It might be time to change USC’s name to the University of Southern Cabo.
Spring break is here, and an army of Trojans are packing their bags and heading to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a regular destination for USC students looking to get away, recharge and party.
“Everyone here goes to Cabo,” said Harry Nash, a junior exchange student from Ireland studying economics.
Antonis Ioannou, a freshman from London, said going to Cabo for spring break is “a pretty staple freshman thing.”
Ioannou said that he already has a Bagatelle reservation, a popular restaurant in Cabo, and other events booked for his roommate’s birthday.
He said Cabo is “uncharted territory,” but added that he’s been to “Europe[an] equivalents.” He doesn’t know what to expect, but said he is excited nonetheless.
“Mexico will be interesting to experience,” he said, laughing.
Cameron Breier, a freshman studying public relations and advertising, is going to Cabo from Sunday to Thursday. She booked it through a spring break company called LVIN.
LVIN is a popular travel company that provides college students with hotel rooms, entrance to top clubs, open bar hours, exclusive parties and onsite staff.
“With more than 7,000 travelers over 25 days of Spring Break, this trip was one for the books,” LVIN said on their website after last year’s spring break slew of college trips.
Each week, LVIN coordinates a live concert at one of their hotels. For the week of USC’s spring break, the artist is the popular DJ James Hype.
Breier said most of her friends are going to Cabo, adding that they are all really excited for the concert.
Besides the concert, Breier and her friends have other fun plans for the week. They have dinner reservations, plans to go on a boat and will be doing a lot of tanning because: “I need to get some color,” she said.
Even though Cabo is a popular spring break destination for big friend groups, some students are going with significant others instead.
Teya Michelle, a freshman studying biology, said she is planning on going to Cabo with her boyfriend for four days. She acknowledged that a lot of her friends are also going to Cabo.
“I plan on relaxing, doing nothing and taking a break,” Michelle said. This year’s spring break is falling on her birthday, so she added that she was really excited for the week ahead.
“Even in Ireland, we kind of knew Cabo was such a big spring break destination,” said Nash.
Nash booked an all-inclusive resort in Cabo with 14 of his friends. They used a “party package holidays” at the Hotel Riu Palace.
“I don’t think I’ll be leaving the resort that much since it’s all inclusive, so all the drinks are free,” Nash said, other than attending a concert.
Naoise Kelly, another Irish exchange student, said that he and Nash are getting an all-inclusive in Cabo from March 24-28, the week after USC spring break.
Kelly will be joining his Irish friends for their schools’ spring break, also in Cabo.
“I’ll have a little bit of FOMO, but then at the same time, I’ll know that I’ll be there a week later,” Kelly said.
Although Ioannou is looking forward to vacationing in Cabo for the first time, the people he is going with are the ultimate motivation for the destination.
“I’m probably more going because my friends are going versus me intrinsically wanting to go myself,” he said.