Travel Information

Hotel: The Workshop will take place in the "Capsis" hotel located in Crete on the private peninsula of Aghia Pelaghia. One of the FTM mafiosi (SL) stayed there once (15 years ago) and was very impressed. Below are the recent impressions of our local organizer, Prof. Dionissios Hristopulos, who has inspected Capsis with his wife and baby daughter:

Big, well maintained, beautiful landscaping (plants, flowers, birds and animals), sea views at hand from most locations, competent and friendly convention center supervisor. The grounds are well kept. There are a number of pools, some for swimming, some I assume decorative. There are also many flowers, which are also used in creative ways for interior decoration. In general, my wife Lisa was impressed.
There are two beaches easily accessible from the hotel: The Kapsis private beach, which was quite crowded and the public beach, which I personally liked better. The beaches have a mix of sand and pebbles, the water is a nice deep blue, blue-green.
There are two tennis courts. I saw one which was in good shape.
The hotel has both rooms in a large main building and bungalows. Bungalows are nice, more secluded, some with wonderful sea views, traditional village style. But they are also scattered at various distances from the main building. I would not recommend them for people with mobility problems. I estimate on average a 15 minute walk to the main facilities, although this may vary depeniding on the location. For most people I think that rooms in the main building would be the most convenient with easy access to the buffet resaurant (Zeus restuarant - same building) and Lida conference room (nearby).
The dinner at the buffet restaurant was quite acceptable. Good desserts and all the fruit we had while we stayed at the hotel (room, breakfast, dinner) was very good. I liked the Kapsis white and red wines. Breakfast was also plentiful (variety of breads, cakes, dessert, eggs in various disguises, sausage, crepes, marmalades and honey, olives, yoghourt, etc.)
Click here for a few hotel photos.
Local official at the Capsis hotel: Georgia Vlahou <GVlahou@Capsis.Gr>, FAX +30210 6142072

Arrival Day: Sunday, June 25. During the day or evening, taxis are plentiful and the magic words "Capsis Aghia Pelaghia" will get you to the Hotel, which is less than half an hour away from the Heraklion airport. If you are arriving after midnight, the Capsis hotel can arrange for a taxi to be waiting for you at a cost of 39 euros -- please contact Ms. Georgia Vlahou with your flight info. For those interested in renting a car, there is a full range of rental agencies at the airport.

Air: Hotel Capsis is a short (25 km) drive from the Heraklion airport (HER). Note that the other airport on Crete (Chania) is a two-hour drive away and is NOT recommended. The HER airport is served from Athens by Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines, several flights a day by both. Aegean Airlines website http://www.aegeanair.com/aegeanen/home/index.asp has very reasonably priced advance purchase electronic tickets from Athens, Rome, Milan, and several German cities for late June. There are scheduled flights from London (Gatwick LGW) and Manchester (MAN) on British airways, but not every day – check www.britishairways.com for scheduling. Similarly, there are weekly flights from a number of German cities (Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and Munich) on LTU – check www.ltu.de for scheduling.

Map: A nice collection of Crete maps are here, including satellite images of ancient Crete. ☺ Note that we are on the "Central" part of the island.

Travel Information and Contact During the Workshop