Logistics

Directions to Cozumel and the venue

General Information

Cozumel is located in the mexican caribean and is one of the most touristic locations in Mexico. While the island is fairly safe, please be aware of pick pocketers.

A major health precaution while in Mexico is also to avoid drinking tap watter.

For a complete guide of attractions in Cozumel please go to: http://www.cozumel.travel/

The registration will be open until October 15, 2015. Shortly thereafter, we will inform you about the outcome of your registration; i.e. whether your presentation was selected for a talk or a poster. We will provide further instructions for payment of the registration. The conference is limited to 200 people.

We expect a fee of ~300 USD for tenure and tenure-track faculty and ~200 USD for students and postdocs. Some financial support may be available once final costs have been examined.

We were able to negociate a special rate for rooms at the conference hotel, with an all-inclusive price ranging between ~100-150 USD per night and person. The final price depends partly on the Mexican currency relative to the USD. Special events including a visit to Tulum Mayan ruins and a possible visit to the Cozumel coral reefs are currently being negotiated.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the best way to go from Cancun to Cozumel?

    If you arrive to Cancun airport you will have to go first to “Playa del Carmen” by land, and afterwards to Cozumel Island by boat. Playa del Carmen is a nearby town that can be reached within ~50 minutes, either by car, by coach or by Taxi. Cozumel is a close by island to Playa del Carmen and it will require a ~30 minutes trip by boat to reach it. Cancun airport has three terminals. If you are arrving from abroad, the most likely is that your flight will arrive to the Cancun International Airport Terminal 3. Domestic flights may arrive to terminals 1 or 2.

    • Route by taxi (recomended):

      After your arrival, and after passing the passport controls (in case this is the first time during your trip to land in mexican territory) and the baggage claiming process and costums revision, you will be able to leave the terminal. On your way to the exit, you'll find many taxi services options, Our suggestion is to use the service provided by “CANCUN-CAB”. Take a taxi to “Playa del Carmen”, which has a regular fare of ~900 mexican pesos (~50 usd) per taxi (i.e. the fare is calculated per vehicle not per person). In case you find it easier, you can purchase at that moment the round trip (airport-Playa del Carmen- airport), which may cost ~1500 mexican pesos (~90 usd), otherwise just ask for a taxi to go only to Playa del Carmen. Be aware that none of the taxi services will take credit cards for payment, be sure to have some cash with you.

      Once in the taxi, you can tell to the driver that you are going to Cozumel, so he/she takes you to the maritime terminal (all the taxy drivers know how to arrive to this station). When you arrive to the maritime terminal, we recomend you to go to the “ULTRAMAR” boats ticket office in order to purchase your ticket to Cozumel Island. The regular fare for the round trip to Cozumel is ~20 usd per person.

      The first and last boat depart from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel at 7:00 and 22:00 local time, respectively. Please check the following link to see the detailed schedule of the ULTRAMAR boat runs:
      http://www.granpuerto.com.mx/en

      If you are arriving late to Playa del Carmen, please refer to the boats company "Barcos Caribe", which is located next to "Ultramar", and who offers late time departures. For prices and schedules please visit their website: http://www.barcoscaribe.com/horarios.html

      Once you arrive to Cozumel, take a taxi to the Hotel location.

    • Route by coach (Cheaper):

      At the exit of the three terminals, you will be able to find the local coach transportation service, provided by a company called “ADO”, which does regular trips to “Playa del Carmen” with a regular fare of ~150 mexican pesos (~9 usd) for the one-way trip.

      The ADO ticket offices are located near the exits of the terminals, if you are unable to locate them, just ask for the “ADO buses” to the airport personel. Please take into account that the ADO service runs only from 10:00 to 23:00 local time.

      Once you arrive to Playa de Carmen ADO bus station, you can walk to the maritme terminal where you can catch a boat to go to Cozumel Island.

      When you arrive to the maritime terminal we recomend you to go to the “ULTRAMAR” boats ticket office in order to purchase your ticket to Cozumel Island. The regular fare for the round trip to Cozumel is ~20 usd per person.

      The first and last boat depart from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel at 7:00 am and 22:00 pm (local time), respectively. Please check the following link to see the detailed schedule of the ULTRAMAR boat runs:
      http://www.granpuerto.com.mx/en

      If you are arriving late to Playa del Carmen, please refer to the boats company "Barcos Caribe", which is located next to "Ultramar", and who offers late time departures. For prices and schedules please visit their website: http://www.barcoscaribe.com/horarios.html

      Once you arrive to Cozumel, take a taxi to the Park Royal Hotel location.

    • What is the best way to go to the Park Royal Hotel from Cozumel airport?

      If you arrive directly to the Cozumel Airport, the easiest way to get to the Park Royal Hotel is to take a taxi directly at the airport exit. It should be less than 200 pesos (~14 USD).

  2. Do I need a visa to visit Mexico?

    You can check in this web page the list of countries that require a visa to enter the mexican territory:

    http://www.inm.gob.mx/index.php/page/paises_visa/en.html

    If you are in the case of needing a visa to come to the conference and require an invitation letter from our side, please send us an email to galaxies2016@astro.unam.mx.

  3. Should I change my money to the local currency?

    Wheter the local currency in Mexico is the “mexican peso”, there is actually no need to change your money to mexican pesos if you are carring US dollars. Basically within all the “Riviera Maya” area (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Tulum) the US dollar is widely accepted.

    If your local currency is different than the us dollar, we highly suggest you to exchange your money to US dollars or mexican pesos.

    In any case, if you wish, you can exchange some money to mexican pesos in any of the Money Exchange Modules (casas de cambio) in Playa del Carmen area, altough this is not really necesary. Keep in mind that the conference will take place in a “all-inclusive” hotel, where, once you are there, you won't need to spare any money in daily expenses such as, food, etc.

Weather in Cozumel