Beach, Panama City, South Padre Island, and Cancun. But those looking for a carefree, fun-filled vacation away from the bitter cold and partying masses will probably find better deals -- and availability -- by following our suggestions below: Spring break doesn't have to be all about the beach. Off-season travel has many advantages, including discounted airfare, fewer crowds, and hotels with high vacancies and low rates. Cheap Tickets currently has round-trip flights from New York City to London starting at $207 and to Paris starting at $253. Or take the easy way out and book a seven-night vacation package to London starting at $676 per person, including accommodations and round-trip airfare from New York. Take advantage of low rates on transcontinental flights. Transcontinental flights are at unusually low rates driven by new, low-cost competition, including round-trip from Los Angeles to Boston (from $188) and from New York to San Francisco (from $198). Other low fares on popular routes spanning the U.S. include Philadelphia to Los Angeles from $198, Denver to Ft. Lauderdale from $143, Los Angeles to Chicago from $157, or New York to Miami from $198. Don't say goodbye to winter just yet. Die-hard skiers and snowboarders who haven't yet satiated the urge to shred the mountain will find great last minute, end of the season ski deals from carriers who fly directly into resort cities like Vail, Steamboat Springs, Montrose, and Gunnison. Some sample fares: Houston to Vail (from $278), Dallas/Ft. Worth to Steamboat Springs (from $228), New York to Vail (from $348), and St. Paul to Steamboat Springs (from $238). Cheap Tickets also has low rates on vacation packages to Denver, including a three-night vacation package with accommodations, car rental, and round-trip air from Los Angeles starting at $240 -- a savings of 50 percent when compared to purchasing travel components separately. Go against the norm. Travelers smitten with Mexico but looking to avoid the spring break crowds will find incredible bargains for "off-the-beaten- path" Mexican destinations. Cheap Tickets has round-trip flights from Houston to Puebla (from $198), Chicago to Ixtapa (from $315), Detroit to Puerto Vallarta (from $318), and Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas (from $184). Or one-up your friends and head for spring break in Australia or New Zealand. Take advantage of Cheap Tickets' rates at Auckland's Spencer on Byron Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand starting at $94.99 per night or -- for those who want to experience luxury at a value price -- the Liberty Resort in Cairns, Australia starting at $283.99 per night. Flights right now start at $991 round-trip from Los Angeles to Auckland, or $1,484 round-trip from New York City to Cairns. Looking beyond popular spring break destinations such as The Bahamas and Puerto Rico, travelers can find very attractive round-trip fares on flights to places like Barbados, The Virgin Islands, and The Cayman Islands including Newark to Barbados (from $299), LaGuardia to Trinidad (from $386), Miami to Santo Domingo (from $248), Washington D.C. to Grenada (from $386), and Charlotte to Grand Cayman (from $338). The more, the merrier. Consumers can find good deals in popular spring break destinations by taking advantage of vacation rental properties, offering the amenities of home -- perfect for groups of friends or family reunions. Cheap Tickets has special low rates at hot spots in Mexico, including seven nights at the Sun Club/Plaza Las Glorias or the Sol Mar Beach Club Resort in Cabo San Lucas starting at $85.57 per night. Invite three friends, and everyone chips in only $21 per night! Check out last minute deals. It sometimes pays off to wait until the last minute to make travelplans. There's still opportunity to book a Cheap Tickets' Last Minute Trip to popular spring break haunts including two nights in Puerto Rico with round-trip air from New York ($367 per person), three nights in Ocho Rios with round-trip air from Philadelphia ($424 per person), three nights in Nassau, Bahamas with round-trip air from Washington, D.C. ($460 per person), or two nights in Miami Beach with round-trip air from Houston ($414 per person). Airfares: Prices quoted for flights are per person,round-trip and do not include taxes or surcharges. Due to real-time dynamic pricing technology, prices on the site may change from the above listed prices. The prices listed on the site are the most current and supersede the prices listed above. Last Minute Trips Offer Conditions: Prices are for one adult based on double occupancy and include all applicable taxes and fees. The only price changes you may experience from those listed on the site will be from options that you decide to change, such as your travel dates, number of travelers, departure city, and your choice of flight, hotels, or other items. Rest assured that the total price of your travel package will be updated and displayed to you prior to purchase. You may incur other charges whiletraveling that are not included in the package price, such as hotel extra- person or extra-bed charges, resort fees, gratuities, hotel energy surcharges, parking fees, telephone fees, room service, movies, mini-bar, or rental car insurance, gasoline, and other incidentals. All packages have limited availability. All sales are non-refundable, non-changeable and non- transferable, notwithstanding any changes in travel plans, flight delays, late check in or early check out of hotel, no shows or missed connections. Vacation Package Offer Conditions: Prices quoted are per person. Domestic vacation packages include round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations (double occupancy), and compact rental car; minimum travel party of two. International vacation packages include round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations (double occupancy); minimum travel party of two. Total vacation package price will always be clearly displayed to you prior to purchase. Limited time offer is subject to (i) change without notice and (ii) availability; advance reservation is required. Savings of fifty percent are based on a comparison with published rates for round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations when purchased separately. Cheap Tickets is a leading seller of discountedleisure travel products online through its Web site, http://www.cheaptickets.com/. Cheap Tickets provides consumers access to its exclusive collection of unpublished airfares, as well as regularly published fares on hundreds of airlines. In addition to air, Cheap Tickets' family of discounted travel products also includes hotel accommodations, cruises, rental cars, vacation packages, condo rentals, and Last Minute Trips. Founded in 1986, Cheap Tickets is part of the Retail Travel Services group within Cendant's Travel Distribution Services Division. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20021107/CHEAPLOGODATASOURCE: Cheap Tickets CONTACT: Kathie Gonzalez, +1-303-357-3463, , or Kate Sullivan, +1-973-496-4540, , both for Cheap Tickets Website: http://www.cheaptickets.com/

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