Rail and sail site
Unsure of how to travel with Fido by train from England to the Continent? How about rail connections to Istanbul from London, Paris or Munich? Need the times and fares from Alexandria to Cairo? Or simply confused about how to buy a train ticket? Then check out www.Seat61.com, a site brimming with practical information on rail and ship travel in the United Kingdom, Europe, America and the rest of the world.
It was started by Englishman Mark Smith, who formerly worked for British Rail and the British Department of Transport and who has a love for travel. According to the Web site, he began the site as a hobby in 2001, and it has grown steadily into a full-time job, with the goal of encouraging travelers to take a train or ship instead of flying.
Spring and summer trips
To get through the dreary winter weather, why not start planning a spring or summer trip? Meyer Travel Group is offering two tours to get you dreaming.
The first is to southern Italy from April 10 to 17. It includes visits to Naples, Positano and Sorrento, a drive along the Amalfi Coast with stops in the villages of Amalfi and Ravello, visits to the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and a boat ride to the island of Capri.
The cost is $1,799 per person, double occupancy, and includes round-trip airfare between Frankfurt and Naples, seven nights in a four-star hotel in Sorrento, breakfasts, guided excursions and airport transfers.
The second is an Adriatic Sea cruise aboard the MSC Armonia from June 21 to 28. The ship leaves from and returns to Venice, Italy. Ports of call, with five to seven hours allotted for land visits, are at Dubrovnik, Croatia; Corfu, Athens and Kefalonia island, Greece; Kotor, Montenegro; and Ancona, Italy.
The 824-by-94-foot ship has nine passenger decks. Amenities include a gym and sauna, swimming pools, whirlpools, a virtual reality center, Internet cafe, restaurants, a theater, a disco, a shopping gallery and a children’s club.
Prices for an inside cabin are $1,049 per person, double occupancy, plus $29.75 port charges (children younger than 17 in the same cabin go for free). An outside cabin costs $1,249 and a suite with balcony costs $1,749. A third and fourth adult in a cabin costs $499 plus port charges. Some triple and quad rooms are available.
For details, see the group’s Web site, www.meyertravelgroup.com/group_tours.html, or contact Katie Meyer at meyerfr@juno.com or Katie Kurz at kate_folsom travel@surewest.net.
Anti-theft accessories
If you worry about having your bag snatched while sitting in a cafe or slashed while you’re walking the streets, check out the Pacsafe Anti-Theft Web page at www.pacsafe.com to see a collection of anti-theft travel products.
The $64.99 CitySafe 200 handbag, for example, features a tamper-proof zipper, slash-proof and snatch-proof adjustable shoulder strap with anchor to secure onto fixed structures, and slash-proof panels. The $99 ScanSafe laptop case has similar security features and is designed with a separate compartment for the laptop so that you don’t have to remove it when going through security checkpoints and airport X-ray.
Items are divided into categories including adventure travel, business, sports, motorcycling, photography, urban travel, women’s travel and accessories.
