ARUBA

Here's something to be thankful for: beautiful white-sand beaches and low prices. Autumn is the off-season in the Caribbean, and many travelers stay away for fear of hurricanes. But Aruba sits outside the main storm region, meaning you'll be less likely to have your tropical getaway interrupted. Yet you still get the advantage of low rates.

For example, for Thanksgiving week we recently spied a vacation package on Travelocity.com that included round-trip airfare from New York plus four nights at a three-star beach-front hotel for $773 per person.