LAS VEGAS

Nightly rates more than double at many Vegas hotels over Thanksgiving weekend. But it's still an affordable destination because pre-holiday rates are so low to begin with. For example, we recently found a room at the three-star Circus Circus for $40 on Wednesday, November 21. The rate jumps to $105 on Thursday (Thanksgiving) and $120 on Friday. Still, that averages out to $88 a night.

You can even treat yourself to a four-star hotel on the strip for a pretty reasonable price over those three nights, including the Luxor Hotel ($130 average per night), Paris Las Vegas ($157) and New York New York ($157).