Ah, Spring Break: Those booze-fueled glory days you spent partying in Cancun, Panama City, and Lake Powell feel like they were just yesterday. Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to convince yourself (and those around you) that someone beyond the age of 22 should still be hitting the beaches with throngs of college kids. Luckily, there are plenty of places for the mature, modern man to take a spring break of his own without feeling like a seventh-year senior. These party spots offer more than just shooter girls and wet t-shirt contests.
Palm Springs, California
Not so long ago, Palm Springs was a sleepy desert town that catered to geriatrics. Then a little festival called Coachella was born and the scene hasn’t been the same since. The cool kids flocking from L.A. on the weekends have supported the rise of an awesome nightlife scene in a town that caters to everyone from dirty hipster to rock god.
Hotels to Check Out: Just like at its sister properties, the parties at the Ace Hotel and Swim Club are the stuff of legends. The two pools host music events each weekend (usually with well-known DJs), and rooms are decked out with amenities like turntables and iPod docks.
Check out more Spring Break spots after the jump.
Montreal, Quebec
Even though there is no wrong time to visit, spring time in Montreal is a beautiful thing. As the temperatures rise, packed bars and clubs, festivals, and parties galore return to town. Do your best to avoid the douchey bachelor party tourist traps downtown and explore the nightlife in the Plateau instead. You’ll be practicing your French with the locals in time.
Hotels to Check Out: Spring for a massive loft with your buddies at the Loft Hotel: Their living rooms are perfect for pre-gaming before hitting up the bars (or hosting an after party) in the surrounding Latin Quarter.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Yeah, we know what you’re thinking: A Harold and Kumar style vacation doesn’t exactly scream “mature.” But Amsterdam is a multifaceted city, where your more refined side can take in the sights and architecture, museums, and fun nightlife. And if your younger self wants to hit up an herb-supplied coffee shop, that’s fine too.
Hotels to Check Out: The Canal House, while on the pricier side, has a sliding scale of swanky rooms with some of the sexiest bathrooms in Europe. The lobby bar is also sure to impress any locals you decide to bring back for a nightcap.
Whistler, British Columbia
The modern man knows that there’s something awesome about opting for a last chance run on the slopes during a spring break. Whistler packs a double whammy as home to what is arguably the most diverse skiing terrain in North America as well as serious nightlife and quality eats. The best part? Everything is accessible by foot, so you’ll never need to spring for a cab.
Hotels to Check Out: While it has some slight management issues in the offseason, the Adara Hotel is in a prime location for anyone looking to hit the slopes as hard as they hit the bars. It has a hipper look and more modern amenities than other hotels in Whistler, too, with iPod docks, flat-screen TCs and Playstation 3s.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
True, Puerto Rico’s drinking age is 18 and colleges occasionally send groups of Spring Breakers to all-inclusive resorts on the island. But San Juan is a city unlike any other in the Caribbean: the beaches are nice, the nightlife is bustling, and the restaurants are actually worth a damn. It’s a good compromise between setting your own pace and still getting the vitamin D that your deprived body has been craving.
Hotels to Check Out: The Beach House isn’t San Juan’s swankiest, but it offers the widest range of what you’d want on vacation with its white beach, live DJ parties on weekends, the on-site Follie Bar, and clean, hip rooms. When you start craving a change of scenery, the Old San Juan scene is only a short cab ride away.
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