Accommodation

The workshop will take place at the Orthodox Academy of Crete (OAC), located near the beautiful village of Kolymbari, Crete. Crete is a mountainous island, the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. Crete has four major parts (prefectures). These are from the west to the east Chania, Rethimnon, Iraklion and Lassithi. The largest cities in Crete are Chania, Rethymno, Iraklio and Agios Nikolaos on the northern part of the island and lerapetra to the south part facing the Libyan sea.

The OAC is a modern Conference Center situated in an exceptionally beautiful location only a few meters from the sea and next to the Gonia Monastery (17 th Century). It is a religious Foundation, which organizes a variety of activities to encourage mutual understanding and solidarity on an inter-Orthodox, ecumenical, interfaith, intercultural and interscientific level, for the reconciliation of peoples, the consolidation of peace, and for human progress. The OAC offers excellent conference facilities and a pleasant and tranquil atmosphere for creative work and fellowship. Participants will be lodged in the rooms of the Academy. Rooms will be reserved on a first-come first-served basis. All rooms have their own bathroom and view to the sea or to the mountains.
  1. How to reserve a room at the OAC

  2. NEEDS 2012 Prices

  3. Accompanying persons

  4. Travel information

  5. Visa and Passport information

  6. Facts for the traveler

  7. Extras


How to reserve a room at the OAC


To reserve your accommodation at the OAC please fill in the Form (DOC file) and return it to [email protected] no later than May 31, together with the scanned copy of your bank transfer confirmation. At the bottom of this page you can find the Form also in PDF and RTF format. Your reservation will be valid (you will receive a confirmation of your reservation) once your payment has been received. After May 31, we can no longer assure the availability of the rooms.

NEEDS 2012 Rates


Description
Rates pp
Double room
(shared with a participant or accompanying person)
665 EUR
Single room
805 EUR

The rates include Full Board accommodation (exclusive of drinks), administration charge and services, free internet facilities (WI-FI) in the conference centre and reception area.


Accompanying persons

You are welcome to take accompanying persons with you; they will get the same discounted rate as conference participants and are not subject to any conference fee. If they do not reserve at the same time as you, please make sure that they do so using the form AND give your name as a reference person among conference participants, to avoid embarassing situations.

If you come with accompanying persons (in particular children) please read and fill in carefully the booking form.

If you come alone but would prefer to share a room with another participant, there is such an option; see the booking form for this.

Travel information

How to get there by plane

Chania International Airport, "Ioannis Daskalogiannis " (IATA code: CHQ) is the closest airport to Kolymbari (located approximately 15 km from the city of Chania and 39 km from Kolymbari). The airport can be reached going through Athens "Eleftherios Venizelos " International Airport. Connecting flights are quite frequent (around 6-10 a day) and are run by Aegean Airlines or by Olympic Airlines as well as the other major airlines that also service Greece. There are several charter companies that fly to Chania from western European cities as well. To get to the OAC from the Chania International Airport, it is best to take a taxi which will cost approximately 50 EUR. Alternatively airport buses can transfer passengers to Chania center where you can then get a taxi to the academy (~25 - 30 EUR) or take the local bus (~3 EUR). The latter, however, will bring you about 1.5 km from the Orthodox Academy, which is approximately a 20-30 minute walk to the Academy, or a taxi (~5 EUR). A link with information on the local bus services (KTEL) can be found here https://www.bus-service-crete-ktel.com/


Heraklion International Airport, located approximately 175 Km from Kolymbari,offers an alternative way to reach the Academy. Some air carriers provide direct flights to Heraklionwithout connecting through Athens, which may provide a more direct flight to Crete. There is a bus connection(KTEL Bus) that departures every hour between Heraklion and Chania (approx. 15 EUR). The ride is about 3 hours. Please visit the KTEL website for timetable and additional information, https://www.bus-service-crete-ktel.com/

From the Chania bus station, you may then take either another bus or a taxi to reach Kolymbari. A taxi from Heraklion airport to the conference centre costs ~150 EUR. You can of course also rent a car and drive yourself.

More information about travel from/to the airports to the Hotel and back will be posted on this web page in due time.

Travel by Ferryboat

Most travelers arrive in Crete by boat. The majority of the ferries depart from Piraeus Harbor, which is just to south of Athens. (The ferries from Piraeus depart from docks convenient to the Larisis train station). During the summer the island has frequent regular ferryboat service from the port of Piraeus to Chania and Heraklion.


The main ferry company is Anek Lines which provides service to and from the mainland of Greece and runs daily between Piraeus, Chania and Heraklion. The bay of Souda serves as the port for Chania. You can book online directly from their website, www.anek.gr.
Taxis from the port of Souda to the OAC will cost ~40 EUR.

Another ferry company is the Minoan Lines,which sails every day to Heraklion and some days to Chania.

Driving Directions

Information Coming Soon

Visa and Passport information

Passports are required by all visitors except for E.U. citizens traveling from or to Schengen countries. (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal).

A visa IS NOT REQUIRED for a U.S. or Canadian citizen holding a valid passport unless you expect to stay in Greece more than 90 days and study or seek employment. There are could be visa formalities for visitors from certain countries. Please check visa requirements that may apply to you before traveling. We highly suggested that all non-American citizens check current visa requirements with the nearest Greek Consulate in your own country prior to departure.

You should also check with your embassy on any travel related restrictions or advisories that may be in place. NEEDS2012 cannot be held responsible for travelers that do not confirm their visa requirements or obtain the appropriate paperwork to travel to the workshop.

For information about travel in Greece, please visit the Greek National Tourism Organization.

Please click here for additional information on visas and letters of invitation.

Facts for the traveler

Electricity supply: 220 volts AC with a frequency of 50 hertz.


Electrical Adapters: If you live in a country with 110V electricity, your electric accessories will not work in Greece. Bring an adapter like the one pictured below (with round prongs). An adaptor like this simply allows your plugs to fit into the Greek electrical outlets; it does not ensure that your appliance will work in the 220V current of the wall outlets in Greece. Remember to bring along a voltage converter too.

adaptor


Time: Two hours ahead of GMT/UTC; three hours ahead during daylight-saving time.


Currency: EURO (EUR) (currency converter).

Accommodation Form (rtf)
Accommodation Form (doc)
Accommodation Form (pdf)