Florida Spring Break 2008

You could say that the modern day week long Spring Break dates back to the 1960s with the release of the classic road trip film "Where the Boys Are" which tells the story of four very different college girls who drive to Fort Lauderdale in Florida looking for boys, fun, sun and romance.

During the hippy period of the late 60s and early 70s, alcohol and free love took its toll and some beach communities tried to deter spring breakers.

A lot of students who had previously visited Fort Lauderdale, moved up the coast to Daytona Beach which was easier to get to, cheaper and more lax in their rules.

By the time of the 80s, Spring Break started to mature, becoming less about getting drunk and more about concerts and parties, visiting theme parks, taking part in sports and other activities like surfing, scuba diving and parasailing.

Each year more and more students are also looking at charity programmes helping people in the developing world.

In the 90s, MTV started broadcasting from all the major beach resorts bringing in big name groups like Run DMC to front their shows which in turn brought in corporate sponsorship.

Other destinations started to gain popularity, places like Panama City Beach in the Panhandle and further afield, South Padre Island in Texas with 34 miles of beaches and Palm Strings in California.

Drunken behaviour and general rowdiness is still an issue and in the USA you need to be 21 to legally drink alcohol in most states. One of the attractions of Mexico is that the legal drinking age is notionally 18 and with South Padre Island being only half an hour from the Mexican border, it is popular with the younger students.

With the advent of cheaper airfares and more affluence amongst the student population, international destinations like Cancun and Acapulco in Mexico and the Bahamas have become even more popular.

Spring Break typically lasts around 6 to 7 weeks. In 2008, the bulk of students break up in mid March with a few running on until mid April. The first Canadian colleges break up around mid February and the American colleges start the following week.

Panama City Beach

Panama City Beach (known as PCB) with its 27 miles of beautiful white sandy beaches is currently the most popular Spring Break destination. Being further north, it is less distance to drive for most students but the weather is less predictable. Tour operators even operate buses to bring students down from the north east and Canada.

It is not over-developed, it is still reasonably priced and regulations are fairly relaxed. Free shuttle buses take you from the hotels to the nightclubs and bars.

Panama City Beach has some of the world's largest beach clubs, places like Harpoon Harry's, Club La Vela (the largest club in the United States), Hammerhead Fred's, Lattitudes, Sharky's Restaurant & Beach Club and Spinnaker.

Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach is still an inexpensive choice and hence an important Spring Break destination despite the dramatic rise in popularity of Panama City Beach. The Daytona Beach Speedway, DaytonaUSA telling the history of NASCAR and the Kennedy Space Center are all close by and Orlando and its many theme parks is only a day trip away.

One of Daytona's claims to fame is the 23 miles of beach, most of which you can drive along in your car. Sitting watching the young students posing in their pickups as they cruise up and down the beach is an amusing experience. A few years ago, a mile long strip of beach in front of the historic Boardwalk was declared a vehicle-free zone but you can still drive and park on 16 miles of beach, tide permitting.

Being on the Atlantic coast, unlike the Gulf of Mexico, brings the opportunity to go surfing. Like all the Florida destinations, Daytona has its fair share of top class nightclubs including Baja Beach Club, 600 North, Razzles, Ocean Deck and Fat Tuesday.

Orlando

If the beach is not your thing, then Orlando makes a good destination with Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld all within a few miles of each other.

There is still plenty of opportunities to swim with water parks such as Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach and Wet 'n' Wild, not forgetting Discovery Cove.

For nightclubs you cannot beat Disney's Pleasure Island or Universal's CityWalk for choice. There is also no shortage of great resort hotels with pools, private villas and condominiums.

Miami South Beach

Miami, and in particular South Beach, is an up and coming Spring Break destination with its vibrant culture and amazing nightlife and is popular with the more sophisticated party goers.

Miami is hard to beat when it comes to upmarket restaurants and nightclubs and being further south, the weather is even better.