Information about Crete and Greece from the Ministry of Tourism.
The official travel agent of the meeting is Fantasy Tours and Travel in Norridge, IL. They can be reached toll-free (from the US) at (800) 772-6001 and via e-mail from the rest of the world. When calling to make reservations, ask for either Tom or Georgia and mention the meeting in Crete in June 2008. The agency has also an office in Athens, Greece and can help out with additional travel within Greece that you might want to make in conjunction with the meeting.
When making airline reservations please note that the closest airport is in HERAKLION (HER) in GREECE.
The conference site is the hotel Hotel Fodele Beach in Fodele, Crete. It is an all-inclusive hotel on the beach with a water park, access to which will be free for children.
The international airport of HERAKLION can be reached from Athens on several daily scheduled flights, from several European capitals directly on scheduled or charter flights, and also by several high speed or overnight ships from Athens. Please check whether a visa is required to enter Greece.
The town of Fodele is located approximately 28 km west of the Heraklion airport. Estimated cab fare to the hotel (per trip) is 35 Euros from the airport which can be split among more than one passengers. We will be providing updates for the possibility of a group transportation by bus from the airport on Sunday evening and Friday afternoon.
Reservations will be arranged by the Conference organizers (MITOS S.A.) and will be secured by your registration fee. Participants are requested to fill the conference registration form and return it to the conference secretary (MITOS) by email or FAX. Please inform the conference secretary about your arrival and departure dates.
The fee for the conference is 100 Euros per participant. The registration fee will be used towards the hotel reservation, the cost of conference dinner which is planned at a local winery, the numerous outings to archaeological and traditional Cretan villages in the area, the group photograph, the refreshments served during breaks and the various activities planned during the meeting. The deadline for sending the registration fee is May 1, 2008.
The meeting begins on Monday June 23, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. and ends on Friday, June 27th at noon. Plan to arrive by Sunday evening, June 22. There will be an early registration the evening before (17:00-18:00 p.m.) as well as a welcoming reception.
The conference begins daily at 8:45 a.m., with a lunch break (12:15 - 13:15 p.m.) and an afternoon free time (13:15 - 16:00 p.m.) for informal discussions. There will be two formal discussion panels on Friday morning identifying future opportunities in both experiment and theory needed to advance the state-of-the-art in the field. There will be two poster sessions during the meeting.
We are planning a series of educational/cultural activities in the area. The Hotel is situated near the village of Fodele which is the birthplace of the famous painter Dominikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco). We are planning tour of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum and the Minoan Palace of Knossos and visits to traditional Cretan villages in the area. Be sure to check the information about the optional 1-day cruise to Santorini island after the end of the meeting.
A 1-day optional cruise to Santorini is planned after the meeting (on Saturday, June 28th). Flying dolphin (hovercraft) leaves daily from the port of Heraklion at 09:45 a.m. arriving 2 hours later in Santorini and returns at 17:45 p.m. in the evening. Prices per person are 32 Euros (one way) and 62 Euros (return). Please book this with the conference secretary (MITOS) and arrange for the payment of additional nights at the hotel should you plan to return to Crete. Some participants may choose to stay in Santorini for a few days and depart from there. There are several daily flights to Athens as well as charter flights to European airports from the Santorini international airport.
Thee conference proceedings will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Physical Chemistry scheduled tentatively scheduled for publication by the end of 2008. Please bring two copies of your completed manuscript with you to the conference.
The conference organizers disclaim all responsibility for travel, accident, or health insurance. Participants should make their own arrangements.