Two months before:

Get your passport

Passports take about eight weeks to process and are required on all cruises and flights outside the United States, including those to Mexico and Canada. So if you don’t already have yours, you may be S.O.L. To obtain a passport, you need a birth certificate (a certified copy from the state, not the hospital), passport photos and a driver’s license, says Pam Brown at the Lawrence post office, 645 Vermont St. Passports cost $97 and are valid for 10 years. You can have passport photos taken at the post office for $15.

Two to four weeks before:

Get vaccinated

If you’re traveling outside the U.S., plan at least two to four weeks ahead of time to be vaccinated, says DeeAnne Schoenfeld of the Douglas County Health Department.

If you’re traveling to sub-Saharan Africa or tropical South America, a yellow fever vaccine ($81) is required. If you’re traveling to Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean basin, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Mexico, parts of the Caribbean, Central America or South America, a Hepatitis A vaccine ($33) is recommended. If you’re traveling to Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Central America or South America, a typhoid vaccine ($52) is recommended. If you’re traveling to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe or South America, you might want to have your doctor prescribe tablets to prevent malaria ($50).

At least a week before:

Request time off work

Request time off work as soon as possible — the earlier the better — says Scott McDonald, manager at Zig & Mac’s Bar and Grill, 1540 Wakarusa Drive. The first day McDonald brought in the 2007 calendar, employees were requesting time off for spring break, he says.

However, he says, a request off is just that — a request. “College kids don’t realize a business doesn’t close over spring break,” he says. McDonald says he had to hire staff for spring break, so there will be fewer shifts available when students return.

Make sure you have extra contact lenses

If you wear contacts or glasses, make sure you have a backup pair so your eyesight won’t be the reason your vacation is blurry. Some stores may have contacts in stock but others will have to order them, which can take up to a week, says John Harvat, optometrist at Eye Doctors Optometrists, 2600 Iowa St. Also, airlines will only let you carry a bottle of solution 4 ounces or smaller on board, which you can get from your optometrist.

Start packing

Start packing a week before your trip, because you’re going to discover a spot on your favorite blouse or a hem that needs to be sewn, says Marybeth Bond, author of 50 Best Girlfriend Getaways in North America.

You should also allow yourself time to get to the drugstore to buy travel-sized shampoo and other products. Wear the same pants more than once during your trip, bring clothes that can be washed and wear your heaviest shoes on the plane, Bond says.

Also, be aware of new carry-on restrictions, including a 4-ounce limit on liquids, she says.

Four days before:

Buy new makeup

Because you’re likely to get a few shades darker on vacation, anticipate the change in skin color and buy a new foundation one to two shades darker, says Kathyleen Ellsworth, beauty consultant at Weaver’s, 901 Massachusetts St. If you don’t wear foundation, try a darker powder or bronzer. Make sure to test your makeup before you leave so your skin doesn’t break out, she says.

Three days before:

Get your hair did

If you have horrible roots, the sun will only make them look worse, says Jessica Walker at Avanti Salon, 1540 Wakarusa Drive. So if you want to look good on spring break, get your hair done a few days before, just in case you’re not happy with the result and want to have it fixed.

For women, bobs, bangs and body take the cake this season, Walker says, and men are going for a shorter look. As always, highlights are back for spring and summer.

Two days before:

Confirm your vacation plans

Reconfirm all of your trip arrangements 24 to 48 hours in advance, says John Novotny, travel agent at Travellers, 831 Massachusetts St. If you used an on-campus representative to plan your vacation, Novotny says to ask what type of security deposit is due when you check in and about the process of checking out. It’s also always a good idea to have contact information for each component of your trip (transportation, hotel, etc.), Novotny says.

Get waxed

Make your waxing appointment at least two days before you leave, because you don’t want to go in the sun for 24 to 48 hours afterwards, says Sally Bremenkamp, esthetician at Color Hair, Spa and Retail Studio, 2330 Yale Road. Waxing is a great way to go for spring break, she says, because you won’t have to remember to pack a razor. The hair being waxed needs to be at least a quarter of an inch long, but if it’s much longer, trim it before you come.

The day before:

Exfoliate you skin

“Your skin is the largest organ of your body; one of the major functions is excretion,” says Serena Teopaco, esthetician at Lada Salon & Spa, 4931 W. Sixth St., “Whatever we don’t get out by going to the bathroom, we get out through the skin.” If that isn’t reason enough to exfoliate, the process also helps with circulation, speeds up cell turnover and help lotions (especially sunless tanners) penetrate the skin, Teopaco says. She recommends the Aveda Smoothing Body Polish ($22), which features ground-up walnut shells instead of harsh salts to gently slough off dead skin.

Go (sunless) tanning

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the sun is bad for you. Luckily, there’s an alternative: Mystic Tan. Mystic Tan is a UV-free spray application of sunless tanner that eliminates the possibility of human error, says Mary Ellen Hall, owner of Jamaica Tan, 1540 Wakarusa Drive. Unlike conventional tanning, the results are almost immediate. A single session, which lasts up to a week, is $31, but if you’re a first-timer, it’s only $14.95.

Treat your feet (and hands)

There’s a good chance your feet haven’t seen the light of day for some time, so it’s a good idea to give them a little pick me up. “We have a fair number of men who come in for pedicures,” says Helena Peter, receptionist at Images Salon & Day Spa, 511 W. Ninth St. “It helps them look better.” Pedicures are $35 and manicures are $20. Light pink polish helps the skin look tanner, but bold colors on the toes are still the most popular.

What NOT to Do

Don’t overindulge

“Pick and choose wisely. Most of us can’t handle very many extras in our diet,” says Gina Fish, owner of Perfect Balance Weight Management, 935 Iowa St. Eat fruits, vegetables and proteins first, then decide on a little something extra, she says. Then get some physical activity. And remember, a mixed drink with an umbrella contains 500 calories, on average, she says.

Don’t crash diet

If your beach body still isn’t up to par, crash dieting is not the answer. It will deplete you energy storage and your body will store more of the calories you ingest as fat, says Renee Horinek, a personal trainer at Body Boutique, 2330 Yale Road. Depending on your current fitness level, she recommends doing 45 minutes to an hour of cardio and engaging in a low-impact full-body weight-training routine four to five time a week.

Don’t go tanning

“What they’re saying is ‘I’m going to go damage my skin before I go on spring break,’” says Dr. Lee Bittenbender of the Dermatology Center of Lawrence, 930 Iowa St. “If your skin is tanned, by definition, it’s damaged,” he says. People with sun-damaged skin look older and more wrinkled, and have uneven pigment, less elasticity and pre-cancerous changes, he says. If you want to look as good as you can for as long as you can, he says, protect your body from the sun by using sunscreen and wearing a shirt or hat in the middle of the day, when the sun is at its strongest.

Don’t forget spring break is exactly that — a break.

Practice good sleep hygiene, moderation and stay hydrated, says Cathy Thrasher, clinical support services coordinator at Watkins Memorial Health Center. Don’t have too much fun on spring break and come back exhausted, she says.