When to Visit the Caribbean and Mexico This Fall

In the first three weeks of December, hotels in the Caribbean and Mexico grapple with filling rooms. The Thanksgiving crowd already left. Neither Christmas and New Year's vacationers -- nor guests escaping the north's winter in January and February -- have arrived. So travelers willing to take a vacation a few weeks early can find some pretty steep discounts.

Here are some deals that offer escapes from the snow but still bring you home before the holidays and the peak-season tourists:

• $139 per night Dec. 19-23 at a 4-Diamond Puerto Rico resort; prices go up to $269 in January
• $162 per person through Dec. 22 at a Riviera Maya 5-star resort, 35% off
• $499 per person for a four-night Cancun getaway on select dates through Dec. 16, 45% off

Check out more hotels and vacation packages for the Caribbean and Mexico.