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Mathematical Modeling in Industry XIV - A Workshop for Graduate Students, August 2-11, 2010 ## Travel Information Please contact your insurance company to confirm your health insurance will cover you during your stay in Mexico. General Information The City of Guanajuato /ˌɡwä-nɘ-ˈhwä-tō / is the Capital of the State of Guanajuato and home of CIMAT and the main Campus of the University of Guanajuato. This city is one of the most important colonial towns in Latin America and a declared World Heritage Zone by UNESCO. It is located about 350 km (220 miles) NW of Mexico City. Guanajuato captives the visitor with the charm of its relaxed atmosphere, its cobblestone streets, its picturesque plazas and underground streets. While remaining a small provincial city. Guanajuato boasts a great number of attractions, from beautiful colonial buildings to modern museums, from silver mines to an university. Guanajuato’s altitude, 2000 meters (6000 feet), ensures that the climate is always pleasant. The rainy season is from June to September, which generally means a shower late in the afternoon. During the day the weather in November-December is pleasant. However, at night or early morning could be cold. Temperatures range from a low average of 7° C to a maximum average of 25° C. Guanajuato is a famous international tourist destination and several airlines (American, Continental, Mexicana, Aeromexico and Aerocalifornia) have direct flights from major U.S. cities to Guanajuato International Airport (BJX). It is also possible to travel from México City Airport (MEX) by air or by bus(5 Hrs trip) to Guanajuato. We recomend to exchange currency at the airport for any travel expenses you might need. You can download CIMAT's location on GoogleEarth here, or WikiMapia here. How to arrive to Guanajuato and CIMAT By air The "Del Bajio International Airport" (BJX) in León is the closest airport serving Guanajuato, and is located within about 20 km (12 miles) from Guanajuato. It has direct daily flights to and from Mexico City (Aeromexico, Aerocalifornia and Aviacsa), Houston (Continental), Dallas (American), Los Angeles (Aeromexico, Mexicana and Continental), Chicago (Mexicana), Monterrey (Aeromexico, Aviacsa and Mexicana, VivaAerobus) and Tijuana (Aeromexico, Aerocalifornia and Aviacsa). If you are taking the CIMAT Shuttle, please disregard the information below. Contact if you are not sure the IMA confirmed the CIMAT shuttle for you. If you arrive at "Del Bajio Airport" you can take a taxi cab to Guanajuato. After going through immigration and customs, you will find three booths to the left (inside the airport) where you can purchase a ticket for a taxi cab to Guanajuato. You have to specify your destination city, Guanajuato in this case, and the name of your hotel. The charge is approximately 42 USD, and you can pay with either American or Mexican currency. The cabs are outside the airport and they are assigned according to the cab number in your ticket. The cab usually takes no more than 45 minutes to drive you to the hotel. If you go directly to CIMAT or CIMATEL ask for "La Valenciana, Guanajuato"./ la və-ˈlen-sēə-na , ˌɡwä-nɘ-ˈhwä-tō / CIMATEL is CIMAT´s guest house, it is located in front of the main Church in La Valenciana. For some of the flights there will be a CIMAT's mini-bus that will take as much participants as possible from the airport to CIMATEL. Please send your flight number and arrival time to "Bajio Airport (BJX)" to spi@cimat.mx with the subject: "IMA-SPI-CIMAT College-airport". They will let you know if at that time there will be a mini-bus. If your arrival is from Mexico City Airport You can fly as well to Mexico City International Airport (MEX) and then to Guanajuato (BJX). There are six daily flights from Mexico City to Guanajuato served by Aeromexico and Mexicana. Alternatively you can fly to Mexico City and then take a bus. Buses to Guanajuato depart from the Terminal del Norte¨ /ˈsen-trəl ˈdel ˈ nor-tə / (Bus terminal heading to North) which is connected with Mexico City International Airport by a direct metro line. You can also take a bus inside the Airport to Queretaro or León and then a conectiong bus to Guanajuato. Another route is to take a taxi at the Airport, after you collect your baggage look for a Taxi cab office. There you have to buy a ticket with destination to "Terminal Norte" /ˈsen-trəl ˈdel ˈ nor-tə / or "Central Camionera del Norte" it is very important that you say that is the one in the North, since there are others. They will give you a ticket and they will explain were you can take the taxi. To the taxi driver you give part of the ticket and tell him again your destination. Look the next section for instructions to get to Guanajuato by bus. By bus It is also possible to arrive to Guanajuato from Mexico City by bus. Take a safe Taxi (inside the airport you can purchase a ticket) to "Terminal del Norte"/ˈsen-trəl ˈdel ˈ nor-tə / or "Central Camionera del Norte" (Bus station heading to the north). It is important that you say that is the one in the North, since there are others. In the bus station, at your right side you will find the counter of the buses ETN "Enlaces Terrestres Nacionales de Mexico" which offer the best service to travel to Guanajuato. The bus ride from Mexico City to Guanajuato is around 5 hours. The cost is about $30 USD. The second option to travel to Guanajuato is by "Primera Plus" buses. Same time for the trip duration and the cost is about $25 USD. If you miss the bus to Guanajuato you can travel to León and then to Guanajuato (4.30 hrs trip). Every 15 mins there is a bus from León to Guanajuato (1 Hrs trip). Guanajuato's bus terminal is very small and it is located right outside of the city. If you arrive by bus to Guanajuato you can just walk outside of the terminal and wait for a taxi cab. These usually arrive very frequently. The cabs are green and they charge approximately $35 MXN to downtown. These cabs will most likely only take Mexican currency. If you go directly to CIMAT or CIMATEL ask for "La Valenciana, Guanajuato"/ la və-ˈlen-sēə-na , ˌɡwä-nɘ-ˈhwä-tō /. CIMATEL is CIMAT´s guest house, it is located in front of the main Church in La Valenciana. Otherwise, just give the name of the hotel in Guanajuato. The trip is around 20 minutes and its cost is $60 MXN pesos ($6 USD). By car On the main road Irapuato-Leon turn in "Guanajuato Cuota" or Guanajuato and then follow the map in here.