By Lorraine Sanders
Rio de Janeiro
1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands. While some of your traveling companions head off to coffee houses and Red Light District to partake in the city's most notorious pastimes, attractions like the Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum and Heineken Brewery promise entertainment enough for the prudes in your group. Stay in the city center for easy access to restaurants, shops and public transportation.
2. Las Vegas, Nevada. Vegas Baby, Yeah! Any self-respecting graduate owes it to him or herself to waste several hundred dollars of someone else's hard-earned cash partying, gambling and indulging in Las Vegas. Like a modern-day right of passage, that first trip to Vegas leaves no man (or woman) unchanged. We suggest booking a cheap room (try our Hotel Deals section for current special rates) and using your funds to eat, drink and play at all the hotspots.
3. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Whether you head directly to this tropical party town or make it a stop on a longer journey down the Baja peninsula (an excellent West Coast road trip, by the way), you'll find plenty of ways to fritter away your monetary assets. Bunk into one of the area's many all-inclusive resorts for a hassle-free vacation.
4. Lake Powell, Utah. Rent a houseboat with friends (the largest rentals available through Lake Powell Resorts and Marina sleep up to 12; some have fireplaces and hot tubs onboard) and spend a few days swimming, partying and exploring Glen Canyon National Recreation Area with wild abandon.
5. New York, New York. Instead of spreading your graduation monies out over an adventure spanning weeks or months, bunk into a Manhattan hotel (preferably a luxury suite) for a weekend with friends. Order room service multiple times a day, hit the town each night, buy frivolous souvenirs and make sure to take taxis everywhere you go. We guarantee you'll be able to blow your entire summer fun budget in a matter of hours.
6. Miami, Florida. See-and-be-scenesters count Miami's South Beach among the best people-watching destinations in the world. Just beyond the shops, restaurants and Art Deco treasures packed along main drags Ocean Drive and Collins Ave., South Beach is dotted with more toned beach bodies than palm trees (and there are a lot of palm trees). This is the beach to visit if your sexiest swimsuit isn't something you actually intend to swim in. And while having real sex on the beach might get you arrested, drinking one (or twelve) in a swanky beachfront bar nearby will hardly be a problem.
7. Ibiza, Spain. If all-night clubbing followed by limp days spent recovering on the beach are among your vacation goals, there is perhaps no better destination than Ibiza. Just outside Ibiza Town, Playa d'en Bossa is known for its high-energy, party-til-you-puke vibe and shallow Mediterranean waters. For those still standing after a night of pounding house music and god knows what else to go along with it, watercraft from catamarans to wind-surfing boards are available for rent right on the beach.
8. Oahu, Hawaii . Yeah, sure you spent the last four years learning (unless perfecting your fuzzy duck strategy is now considered part of core college curriculum). Now that you're officially in charge of your own life, exercise your body and your brain with a trip to Surf Camp on Hawaii's [TK] island. If you can't make it all the way to the islands, try Surf Camp's North Carolina locations in Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach.
9. Key West, Florida. Borrow a car from Dad, pack it with as many people as possible and take off down the Sunshine State's Overseas Highway, which starts on the mainland and continues on for 126 miles before ending in Key West. Drive it all in one day or make stops at scenic spots like Big Pine Key's National Key Deer Refuge, home to the Key Deer, who rarely grow taller than two-and-a-half-feet.
10. Rio de Janeiro . Whether or not you make it for Carnival, you're sure to find a party in this steamy South American hotspot. For a challenge, head to the beach and count tan lines (you won't see many).