We are located at the Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria, IFCA, see http://www.ifca.unican.es .
IFCA building is the Edificio Juan Jorda within the Campus of the University of Cantabria in Santander (Spain), behind the Facultad de Ciencias, in the Avenida de los Castros (see map)
Getting to IFCA
By plane
The Severiano Ballesteros Santander international airport (code SDR) has international connections to London, Rome, Milan(Bergamo), Frankfurt (Hahn), Brussels (Charleroi), Dusseldorf (Weeze)/Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Dublin with Ryanair (see http://www.ryanair.com ).
And national direct connections to Madrid with Iberia (see http://www.iberia.com ), to Barcelona and Alicante with Vueling (see http://www.vueling.com) and to Seville, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Barcelona with Ryanair.
A taxi from the airport to IFCA, to the city center, or to Sardinero costs about 20-30 euros. There is a direct bus from the airport to the city center each 30’, cost is around 2 euros (located in the arrivals area, just ahead of the taxi zone; notice that the bus will surely depart empty at 18h00 even if a plane full of passengers arrives at 17h59', timetables at www.alsa.es).
Santander is also well connected (110km highway) to Bilbao airport (code BIO) that operates more international direct connections (including Paris, Lisbon, Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, London, Amsterdam, Oslo, Stockholm, Geneva, Zurich, Prague, Budapest, etc.).
A taxi from BIO to Santander costs around 150 euros (please contact us for a special rate). A rental car could be another good option. The travel takes around 1h15 minutes, and there are many nice places in the coast close to this highway (like Noja, Santoña, Laredo, Castro Urdiales).
By train
Santander is connected to Madrid, Valladolid and Palencia three times a day by a RENFE (http://www.renfe.es) Alvia train (modern and comfortable). The ticket from Madrid costs only 49 euros BUT it takes almost 5 hours, and it is not unlikely that you may be connected to a bus due to some incidence.
Santander is also connected by train to Oviedo and to Bilbao, but the speed is more or less like 50 years ago, and the trains do not have the same charm.
By bus
ALSA buses connect Santander to Bilbao (frequent), Oviedo, Madrid, Burgos, etc. See http://www.alsa.es
From/to the city center and Sardinero
The Campus is close (10 minutes walk) to the “Sardinero” beaches zone, and also close (20-30 minutes walk going up the hill/down the hill streets) to the city center.
Public transport by bus connects the Campus with the Sardinero and with the city center, see TUS webpage (www.tusantander.es). Single tickets can be bought onboard to the driver and cost about 1.50 euros.
A taxi to/from the center costs about 6 Euro.
Bikes for rental are also available, both in the Campus University and at some hotels.
Logistics at IFCA
Within IFCA building
The admin office is located right at the main door
The meeting rooms are located in the main floor. There are also meeting rooms in +1 floor.
The Advanced Computing and e-Science offices are located in floor -1 (down the stairs)
The computing room is located in floor -2 (continue down the stairs!)
Coffee machine
Located in main floor, cost is 0,40 euros.
Water (free) close to it.
Wireless connection at IFCA
EDUROAM is available, but send in advance your wireless MAC address to get a better connection.
Lunches
Several canteens in the university area are available (5 min. walk). More information is provided ad-hoc.
Dinner
There are several quite good restaurants with a reasonable price in the city centre. Please consult us for advice.
Accommodation
Please see offers in your favorite web page/travel agency.
The University has some usual offers within the civil servants rates (i.e. around 65 euros/night) with many hotels, except in summer peak. Contact us in case of doubt.
Usual ones: Hotel las Brisas, Hotel Palacio del Mar, Gran Hotel Sardinero, Hotel Chiqui, Hotel Hoyuela, , Hotel Silken Rio (in the Sardinero), Hotel Silken Coliseum, Hotel Bahia, Hotel Vincci, Hotel Santander NH (in the center).