Baseball fans and college students have at least one thing in common: going on vacation for spring break.
College students often go to beaches in Mexico, Florida and other exotic places to enjoy their week off at the end of March. These places are warm, sunny and known for being extra fun.
Baseball fans, on the other hand, usually go to Arizona or Florida too, although for different reasons.
Fans of west coast and some central teams, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians, go to Arizona. Fans of the other central teams and those on the east coast, like the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros, head down to Florida.
Those in Southern California generally go to Arizona.
As college students, there is always the matter of money being an issue when planning any spring break trip. Because of that, it is important to look at ways to save some money when going on a trip to Arizona for Spring Training.
The good news is, tickets are always going to be a lot cheaper than at the regular season baseball stadiums.
Seats on the field level at a Spring Training game are generally in the 30-40 dollar range. Those same seats, especially near the dugouts would usually go for 100-200 dollars depending on who is playing in a regular season game.
Another smart idea is to skip flying and drive your own car.
Flying is usually expensive on its own, but it is also necessary to have a rental car. For anyone under 25, rental cars are even more expensive.
The drive is long, usually five hours, but car trips can be fun with the right people, music and snacks.
Hotels are another important expense that comes with any trip. Unless there is a relative or friend out there willing to open up their home, a hotel or rental of some kind are really the only options.
To save money on the hotel, check out websites like Hotels.com and Kayak.com to compare rates. When booking early, there are usually some pretty good deals available.
Stadium food can tend to be a bit pricey as well, so eating before or after a game at a restaurant like Cracker Barrel is a good option. Of course, it can be hard to resist a cold beverage and a hot dog while taking in a game.
One last money hog is souvenirs: t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and more.
Instead of going for the pricey items like the sweatshirts and t-shirts that do not always include the year, opt for a magnet or foam finger instead.
The magnets usually have the years on them, are a lot cheaper than a shirt and will easily fit into a suitcase stuffed with other memorabilia like signed baseball cards and those foam fingers.
A spring training trip on a budget is not impossible, it just needs to be well planned out in advance.
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