Travel Information for ICDSS 2007:

Note: This information is also being posted at: http://icdss2007.blogspot.com/.

We invite the attendees to add additional information at that link. For now, it is totally open, but may be locked if any abuse is noted.

 ICDSS 2007 will be held in early January in Kolkata, India from January 2-4, 2007.

There are a few major things to keep in mind with respect to travel to Indian in general and this conference in particular:

Optional Tour Programs:

We have worked with makemytrip.com to create an optional, independent tour program. Essentially, this program entails arriving into New Delhi on Dec. 28, sightseeing in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, and then returning to Delhi on Jan. 1 to allow for an air trip tp Kolkata on the afternoon of Jan. 1. Details of this optional tour are at the following link:

Before you click on the link, please note that this tour is being offered by an independent operator. ICDSS 2007 team has worked with them to offer it as a service, but does not assume any responsibility. Second, the prices offered are based upon a minimum of 15 people signing up for the tours. If less than 15 sign up, the price will be higher.  Third, they also offer a group rate for travel between New Delhi and Kolkata, again based upon 15 people signing up for the group rate. Link for the optional tour:

http://us.makemytrip.com/promotions/goldentriangle.htm

Other tours may be offered in Kolkata area. Information on those will be posted as it becomes available.

Traveling to India and Back:

1. Winter is extremely busy travel season for India. Most flights run full starting in early December. Correspondingly, the airfares tend to increase. However, fares do tend to go down a bit for travel after Christmas. However, finding return seats from India in early January is still difficult.  So it is best to book as early as possible.
2. For the US travelers to this conference, note that two airlines fly nonstop from the US to Delhi. Continental flies nonstop from Newark to Delhi, and American flies nonstop from Chicago to Delhi everyday.
3. Most other major airlines also offer service to India: Delta, Northwest/KLM, and all major international airlines.
4. In our experience, the better fares are available through consolidators, though the airlines websites as well as the major travel websites can also offer good discounts on certain days. It is better to check often.
5. If you plan to take the optional tour (see above) then you should plan to arrive into Delhi around December 28. And purchase a round trip Delhi-Kolkata airfare (also see the tour section).  Otherwise, you can fly directly into Kolkata or through other international gateways such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, etc.
6. We list a few consolidator websites below for your convenience, with no endorsement of any type implied by the ICDSS 2007 team:
   1. Makemytrip.com (www.makemytrip.com), also reachable through 1-800-INDIA-10
   2. You can find local travel agents by searching on one of the Indian portals such as http://eknazar.com/.
   3. A general airline consolidator is www.airlineconsolidator.com.

 Key lesson: please book as soon as possible

 Visa Information

 In general overseas citizens traveling to India require a visa. In the US, consulates in different parts of the US as well as the Embassy in Washington, DC provides the visa services. Links to the Indian Embassy in Washington is at: http://www.indianembassy.org/newsite/embassy.asp, links to consulates home pages as well as the states served by them are at: http://www.indianembassy.org/newsite/consulatesinus.asp. A general portal with information about consulates and visa services for India is at http://www.visatoindia.com

Vaccination:

Nothing is required per se, but please see the following links.

Some links addressing this topic:

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/indianrg.htm

http://mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/asia/india.html

In addition, some of us like to take a precautionary tablet for malaria (see this link: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/regionalmalaria/indianrg.htm ).

Hotel Booking:

Please see the Accommodations page at our website (direct link: http://www.cba.uni.edu/ICDSS2007/hotel.htm) for the latest information and hotel booking instructions.