Want fun in the sun?

It's finally that time of year. The ice is thawing, spring is just around the corner, and you've spent months day-dreaming about basking in the sun, swimming in the ocean and staying out into the early hours of the morning with friends during a week of spring break madness. The only problem? You don't have a flight to get there or a hotel to sleep in.\nLuckily there's still hope for those who have yet to make travel arrangements but are still determined to escape to a tropical locale. Although availability is severely limited, those willing to shell out the extra bucks and be flexible with their options can still find themselves relaxing at the pool with students who made their reservations months ago.\n"There are a few decently priced options to Cancun or Jamaica, so those are the best bets right now," said STA Travel Advisor Erick Amick. "Because IU has the peak spring break week where a lot of other students from across the country are traveling, there are more limitations to where you can reasonably travel."\nAmick estimates a cost between $1,000 and $1,500 for hotel and airfare packages to Jamaica. Cancun rates start at around $1,250. Flying out of Chicago also helps knock rates down, especially because flights out of Indianapolis are almost all booked up at this point. The sooner last-minute travelers make their plans, the better, Amick said. \n"It's hard to find last-minute deals because it's based on space available," he said. "There are some student trips left, but they could be gone in literally a half an hour."\nWhile availability is severely limited at some agencies, others saw their student packages fly away months ago. \n"People booked early so you only have the nitty gritty," said Rita Jackson of the AAA Hoosier Motor Company. "There are no packages left, hardly any airfare to Florida, and it's hard to find hotels. If you want to go to Florida, you're going to have to drive and pay about $200 a night most anywhere you want to stay." \nCruises are a popular spring break option that students around the country take advantage of. Although many cruises are booked, those willing to spend a day in the car and pay up for a ticket can still spend their spring break traveling the high seas.\n"There are some cruises still available, but there aren't really any flights to get you to the place where it departs from," Jackson said. "If you're willing to drive to Florida and board from there, it's still an option."\nWith most travel packages gone, procrastinators planning this late in the game might find better success taking trip organizing into their own hands. Fortunately, there is an array of Web sites specifically geared toward accommodating last-minute travelers. The site www.site59.com offers different travel ideas, from "sun-and-sand" to "top-sellers." Prices are listed from least expensive to most expensive and trips can be tailored to fit any departure and destination point combination. \nIf inflated prices are a deterrent, settling for a shortened vacation is an option that might be easier on the wallet. The Web site shows availability for four-day trips to Cancun starting at $632.\nWhether booking with a travel agent or doing it yourself, there are some tips that agents highly suggest travelers take into consideration when planning spring break travel.\n"Have a solid idea. Pick maybe three places you are interested in going, be open minded as far as what you're going to pay and what options are available to you, because you're going to have to pick from the leftovers," Amick said. \nAnother piece of advice: Book in smaller groups. \n"Bigger groups are going to be really difficult to accommodate at this point," he said. "Groups of up to five are going to be a lot easier, four would be ideal because most hotels only allow four people per room."\nThere are innumerable ways to go about making travel plans independent of an agency, but agents said booking directly with hotels and airlines is probably a safer bet than using Web sites like Expedia.com or that claim to do it all for you.\n"People do use Web sites that are all-inclusive, but my personal opinion is you should go directly through the company," Jackson said. "You want to know you're getting the legit thing you signed up for, and I've found that the prices aren't really that different." \nPlanning ahead is usually the best strategy when organizing a trip, but waiting until the last minute has its upsides. Those willing to be flexible might find that taking advantage of someone else's travel-plans-gone-bad is an attractive option. Some Web sites and travel agencies offer cheap deals on canceled trips that were purchased months ago. Buying a canceled trip might be cheap, but oftentimes travelers might not know where they're traveling to until a week before the trip. However, with only a week to go until classes end, this shouldn't be a tremendous pitfall.