(MONEY Magazine) – There's no better time to rediscover America. Not only will your U.S. dollars buy more in the U.S. than in Europe or the Orient, but you'll find an oversupply of bargain-priced hotel rooms, less expensive flights, cheaper gasoline and safer destinations. (For news on airport security, see page 156.) To help you choose, we've assembled this 1991-92 travel calendar. Each choice is a gem -- an ideal destination at an ideal time of year. Price counts, of course. So we selected among moderately priced places that average: -- $80 to $120 a day for two at resorts and hotels; -- $45 to $90 for two at motels and most inns; -- $125 to $175 per person per day, for resorts, cruises, packages and ''soft adventures,'' which usually include some meals or guided activities. Here, then, are the perfect places to visit in America -- and the perfect times to be there -- for the next 12 months.

APRIL 1991 With wild azalea and dogwood in bloom, the Ozark mountains of Missouri and Arkansas are especially inviting in April. Canoe the Ozarks' spring-fed rivers with Adventure Kayaks & Canoes (314-226-3642), out of Eminence, Mo. Water here is sporty but not too demanding, especially with an experienced guide along, who also prepares meals and pitches camp. Or check into the Tanyard Springs (501-727-5200), an Arkansas resort with 13 log cabins. Decorated with antiques, quilts and handmade furniture, each cabin sleeps two to eight and comes with kitchen, fireplace and central heat and air. Hundred-foot-tall Cedar Falls, Arkansas' largest waterfall, where you can swim, is an hour's hike away.

MAY 1991 Sandwiched between spring break and summer crowds, May is the month for southern beaches. Try Amelia Island off the northeastern coast of Florida. Fernandina Beach, the Victorian village at the island's north end, is spruced up but not overdone. For retro charm, book at the 1857-vintage, 11-room Florida House Inn (904-261-3300), the state's oldest tourist hotel. For a full-scale resort, stay at the Amelia Island Plantation (800-874-6878). If you prefer the central U.S., head for South Padre Island beaches at the tip of Texas (see the photo above), which also offer fresh-caught gulf shrimp and quick trips to Mexico across the Rio Grande. Best bet here: rent one of 4,000 condos (call the South Padre Island Visitors Bureau, 800-343-2368). The West Coast beach to enjoy in May is Balboa Peninsula off Newport Beach, Calif., where 2 1/2 miles of broad, white sand curve around to the Wedge, a world-famous bodysurfing spot. For flash-frozen 1950s ambience, bunk at the 34-room Balboa Inn (714-675-3412), a pink stucco landmark.

JUNE 1991 Based in Wyoming, Equitour (800-545-0019) organizes horseback vacations as far afield as India and Australia. In June, however, sign up for one-week rides in Vermont or Wyoming. Your luggage travels on ahead in a van, while you take in history and the scenery on horseback -- colonial villages in the East, ghost towns in the West. One Wyoming trip follows the Oregon Trail and pony express routes. Another covers spectacularly rugged haunts of outlaws. On the western camp-outs, where wranglers provide the tents and meals, the price (all- . inclusive except for air fare) is $950 per person for a week. In Vermont, where you stay in country inns, it's $1,025. If you've been promising yourself a Northwest passage, this is prime time for Washington's Puget Sound and San Juan Islands. Take a 45-minute to 2 1/2- hour ferry ride from Seattle (for schedules, call 206-464-6400) to one of a dozen or so islands that offer low-key charm. Progressive Travels (800-245-2229) offers island cycling trips through farms and fishing villages. You sleep in country inns known for regional fare ($695 per person, including meals; four days and three nights). If you've never tried a sea kayak, you can learn on a guided trip through the San Juan archipelago (Northwest Sea Ventures, 206-293-3692, $225 per person, meals included, for three days). Watch for sea lions, whales, cormorants and bald eagles. Or simply unwind on Orcas Island at the Rosario Resort (206-376-2222), originally shipbuilder Robert Moran's turn-of-the-centur y mansion -- and now a complete spa.

JULY 1991 Big news this month: a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a total solar eclipse from the U.S. Around 7 a.m. on July 11, the moon's shadow will cover the disk of the sun as viewed from Hawaii. Best observation spot: atop 13,800-foot Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii, where all the hordes will gather. The smart choice? View the eclipse next door on the island of Maui -- which fewer stargazers will visit -- from the rim of the 10,000-foot dormant volcano Haleakala. Afterward hike down into the crater for a dreamscape of varicolored sand and cinder cones. The closest places to stay are Hosmer Grove Campground in Haleakala National Park (about five miles away; 808-572-9306) or the modest five-unit Kula Lodge (about 20 miles away; 808-878-1535), which will book up early. If so, try the more expensive Stouffer Wailea Beach Resort (800-468-3571) or the Four Seasons Resort Wailea (800-332-3442). For a more down-to-earth trip, stay on a working Amish or Mennonite farm in Pennsylvania -- a unique way of life. City kids love it. Most farm families charge $35 to $45 a night for two, including a hearty breakfast. Ask for the Farm Vacation brochure from the Lancaster Visitors Bureau, 800-735-2629.

AUGUST 1991 Since 1922, Native Americans have gathered in Gallup, N.M., for the annual six-day Intertribal Ceremonial. On Aug. 6 to 11, you can see 49 tribes demonstrate traditional costumes, food, games, customs and dance, including the Navajo, Comanche, Hopi and more. The ceremonial is the one event that embraces so many Native American cultures. Book at the 93-room El Rancho Hotel & Motel (505-863-9311).

While the Lower 48 sizzle, you might opt for Alaska. Enjoy the stunning scenery with a cruise plus a rail or bus tour. Regency Cruises (212-972-4499) runs seven-day trips from Vancouver, B.C. to Whittier, near Anchorage. Its ships, the Regent Sea and Regent Star, are large enough to sport workout rooms and casinos yet compact enough to navigate close to small islands to see natural wonders such as Columbia Glacier. Cruise rates are $1,275 to $2,675 per person (double occupancy, including meals).

SEPTEMBER 1991 This is an ideal time to be in many areas, but the ultimate is California wine country, where the air goes golden as the harvest gets under way. Both VCC Four Seasons Cycling (802-244-8751) and Backroads Bicycle Touring (800-245-3874) provide five-day guided bicycle tours through the Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Pedal at your own pace, stopping at as many as 35 wineries. Your gear rides in a support vehicle called a sag wagon, and after 35 wineries, you may too. Backroads offers camping at about $120 per person per day or inn-to-inn cycling at $175 to $200, including meals. Since this is the region famous for charm and California cuisine, you may want to splurge. Trips sell out early, so book soon. Traditionally held on Labor Day weekend, the Louisville American MusicFest (502-585-1362) has expanded its famous Appalachian folk music festival to include jazz, blues, country and Texas boogie. Tickets are a bargain $3 to $5 a day. Stay at the 1,240-room Galt House Hotel (502-589-5200) next door.

OCTOBER 1991 If you want first-rate culture and the unmistakable excitement of an international city, visit New York City this month. Autumn days are clear and crisp; skyscrapers sparkle. The fall season heats up with new theater, music, dance, museum shows and more. The Columbus Day Parade down Fifth Avenue provides high spectacle; the Halloween Parade through Greenwich Village flaunts high camp. But, of course, the city ain't cheap. Quintessential New York can be found at Ivana Trump's Plaza (800-228-3000), where rates start at $198 a night. If your wallet shrieks, try the 377-room, 1920s-vintage Mayflower Hotel (212-265-0060) across from Central Park and around the corner from Lincoln Center. Weekend rates are a third of what Ivana wants.

NOVEMBER 1991 This is the right time to tour South Florida -- Miami, Palm Beach and the Keys. Winter crowds and high-season prices have not yet kicked in, but the torrid weather has turned balmy. Sample salsa -- sauce and music -- in Little Havana, tour the Everglades in an airboat (AllFlorida Adventure Tours, 305-270-0219), but stay in Miami Beach's distinctive square-mile Art Deco district (see above) at the 1930s-restored Cardoza, Cavalier or Leslie Hotels (305-534-2135 for all three). To experience Key West, pick the Pier House (305-296-4600), a full-fledged resort with a spa program. Or spend what you've saved on air fare this year and indulge at the Little Palm Island (800-343-8567; $480 a night, double occupancy, including all meals). This small, new resort on its own island just north of Key West is a Stateside version of fabled Caribbean getaways. You stay in one of 28 thatched-roof bungalows scattered among palm trees on a private white-sand beach.

DECEMBER 1991 If you crave a family winter wonderland, try the little-known American Club (414-457-8000) in Kohler, Wis. It falls somewhere between a large, well-run country inn and a full-fledged resort. This brick, Tudor-style building with high-pitched roof and sloping dormers was built in 1918 as company housing for ''single men of modest means'' who worked for the Kohler Corp., makers of plumbing fixtures. In 1979, a year after the club won a spot on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the company transformed it into a luxury 160-room hotel. Guests can cross-country ski 20 miles of trails winding through the adjacent 600-acre wildlife preserve or stay indoors to swim, play tennis or racquetball. Hotel decor is traditional and clubby, with, needless to say, state-of-the-art baths and soaking tubs.

JANUARY 1992 Death Valley, Calif. -- a big magnet in spring and fall -- is a delight to explore during the winter. Dipping well below sea level, this desert basin is a surreal jumble of sand dunes, alkali flats and brightly colored, wind- chisled rocks -- all preserved as a national monument (see the photo). In January, it's cool enough to hike all you want; temperatures hit no more than 60 degreesF, even at midday. Accommodations in the park are limited but gracious: the 68-room Furnace Creek Inn and 224-room Furnace Creek Ranch (619-786-2345), both luxury resorts with golf and tennis, and Stovepipe Wells Village (619-786-2387), a contemporary, moderately priced motel.

FEBRUARY 1992 Everybody's heard about the Mardi Gras in New Orleans -- and just about everybody goes. For the fun without the crush, catch this spicy pre-Lenten bash in Galveston, Texas or in Mobile, Ala. The latter boasts the site of the first Mardi Gras in the U.S., the Mother of Mystics, held in 1703. Stay at the Stouffer Riverview Plaza (800-468-3571) or the Radisson Admiral Semmes (800-333-3333), both of which are on the parade route. In Galveston, check into the Strand Historic District at the Tremont House (409-763-0300) or at one of the several bed and breakfasts (800-628-4644) in restored Victorian mansions. Fat Tuesday falls on March 3 this year, but the party heats up for two weeks before that.

MARCH 1992 Spring may be here, but the best winter sports can come this month, when snow is deep but the air less bone chilling. Try Utah's Wasatch mountain resorts. The snow is reliably great at the old mining town of Park City, the deluxe European-style resort of Deer Valley, and at Robert Redford's Sundance. You can get to the lifts in about 45 minutes from the Salt Lake City airport. For up-to-date deals on lodging, lifts and lesson packages, call Ski Utah (801-534-1779) for the latest Winter Vacation Planner. Do you prefer milder climes? The answer is southern and central Arizona's resorts or dude ranches. For golf, try The Boulders (800-553-1717; $495, double occupancy, breakfast and dinner) in Carefree, or Loews Ventana Canyon Resort (800-234-5117; $295 to $325, double occupancy), outside Tucson. For tennis: Enchantment Resort (800-826-4180) in Sedona, or John Gardner's Tennis Ranch (800-245-2051) in Scottsdale. For horsy pursuits: Circle Z Ranch (602-287-2091; $268) in Patagonia, or Tanque Verde Ranch (602-296-6275; $225 to $360) near Tucson.

The perfect vacation at the perfect time is, of course, perfectly individual. Send us your favorite place -- and when it's right to go -- and we'll publish the best choices in an upcoming issue. Send to Travel Wise, MONEY Magazine, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020.