How to have a Hurricane-Proof Vacation

Sep 4, 2008

Its the end of summer and that means we’ve entered peak hurricane season, (August thru November). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there’s a 67 percent chance that 7 to 10 hurricanes will be named this season and that doesn’t bode well for the leisure travelers pining to chill on a beach in the Caribbean sometime while the rates are good. The lure of these warm-weather destinations, especially during the off-season, can be hard to resist. Crowds are thin, prices are excellent, perks—like free meals and spa treatments—are numerous, and more often than not, the weather winds up being perfectly fine. So, the question is: are there ways to “hurricane-proof” a vacation—to minimize the chances that a storm will ruin a low-season trip to the tropics?

Indeed there are—although most of the tricks for lessening hurricane risks require some research on the traveler’s part. The Internet can be an indispensable tool for scoping out predicted weather patterns, for example, or for comparing the hurricane policies of different hotels, tour groups, and airlines. Booking accommodations and flights with companies that offer hurricane guarantees (most often in the form of penalty-free rebooking) is a good way to safeguard a vacation; so is shopping around for and purchasing traveler’s insurance (the further in advance, the better).

Other “hurricane-proofing” methods are less obvious, but can be just as helpful for ensuring a tropical holiday. Many travelers don’t know that booking a cruise, for instance—or vacationing at one of a handful of Caribbean resort areas and islands that fall outside common storm paths can make a big difference in hurricane risk.

While these strategies may not be foolproof, they can go a long way toward protecting travelers’ tropical vacation plans (and, worst-case scenario, the travelers themselves). There may not be any way to control the weather, but there are plenty of ways to maximize security—and the likelihood that a dream vacation won’t become a nightmare.