General information

HISAR

The 2008 AEA-Europe Conference will take place in Hisar; a small ancient town in Bulgaria, famous for its mineral springs and numerous spa centers. There are different spellings of Hisar (Hissar, Hisaria, Hissarya, etc.) and also different pronounciations. You can find out more about Hisar in the following website: http://www.cbbbg.com/tourism/eng/hissarya_eng.html

Accommodation and Activities

Two hotels are booked for the Conference: Hotel Hissar (http://www.hotelhissar.com/) and Augusta Hotel (http://www.augustaspa.com/). They are both the same category, both have congress facilities, and are close to each other (about 300-400 meters apart).

If booking your accommodation in any of these hotels via the registration form, the accommodation fee will include breakfast and dinner every day as well as transfer from Sofia airport to Hisar and back. You will also have free access to the relax center, swimming pool and fitness areas in the hotels.

Friday (7 November) afternoon all participants are invited to an excursion to the city of Plovdiv (http://www.plovdivcity.net/index.html). The official dinner with entertainment will also take place in Plovdiv after the excursion. The registration fee includes the excursion and the dinner with entertainment.

Travel arrangements

In most cases the participants will spend 4 nights (5 nights for participants attending the pre-conference workshops) in Hisar, since most flights from Europe arrive and depart from Sofia airport in the afternoon. For late arrival and/or early departure participants a hotel in Sofia will be arranged. The organising agency "Mallorka" (see contact info below) will make individual arrangements as required.

If possible, make your travel arrangements to arrive at Sofia airport on November 5 (Wednesday) and to depart from Sofia airport on November 9 (Sunday). Those attending the pre-conference workshops need to arrive at Sofia airport on November 4 (Tuesday). "Mallorka" will meet each participant at the airport and will arrange the transportation from Sofia airport to Hisar and back in groups by buses. The transportation is free of charge for participants staying at the conference hotels.

Please make sure that your travel details (flight number and arrival/departure time) are correctly described in the Registration Form. If you change your travel plans, please make every effort to inform "Mallorka" about your new travel details.

If you, for some reason, cannot meet the indicated days for arrival and departure at Sofia airport, "Mallorka" will also take care of you as long as you correctly provide your travel information.

Contact information

The Conference is being organized by the agency "Mallorka- KN Ltd" (www.mallorca-kn.com,  Their website is however only available in Bulgarian, since the English version is under construction). If you would like to travel around Bulgaria before or after the Conference, "Mallorka" will be pleased to serve you. The contact person is Ms. Nelly Keremidchieva, e-mail: info@conferencebg.com  Just write her a message indicating that you are a participant of the AEA-E Conference and explain your wishes.

For all issues concerning your travel plans please contact "Mallorka" by e-mail: info@conferencebg.com  referring to Ms. Nelly Keremidchieva. The telephone number to the agency is (359-2) 954-74-87.

Other useful information

Climate
In the beginning of November the weather in Bulgaria, and especially in Hisar, is usually mild. You may find a 15-day weather forecast for Hisar (and for many other places around the world) on the web site http://www.accuweather.com/world-index.asp?partner=accuweather  

Currency and financial information
The currency in Bulgaria is called Lev (plural: leva), divided in 100 stotinki. You can find out more about exchange rate at http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/europe/european-union/bulgaria/currency-converter.htm

Although major credit cards are accepted in most hotels, restaurants, big supermarkets, etc. in Bulgaria, you will need some cash because in Hisar most of the shops and some restaurants are small and you cannot rely on credit cards being accepted. Nevertheless, we advise you not to change at Sofia airport because of the very low rate. In fact, you will not need money until your arrival in Hisar where there are many change offices, banks, etc. Even the rate in the conference hotels is much better than at the airport.

Welcome to Bulgaria!

Click here to download a document with this information