All over the country, college students decide to take a week off from reality, go somewhere warm, and do things they’ll deny in future job interviews. After that comes a holiday entirely devoted to drinking, and ends with one of the biggest, craziest music festivals in the world at Ultra. The problem for party people is, alas, deciding where to go to party. The problem for everyone else is figuring out where to go to avoid them. Whether you’re looking to rage or relax this spring, here are the best places to travel in March.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Spring break in Mexico is a time-honored American tradition, right up there with apple pie and caring about soccer for one three-week period every four years. Tough to pick just one spot, but Cabo lacks the bro-tastic hordes of Cancun while still offering better beach parties than anywhere in America. As luck would have it, March is also also peak whale migration season, so if shooting tequila get stale, you can get up close and personal with eight species of whales. Or just relax along two of the most spectacular beaches in Mexico at Playa Solmar and Playa del Amor.
Phoenix, Arizona
March is the weather sweet spot in the Valley of the Sun, where you don’t get the bone-dry cold of winter, but it’s not yet so hot the airport shuts down. That’s part of why half of Major League Baseball runs spring training in and around Phoenix. Unlike in the Grapefruit League, where seeing multiple teams means driving all over Florida, here you can hop from the Dodgers in Glendale to the Mariners in Peoria to the Cubs in Mesa, all without spending half the day in your car.
If baseball isn’t your top vacation priority, nearby Scottsdale has the best nightlife in the Phoenix area. Take ATV tours through the Sonoran Desert, go whitewater rafting, and hike the surrounding mountains to make the most of the perfect weather. It’s also home to some insane hotel pools, and no trip here is complete without diving into the epic oval out back at the Phoenician.
Miami, Florida
There’s simply no better time to visit Miami than March. The month boasts perfect temperatures, zero hurricanes, and nonstop events, but be warned: Hotels won’t be cheap and the bars will be packed. Start the month with spring break, where usually-snooty South Beach loosens up and welcomes a younger crowd. Move seamlessly from there into Miami Music Week, when every EDM artist you’ve heard of -- and probably 10,000 you haven’t -- play clubs, restaurants, art galleries, and the occasional Citgo station around the city. It all culminates with Ultra Music Festival, the biggest of its kind in the world, which runs this year from March 29-31.
Though partying is Miami’s big draw, the second half of the month means the Miami Open kicks off, where you’ll the likes of Federer, Nadal, and Williams in one of the coolest settings in the sport, on the tropical island of Key Biscayne. Add in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park (March 30) and proximity to spring training, and this month here is almost perfect.
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Picking a spring break destination -- whether you’re a family, college student, or burned-out office worker -- can be tough with a group. Some want to relax, others want to be active, others want to make terrible decisions and wake up with hangovers. Jamaica’s Montego Bay has a little something for everyone, from the minimal-effort all-inclusives like Sandals Resort or Azul Beach Resort to hiking to the bioluminescent bay at Glistening Waters, to trekking through the Dolphin Head Mountains to Mayfield Falls. Cruise the Hip Strip, where you’ll find spring breakers doing things they wish they could delete like pictures, with Margaritaville acting as ground zero for bad behavior. If you’re feeling super-wild, catch a taxi to Negril and spend the day at the world’s premier swingers resort at Hedonism II. Just be careful what you wish for.
Trinidad and Tobago
In Trinidad and Tobago, this time of year means Carnival. On March 4-5, the Caribbean nation parties hard -- street parades, music competitions, dancing to soca and calypso music, masquerade costumes shedding feathers and sequins and glitter. If you’re talking about which of the many Caribbean Carnival (or Carnival-adjacent) festivals is the best one, few people would tell you you’re wrong for picking Trinidad and Tobago’s. And March falls in the islands’ dry season, so nothing should be putting a damper on your warm late-winter escape.
Biloxi, Mississippi
Do not call this city along Mississippi’s quirky, artsy Gulf Coast “the poor man’s New Orleans.” Oh, Biloxi is famous for its Mardi Gras -- the city has been doing Mardi Gras for centuries -- each year hosting more than two dozen parades, more than 100 floats, and all the same great traditions of its cousin across the state line. Plus hotels are much cheaper, the fishing is great, the beach continues to be right there, and you won’t be dealing with nearly as many stumbling novice drinkers. One could almost say Biloxi is “the smart man’s New Orleans.” The party continues this year on March 5.
Platte River Valley, Nebraska
If 600,000 sandhill cranes descending on a river valley in Central Nebraska ain’t a party, we don’t know what is. The Platte River Valley is the place to be mid-March, when the largest gathering of sandhill cranes in the world takes place each year. If you’ve never seen half a million birds in flight at one time, it’s one of the most spectacular feats of nature you can witness. Don’t believe us? Ask Jane Goodall, who ranked it behind only the African Wildebeest stampeding through the Serengeti as the most impressive animal migrations on the planet. Or see for yourself. Driving to the middle of the country to witness awe-inspiring natural phenomenon is something we all got used to during the most recent eclipse, and this bird migration is absolutely worth seeing at least once. Not into birds? Try tanking -- Nebraska is where you want to be, whether you know it yet or not.
Dublin, Ireland
Turning a river green is cute and all, but you wanna do St. Paddy’s Day the real way? Hop across the pond to Ireland, snake-free for 1,500 years and counting thanks to that one dude you’re celebrating. The parade through the Temple Bar district winds along cobblestone streets past centuries-old Irish pubs, the sort of once-in-a-lifetime imagery that’ll ruin the green-tinged holiday back home. Make a trip out to the Guinness Storehouse and judge for yourself if all your friends who don’t shut up about how “the Guinness is just better in Ireland” are right. (I think yes.) Or visit the Jameson Distillery, and actually try sipping the country’s most famous spirit instead of shooting it like you usually do. Just be forewarned that the Irish don’t get as sloppy on the 17th as we do here. Pace yourself and avoid becoming an international embarrassment.
Vrindavan, India
If you’ve never been to the Holi festival in India, be ready: People are going to throw brightly colored powder in your face, laugh at you, and expect you to like it. Pack your sense of humor and whimsy. This annual festival celebrates the winning of light over darkness, an event unlike anything on earth, and is best experienced in the holy city of Vrindavan, said to be the birthplace of the Hindu deity Krishna. Travel blogger Lola Mendez, who’s been to the festival a time or two, broke down the best way to do it for us:
“For the most unique experience, avoid the curated events for tourists and head into the city. It’s nearly impossible to find a detailed schedule of events in English but once you arrive, you'll realize it's unnecessary. Just follow the music and the stream of people tossing color into the air, and at each other. In our experience playing Holi on the street, most children and locals asked us before throwing Holi our way and were thrilled when we threw it right back. Holi can be a bit aggressive but mostly just within the temples.”
Sun Valley, Idaho
The place that invented the modern ski resort (it’s home to America’s first chairlift!) still feels more like a place to ski than be seen, with one of the country’s biggest Nordic skiing areas, fat bike trails, and snowshoe expeditions complimenting the famous alpine slopes. March 13-17 this year also brings the annual Sun Valley Film Festival, a more-accessible (if less star-studded answer) to Robert Redford’s festival in Utah. Here, everyday attendees can sit in on panels with industry insiders and catch exclusive screenings of new movies, without spending a fortune of having to drop names. Sun Valley’s cool, without trying too hard, and is best visited before all the beautiful people show up.
Anchorage, Alaska
First thing’s first: March in Anchorage means the Iditarod, and the opening festivities (March 2nd) downtown around 4th Ave are not to be missed. Nor is getting chased by a stampede of hungry hungry reindeer during the Fur Rendezvous later that day. And perhaps you’d like to try your hand at mushing some sled dogs yourself? Or you could grab yourself a helicopter tour of nearby glaciers, or take a biking tour over frozen lakes if you’re the active type.
Oh, and March is also prime aurora borealis viewing.
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