[trip style = sun + beach]
Last week I talked about my Autumn top-pick destinations for low season travel, and I've saved the best for last!
Hurricane Season During the late summer and better part of fall, most of the Caribbean is susceptible to significant hurricanes. As a result, people tend to avoid this tropical playground in fear of getting caught in a hair-raising, wind-blowing and storm-frenzied pickle. I don't blame you.
A Secret Here's a little-known secret, the Caribbean includes Islands situated outside the hurricane belt. The ABC Islands (Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire) or Netherlands Antilles sit at the base of the Caribbean near the central tip of South America. This means, traveling to these destinations during hurricane season is a safer bet than elsewhere within the Caribbean.
Caribbean Another fun fact is that some airlines consider the ABC Islands to be part of the Caribbean when determining general 'areas' for miles redemption. For example, next fall I plan on redeeming my American Airlines (airline alliance: One World) miles to fly to Aruba or Curacao, because in hurricane season AA includes the Caribbean within the lowest tier of its Continental US miles allowance. In other words, thanks to AA thinking most people won't go to the Caribbean during fall, I can fly there for one of its lowest points redemption rates! > Find more strategies for going the distance with your airline miles here.
Sample Fall Fares (oct 18 - 25) From YVR to Aruba: 1 stop $1585, 2 stops $957 From SEA to Aruba: 1 stop $714, 2 stops $626
[image by Salvatore.Freni]