Day trips can be busy, but can still make a great spring break

Editor’s Note: This is part two of a three part series on how to make the most of you upcoming spring break.

While many students dream of a week-long vacation to Florida, some cannot go on an extended vacation.

Instead, they plan for day vacations, journeying to a place they can visit in less than 24 hours.

While they are a great alternative to extended vacation, day trips can become unruly if improperly planned.

So follow this advice to plan the smoothest and most awesome day tip ever.

Prepare yourself for what you’re getting into
Day trips, by nature, are not really for relaxation. They are more for entertaining exploration.

You can do a day trip for relaxation, but the needs to be planned with in relaxation mind.

Be prepared to run around constantly while you’re gone.

Decide where to go
You should choose a place that is no more than a two-hour drive each way.

That way you can leave at 8 a.m. and return at midnight and still have 12 hours to have fun.

The location can range from a city to an amusement park or a particular location within a city.

Decide ahead of time, so you can move on to the next step.

Research your Destination

As with extended vacations, you need to find out what there is to do where you plan to go.

This helps you decide what you want to focus on.

If traveling to a city, find out about places you can visit: interesting shops, museums, zoos, etc.

If a single location—such as an amusement park or museum—is you destination, find out what you can do there.

This allows you to make decisions for the next step.

Decide how many things you want to do
Day trips lend themselves to two different variations: going to several locations for brief spans of time each or going to fewer places for longer periods of time.Spending the whole day in an amusement park or museum naturally lends itself to thoroughly exploring every nook and cranny in one day.

If you plan on going to several locations within a city, try to make your order of destinations as logical as possible. If you crisscross the city each time you go to a new location, you lose valuable exploration time.
 

If you want relaxation, plan this ahead of time
As said before, day trips tend to not be for relaxation.

But if you really want a day trip for relaxation, you have to plan the trip with this in mind.

Chose locations like spas, massage parlors or beauty salons.

These locations, while requiring a trip, are naturally relaxing.

Also, go at a much slower pace than you would if exploring a whole city.

Check out Wednesday’s issue of the Statesman for tips on making the most of a staycation during spring break.