Travel and Accomodation

For any questions regarding travel and other arrangements, please contact the Organizers by email to pasi2007@exa.unicen.edu.ar.

The easiest way to reach Mar del Plata (MdP) is to fly to Buenos Aires, International Airport Pistarini (Ezeiza, code EZE), which receives numerous flights per day from cities in USA, Europe and Latin America.

We will organize ground transportation from EZE to the hotel in MdP on Sunday, August 5th, and return from MdP to EZE on August 17th. If you plan to arrive/leave on a different date, please see below. Please note that all supported participants are required to participate for the full two weeks. If there is any concern about this requirement, please consult the Organizers.

Most of the flights from US, Canada, and Europe arrive to EZE in morning hours; when booking your flight, we recommend that you choose such a flight. If anyhow possible, book the flight arriving to EZE between 10am-12pm. Regarding departure, if you plan to leave Argentina on August 17th, book a flight with departure time from Argentina after 8pm. All supported participants and lecturers are required to use US carriers, following the NSF guidelines. In some cases, mostly for the travel between points outside of US, use of foreign carriers is allowed. However, before booking a ticket on a foreign carrier, contact the Organizers.

Please book the travel on your own. Supported participants and lecturers will be reimbursed for their travel expenses immediately after the workshop. If this option is not convenient for you, please contact the Organizers.

Per-diem cost for supported participants will be arranged and detailed information provided.

What follows below are suggestions for travel in the case you plan to arrive to EZE on a day other than Sunday, August 5th.

If your plan is to travel immediately to MdP from EZE, there are few options, listed below. If you need additional assistance, please email to pasi2007@exa.unicen.edu.ar.

  • Travel by bus directly from EZE. One reliable company to use is Tienda Leon. Traveling by bus in Argentina is very comfortable and economical. One way bus ticket from EZE to MdP is approximately 85 pesos, or about 27 US$.
  • Travel by bus via BsAs. In this case you need to transfer to the main bus station (Retiro) in the BsAs (Capital Federal) and take a bus from there. There are numerous companies traveling to MdP, such as Flecha Bus (recommended). During the daytime, the buses depart every half an hour or so. Typically no advanced booking is needed. You can transfer to Retiro using a taxi or a bus (see Tienda Leon link above, and more about taxis below).
  • Travel by plane. This requires transferring to the second airport in BsAs (Aeroparque). Flight information can be found at Aerolineas Argentinas. This option is NOT recommended due to increased cost and (possibly) lengthy transfers to and from airports.

In MdP, you can transfer from the bus station to the conference site using taxi. The cost should be less than 10 pesos.

If you plan to visit BsAs before travel to MdP, we recommend that you reserve ground transportation to BsAs from EZE in advance - Tienda Leon allows for reservations to be done via phone or via their web interface.
Alternatively you can use a radio taxi which can be found outside of the terminal building (black taxi cabs with yellow letters). A good option here is 'Taxi Ezeiza', which has a kiosk in the center of the arrivals hall. They require payment in advance (fixed rates depending on your end point) and they will give you a receipt that the driver tears off as his "proof" that he drove you. They are reliable and a bit chaper than the other companies.
Transfer via taxi to BsAs costs 60-70 pesos. DO NOT consider using unauthorized transportation which may be offered to you outside of the custom area.

If you plan to visit BsAs after the PASI, we will be able to help you with the travel arrangements while in MdP.

More information about the hotel Torres de Manantiales, where the conference will take place, can be found at the Location page. The organizers have reserved a number of rooms at the hotel at preferred rate which will apply for reservations made until July 1, 2007. These rates (using the current exchange rate) are approximately US$30 per night and per person for accommodation in apartments for 2 or more guests, and approximately US$70 per night for accommodation in an apartment for 1 guest. The details of making reservations for supported and unsupported participants will be posted here.

Money issues: Do not change money inside of the custom area at EZE. As soon as you leave the custom area, the exchange rate improves significantly. An alternative is to use your bank card. (Note that most of the (US) banks charge 1-3% commission for use of bank cards outside of the country). At the time of writing, the exchange rate is approximately 3 pesos for 1 US$. Please note that the symbol for local currency (peso) in Argentina is $; the US dollar is typically specified as U$S.
We do NOT recommend to use the kiosk that stands next to the baggage claim caroussels. That is a private company that has some special deal with the airport and the exchange is about 20% lower than the correct rate. Before you exit the customs for the arrivals hall, there is a teller from Banco de la Nación Argentina. The same Bank office has access from the arrivals hall after you exit customs. Banco de la Nación has the correct rate (indistinguishable from the rate you find downtown). There is no comission and the rate appears in an electronic display (simple multiplication transaction). This is the most efficient exchange, but requires that you bring US currency with you.

Weather

Check the links below for information about the weather in Mar del Plata.

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Ideas for tourism in Argentina

Here are some suggestions and useful links for those who wish to visit various locations in Argentina.

Since most of the participants will be landing and taking off at Ezeiza Airport, which is near Buenos Aires city, it would be a pity they do not visit (at least for a couple of days) the downtown and some beautiful surroundings (see also http://www.bue.gov.ar/home/).

Tandil
Tandil (view full size)

For short trips we recommend the hills and nearby beach places, like Villa Gesell or Carilo. In the first category, Tandil is the best option. It is located 100 miles to the west of Mar del Plata, and it is a small town that has not lost the spirit of a village. Sourrounded by hill ranges, it offers an excellent atmosphere to relax, breath pure air and practice a great variety of activities, such as paragliding, hanggliding, horse-riding, hiking, mountain biking, quad riding, mountaineering and kayaking (see e.g., www.welcomeargentina.com/tandil/index_i.html and www.tandilnet.com/Turismo/index.html). The campus of host university of the meeting, UNCPBA, is located in this area.

For longer trips, some traditional places to visit are:

Glacier Perito Moreno
Glacier Perito Moreno

We hope you also enjoy Argentina as well as the lectures of the meeting!

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Useful links

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