Travelers be wary: Pickpockets/purse-snatching crimes are on...

Travelers be wary: Pickpockets/purse-snatching crimes are on the rise. Overseas, pickpockets can spot an American faster than the victim can shout “Police!” An increasing number of complaints involve Spain. Particularly Seville and Barcelona. And with the Olympics next summer, it’s doubtful that the situation will improve. Authorities say Rio de Janeiro also gets billing as one of the world’s pickpocket capitals. Wherever you travel outside the United States, it’s a good plan to place valuables in a pouch beneath your clothing. This includes your passport as well as money/traveler’s checks. Or have a zipper installed on an inside coat pocket. Be cautious in subways, which are rife with pickpockets. This is also true of waiting areas at airport baggage carousels. Even here at home. LAPD tells me that airport carousels are haunted by pickpockets. While crowds are jostled during the waiting period for baggage, the pickpockets go to work. Rule one: Never carry a wallet in your back pocket. Overseas, women should take precautions to avoid purse snatchers. Thieves rip purses from the arms of victims (often cutting the purse strap), then swiftly disappear into the crowd. Often travelers are injured when knocked to the sidewalk while trying to fend off the purse snatcher. Certain European cities are notorious for thieves who approach on motorbikes. The bottom line: Leave your valuables in a hotel safe or conceal them in a pouch beneath your clothing.

Booked for Travel: Nancy Heck is a travel junkie who got in the mail-order book business several years ago after being unable to find a number of titles she was searching for. Today her inventory numbers hundreds of books. Some are of general interest, others are aimed at special-interest groups (food lovers, adventurers, travelers with children). Titles include “Traveling On Your Own,” “From Takeoff to Landing,” “The Traveler’s Handbook,” “How to Take Great Trips With Your Kids,” “A Walking Guide to the Caribbean,” “Eastern Europe,” “Paradores/Pousadas of Spain/Portugal,” “France for the Gourmet Traveler,” “London Step by Step,” “Europe By Bike.” Heck’s inventory covers the world in a catalogue listing guides from Access to Zagat, Michelin to Lonely Planet.

For free copies of Heck’s 62-page catalogue, write to The Literate Traveler, 8306 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 591, Beverly Hills 90211, (310) 398-8781.

Pet Directory: A travel directory for pet owners names more than 3,000 hotels/motels nationwide that permit pets in the same rooms with owners. Listed are Quality Inns, Days Inns, Holiday Inns, Comfort Inns, Ramada Inns, Motel 6s, Best Westerns, Super 8s, Radisson Inns, Hampton Inns, Travelodges. You’ll even find a Sheraton, Hilton and Marriott. This isn’t to say that all members of these hotel/motel groups accept pets. But those that do are listed alphabetically city by city, state by state. In addition, the directory provides a listing of more than 1,000 veterinarians and pet sitters nationwide, along with tips for pet boarding. The guide includes telephone numbers for state tourist offices, automobile clubs, toll-free numbers of hotels/motels, rental car companies, airlines. “Pets-R-Permitted” sells for $8.95.

Details from ACI, P.O. Box 66006, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265-9410.

Key West: A request from Natalie Turner of Agoura for information on Key West, Fla. Turner asks: “Is it worth the drive from Miami?” Novelist Ernest Hemingway thought so. So did Tennessee Williams. Balconied buildings laced with grillwork line streets. First-class accommodations/restaurants. Vacationers dine on seafood, steak turtles, Key lime pie that’s as light as the clouds that scud across the horizon. Passengers board rubber-tired trains for a 90-minute guided tour that takes in Key West’s oldest home, the aquarium, the Wall House where William Wall launched the town’s first cigar factory (Key West used to blow smoke rings around the cigar industry, turning out more than 1 million stogies a week). Duval Street is called the “longest, shortest street in the world.” Runs just over a mile between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Sloppy Joe’s, the breezy, open-air saloon where Hemingway scribbled and drank, faces Duval. Tourists continue to tramp through the novelist’s home, a magnificent old two-story mansion. It was here that Papa penned a number of his novels (“For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “A Farewell to Arms” and others). Tours make stops at Harry Truman’s Little White House, Civil War forts and other attractions. Key West is worth a couple of days. More if you wish to improve your suntan or try your hand at deep-sea fishing. For a listing of events, hotels, restaurants, sightseeing, write to the Key West Chamber of Commerce, 402 Wall St., Key West, Fla. 33040, (305) 294-2587. Other details from Historical Tours of America, 601 Duval St., Key West, Fla. 33040, (305) 296-3609.

Walled Village: Nathan Silverman of Los Angeles writes: “I’m going to Portugal. What can you tell me about Obidos?” This is a fortified village less than 60 miles from Lisbon. Perched on a hilltop with narrow, twisting streets. Geraniums overflow from window boxes. Obidos is old and secure. Everyone I know who has been to Obidos falls in love with the village. At this time of year, it’s a wonderful place to relax after a trip across Europe. (Gets busy in summer.) Portugal’s “poet” King Dinis was so impressed with Obidos on a visit in 1228 that he gave his queen the walled village as a gift. Obidos is a great spot for photographers. Charming buildings. Little souvenir shops. Small cafes. Try Restaurant Alcaide, whose terrace overlooks dozens of red-tiled roofs and whose menu offers fish, stews and traditional codfish dishes. A few doors away, Portugal’s 10-year-old monarch, Alfonso V, tied the knot with his 8-year-old cousin in 1444 at St. Mary’s Church. The altar remains, along with walls lined with tiles/pictures painted by Portugal’s famous 17th-Century artist, Josefa Ayalia. This is a good village for strolling. Currently, it’s a bargain. Figure on about $120 for a three-night (minimum) stay at Pousada do Castelo. This is the cost per room. Or try Estalagem do Convento, a four-century-old inn just outside the village with rates starting at about $35. A lounge with a fireplace. Candles glow in the restaurant. And when weather permits, guests dine in the garden.

Other details from the Portuguese National Tourist Office, 590 Fifth Ave., New York 10036, (212) 354-4403.

Potpourri: Holiday discounts are described in a free pamphlet by the Williamsburg Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, P.O. Box GB, Department HP, Williamsburg, Va. 23187, (800) 368-6511. For reservations, call (800) 446-9244 . . . Virgin Atlantic Airways is offering one-week winter holidays in Britain (round-trip transportation, hotels/breakfasts) for $699. Your travel agent or (800) 456-8656 . . . A 214-page directory listing InterContinental Hotel toll-free numbers worldwide (along with Forum and SAS International Hotels) is free by calling (800) 327-0200 . . . Discounted apartment cottage rentals throughout Britain through April 1 are described in a brochure from The Independent Traveler, Thorverton, Exeter EX5 5NU, England . . . Two persons can fly with Alaska Airlines round trip to Toronto from LAX for the price of one ($469) between now and Jan. 31. Call (800) 426-0333.

Reader Recommendations

California--Mr. and Mrs. Pete Wilcox: “The Village Inn, 407 El Camino Real, Arroyo Grande 93420. Rates: $95/$165.”

Idaho--Noel and Judi Meisenholder, Santa Monica: “Lake Fork Lodge, P.O. Box 4336, McCall 83638. Wonderful accommodations. Rates: $150. It’s a home away from home.”

Maine--Don and Cynthia Clarke, Lakewood: “Moonraker Bed & Breakfast, Route 1, Main St., Milbridge 04658. Down East hospitality. Rates: $40/$45.”

France--Kristien Evans, Irvine: “Edith Brunier operates a B&B;, Verthamont, Isle, France 87170. Four miles from Limoges. Rates for two: approximately $38.”

British West Indies--Pierre and Judy d’Albert, Irvine: “Carimar Beach Club, P.O. 327, Anguilla. One of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets. An unspoiled place to spoil oneself. Rates from $195.”