Location and Travel Information


Location

Finding its way to the sea from the top of a hill, the Village of Altea, formerly a sailor and peasant’s region, is protected from the cold winter winds by the near mountains and owns one of the most beautiful Mediterranean bays. 10 Kms North from Benidorm, 50 from Alicante and 120 South from Valencia, Altea and its surroundings offers a state-of-the-art frame for this workshop.



Despite its proximity to one of Europe’s largest tourist spots (Benidorm), the white washed town of Altea has managed to remain untouched by mass tourism. With Altea’s narrow cobbled streets and stepped pathways it is easy to understand why it became a favourite haunt for artists, musicians and writers in the 60’s. Today it retains much of the old charm, with a mixture of well-preserved Moorish and Mediterranean architecture and palm fringed seafront promenade. The town is split between old and new quarters. The picture postcard old quarter (Vellaguarda quarter) sits on top a hill with excellent views of the mountains and Altea bay. The new quarter is down by the seafront and is the site for the majority of recent development, restaurants and other amenities.

Altea has a 6 kilometres beach, made up of cliffs alternating with shingle bathing areas. Playa de la Roda is located near the town centre. The main beach, Playa de Cap Blanch, is located to the south and runs into Albir’s beach (Albir is the next town along from Altea).

The cuisine is another major bonus, with (affordable) good food available everywhere, alongside the middle to high-end restaurants. Shopping opportunities also exist, mostly in the form of tiny shops offering gifts, local goods and handicrafts.

Altea is also well known for its mild climate and enjoys sunshine for in excess of 320 days per year. The sun is at its hottest during the summer months, with temperatures rarely falling below 30°C (86°F). Winters are typically very mild with averages hovering around 18°C (64°F).

Travel Information



The closest Internacional Airport is the one in Alicante (El Altet), 61 km away. A taxi to Altea would cost about 65 euros.
The International Airport of Valencia, in Manises, is about 140 km away and a direct taxi would cost 125 euros.
Both airports are connected by bus to their corresponding Central Bus Stations.
  • Altea by bus
    From the Central Bus Stations, take a bus to Benidorm (about 115 min. from Valencia and 45 min. from Alicante) and change at Benidorm’s Central Bus Station to Altea.
    Information about timetable and fares is available at http://www.infohostal.com/autobuses-altea/68/.
    There are also some direct buses from the airport in Alicante to Benidorm (see http://www.alsa.es).
  • Altea by car
    If you are travelling by car, Altea is on the nacional 332 road, which is free, or you can use the toll motorway AP7 and take the exit 64.
    From Alicante 52.1 km. Toll: 2.80€
    From Valencia 132 km. Toll: 8.65€
  • Altea by train
    A nice but slow narrow railway (FGV), called “Lemon train”, travels from Alicante to Denia along the coast.
    It takes about 1h 24m from Alicante to Altea every day and every each hour starting at 5:57 and finishing at 19:57. Fare: 4.15€ (single).

  • NEW! Bus Shuttle Service
    The organization provides a bus shuttle from Valencia and Benidorm to the conference site. This bus will leave Valencia about 17:30 on Monday 22 from the corner of the streets "Alicante" and "Gran Via Germanías" (close to the railway train station) and will arrive to the Conference Hotel around 19:00. Then, in a second trip, it will have a stop in Benidorm in the street "Avenida Europa 8" ("La Noria" mall center) between 19:15 and 19:40 and come back to the hotel around 20:00.

    There will be a bus shuttle also on Friday 26. It will leave the Conference Hotel at 14:30 to Benidorm. Then, at 15:30 it will leave again the Conference Hotel to Valencia and Valencia's airport.



    Train and flight tickets discounts

    IBERIA and RENFE (the Spanish Railroad Network) support ODYSSEUS through special discounts they offer to the workshop participants. Please find below details regarding these discounts and how to make the most of them.

    IBERIA has confirmed its special discounts. Please find below the code that refers to the “Third International Workshop on Freight Transportation and Logistics”, which should be given when purchasing your flight ticket. The conditions set by IBERIA are the following:
    For national, European and intercontinental flights: 30% discounts on complete Business and Tourist rate. This special offer is ONLY valid for not-changeable flights of IBERIA/AIR NOSTRUM. Lines with shared code (IB-700) are excluded. These tickets will be valid 2 days before and after the Workshop for national and European flights and one week before and after the Congress, for intercontinental flights. These tickets can only be booked and issued by an IBERIA agency. In all tickets must appear the code BT6IB21MPEO012 in the “tour code” area of the ticket.

    All bookings must include “OSI IB BT61B21MPE0012”

     RENFE has confirmed its special discounts, which are as follows:
    30% discount for long distance trains
    30% discount for regional and suburban trains
    25% discount for AVE trains (high speed or express trains)
    If you are interested in these discounts, please send an e-mail to the following address (marie.demulier@uv.es) or a fax to 00 34 96 398 39 36 and we will send you a voucher that you must present when purchasing your ticket. . We will also have vouchers available during the workshop, for those who wish to plan a trip once they are in Altea. These discounts are available from 21st May until 28th May 2006. Tickets can be booked and issued by any Renfe train station or any travel agency.