DISGRUNTLED spring breakers fear the boisterous tradition is dying out in a former hotspot after officials cracked down on rowdy revelers, leaving once bustling streets empty.

Miami Beach broke up with spring breakers last year, and since then the once vibrant and lively strips near South Beach have been described as “vacant ghost towns” by party-seekers.

Steven Rivera, a resident of Tampa Bay, Florida, visited South Beach during the weekend of March 22, and recalled spotting minimal crowds but a sea of uniformed police officers patrolling the streets.

“Miami PD was definitely out enforcing a lot of them, but the crowds were very minimal just slightly more than a ghost town,” Rivera, who has vacationed in the Miami area for spring break 26 times, told The U.S. Sun.

“I stayed on Collins Avenue. The hotel was full, but when I walked on Ocean Drive, it was pretty empty on Saturday and Sunday night.

“It wasn’t my first time [in Miami] but very shocked of the poor capacity this spring break. It was pretty vacant.”

SCHOOL’S OUT

Every year, thousands of university students travel to tropical hotspots across the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean for spring break, yearning for sandy beaches, bars, and clubs.

Videos of wild, party-crazed college students, twerking on beaches and doing keg stands flood social media annually from mid-March to mid-April.

Between 2021 and 2023, as states began to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic and gradually ease lockdown restrictions, Miami became the epicenter for spring break madness.

Footage showed the chaotic and, at times, violent crowds that took over stretches of Ocean Drive, known for its Art Deco hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and its close proximity to South Beach.

Photos circulated of young people close together in crowds, drinking oversized cocktails and bottles of liquor on Ocean Drive.

SPRING BREAK DIVORCE

However, in 2024, officials in Miami Beach removed the welcome mat to spring breakers, and initiated a crackdown on troublemaking tourists.

City leaders launched a marketing campaign that proclaimed, Miami Beach Is Breaking Up With Spring Breakers.

The city shared a video that featured Miami residents supporting the efforts and warned tourists to expect restrictions if they decide to venture into Miami Beach.

“We broke up a spring break. Some people ask, are you getting back together? No, we’re done,” Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner told the Associated Press.

This year, the city released another video titled, Reality Check, which featured a group of young people on a fictitious reality show having their spring break ruined by the city’s enhanced rules.

I hate it. After this spring break, I won’t be back.

Steven Roberts, a Miami tourist and club promoter from Phoenix

The intensified security measures, which are enforced for practically the entire month of March, include curfews, bag searches at beaches, early beach closures, DUI checkpoints, road closures, and price hikes at parking garages.

Steven Roberts, a club promoter from Phoenix, traveled to Miami for spring break this year and encountered parking lots charging drivers upwards of $100.

“Police presence was definitely there,” Roberts told The U.S. Sun.

“Every corner on every street on South Beach. Road closures with limited parking on the street with higher than normal parking deck rates.

“No real big crowds of people. South Beach wasn’t crowded at all.”

‘NO FUNNY BUSINESS’

Roberts told The U.S. Sun he travels to Florida often, especially to Miami during spring break, but admitted he won’t be back next year.

“I’m a frequent traveler to Florida and Miami. This was not my first time, but I hate it,” Roberts complained of the city’s increased security measures.

“After this spring break, I won’t be back.”

However, for Heather Keatts the small crowds and intense police enforcement were a soothing – a change from the disorderly throng of college students.

“It definitely wasn’t as crowded as past years. It was pretty dead during the day, but it was still a little busy at night, too busy for my likely,” Keatts, a resident of Detroit, told The U.S. Sun.

Keatts, 40, who spent two days in Miami during the weekend of March 14, added, “There were cops everywhere you looked and barriers up all up and down Ocean Drive.

“Cops put up barriers on both sides of the street so you could only walk on the sidewalk.

“It made it seem a lot busier than it really was. The police were everywhere you looked, even during the day, so no funny business.”

Keatts, who has now traveled to Miami for spring break on three separate occasions, said, “I definitely prefer the more low key environment.

“I am 40 and don’t want to deal with the wild crowds anymore.”