LOCATION

Balatonfüred is the oldest spa and resort town at Lake Balaton.  It is famous for its medicinal springs, Mediterranean-like climate and good local wines. The conference will be held at the Hotel Marina, Balatonfüred which is located on the shore of the lake.

Participants will stay at the Hotel Marina.  All rooms have a bathroom, satellite TV, refrigerator and direct-dial telephone.  We kindly ask you to pay for your accommodation upon arrival.

Registrations for the conference will take place on Saturday 6th May between 14.30 and 18.30.  The registration desk is in the main foyer and we encourage you to register on Saturday if possible as there will be limited time on Sunday morning.  The second registration session will be between 9.00 and 11.00 on Sunday.

There is a fax machine and photocopier available at the reception desk.  The cost for photocopying is 30 HUF/page (approximately 12 cents).

The central phone number of the hotel is (36) 87 343 644 and the fax number is (36) 87 343 052. All calls made from your room will be charged to your bill and must be paid for on departure.

OSI and other sponsors will organise evening social events including wine tasting and a traditional Hungarian meal at a “csárda”.

Meals will be served in the hotel’s dining room and are sponsored by OSI.  Breakfast is served between 7.00– 9.30 and lunch will be served according to the conference schedule.  There is a vegetarian menu available.

The hotel has its own private beach and also offers an in-door swimming pool, bowling alley, sauna and massage facilities.

ARRIVING BY AIR

Open Society Institute staff members will meet you on arrival.

Ferihegy International Airport is 20km (15 miles) from the centre of Budapest.  There are two terminals.

Ferihegy 2A - all Malev Hungarian Airlines flights
Ferihegy 2B - all other international airlines

The airport telephone numbers are:

Terminal 2A - arrivals 296-8000 / departures 296-7000
Terminal 2B - arrivals 296-5053 / departures 296-5882

There will be shuttle buses to take you to the hotel on Saturday but the exact schedules of the buses will be established when the flight details of all the participants are known. The journey from Budapest to Balatonfüred takes about two hours. (130 kms).

If you are not arriving on Saturday you will need to make your own way to the hotel.

Budapest has three main stations: Déli (southern), Keleti (eastern) and Nyugati (western).  The international enquiries phone number is (36-1) 461-5400.  All of these stations are connected to the metro system.

The public transport system in Budapest is excellent.  You must purchase a ticket in advance from either metro stations or newsagents.  A single ticket (95 HUF) is valid on all buses, trams and also on all three metro lines, but is only valid for up to one hour.  You can buy a single ticket, day ticket, 3-day tourist ticket or a 7-day travel card.

If you wish to travel from Budapest to the conference venue, at Balatonfüred by rail, you will have to leave either from Déli or Keleti railway stations. Trains calling at the northern shore of Lake Balaton are rather slow, so the journey will take you at least two and a half hours. We recommend you catch with the SEBES (mid-fast) or the GYORS (fast) trains which do not stop at every station. A single second class ticket costs 920 HUF(approx. 4 USD). You will have to get off at the station called Balatonfüred / Tihany (the previous two stations are Csopak and Balatonaracs). You will need to take a taxi to the Hotel Marina and the fare should be approximately 700 HUF (approx. 3 USD). We suggest you use the local taxi company called 6x4 Taxi (tel: 444-444).

You can change foreign currencies at the airport, but exchange facilities are available at the hotel.  As of February, the exchange rate is 410 HUF for 1 British pound and 260 HUF for 1 US dollar.  Due to the monthly devaluation of the Forint, the exchange rate will be even more favourable in May.  Hungarian Forints are available in the following denominations: 10,000, 5,000, 2,000 and 1,000.  We advise you to ask for 2,000 or 1,000 notes when you exchange your money as these are easier to change.

There are exchange facilities at the hotel and all major credit cards are accepted.

Hungary is on Central European Time, which means it is one hour ahead of GMT.

The maximum day temperature for May is between 20 - 25 °C but the minimum can still be around 8 - 10°C. The weather is normally warm and sunny, however May can bring some particularly cold and rainy days.  Come prepared for both warm and cool weather.

All of the OSI Electronic Publishing Development Program staff will be at the conference and are very happy to help.  Organisers will be wearing green badges.

Hotel Marina
26 Széchenyi út
Balatonfüred
Tel: 36 87 343 644
Fax: 36 87 343 052

Electronic Publishing Development Program
Tel: 36-1 327 3014
Fax: 36-1 327 3042

The Open Society Institute's co-ordinating staff will have mobile phones from Thursday 4th May until Wednesday May 11th.  Telephone numbers will be given at a later date.

In case of a medical or other emergencies, you should immediately contact the hotel reception or the organisers.