Transportation and Tours The elite Bulgarian seaside resort Golden Sands is only 17 km away from the biggest Black Sea city of Varna and there are regular busses to it. Golden Sands Resort is very popular with its long and wide fine-sanded beach stripe. The name of the resort comes from the magnificent golden sand, which covers the beaches, stretching 4 km along the seashore. For its pure and tiny sands and the hot mineral springs the resort is known as “The pearl of the Bulgarian Black Seaside”. Hotel INTERNATIONAL provides transfers from Varna Airport to Hotel at the following rate: • Individual car transfer: 60.00 BGN / per car / per way (up to 3 persons). Please indicate on the hotel reservation form if you would like to use this service. There will be a pre-conference tour on 11 Sept 2016 and a post-conference tour on 17 Sept 2016 for those of you who prefer to fly to/from Sofia Airport. The distance between Sofia and Varna is about 480km (300 miles). In order to participate in these trips you must arrive in Sofia on September 10 or earlier and depart from Sofia on September 18 or later. If you are interested in any of these tours, please check the corresponding box when you register: On September 11, early morning, we depart with bus from Sofia to Veliko Turnovo, the old capital of Bulgaria. It will take about 2.5h to get to Veliko Turnovo where we will visit historic sites, churches and museums. After lunch at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant we will continue to Varna. This trip will take another 2.5h and the bus will take us directly to the conference hotel. On September 17, as early as possible, we depart from the conference hotel on our way back to Sofia. After about 3h we will reach the second largest city in Bulgaria - Plovdiv. We will explore the “old town” and the ancient well-preserved Roman amphitheater. We will have lunch at a restaurant that offers traditional cuisine of southern Bulgaria. We will get back to Sofia in the evening. Departure from Sofia is on 18 or later. For many countries Bulgaria is visa free for short stay visitors; please read the Official Visa Requirements for detailed and up-to-date visa information. Please indicate on the registration form whether you require a letter of invitation to obtain a visa. If you wish to be added to our mailing list please send your name and email address.