Ah, spring break. A time of reckless drunken debauchery or a time of blankly staring at the walls of your childhood bedroom wishing you were elsewhere.
While GainesvilleScene can’t book you an exciting all inclusive adventure to Fiji, we can still help you make the most of your spring break.
If you still haven’t made plans:
If you are a diehard member of the procrastination nation, you probably haven’t made any plans yet.
Come Friday afternoon will you be able to hop on a plane around the world or sail the high seas? Probably not (unless you want to spend a fortune on last-minute tickets). But there are still tons of cool options for a memorable spring break.
1. Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival is a 3-day paradise of music, art, food and good vibes. Tickets, which are $260 for the whole weekend, are still available and if you consider the stacked lineup of the festival (Mumford, Kendrick Lamar, Skrillex, Bassnectar, etc. etc.) it’s not a bad price to pay. If you decide to go, check out our survival guide for the festival here.
2. Eat your way across Florida. Put on some very stretch pants, ,hop in the car and follow this guide for the 15 best restaurants in Florida. You can start with Satchel’s Pizza who made the hot list at #6!
3. Use one of our Weekend Getaway Guides to experience a long weekend in a nearby city. These were created by people who were born and raised there, so we guarantee it will be a killer weekend.
4. Find a cheap AirBnb on one of Florida’s many beaches and spend a few days lounging in the sun, sand and surf. Most AirBnB hosts will provide you with recommendations for what to do in their town, so planning will be minimal.
If you’re going back to your hometown:
“Home” doesn’t have to be synonymous with “boring” this spring break.
1. Experience your city as if you were a tourist and see all the things that locals are “too cool” for. If you’re from Tampa, Miami, St. Augustine, St. Pete, Tallahassee or Boca, you can use our Weekend Getaway Guideto give you a definitive plan. No fanny pack needed.
2. Binge watch instead of binge drink. Let our resident television expert Taylor Gaines get you hooked on a new show. Plus, you can always yell to the kitchen for mom to make you more Pizza Rolls.
3. Do a weeklong mind, body and soul cleanse. Go see your doctor/dentist/gyno/therapist (we know it’s been too long), meditate, work out (a lot of gyms offer a free weeklong trial membership), get a massage, a facial, a haircut and relax. A whole “Treat Yo’self” week at home will still end up being less money than a 3 day booze cruise.
4. Or do the opposite and vow to have no agenda for the whole week. Cash in on all that lost sleep, stay in your pajamas for 24 hours, whatever. Lock your planner in the drawer if you really have to.
5. Don’t hate us for suggesting this, but take the week to learn something or better yourself. Read (remember when you used to actually like reading?), redo your resume, watch a few TED talks, apply for jobs and make another feeble attempt to plan out your future.
If you’re staying in Gainesville:
Gainesville is a wonderful place to be regardless of the academic calendar. Staying here over break will give you time to explore the hidden gems of the 352.
1. Hit up a different nature spot each day of break. Use our guide to get you started.
2. See some live music. Modern jazz-band Moon Hooch is playing High Dive on March 2. The artists in Moon Hooch are talented Jazz musicians that take obscure risks with their sound that not a lot of other jazz bands do. The end result is a killer live act with danceable tunes. So spend the first weekend of spring break with a band that has more spunk, soul and all-around weirdness than any band you’ve seen before.
3. Make up your own Gainesville foodie challenge. Try all the food trucks in town or visit every locally-owned coffee shop within a 10 mile radius of the city, for example.
4. Gainesville’s premiere kinetic derby will take place downtown on February 27th from 10AM through 3PM. Called Menagerie in Motion Kinetic Derby, teams of artists create moving sculptures that can be up to 35 feet long. You don’t have to understand it, but saying you saw a gigantic human-operated shark is always a good conversation starter.
5. Take advantage of the fact that Gainesville is a ghost town. Climb trees on campus, use the stadium as your own personal athletic center and try all the restaurants you’ve always wanted to.
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