Spring break: These days the annual vacation means more than just beach parties

NEW YORK — Spring break can mean partying in Cancun or volunteering in New Orleans. But it can also mean late-season skiing or even bird-watching. Here are some spring break ideas:

BOOKING: You get the best value and choice booking three to four months ahead. But you can still plan plenty of last-minute trips. Flying on weekdays and staying four rather than seven days increases your last-minute options for flights and lodging, according to Amanda Webb of STA Travel.

Most college spring breaks fall between March 8 and 22. Not surprisingly, that's when airfare peaks, according to Farecast

.com, a travel search site. The Web site's research found fares average $294 to Las Vegas, $270 to Orlando, $314 to Miami and $350-$500 for Mexico and the Caribbean. Farecast.com says if you're not bound to the college calendar, you'll save money vacationing at the end of February or in April.

COLLEGE SPRING BREAKS: Panama City Beach, Fla., and South Padre Island, Texas, remain top destinations for the college crowd, according to Debbie Gibb of the Student and Youth Travel Association, www.syta.org.

Also popular, Gibb said, are Breckenridge, Colo., South Beach in Miami, Lake Havasu, Ariz., Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Las Vegas. Top destinations outside the United States include Cancun, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Panama City Beach — www.pcbeachspring break.com — expects 250,000 spring breakers this year, including those in town for mtvU's annual spring break party, March 9-22. "The kids want to go there because that's where the celebrities are going to be and that's where everybody else is going to be," said Joe Bush, of First Choice Student Travel, which represents 16 of the largest providers of student trips.

Bush said emerging destinations for spring break include Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. "There's been a trend toward more all-inclusive, and Punta Cana just has really nice resorts and a great value for the college kids," he said. Spring break cruises to Nassau in the Bahamas are also "a really good value for the budget traveler," with many priced less than $500 for four nights.

But Gibb stressed that there has been "a steady decline in traditional party trips" and a growth in volunteer tours. "Spring break is growing up," she said. "The days of drinking all day on Daytona Beach are dwindling." Instead, college students "want to make a difference in the world. They are more informed, more socially responsible."