PDE and probability session at the 10th ICOR conference
Here you will find practical information for the session on Partial Differential Equations which will be part of the 10th International Conference on Operations Research. It will take place in La Habana, Cuba, from 6-9 March 2012.
Practical information
View Location of the 10th ICOR conference, 2012 in a larger map
Location of the conference
Sessions will be held in the Hotel Riviera in La Habana (see the map). It is in the Vedado district, at the intersection of Paseo and Malecón. See below, under “Accommodation”.
Registration and abstracts
If you are a participant in our session you should follow the registration instructions given in the main ICOR website; this is, you should fill this online form. We prefer that you send your title and abstract to the organizers of this session (i.e., whoever contacted you about the session), and we will notify the main organizers of ICOR.
Payment should be made in cash on Tuesday 6th, the first day of the conference. The registration fee is 150 CUC for non-cuban participants, and 90 CUC for non-cuban students.
Talks
There will be a video projector and a computer available (or you can use your own computer if you prefer). Please bring your slides in a USB key or portable hard drive, or send the PDF with the slides to José Cañizo.
Traveling to Cuba
The organizers of ICOR have also arranged special prices for flights to La Habana with the airline Cubana de Aviación for the dates of the conference. These prices depend on the exact dates, and of course on the city you are flying from. If you have not yet reserved your flight and may be interested, please contact us about this.
Accommodation
The conference will be held at Hotel Riviera. The conference organizers have arranged a special price for conference participants of 60 CUC (around €46) per night for a single room and 90 CUC (around €69) per night for a double (this is, 45 CUC per person per night). This price also includes the transfer from the airport to the hotel and back. Update: In fact, quite high additional charges for payment with a credit card (more than 12%) may be added when processing your payment; please pay attention to the final price, and do not hesitate to contact us if you find any trouble when making your payment. You should also have the option of paying directly at the hotel in CUC. In order to make a reservation in the conditions of the conference offer and arrange the pick-up time at the airport you should contact Eduardo González (from the travel agency Cubanacan) by email or phone at +53 7 273 7744.
You can also make an online reservation at a hotel nearby, and rooms can be rented in hostels or family houses if they satisfy the official regulations. The latter are usually much cheaper than hotels (between 25 and 40 CUC per night). Here are some links to hotels which you may find useful, some of which also appear in the map above:
Hotel Riviera ★★★
Hotel Meliá Cohiba ★★★★★
Hotel Presidente ★★★★
Hotel Nacional de Cuba ★★★★★
Hotel Vedado ★★★
Hotel Victoria ★★★★
Hotel Tryp Habana Libre ★★★★★
Hotel Colina ★★
Coffee breaks and lunch
The coffee break takes place at the conference hotel, and lunch will be in restaurants nearby (organized by ICOR).
Visa
If you are travelling with a non-cuban passport you will need to obtain a visa in order to travel to Cuba. You may ask the Cuban embassy for a scientific visa (the only choice if you are coming from the USA) or a tourist card. Please ask the organizers for an official invitation if you need it in order to apply for the scientific visa. Obtaining the tourist card is quicker, cheaper, and your travel agency should be able to do the paperwork for you. The only counterpart when you choose a tourist card is that you must be able to justify that you already have a hotel reservation for at least two nights when you enter Cuba.
Money
There are two official currencies in Cuba. The peso convertible (CUC), which is the currency most commonly used by foreigners, and the peso cubano (CUP), the common currency for Cubans. Their exchange rate is 25 CUP = 1 CUC = 1 US dollar. Non Cubans must pay the hotel, the registration fee, and most services with CUC. Be careful, prices in any of the two currencies are often denoted by the $ sign! Of course at some places (hotels, restaurants or in some shopping centers) some credit cards, Visa in particular, are also accepted. Traveller's checks and American Express cards are refused. With a Visa card one can withdraw cash at the airport, in some hotels, and in several ATMs not far from the conference hotel. It is also possible to exchange cash (to CUC) when necessary. Conversion of US dollars is taxed with an additional 10%! If you are making a hotel reservation independently of the conference do not forget to change some money when arriving at the airport in order to pay the taxi to the hotel (if you reserve through the conference the transfer to the hotel is included). You will also need to pay the registration fee in cash.
Airport
The closest airport is the Aeropuerto José Martí of La Habana. If you are reserving through the conference (see Accommodation) the transfer from the airport and back is included with your hotel reservation, and you should arrange the details with Eduardo González (phone +53 7 273 7744). If you have reserved your accommodation independently, then from the airport to the center of La Habana you must take a taxi (no collective transport is available on that route). The journey from the airport to the town costs between 10 and 20 CUC.