I recently contacted the Daytona Beach CVB to find out everything I could about it for spring break trips. And I discovered something interesting. Though a gorgeous beach with classic beach activities, attractions, night clubs, and beach bars, Daytona Beach has during the spring break season (which they call March through May) been taken over by someone besides college students.

This beautiful part of Florida, smack dab between theme-park-central Orlando, historic St. Augustine, and the space coast (including Kennedy Space Center), has for some time been promoting its beach for families, and it’s totally working.

If you visit Daytona Beach during the spring break season, you’ll likely find plenty of college students. But they’ll be equaled or outmatched in number by families and seniors. In my opinion, this is good news for lots and lots of people. Families and seniors, sure. But there are even students who seek out more family-friendly atmosphere for their warm getaway and escape from the daily grind of homework and research papers. And Daytona Beach brings the deals to back this promotion for vacationers of every kind.

Daytona Beach has all the things you need and want in a sunny getaway – the ocean, for one, plus all the thrilling activities that come with it, including but not limited to: Parasailing, surfing lessons!, and kayaking.

The area also offers culture with its Museum of Arts and Sciences and Southeast Museum of Photography. Along these more educational lines, groups love the Daytona Beach Aqua Safari, which is a tour of the area’s fascinating ecosystem. For families, you can’t beat Daytona Lagoon, a year-round family fun center with rock climbing, race cars, arcade games, and wet and wild water slides.

January and October turn Daytona Beach into speed central with Speedweeks at the beginning of the year. This includes the world-famous, and often family-beloved, Daytona 500. In the fall, you’ll find the International Speedway purring with motorcycles instead of stock cars during Biketoberfest. Both can be a great time for families just as spring break has come to be.

Whether for student tours, family getaways, or group travel of any kind, Daytona Beach definitely has something to offer.

Why do we do it? If too many people talk about a thing, exalting it too highly too many times, then we balk. At least, some of us do. It’s partly, I think, a symptom of the desperate human desire to stand out in a crowd – even if it means missing out on something good. We hesitate to conform (even though most of us do it all the time in little ways we probably don’t even consider). But if we can hold out, if something comes up that the whole world seems gaga over except for us – then we are different. We are our own person. And we’re proud of that.

It’s also the common what-about-me syndrome. No matter how cool a thing sounds, if it doesn’t connect with some part of ourselves, some specific interest or dream, then it won’t register on our must-experience list. After all, tons of people want to visit Paris one day, but each person who would say that probably has some personal connection to the idea. “I’ve wanted to ever since I saw that musical,” “My great-great grandmother was from there”, “I’m into fashion,” etc. And, I would venture to say, many popular destinations for student tours fall into this list of cool places that you’ve heard about so much you feel kind of indifferent to actually experiencing them for yourself.

For me, one of these amazing things that had earned its place as a must-experience location but that so many people had declared as such that I wanted to be different and ignore it, was Niagara Falls. I was extremely indifferent to this powerful, magnificent display of water rushing over a cliff. Extremely. (I actually did the same thing with Hawaii and the Caribbean Islands – so perhaps I had an aversion to classic honeymoon cliches?) Anyway, all this changed when I actually saw the Falls for myself.

It helped that I was sort of “in the area”. It helped for, you know, the casual factor. I was staying in Buffalo, New York, and a few us made the trip to the falls both at night and during the day. And it. Was. Breathtaking. I’ll never forget the way they looked by the lights at night. I’ll never forget the way you can feel the water splashing on you even from hundreds of yards away. (I’ll also never forget that pretty much everyone standing nearby heartily declared, ‘But it’s so much better from the Canada side,’ which is something I actually do want to discover for myself.)

So – all I’m saying – is don’t rule it out just because it’s so completely awesome that it’s become a travel cliche. Most things become a cliche for a reason, and Niagara Falls is one of them. This gorgeous natural destination really is, though, perfect for students. Niagara Falls student tours offer tons of exciting ways to actually experience the beauty, the power, and the adventure of the Falls. None of them include going over the Falls in a barrel, but they are thrilling. Think helicopter tours and boats like the famous Maid of the Mist. And, seriously, consider this amazing destination for your next student tour.

Texas has several beaches, and with its warm climate, it’s definitely not a bad place for winter and spring break vacations. If you’re in the state, visiting the beaches of Galveston, the history of San Antonio, or perhaps a sporting event in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, nearby Grapevine, Texas, is great place to add to the list.

Grapevine student tours offer charming touches like live artisan demonstrations in the beautiful Grapevine historic district. Other historic sites include the Grapevine Vintage Railroad with an 1896 steam locomotive, and Nash Farm, reflecting the farming life of Grapevine’s earliest settlers.

But Grapevine is also the perfect choice for thrills. X-Drenaline is a popular outdoor paintball course for an exciting competition with friends. Or if you prefer indoor sports, Main Event offers everything from bowling and billiards to arcade games and popular laser tag. Finally, Grapevine Mills is perhaps the most popular destination in Grapevine. It’s a huge shopping and entertainment center, perfect for every season, with available activities way beyond the average mall.

Grapevine has so many great places to visit, you can even take a tour on the popular amphibious vehicles known as DUCKS. It’s a great way to start your Grapevine experience as the entertaining narrator guides the way and helps you decide exactly what you want to do next.

StudentTravel.net is devoted to the places you want to go for leisure, and specifically the places you want to choose for spring break. This usually means beaches as they offer the perfect climate, low-stress days, and exciting nights. But the beaches I’m talking about today are even more low-stress than those.

“A haven for recreation and reflection,” the National Park Services has said of these beaches known as “OBX”, or the Outer Banks of the North Carolina coastline.

These narrow barriers present great opportunity for some water sports like kayaking and wind surfing. But they are perhaps best known for leisurely strolls, exploration, and quiet escapes to serenity. They’re dotted with a lighthouse or two, some as authentic and original as any in the nation. They offer a couple amazing historical landmarks – the site for the first flight by the Wright brothers and the location for the first English Colony.

The Outer Banks are also filled with pleasant wildlife, from nesting sea turtles to the endangered piping plover (it’s a little bird that nests on sandy beaches – I know you were wondering). And they’re unpredictable. Thanks to their narrow topography and nearness to the ocean, these barriers are constantly changing from wind and storms, ocean currents, and the rise and fall of the sea. Spend a day on them, and you’ll surely notice even subtle differences yourself.

The ocean is generally conceded to evoke great thought, reflection, and a general awareness of our relative insignificance in a massive universe. The Outer Banks are no exception, and added to that sense of the ocean’s vast existence comes the uncertain reality of standing on a narrow, changing space almost at the whim of the ocean’s power.

Still, if you tire of reflection – if you actually walk on these sandy shores and brilliant dunes long enough that you’ve decompressed from all the stress of work and school and home and have no more thinking left to do – there’s always the surf. This beautiful National Seashore is equal parts reflection and adventure, and you’ll love both activities for Outer Banks student tours.

We’re working to bulk up the fabulous content on our home page for fun and exciting student travel, and I’ve been looking around for some of the most popular, most-searched-for destinations for spring break trips.

Cancun is one of our favorite destinations with its warm hospitality of Mexico and breathtaking Caribbean waters. The snorkeling and diving are almost unmatched in the beautiful coral reefs around Cancun. The beach is gorgeous, and the nightlife some of the most innovative in the world. You can read more about it from our homepage and see all there is to discover in this popular destination.

Europe offers some of the most popular experiences and once-in-a-lifetime destinations for students as well. We love London and Paris, and we especially love a combination of the two. With the efficient Eurostar, a train that carries passengers between the two wonderful cities, including through the English Channel tunnel (or “chunnel), a trip that includes both destinations is well within your reach. Start from Heathrow airport with a guided driving tour of some of London’s highlights (Windsor Palace and Big Ben for instance), spend a couple days exploring them up close and then ride the train to Paris for a cruise on the Seine or a view from the Eiffel Tower. Of course, we have lots of other European tours on our site as well – all of them to amazing destinations any student would enjoy.

Coming soon we plan to feature Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Panama City, Florida, as two highly popular spring break destinations. We’ll also fill you in on Cocoa Beach (near Orlando), the emerald coast (along the Gulf of Mexico and covered in brilliant white quartz sand), and Miami.

But where else? Let us know some of the destinations you’re curious about. What’s the first place you think of when you consider that all-important spring break escape. And what’s more important to you? The beaches? The nightlife? Or both?  Either way, we’ll have the info you need to choose plenty of exciting beach and European tours, from Cancun spring break trips to European travel – all perfect for spring break and beyond.

Have you considered Charlotte, North Carolina, for a warm-weather destination? Hopefully after this post you will. Charlotte student tours offer everything from white water rafting to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and a variety of performing arts venues, plus everything in between. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.

US National Whitewater Center

The whitewater rafting is just the beginning of the adventure possible at the US National Whitewater Center, an official U.S. Olympic Training Site. Other activities include a mega zip line, mountain biking, a climbing center, and more – all created to help promote healthy lifestyles and environmental awareness. But healthy/inspirational agenda aside, visitors will love every thrilling activity here.

Discovery Place is one of the most visited attractions in the Carolinas. In its simplest label, it’s a science museum. But with the unveiling of its all-new exhibits, there’s even more proof that Discovery Place is much more than that. Hands-on activities, unique ways to experience marine life, the rain forest – even physiologic systems of the human body – all make this museum like none you’ve seen.

Charlotte Motor Speedway

NASCAR fans will love the behind-the-scenes tour of this popular raceway, including the full-tilt experience of 24-degree banking and a photo op in Victory Circle. The tours are only offered on non-event days, but they’re definitely a popular choice. For even more celebration of the famous racing events, visitors will love the NASCAR Hall of Fame with almost 40,000 square feet of memorabilia and interactive exhibits celebrating the sport.

And you know, these are just the beginning, right? Charlotte also offers much more with history, art, and thrills. And it’s a perfect choice for educational tours.