Budget Traveler:Despite the recent hurricanes, a Caribbean vacation is still possible in some areas

This coming winter, many thousands of Americans will agonize over whether they can enjoy tropical vacations in the Caribbean. Should they even bother to apply for reservations in an area broadly damaged by hurricanes?

Fortunately, the majority of these famed islands are either unaffected by storms or so moderately damaged that they can be restored and repaired in advance of the winter season. The publication read by professionals in the travel industry (travel agents, airline, hotel and cruise industry people), Travel Weekly, recently did a meticulous survey of the conditions in each island.

Islands totally unaffected by the hurricanes: According to Travel Weekly, such popular places as Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, Haiti, Saba, St. Eustatius, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Guyana, Grenada and Suriname have been totally unaffected by the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean.

Islands only moderately affected, with most hotel properties reopened and operating: St. Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos, Antigua, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe all are in this category, according to Travel Weekly.

Islands badly damaged, with repairs in progress: British Virgin Islands, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Puerto Rico, Dominica, St. Barts, Barbuda and Anguilla. Travel Weekly reports that a few resorts have reopened in these islands and are available for future bookings.

Of course, we cannot avoid the possibility that an additional or future hurricane or hurricanes may yet break out in the Caribbean. But for the time being, the above listings are helpful in determining where you can vacation safely and pleasantly in the coming winter months.

An additional option for a tropical vacation is a Caribbean cruise. The cruise lines all claim that they have revised their itineraries to include port stops only in islands that have escaped major damage.

Arthur Frommer is the pioneering founder of the Frommer’s Travel Guide book series. He co-hosts the radio program, The Travel Show, with his travel correspondent daughter Pauline Frommer. Find more destinations online and read Arthur Frommer’s blog at frommers.com.