Spring Break can be a busy time to travel. Schools across North America let out from March through early April, clogging travel infrastructure in popular destinations. Here are a few destinations to travel to in March and April to avoid the Spring Break crush.

Although the weather is pleasant and the scenery spectacular, Vancouver Island isn't a top destination for the spring break crowds. Some attractions like Buchart Gardens are open year-round (and underappreciated) during early spring, and hotel rates are attractively lower than their summer peaks. Visitors can storm watch in Tofino, take in the old world charm of Victoria or comb virtually any beach.

While the rest of the Aloha State can burgeon with families during Spring Break, it's business as usual on tranquil Molokai. Visit this stoplight-free island to hike the world's highest sea cliffs or poke around the shops and weekend farmer's market Kaunakakai (which the locals call simply "town"), which still looks much as it did in the 1930s. It's even possible to mail home a coconut as a postcard.

While the airport might be crowded with outbound Spring Breakers, Chicago is a relatively uncrowded destination (outside of St. Patrick's Day when the city center is packed with revelers). Many of the popular river cruises start for the season in March and visitors will have the run of the city's world class museums, particularly on weekdays.

Outside of St. Patrick's Day (when American college marching bands descend on the city to participate in the city's parade), Dublin is quiet and temperate during the spring months. Visitors can check out any number of pubs, warm up with a bowl of coddle or afternoon tea at luxury hotels such as the Merrion or The Shelbourne, or take a number of day trips to the immediate surrounding area.

This Caribbean Island, an overseas department of France, still doesn't get as many North American visitors as some other bigger names in the region. The visitor profile here is primarily European (where Spring Break isn't a tradition) and the North American Spring Break months don't yield the same wave of visitors that other islands might see. Once here, enjoy pristine beaches and a serious "Euro" vibe with plenty of Caribbean soul.

Neighboring Ibiza is a gigantic Spring Break destination where college kids revel in foam parties until the sun comes up; Mallorca is sleepy by comparison. It's still a popular sun destination for Europeans so visitors won't have the island completely to themselves, but the atmosphere is much more relaxed and cozy than its frenzied neighbor.

Sleepy Sitka is dead last on any Spring Break list, but it's a top destination for naturalist travelers looking for spring getaways. Northern days have grown longer by March and April, and many outfitters are still offering tours and excursions for sightseeing and sportfishing even outside of the summer peak. When not out exploring the islands, check out the town's fascinating Tlingit and Russian colonial heritage.

A popular summer destination on Italy's Amalfi Coast, Positano is a draw for Italians and international visitors alike during July and August. But the tourism season officially kicks off here after Easter, and visitors in April will enjoy warming weather, the very first of the spring blooms and hotel rates comfortably in the shoulder. With crowds not showing up until the summer peak, Positano is perfectly peaceful in spring.

Spring in the Northern Hemisphere is Autumn in the Southern, where the Cook Islands are located in the same time zone as Hawaii (so there's no pesky International Date Line crossing). Summers here can be hot, still, and rainy, but the temperature begins to moderate and the sunshine returns in March and April. The islands receive few North American visitors at any time of year (it's also a shoulder season for visitors from New Zealand and Australia), making the northern spring an even less-trafficked time to visit.

Forget Cancun, try CDMX! Mexico's beaches are packed solid during Spring Break, but it's business as usual in the cities. Mexico City (abbreviated locally as CDMX, for Ciudad de Mexico) has cool springs owing to its 8,000-foot elevation and is packed with cultural sites and activities. Visit the Zocalo's market and museums, view the Diego Rivera murals at the Presidential Palace or trek out to the Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacan.

Spring in Japan means cherry blossoms and Setouchi, in the southern part of the country, gets the blooms first. Peak viewing is expected in late March and early April, and the less touristed islands in the south including cities like Kobe, Hiroshima, and Himeji (with its well-known castle) are prime viewing spots, in addition to offering spectacular year-round natural scenery and world-famous cuisine.

Cape Town is hardly a Spring Break destination for North Americans (it's far), but that doesn't mean it's not worth a look. Blossoms are in bloom and the surrounding wineries have tastings in full swing in March and April, and some of the blustery weather that pervades the cape during the southern summer has begun to calm into the autumn months.

Big Bend National Park is one of the best places to escape crowds, not just at Spring Break, but at any time of the year. Located on the Rio Grande in a remote corner of southwest Texas (the nearest major airport is a three-hour drive), it's one of the largest and least visited National Parks in the contiguous United States. Float down the river, hike through colorful canyons or relax and enjoy the serenity of solitude.

Cherry blossoms are also out in force in Washington DC during the spring months (the trees were a gift from Japan), and the city, while always a tourist favorite, isn't a Spring Break hotspot, so it's relatively tranquil, particularly on weekdays. Washington also offers an embarrasment of riches when it comes to great restaurants, and most of the museums have free admission.

One Panama City is a Spring Break draw; the other isn't. Panama's capital is a cosmopolitan wonder at the literal crossroads of the Western Hemisphere. Outside the city's charming Casco Viejo (Old Town) district and the soaring skyscrapers, there's verdant rainforest and the Panama Canal itself. Visitors can stop into the Miraflores Locks near Panama City to sit on a terrace and watch ships make the ocean-to-ocean passage.

New Zealand's capital is just coming off summer in March and April, and most of the summer tourist masses have departed for the season. The weather is still pleasant, and there's plenty of natural beauty surrounding the city to get out and explore, along with "localvore" restaurants and cafes serving local bounty and pouring New Zealand wines.

Malta is one of the world's smallest countries, comprising an archipelago just south of Sicily. Independent only since the mid 20th Century, the country is a wealth of cultural heritage, boasting some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world. There's also warm weather, azure seas and a growing-but-still-small number of visitors.

Want the Caribbean for Spring Break but not the crowds? Try Cartagena, a colonial walled city on Colombia's Caribbean shore. Poke around colorful cobblestone streets, sample local food (which is heavily influenced by Caribbean flavors and techniques), or the remains of the Spanish fort. The fort and walled colonial city are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Denmark frequently tops surveys of the world's happiest countries, and it's not difficult to see why in charming Copenhagen. The city is easily walkable and bike-able, with plenty of coffee shops and cafes for communal coziness that the Danes call hygge. It's that sense of cozy contentment that is the source of the Danish happiness, and it's surprising more Spring Break visitors aren't visiting to see for themselves.

This foodie city is a draw for travelers, but not Spring Breakers. Visit Singapore to revel in the glitzy (and squeaky clean) city-state famed for its melding of Indian, Malay, Chinese and British cultures into a distinctive, cosmopolitan patois. The city's famed colonial-era Raffles Hotel is just off a massive restoration, so stop into the Long Bar to sip a Singapore Sling in the place where it was invented.