Iowa State students who anticipate escaping Ames to popular destinations such as Cancun or South Padre Island should be careful when planning their trip. They may be in for a surprise when they get there, or they may not get there at all.

Traci Nutty, travel service manager for AAA Travel, 226 S. 3rd St., warned that spring break packages can be deceiving.

“You may get something for your money, but it’s sometimes hard to know what you’re getting,” she said.

Janice Anderson, assistant manager for Sail Aweigh Travel, 406 Main St., held a similar view.

“The problem is that [spring break trips] are not all scams, and how do you tell the difference between them? That’s the hard part,” she said.

Since ISU, University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa are all having spring breaks during the same week, travel agents have been very busy, Anderson said.

She said students should definitely take several precautions to avoid being ripped off.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” she said. “There aren’t that many bargains that are going to be true.”

Anderson also advised people not to give out credit card numbers over the phone or the Internet. She warned people not to pay money upfront, unless they are receiving a confirmed reservation.

Anderson said it is difficult to pinpoint any one company guilty of selling scams because the companies constantly change their names and addresses.

“[Companies] set up a room with a bunch of telephones, and they move around from place to place setting up different names,” Anderson said.

She noted one scam in which people would sign up for low-cost trips over the phone. Customers were told to call back to schedule dates for the trip, and each time they called, they were led to believe the time they wanted was not available.

Anderson said some of the most common scams have involved cruises to the Bahamas.

She said many of these “cruises” in reality are just boats from Florida to the Bahamas.

When passengers finally arrive in the Bahamas, they must find their own hotels, despite initial claims that accommodations would be provided.

Anderson recommended to students going on trips that they bring proof of citizenship and a birth certificate with a raised seal, or a passport to ensure a successful spring break trip.