GENERAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION
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.
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Registrations for the conference will take place on Saturday 8th May between 16.00 and 19.00. 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 10.00 on Sunday.
BUSINESS FACILITIES
There is a fax machine and photocopier available at the reception desk. The cost for photocopying is 30 HUF/page (approximately 12 cents).
TELEPHONE BILLS
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.
SOCIAL EVENTS
OSI and other sponsors will organise evening social events.
CONFERENCE MEALS
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.
HOTEL FACILITIES
The hotel has its own private beach and also offers an in-door swimming pool, bowling alley, sauna and massage facilities.
ARRIVING IN HUNGARY
ARRIVING BY AIR
You will be met on arrival by OSI and EPDP staff members.
Ferihegy International Airport is 20km from the centre of Budapest. There are two terminals.
· Ferihegy 2A - all MALEV
(Hungarian Airlines) flights
· Ferihegy 2B - all other airlines
The airport telephone numbers are:
· Terminal 2A - arrivals 36-1-296-8000 / departures 36-1-296-7000
· Terminal 2B - arrivals 36-1-296-5053 / departures 36-1-296-5882
There will be shuttle buses to take you to the hotel on Saturday. The schedules for departure will be established when flight details of all participants are known. The journey from Budapest to Balatonfüred takes about an hour and a half. (130 kms).
If you are not arriving on Saturday you will need to make your own way to the hotel.
ARRIVING BY RAIL
Budapest has three main stations: Déli (southern), Keleti (eastern) and Nyugati (western). The international enquiries phone number is 36-1-461-5500. 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 (90 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).
EXCHANGE FACILITIES AND RATES
You can change foreign currencies at the airport. The current exchange rate is approximately 360 HUF for 1 British pound and 233 HUF for 1 US dollar. 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 also exchange facilities at the hotel and all major credit cards are accepted.
TIME ZONE AND CLIMATE
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 mid-May can bring some particularly cold and rainy days. Come prepared for both warm and cool weather.
USEFUL INFORMATION
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
Open Society Institute's coordinating staff temporarly available (from Friday,May 7th until Wednesday,May 12th) mobile phone numbers are the following:
06 20 - 919 06 02
06 20 - 919 00 71
06 20 - 919 00 82
06 20 - 919 04 54 ( outside Hungary: +36 20 phone number.)
Center for Publishing Development (CPD)
Open Society Institute (OSI)
H-1051 Budapest
Október 6 u 12
Tel: 36-1 327 3014
Fax: 36-1 327 3042
EMERGENCIES
In case of a medical or other emergencies, you should immediately contact the hotel reception or the organisers.
Back to conference home page.