Ah, spring break. It can be amazingly rejuvenating vacation after a long winter, or an insanely stressful debacle, depending on the choices you make.

With these four tips, you can pick a destination, choose an excellent hotel and get a great night’s sleep.

4 Tips for Getting Sleep During Your Spring Break Vacation

1. Select a peaceful location.

If you want a spring break that actually feels like a break instead of a bad rehash of your worst college experiences, choose your location very carefully. College kids on spring break often head to popular beach or party spots like Cancun, Mexico, Miami or Las Vegas.

Consider a quieter location like Austin, Texas, far from the madding crowd. Just remember that millions of families have spring break in March and April, and many of them will travel. Book a couple of months in advance, and give yourself time to check out online reviews online. If your heart is set on a beach vacation, do a Google search for “spring break party in” that city, to get an idea of the vibe you can expect.

2. Choose a pricier hotel

The hotter the climate, the more college kids will arrive, eager for drinking and partying.

Even if you too are traveling to a warm climate, you can still find a great hotel that will features less noise and activity. First, start by voting with your wallet. Choose hotels that are a bit pricier than the basics, or a resort that prices services à la carte. This way, you can avoid crossing paths with broke college students looking for a screaming deal. Second, go small and local. The cozier the hotel, the harder it is for people to instigate a huge party.

3. Be picky about your hotel room

Even the best hotels have problems with noisy neighbors sometimes. Thankfully, this does not mean you have to accept a week of little or no sleep as a punishment. Lots of people have trouble sleeping on a strange mattress in a different room. When you check in, see if the rooms have blackout shades or curtains. Request a room that is located in the interior, so that you can minimize road noise. And make sure your room isn’t near the pool or swim-up bar. Add comforts such as your own pillow and a soft eye mask for sleeping. Purchase a small white noise machine or install an app on your phone to drown out the sounds of people walking through the corridor.

4. Call the front desk 

You can try your best to be a good hotel tenant, but there are times when you simply need to take it to the next level. For the party that never seems to end,  you can freely take advantage of the hotel’s front desk. Always ask employees of the hotel to intervene on your behalf, instead of taking it upon yourself to talk to the person in the room next to yours. They are more likely to get a satisfactory result, and it lowers your risk of directly angering someone in close proximity to you and your family.

Booking your dream hotel for spring break does not need to turn into a nightmare. Just follow these guidelines so you can sleep and actually enjoy your vacation.