NEW YORK, Feb 12 — It seems that US travellers are seeking less sun and more culture this year, as New York tops a new Expedia report on the most popular spring break destinations in the US.

Though traditionally, snowbirds take flight to sunnier climes for spring break, air travel data pulled for the period of March 10-31 shows that New York trumps Los Angeles this year. 

Rounding out the top five spots are LA, Orlando, Las Vegas and Washington DC. 

For flexible travellers in search of budget options, Expedia recommends booking an early trip in February, which was identified as the cheapest month for booking international flights from the US. 

Meanwhile, TripAdvisor is reminding sun seekers looking to escape winter that the Caribbean is mostly back to business, following a few devastating hurricanes that put popular destinations out of operation. 

To help snowbirds on a budget, TripAdvisor has crunched the numbers and identified the top five Caribbean destinations where US travellers can spend a week for less than US$2,000 (RM7,881). 

They include Curacao, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Puerto Rico. 

Overall, the most expensive week for hotel stays in the Caribbean is the last week of April, when a weeklong trip in Curacao, including a round-trip flight and seven-night hotel stay, rings in at an average of US$1,646. 

Here are the top 10 most popular spring break destinations according to air travel data from Expedia: 

1. New York  2. Los Angeles  3. Orlando  4. Las Vegas  5. Washington DC  6. Phoenix  7. San Francisco  8. Miami  9. Chicago  10. Dallas — AFP-Relaxnews