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Deals heat up in late August

It's early August, the very peak of the peak season, when every bed, seat and berth is supposed to be full. But travel falls off sharply toward the end of August (when many school years have already commenced, and children have returned to their homes from camp or vacationing). And even on some earlier dates in August, softness is found in travel bookings, and bargains begin to emerge.

In cruises, I find a great many top opportunities listed on VacationsToGo.com and the other big cruise discounters, even to such popular places as Alaska (www.frommers.com/destinations/alaska). Here are five last-minute openings on VacationsToGo.com:

Aug. 10 departure of Holland America's Vaandam, seven nights in Alaska, $605.

Aug. 14 sailing of the Carnival Victory, four nights from New York City to Canada, $449.

Aug. 18 and Aug. 25 departures of the Island Princess, seven nights in Alaska, $535.

Aug. 29 sailing of the Carnival Spirit, seven nights in Alaska, $599.

Aug. 30 sailing of the Carnival Liberty, seven nights to the Caribbean, $479.

Travel to Las Vegas (www.frommers.com/destinations/lasvegas) always slumps in late August and early September, because it's beastly hot there, convention activity hasn't resumed after the summer hiatus and no large groups are coming to this city of big meetings.

I've written elsewhere about the late-summer bargains announced on the newsletter known as LasVegasAdvisor.com, starting with rooms for as little as $19.99 at the off-Strip-but-quite-serviceable Palace Station Hotel. And right on the Strip in late August and early September, you can enjoy weekday stays at the Tropicana for as little as $39 per room per night, the Excalibur for $50 per room per night and at the cushy Luxor for $65 per room per night.

You'll get the best rates if you register with various hotels directly on their Web sites, thus inviting them to periodically e-mail their best offers to you.

More and more elementary schools begin their school years before Labor Day, thus bringing families back home from their vacations in late August.

Business slumps at that time to the theme parks, and the cheap motels in Kissimmee, Fla., adjoining Orlando (www.frommers.com/destinations/orlando), offer room rates (sometimes for a family of four) as low as $35 and $40 a night.

The extraordinary Best of Barbados (www.frommers.com/destinations/barbados) program, flagrantly subsidized by the Barbados government, offers its lowest prices in September, when one-week air-and-land packages cost as little as $326 per person from Miami, using the Bayfield House Hotel.

Remember that prices shoot upward by $100 to $200 the moment October is reached. All the major tour operators -- Liberty Travel, Vacation Travel Mart and Cheap Caribbean -- offer these rates and feature them on their Web sites.

And finally, keep in mind that most accommodations search engines -- such as Hotels.com, BookIt.com and BedandBreakfast.com -- are giving valuable gas rebates to people who book a week-long, late-summer stay using their services.