Fall Deals to Keep a Summer Vacation Mode Alive

Except trips to see fall foliage, travel slows down almost everywhere in America in the weeks after Labor Day. Here are some good values for a short vacation in September and October and one for the winter, beginning in December:

* A quick trip to Las Vegas: You can enjoy round-trip air and two hotel nights in Sin City at budget prices, departing from almost anywhere, if you purchase the arrangements from America West Vacations or Southwest Airlines Vacations. A price war rages between these two cut-rate carriers. Each offers packages for a two-night stay, including midweek round-trip air fare, for less than $200 per person from Los Angeles or Orange County airports and for $250 to $350 per person from cities two to four hours away by air, using large hotels like Fitzgerald’s Holiday Inn. Extra nights can be purchased. For a price quote, call America West Vacations, (800) 356-6611, www.americawestvacations.com, and Southwest Airlines Vacations, (800) 423-5683, www.swavacations.com. Be sure to phone both before committing yourself.

* The Rockies in late summer or early fall: Aspen, Colo., that favorite of the jet set, turns to bargain pricing in the slow autumn months. (Summer, by contrast, is busy.) From Oct. 1 to Nov. 20, round-trip air from Los Angeles and seven nights at a hotel in Aspen or Snowmass cost as little as $520 per person, double occupancy. Contact Aspen Reservations at (888) 649-5982 or at www.stayaspen.com. Vail offers similar deals; get details at (800) 525-3875 or www.visitvailvalley.com.

* Lodgings at the Grand Canyon: Here you’ll have to wait until December for the biggest bargains. The South Rim offers accommodations year-round. From Dec. 1 to mid-March, the company managing the park’s lodgings offers double rooms at Maswik and Yavapai lodges, usually ranging from $79 to $121, for $66 (plus $9 per third or fourth person in the room, free if younger than 16). One way to get there: Fly into Flagstaff, Ariz., and rent a car or take a bus ($34 round trip). For booking and information, call (303) 297-2757, www.xanterra.com.

* A week in Mouseland: If you plan to visit Orlando, Fla., especially if you’re traveling with a family or small group, why not rent a house with front and back yards and a swimming pool? For a three-bedroom, two-bath house that can sleep up to eight, prices in the fall range from $99 to $129 per night. Two options: Resort Quest International, (877) 588-5800, www.resortquest.com, or Holiday Homes of Orlando, (800) 288-2187 www.holidayhomesorlando.com.

* A South Beach steal: Just alongside the exciting, trendy Art Deco district of Miami’s South Beach, where rates can soar beyond $200 a night, stands the 77-year-old Spanish-style Clay Hotel, (800) 379-2529, www.clayhotel.com, a charming symphony in pink stucco on Washington Avenue and Espanola Way. It has some inexpensive hostel lodgings and some hotel rooms, many of which are fully outfitted with air-conditioning, refrigerators and cable TV. Rates are $16 to $18 for dorm beds, $42 to $56 for singles and $62 to $70 for doubles.