Ten Greatest Spring Break 2011 Party Destinations

It's been a long, cold winter. Students are telling each other: Let's go somewhere hot and party away day and night! Ten of the hottest spots for spring break are there awaiting your choice!

1. Orlando, Florida: This center of super amusement parks has to be the best for students who need variety. At the center are Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and upscale resorts, where spring break will be never-ending parties, rides, parades, music, dancing and good eats.

2. South Padre Island, Texas: This very popular spring break destination offers miles and miles of sandy Gulf Coast beaches. Students are welcomed with a great variety of food, music and other festivities that outshine all other celebrations everywhere else.

3. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: This classy old family vacation destination turns itself into a student paradise for spring break season. The clubs and hotels on the beach are all in a row, and you don't need to drive to get anywhere else to do your night-time celebrating. During the day you can sun, surf or try your swing at some of the world-class golf courses.

4. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: This scenic resort town on the fingertip of Baja's Pacific coast beach attracts students from all over the world at spring break time. You can mix and match while trying your high-school Spanish to order tacos. The sandy beaches are warm, white and welcoming.

5. Phoenix, Arizona: The entire desert state is full of great spring break destinations, including the Grand Canyon, Tombstone, the Petrified Forest and John Wayne's Monument Valley. If you still want some winter, you can hit the ski slopes just a couple of miles north of Flagstaff.

6. San Diego, California: The city has many great beaches and lots of sunshine. It has the largest and most interesting zoo in the world. It's also just 20 minutes north of the infamous Mexican border town of Tijuana, for those spring breakers who want a different kind of zoo atmosphere.

7. Cancun, Mexico: Many students and other tourists believe Cancun is the hippest place to enjoy sun, sand and waves. It does have great daytime beachfront spring break events, spicy restaurants and even spicier night life.

8. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Rugged spring breakers who thrive in bracing air and nearby snow-capped Laurentian ski slopes don't need sissy sun and surf for a great time. Canada's liberal drinking age is 18, so college students can have fun without looking over their shoulders. There are hundreds of pubs, bars and bistros in this welcoming city to do it.

9. Las Vegas, Nevada: If you want to do your spring break sinning in Sin City, there are hundreds of places where you can do it right. Remember a student's version of the slogan: what happens in Vegas, you hope your parents will never find out.

10. Paris, France: The City of Lights had to be included in the best ten list, although most spring breakers couldn't afford it. So, all you spoiled rich kids whose parents can afford Harvard, MIT, Yale, Penn, Stanford and Malibu U (Pepperdine), do your celebrating in Paris. Outdoor cafes, the Louvre, fabulous walks along the Champs Elysées, climb the Eiffel Tower or just confine yourself to the many student hangouts near the Sorbonne.

Your spring break this year can be as much fun if you celebrate just around the corner from home or in an exotic city on the other side of the world. Remember the old saying: you're only young once, and if you do it right, that should be enough.