Fall -- between Labor Day and the start of the year-end holidays -- is traditionally the slowest travel season of the year. Despite good weather and lots of interesting activities in many popular destinations, people seem to have other things on their minds. Except for a minor blip on Thanksgiving, mainly visiting friends and relatives, low occupancies are the norm for vacation centers. And, of course, this year's dismal economic picture makes things worse than usual. Clearly, these factors mean lots of opportunities for travelers able to take advantage.

Popular "fun and games" or exotic convention destinations, such as Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Orlando, have been particularly hard hit, as the public perceives conventions there as "wasteful" and "excessive" during such hard times. Ditto some big convention cities such as New York and San Francisco.

The challenge, as always, is how and where to find the very best deals. Once you've decided where to go:

Start with the big mass-market online agencies such as Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity, or get a comprehensive look through sites such as BookingBuddy, Kayak or TravelAxe that look at multiple agencies and compile the results.

Some cities and areas post hotel specials on their official visitor sites and a few independent agencies concentrate on just one area or just a few. Examples include Travel-Hawaii.com and orlandoinfo.com; you can locate others by Googling.

As always, if you aren't choosy about any specific hotel or chain, if you're willing to accept whatever bed arrangement the hotel supplies, and if you're sure you won't cancel, you usually can't beat Hotwire or Priceline for the very lowest rates.

Although the big agency sites often have special exclusive discount deals, I've also heard from travelers who found lower rates directly from a hotel. Especially when you're just starting to check, don't come to any early conclusions.

As a test, I checked some optional approaches to deals in these five top areas for a three-night (Friday-Saturday-Sunday) stay over the weekend starting Oct. 16:

Hawaii (Waikiki):

Some big hotel chains in the islands currently offer three nights for the price of two, such as $310 for three nights at the Aston Waikiki Beach, including taxes and breakfast. Big agencies post two-star and three-star off-beach options starting under $80; the best upscale deal I found was $117 for a four-star Waikiki hotel on Hotwire.

Las Vegas hotels are really dealing.

Rates at most agencies start at $36 to $40 a night at several big downtown casino-hotels. Two of the older Strip hotel-casinos aren't much higher: $47 at the Sahara, $59 at Circus Circus, $72 at Riviera and Stratosphere. Luxury rooms start at $242 at the Venetian. Hotwire doesn't beat those low-end prices, but it posts a $199 rate for a five-star central Strip hotel.

ORLANDO:

Big-agency rates start at around $30 for three-star hotels near the Disney complex and around $50 for four-star options. Hotwire posts a two-star rate of $18 and a four-star rate of $47. The featured deal on the official Orlando site (www.orlandoinfo.com) is $124 for a two-room suite or $134 for three rooms at Lake Buena Vista Resort Village.

NEW YORK:

Several agencies list a few two-star hotels at around $100; below that, you get only hostels and shared-bath options. The best upscale deal I found was the four-star Millennium Hilton at $229 plus tax.

SAN FRANCISCO:

Most agencies post quite a few two-star and three-star hotels for $90 to $105 per night; the best upscale deal I found was the four-star Mark Hopkins at $189 per night.

These sample rates are for weekend stays in city center areas, booked two months in advance.

For even lower prices, check midweek rates at major resort areas, rates for hotels a bit farther from the main visitor centers, or last-minute rates. And if you're flying, check air-hotel packages. The bottom line is that, wherever you're heading, you should be able to find some great deals across the price spectrum.

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(c) 2009 Rick Steves Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.