Best winter travel deals

6. Vancouver, British Columbia
Rule of thumb: On the flip side, if you can only travel on the weekend, look for the best rates at business hotels.

Why here? Vancouver is already abuzz with preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The city itself doesn't get much snow, but you can be on the slopes in 15 minutes.

Best bang for your buck: In nearly every major city, you can find business hotels that lower their rates as soon as their usual customers head home on Friday. Vancouver is a prime example: The Four Seasons there charges $240 during the week, but you can stay on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night for only $190. And from now through March, if you stay two nights, you'll get the third free.

Bonus: American cities get in on the act, too. You'll find great weekend deals at the historic Hilton Checkers in downtown Los Angeles, with rooms for $279 (on average) during the week but $149 on the weekend. And in New York City, the Waldorf-Astoria has weekend rates from $299 in January ($359 during the week) and the Bryant Park Hotel is almost $100 cheaper on weekends ($289 versus $375).

Four Seasons Vancouver
Tel: 604-689-9333

Hilton Checkers Los Angeles
Tel: 213-624-0000

Waldorf-Astoria
Tel: 800-925-3673

Bryant Park Hotel
Tel: 877-640-9300

7. U.S. Virgin Islands
Rule of thumb: Rent a villa. In addition to benefiting from the great rates available this season, you'll get more privacy than you would at a resort, and you'll save a little more cash by having some meals at home. And keep in mind that it's always worth trying to negotiate with a villa owner on price. If you see a place you love that's just a little out of your budget, tell the owner what you've got to spend; a vacant villa earns them nothing.

Why here? Traveling to the Caribbean is getting to be more of a hassle — remember the good old days when you didn't need a passport? In the U.S. Virgin Islands, you still don't. Plus, you won't have to exchange any currency, and your cell phone will work just like at home.

Best bang for your buck: On laid-back St. John, the greenest island in the U.S. triumvirate, the three-bedroom Beit Hawa villa costs $3,500 per week during the upcoming high season, which starts Jan. 6. Find enough friends to fill the place and each couple will pay only $167 per night. By comparison, rooms at the only two resorts on the island, Caneel Bay and the Westin St. John, start at $509.

The house sits 50 feet above the beach, and the master bedroom has an outdoor shower. For a little more glitz, try neighboring St. Thomas. It's always a party at the Ocean Cliff Villa, which has six bedrooms and costs $6,300 per week through February, or $150 per night for each bedroom. In February, you're likely to spot migrating whales through the living room's picture windows. Both villas — and dozens more — are available through the Blue Escapes rental agency.

Blue Escapes
Tel: 800-556-4801

8. Portugal
Rule of thumb: Airfares are cheap to Europe right now, but the airlines aren't bothering — or maybe don't have the budget left — to advertise.

Why here? While winter might not be the nicest time of year to visit the European mainland, the Azores enjoy a mild climate year-round and are only four hours from the East Coast of the United States. The temperature generally doesn't go over 70 degrees even at the height of summer on this volcanic archipelago, and tops out around 60 from January through April. Be prepared for the occasional shower, followed by a burst of sunshine.

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Best bang for your buck: Both the season's modest fares and a favorable exchange rate (Portugal's currency is the euro, which is at a two-year low against the dollar) are reflected in the air and hotel packages offered by SATA Airlines' Azores Express Tours. For example, $649 per person for six nights at a country inn on São Miguel Island, including round-trip air from Boston. São Miguel is a favorite among nature lovers, with paths leading up its windblown hillsides to crater lakes with ocean views.

You can also tour the only two tea plantations in Europe. If you'd rather see Lisbon's cobbled streets than the Azores' fishing villages, six-night air and hotel packages to the capital start at $1,039 per person.

Azores Express Tours
Tel: 800-762-9995

9. Malaysia
Rule of thumb: For a trip that you'll remember long after you've paid off the bills, look to up-and-coming destinations.

Why here? Southeast Asia has always been a mecca for shoestring travelers, and now Malaysia is joining the party.

Best bang for your buck: The Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, across the street from the sky-high Petronas Towers, may be owned by the upscale Shangri-La chain, but its rooms go for just $85 a night. This is no backpacker's hostel: The hotel has a spa, health club, rooftop pools, jogging track and three restaurants. Through Jan. 4, many stores are also offering shopping discounts to foreigners; show your passport for extra savings. And you can eat on the cheap — curry puffs and satay for less than a dollar — at the city's numerous food stands. (How to play it safe: Look for the stands doing a brisk business, and buy only what you can watch being cooked in front of you.)

Bonus: Another cheap-but-chic destination is Laos. The world is waking up to charming Luang Prabang, where you can shack up at Mick Jagger's favorite hideaway, La Résidence Phou Vao, for less than $200 per night. Also consider Slovenia, in the hidden corner of the Alps that links Western Europe and the Balkan Peninsula. Easyjet flies from London Stansted to the capital city, Ljubljana, for as little as $37 in March (though beware of tacked-on fees that can raise the price significantly).

Traders Hotel
Tel: 603-2332-9888

La Résidence Phou Vao
Tel: 800-237-1236

10. London
Rule of thumb: Take advantage of favorable exchange rates now — who knows where the dollar is going in another few months.

Why here? The greenback is stronger in the U.K. than it has been since way back in 2003. That means visiting this perennially expensive city is finally a bit more affordable. And so is getting there.

Best bang for your buck: Some of the best deals are to be found through packages put together by the airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and their U.S. counterparts. We found a great deal on Virgin that includes round-trip air, six nights in a three-star London hotel and continental breakfast starting at $699 per person.

Last year, that's what the flight alone would have cost you. At those prices, you could do some real damage at the fantastic after-Christmas sales (up to 75 percent off even at Harrod's) that go through January.

Of if you would rather explore the countryside, you can get round-trip flights from Chicago to London and a weeklong car rental with unlimited mileage for as low as $769 per person, including taxes and fees. (Both of these packages expire Dec. 22, but expect similar deals to crop up through the spring.)

Virgin Vacations
Tel: 888-937-8474

11. Morocco
Rule of thumb: Book a group tour. You'll benefit from the economies of scale and won't have to worry about logistics.

Why here? This isn't Grandma's group tour: On G.A.P. Adventures' Morocco Sojourn, a 10-day trip from Marrakech to the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara and the Atlantic coast, you'll spend one night at a nomad camp in the desert and take two excursions by camel.

Best bang for your buck: Not all bus tours are created equal. Well-respected outfitter G.A.P. Adventures attracts a young, worldly clientele with its off-the-radar destinations. The Morocco trip costs $649 per person, plus €250 local payment, which currently works out to about $100 per night, including all breakfasts, four dinners, tours and transportation by private van.

And you can feel swell about where your money is going, since G.A.P. runs a nonprofit foundation that supports local projects in the communities it visits. The company encourages travelers to give $1 per day and matches every donation.

Since costs are low in Morocco, G.A.P. estimates that you'll spend only about $200 on meals not included in the package price. Just remember to factor in some spending money for the country's exquisite metalwork, ceramics and textiles.

G.A.P. Adventures
Tel: 800-708-7761

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