Oct. 06--It's not even Halloween yet, but if you have thoughts of doing the Christmas markets of Europe, you'd better think about booking now before tours are filled up. Railbookers offers a six-night package that gives you the opportunity to explore markets on your own in Zurich and in Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria, while traveling town to town via rail. The tour is priced from just $885 per person double occupancy, which includes two nights' lodging in each city and standard-class train travel. Airfare is not included. It's available from mid-November through early January. Railbookers also has other Christmas markets tours, including two nights each in Brussels and Cologne, Germany, priced from $390 per person double occupancy, and two nights each in the Austrian cities of Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg, priced from $650. Info: 888-829-3040, http://tinyurl.com/p8ecxnn
Where Wi-Fi can be dangerous
When you travel, particularly overseas, you may tend to rely on Wi-Fi to keep from racking up hefty data-usage charges on your smartphone. Problem is, Wi-Fi networks may not be secure, exposing your confidential info such as passwords to bad guys lurking about. The folks at Jetsetter.com have some advice on popular tourist destinations that may pose the most threats to your cyber-security. The advice is based on a study done by Skycure, a company that specializes in mobile threat defense. According to Skycure, Times Square in New York City is the riskiest place to use Wi-Fi among top tourist destinations. Other U.S. destinations landing on the list included the Las Vegas Strip and Chicago's Navy Pier. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris led the list of foreign destinations. The study also found Android phones were more likely to be threatened than were iPhones. Skycure has a free app that helps identify potential Wi-Fi dangers. There are links to the app and more information at http://tinyurl.com/pkcw4ue.
Irish trips for knitters
If you're one of those travelers who likes to pass the time on long flights by knitting, you might be interested in a vacation that's devoted to knitting. Irish Tourism offers two knitting and craft tours of the country that include workshops and craft-based sightseeing plus general sightseeing. Each tour is nine nights, with one covering the north of Ireland and one the south. Depending on the tour chosen, workshops may include knitting with wire, spinning and tapestry, needle felting and knitting with a variety of designers. There also are tours of facilities such as the Kerry Woolen Mills Factory, the National Museum of Ireland -- Decorative Arts and History, the Sheep Wool Centre, the Thomas Ferguson Linen Factory and Foxford Woolen Mills Factory. For 2016, the south tour is priced from about $2,020 per person double occupancy and the north tour from about $2,133. There also is a south tour this year, but it begins Oct. 31. Prices include nine nights' lodging, tours and workshops, internal transportation, additional sightseeing and some meals. International air is extra. Info: 877-298-7205, http://tinyurl.com/qygzoaa
Phil Marty is a freelance reporter.
