Proper planning can provide a vacation at a locale slightly more exotic than the fountains near the Ezekiel Cullen building. | Bethel Glumac

One of the best aspects of summer time is the freedom to travel. With a minimized commitment to school, many students take advantage of summer to go out and see something new. Because of finances, many students that can’t afford extravagant trips and are finding creative ways to still enjoy traveling. One of the most common ways to travel in an economically friendly way is to visit a family member or friend.

“I’m looking forward to spending a week in New York City with my boyfriend,” said finance junior Diane Roark.

Many students also look into doing road trips with a group of friends to save money. Expenses such as gas, food and lodging can be cut dramatically when split between four of more people. One of America’s most popular highways, Route 66, is a road many students embark on to enjoy food, fun and sightseeing of some of America’s most beautiful big cities and small towns. The Grand Canyon, Navajo Indian Reservation and the Twin Arrows are just a few places to see in this historic highway. With a group of friends and a great set of CDs, students are able to enjoy a memorable road trip this summer and have some money left over when you return home.

Some students save money enjoying the treasures of the south.

“I’m going to New Orleans for my birthday,” said liberal studies junior Taylor Brooks. “There are eight of us going. We saved about $900 by booking a mystery hotel, you don’t know what hotel you get until you pay. We ended up getting a 4-star hotel right on Bourbon Street.”

Other students are looking to keep things local.

Biology junior Jorge Galicia is one also one of the students hoping to do the same.

“This summer I will probably be going to Austin using the $8 Megabus,” Galicia said. I save a lot on gas and have more money to spend on partying or getting to know Austin.”

The San Antonio River Walk, the Reunion Tower in Dallas and Six Flags in Arlington are just some of the numerous historical sites, restaurants and amusement parks that students can visit in Texas without breaking the bank.

Of course, you don’t have to go far to find new places to visit and things to do to take a break. Houston is a city full of attractions that never get old.

“I like going to Hermann Park where they have the water fountains, plus being surrounded by trees makes it more enjoyable and less hot,” Galicia said.

For any student that is given the opportunity to have a break, a vacation is great no matter what city it takes place in. Be sure to use all of your resources, get creative, and most importantly, have fun this summer.

“It’s more fun than biking and much faster than walking,” said finance junior Ryan Ackley. “It’s easier to store and you don’t have to worry about locking it up.”

Ackley has been longboarding for about four years and uses his board to get to his destinations throughout campus. Before his freshman year, Ackley has had an interest in extreme sports such as wakeboarding and snowboarding.

Since Houston weather does not have the suitable conditions for these sports, Ackley said he found longboarding to be the next best thing.

“I’ve always been a snowboarder and a wakeboarder,” Ackley said. “You can’t really snowboard in Texas so this is kind of my fix, my feel of board sports.”

Not only do some students find longboards to be easier to store, but find it safer than any kind of transportation.

Pre-medical biology sophomore Gabrielle Bolden said she has been longboarding since third grade and prefers riding a longboard more than a skateboard because she finds the wheels to be more dependable.

“There’s cracks on the sidewalks and you can get knocked off your board,” Bolden said. “The wheels on a longboard are wider, and the base of the board allows you to take quick, sharp turns to avoid crashing on someone.”

Mechanical engineering junior Will Stewart said he has been longboarding for only a few days — inspired to do so after seeing other students doing it.

Stewart’s interest in this sport encouraged him to purchase a stowboard, a versatile board that allows the rider to fold it up for quick storage, to see if it was enjoyable and if it shaved off time from his commute.

“I just saw other people boarding and I just wanted to see for myself,” Stewart said. “I was absolutely curious to see if got me to my classes any faster.”

Although some ride individually, others are forming friendships with other boarders. Students are meeting up not only on campus but also throughout the city. After practice, Ackley said that he and members of his ultimate frisbee team often take their riding to the streets.

“We have a bunch of guys that longboard on the team,” Ackley said. “We all go board together after practices.”

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Houston students had a chance to experience the culture of Mexico City and UNAM for their History 4396 course. | Miguel Cortina/The Daily Cougar

The idea of attending a university with over 200,000 enrolled students is nearly unfathomable, but it’s the reality for college students at National Autonomous University of Mexico.

It’s the biggest university in Latin America — in fact, it’s so expansive that the part of the city where it’s located is called Ciudad Universitaria — or in English, University City.

Once walking through the campus, we not only see the Olympic Stadium used in 1968, but also the works of art by Juan O’Gorman, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros.

UNAM is also a public university, but contrary to the United States, students in Mexico’s public universities don’t pay any tuition. However because of that, it is very hard for students to get in. In 2009, it was ranked in the 100 best universities worldwide. It’s also home of the Pumas, the Mexican soccer team that is in first place this year so far.

Not far from UNAM is Xochimilco, a part of the city where all you have to do is get in a trajinera, a sort of gondola, and relax. We went there on a beautiful Friday afternoon where we enjoyed more than 6.5 pounds of carnitas.

We bought the carnitas along with tortillas, guacamole, cheese and cactus and took them to the trajinera for the ride.

The canals in Xochimilco are very wide. You can find mariachis in their canoes asking other people if they would like to have some music played.

We also found vendors, who instead of sitting in the street, sat in their canoes and sold jewelry, textiles and T-shirts. After we finished the ride, some went to buy their last souvenirs from the stands that are at the dock’s exit.

Because it was our last night, we had to celebrate. We decided to go to Plaza Garibaldi, a medium-size plaza that is surrounded by cantinas and is full of mariachis.

We enter to Tenampa, perhaps the most famous cantina in Mexico. It’s here where the Mexican artists went every weekend to have a good time. We stepped out and made a deal with the mariachis for 4 songs. After singing and dancing, we drove to the Lucha Libre, where the Mexican wrestlers fight.

We each got a wrestler’s mask and enjoyed the different kinds of fights. We watched, yelled, clapped and chanted for whoever was winning.

After all the fun, we left Mexico City thinking about when we would come back. This megalopolis has trapped our hearts in hopes that one day we’ll return.

One of the only remaining Six Flags in Texas after Houston’s Astroworld closed five years ago, Fiesta Texas exhibits one of the best. Rides such as Goliath will keep heads spinning as riders suspended in the air while zooming through twists and turns. If you crave aquatic fun, 20 miles north of San Antonio on I -35 is Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels.

San Antonio’s nightlife is no cheap thrill either. Visitors can come get down and dirty at the world famous Coyote Ugly Saloon.  You can certainly expect a happy hour when you go.

Home of the “world greatest rock ‘n’ roll dueling piano show,” Howl at the Moon is the place to go for nonstop entertainment.

The location offers piano players, comedians, singers and a variety of songs from the ‘70s.  As servers and hostesses’ perform, audience participation is strongly encouraged.

If dancing the night away isn’t your idea of fun, enjoy a beer at Rita’s on the River, located on the famous River Walk.

For outdoor lovers, Hemisfair Park is home to the Tower of the Americas, which overlooks the city and a children’s park.  Visitors can view Alamo City and theme parks while dining at the same time.

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park offers free tours of the four historic missions and churches established on the frontier with native habitats excellent for bird watching.  A section of the original river can be viewed from the nature trail at Mission San Juan.

For your shopping pleasures, the historic market square La Villita Historic Arts Village is a thriving art community with many walk-up shops.

The San Antonio River and River Walk provide the perfect atmosphere for couples to stroll down this lush green space, pick up a boat ride, shop and hear some great music.  Make sure your next destination is San Antonio, Texas.