The summer school starts in just over two months, so you should
start making your travel plans now, especially if you plan to fly into
New Mexico.  Remember that your travel expenses come out of your
stipend, so the more you save, the more you will have available for
other expenses.

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     IMPORTANT: Your arrival dates in Los Alamos should be from Friday,
June 6th (in the afternoon as we will still be working on the apartments)
through Sunday, June 8. If you arrive earlier than June 6th, the
University of New Mexico (UNM-LA) apartments will NOT be available. Since
over 1000 students arrive in Los Alamos around this time, most motels
will be fully occupied by visitors, parents, etc.  If you can not
arrive on that weekend because of classes or travel problems, please
contact James Colgan (jcolgan@lanl.gov) as soon as possible.

     The Summer School ends Friday, August 15th.  You should make
your arrangements to leave the UNM-LA apartments no later than Sunday,
August 17th.  These apartments are used by the regular UNM students,
and the fall session starts the last week of August.
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TRAVELING TO LOS ALAMOS BY CAR

     We recommend that you drive to Los Alamos, if at all possible. If
you are just being dropped off by parents or friends, you will still
have less complications than the students arriving by plane.  If you
are driving in your own car, you will have much more flexibility in
getting around Los Alamos and taking trips to see the local area.  Los
Alamos does have both local (within Los Alamos county) and regional (to
Santa Fe and Albuquerque) bus service, but both only run on weekdays
and have limited hours of service (6 am to 7 pm).  Traditionally,
about 30 % of the students have cars.  Over the years, the Summer
School has arranged day trips and the students were quite active in
organizing their own trips, so a car, while convenient, is not
absolutely necessary.  If you do drive, we ask three things.

    1. Tell us what day you will be arriving in Los Alamos.  We do
       not expect an exact date now, but do want to know by the last
       week in May.

    2. Try to arrive before 8 pm and also tell us the approximate time
       when you give us the date. We understand that the day and time
       can change during the trip, so we will be providing you with
       telephone contact numbers during the arrival period, as well
       as the usual email address so that you can contact us with any
       changes.  We need the date and time because we will be meeting
       you at the apartments with your keys.

    3. If you will have a cell phone, please include the number with
       your arrival information.

If you will be coming with family or friends that may be staying in the
local area, we STRONGLY suggest that you make your motel reservations
for Los Alamos or Santa Fe at least a month ahead of time.

TRAVELING TO LOS ALAMOS BY AIR

     The two closest airports to Los Alamos are the Albuquerque and
Santa Fe airports.  The Albuquerque airport is served by several major
airlines and has a wide range of flight times.  Santa Fe is a much
smaller airport and is served mainly by Great Lakes (1-800-554-5112),
flying in from Denver. On average, it will cost more to fly into Santa
Fe than Albuquerque, but it may cost less in shuttle charges to get
to Los Alamos from Santa Fe.

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    IMPORTANT: Try to arrange your flights to arrive in Albuquerque by
2 pm or Santa Fe before 4 pm.  This will insure that you should reach
Los Alamos before 8 pm and will also save you money for the shuttle
charges. If you arrive too late in the evening, you may not be able to
make shuttle connections until the next day. Hotel room rates in Santa
Fe and Albuquerque run from $40. to $100. and up.

     For your return flights, plan on taking 4 hours to travel from
Los Alamos to Albuquerque and getting through airport security (3
hours total for Santa Fe departures).  It is recommended that you do
not schedule your departure flights before 10 or 11 am.
*************************************************************************

     Due to the spread in arrival times at the various airports, the
Summer School is unable to provide transportation from the airports to
Los Alamos.  At the present time, there is no commercial bus or airline
service into Los Alamos, so arriving students will have to use the local
airport shuttle services to reach Los Alamos unless you are able to
rent a car at the airport (about $75.).  Budget Rental is the main
laboratory car rental company, so you may get a lower rate from them
because they have many one-way dropoffs in Los Alamos.

     There are now two shuttle services that provide transportation
from the Albuquerque and Santa Fe airports to Los Alamos.  They both
operate on demand service rather than a fixed schedule.  The two
shuttles are:

   Roadrunner Shuttle (1-505-424-3367)  Albuquerque & Santa Fe

   LA Shuttle (1-505-695-9407)          Albuquerque only

We have dealt with Roadrunner for at least 5 years, the LA Shuttle is
a new company that just started up last year.  The fares for each
company are about the same for single passengers.  Shuttle reservations
are STRONGLY recommended prior to arrival in New Mexico, AFTER you
have made your airline reservations.  See below for details.

    1. FLYING INTO SANTA FE: Call Roadrunner Shuttle service and tell
       them your airline, flight number, arrival time, and that you
       are going to the UNM-LA apartments on Ninth St. in Los Alamos.
       The charge is around $50. before 6 pm and higher after 6pm, if
       they have a driver available that late.  You may not be able to
       to get a shuttle after 6 pm.  They will deliver you directly
       to the UNM-LA apartments from the airport.  The trip to Los
       Alamos should take about 1 hour.

    2. FLYING INTO ALBUQUERQUE: Call either shuttle service and tell
       them your airline, flight number, arrival time, and that you
       are going to the UNM-LA apartments on Ninth St. in Los Alamos.
       The charge is around $80.  With baggage pickup and travel time,
       it takes about 3 hours to get to Los Alamos, so try to schedule
       your arrival in Albuquerque no later than 5 pm.

Please contact us as soon as possible with your airline information and
shuttle information, summarized below:

    1. Which airport are you flying into, what airline and the flight
       number.
    2. What is the date and time of your arrival at Albuquerque or
       Santa Fe.
    3. Which shuttle service do you have reservations with and when are
       are they picking you up.
    4. If you will have a cell phone, please include the number with
       your arrival information.

Not only will this help us in setting up the shuttles, it will make it
easier for us to help you if you run into travel problems.  Also, we
need the information so that we can meet you at the apartments to give
you your keys.  In the last part of May, we will provide you with
several telephone contact numbers for the arrival weekend.

     You should only make shuttle reservations for your arrival in
New Mexico.  We can usually group students together at the end of the
Summer School and get a reduced fare.  Also, you should have either
cash or traveler's checks for the fare.

TRAVELING TO LOS ALAMOS BY TRAIN

     Several students have taken the train in the past years and the
procedure is very similar to flying into New Mexico.  Make your train
reservations to Lamy, New Mexico, which is about 25 miles south of
Santa Fe.  Once you have the information on the train arrival time,
etc., call the Lamy Shuttle (1-505-982-8829) with the information and
they will pick you up at the train station and drop you off at a hotel
in Santa Fe.  They should give you a confirmation number, arrival
time (probably approximate because the train is not always on time)
and the name of the hotel they will drop you at in Santa Fe.  You
might mention that you are being picked up by Roadrunner Shuttle as
this may determine your drop off point.  The charge should be around
$30.

Once you have the information from the Lamy shuttle, call Roadrunner
Shuttle (1-505-424-3367) and tell them you are on the Lamy Shuttle
(important because the Lamy shuttle arrival times are not as
dependable as the airport shuttle arrival times), when you expect to
arrive in Santa Fe, which hotel you will be at, and that you are going
to the UNM-LA apartments on Ninth St. in Los Alamos.  They will pick you
up at the hotel and take you directly to the apartments in Los Alamos.
The charge is about $50 before 6 pm, and higher for later connections,
if available.

After you have made your train and shuttle connections, please email
us with the following information.

    1. What day and time are you arriving in Lamy.
    2. Which hotel is the shuttle dropping you at and what is the
       expected arrival time in Santa Fe.
    3. When is Roadrunner Shuttle picking you up in Santa Fe.
    4. If you will have a cell phone, please include the number with
       your arrival information.

We need this information to make it easier for us to help you if you
run into travel problems as well as to arrange to meet you at the
apartments to give you your keys.  We will be providing you with
several telephone contact numbers for the arrival weekend later.

FINAL TRAVEL COMMENTS FOR ALL ARRIVALS

     Almost all students arrive in Los Alamos without any problems,
so we realize that the above instructions may seem more detailed than
necessary.  However, we have had more than 15 years of experience with
arrival problems and we have found that we need the above information
to help us coordinate the arrivals of 10+ students.  We have also
found that the shuttles are the most subject to change (both by the
students and the shuttle service), so we have concentrated on them.

     Near the end of May, we will provide students with telephone
numbers for contacting us during the travel period to Los Alamos.  Do
not hesitate to use those numbers and keep them and the shuttle
numbers with you in case of travel changes due to delayed flights,
bad weather, car problems, whatever.  Contact us and the shuttle
services as soon as possible and we will work out alternative plans.
We will also email you a rough map of Los Alamos and the numerical
street address for the UNM-LA apartments when we learn which building we
will be using.

     Have a safe trip to Los Alamos and we will see you in June.