Spring break vacation: 4 places you should try, 4 you should forget - KPRC Click2Houston

KINGWOOD, Texas – Some travel experts are comparing this coming spring break to a prison break.

It makes sense when you consider that millions of Americans have been cooped-up in their homes because of COVID-19 restrictions for far too long and many are just now ready to break free and take a real vacation.

In Kingwood, Nicol Payne is packing up her "cabin-fevered" family of four and escaping from Houston for Spring Break 2022.

We're going to do all kinds of outdoor activities and hiking, see some beautiful sites, so we're very excited," Payne said.

In fact, Payne is going to Arizona for "glamping," which is basically glamorous camping in luxury tents with high-end amenities.

But when she saw the price for airfare, it was more than double what she normally pays and the price for glamping.

"Oh! I thought I'll just wait, wait a couple days, maybe this isn't really true! But it is," Payne said.

It turns out, Payne and her husband will be paying $500 a night per tent on their glamping adventure, and they need two tents, so that adds up to $1000 a night.

"Yeah, for a tent, a nice tent, but it's still a tent. It was a little shocking, the price," Payne said.

Heather Keller, owner of Perfect Landing Travel in Kingwood, says prices for airfare and lodging to many popular destinations have sky-rocketed over the past several months because of demand.

"It's high, really high. You are going to be paying sometimes double, sometimes triple the price at some of the more popular destinations," Keller said.

To help all of us save money, Keller has come up with a list of four destinations you should go to and four you should probably avoid and pivot to another destination.

Places you should avoid

1. Hawaii

"I would probably avoid booking Hawaii at this point. It's always been incredibly popular but this year, the hotels are pretty packed. They're also still at limited capacity for a lot of the restaurants and that is going to be a lot of extra work for you if you are on vacation," Keller explained.

2. The U.S. Virgin Islands

3. Miami and Orlando

4. "Red hot" ski spots like Park City, Utah and Aspen, Colorado

"If you are planning to go to places like Park City and Denver and Aspen, you're going to see not much available for you at this point and the prices at least 30% higher than previous years," Keller said.

Places you should go

1. Puerto Vallarta

2. Portugal

"Portugal is really great right now. It's fantastic weather for spring break and you can easily spend 30% less in Portugal than you would in some place like Spain," Keller said.

3. Lake Tahoe

"You are going to find great skiing and a lot fewer people than the major resorts in Utah and Colorado," Keller said.

4. "Big City" trips to New York, Chicago, Seattle and Washington D.C.

"I would definitely recommend city trips as an option for spring break. You need to get away from the beaches and the mountains," Keller said.

Finally, before you book anything, check out "the tourism board" website for your vacation destination.

It's an excellent resource most people don't even know about; one that can answer a lot of your questions and concerns about how open your destination of choice is right now.

"There you will have proposed itineraries. Are you going to be there three days? They'll have three-day options of what you should do in your three days. Plus, everything you are going to need to know which attractions and restaurants are open right now. What you need to get into and out of that city or state or country. It will help you make sure this is a good place to go," Keller said.

One more tip, don't forget all the major airlines will allow you to make changes to your trip as long as you buy tickets that are main economy or higher.

But if you buy what's called basic economy, the lowest level tickets available, you'll be out of luck as far as making any changes to your itinerary.