Spring Break: Where the deals are

Travelers will soon be breaking out of the winter doldrums and looking ahead to the popular spring travel season in March and April. If you are planning to take a spring trip, now is the time to make those reservations. Why now? Well, with record-setting summer and holiday travel seasons over the past year, and an economy that keeps humming along, demand for spring travel will likely set records, too and so will prices.

First, the good news: With Easter on Sunday, April 12 this year, the spring break season will be nice and spread out over about six weeks from early March until mid-April. The month of March is usually the busiest time of year for college spring break, and April is more popular with families traveling around Easter. When Easter falls earlier in April or even in March, families and college crowds tend to butt heads and force prices up due to a shorter, high-demand spring break season.

Calendar: If you are planning to travel in March, be on alert for high prices and surprise crowds at airports, especially if you live in or near a college town or if you are headed to a warm weather destination like Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean. Find out when the university nearest you has spring break (see calendar by school here) and stay home that weekend. If traveling internationally, be sure you have downloaded the miraculous, free Mobile Passport App, which can help speed you through Customs & Immigration if you don't have the more expensive ($100) Global Entry. 

Spring Skiing: Ski season has been mostly lackluster in California -- this month, there's just not enough snow in the Sierra to attract skiers. But there's still time for a good dump -- and that could happen in the next few weeks. Or not. However, Rocky Mountain ski resorts are getting good snow this year, so you can expect crowds and high prices there as Californians jet to Denver or Salt Lake City to find some powder.  In Colorado, one-day lift tickets at Vail this year are an eye-popping $204. At Aspen, it's $184. In Utah, Park City's single-day pass is $174. Ouch! If you feel priced out of skiing this winter, consider taking a trip in early April (if there's snow) when you'll find cheaper fares, deals on lift tickets, and lots of end-of-season fun and festivities. Ski season usually ends around April 15, depending on conditions.

Hawaii: Flying to Hawaii is still quite a good bargain this spring, thanks to the fare war spurred on by Southwest Airlines entry into the market last year. You can still jet down to paradise for as little as $320 if you can fly midweek in March or April. That's a remarkable price for spring season. However, due to those cheap flights, demand for hotels, rental cars, meals and activities has jumped, and so have prices, so bring along a fat wallet.

Mexico: Mexico's beaches are always a popular spot for spring break, especially among the college crowd. If you are not a student, you'll likely want to avoid beach towns in March. Less demand for Mexico vacations due to fear of violence means that there are more bargains for hotels, cars and restaurants. However, airlines have not bumped up capacity from California to Mexico's beaches, which means airfares can be stubbornly high, with the cheapest nonstop roundtrips from Bay Area airports in the $400 range to Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and even higher for Cancun and the Mayan Riviera. Spring is also a very nice time to see Mexico City -- here's my take on the magnificent Mexican megalopolis!

If you are trying to decide between Mexico or Hawaii this year, don't miss: Mexico or Hawaii: Which beaches are better for spring break?

Europe: Shoulder season is probably the best time of year to travel to Europe, because the weather is getting warmer and summer crowds have not arrived. This is when new low-fare carriers like Norwegian, TAP Air Portugal and Level offer super low fares, which are frequently matched by the major airlines. Hotels are cheaper, too. And there are flowers blooming and smiles on the faces of locals.

Shoulder Season: If you are a bargain hunter and have flexibility around travel dates, wait and go during "shoulder season," when demand dips along with prices. Shoulder season in 2020 will run about eight weeks from mid-April until mid-June, when peak summer pricing and crowds kick in. (Except of course Memorial Day weekend, May 23-25.) Shoulder season is not as cheap as the dead weeks of early January, but it's not anywhere near the peak of what you'll pay during July or August.

Where will you go this spring? Please leave your comments below. 

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Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE biweekly email updates!

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