Transportation
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ESO provides transport services for its staff, OPC assigned observers, and official visitors. The fact that there is only one airline servicing the Santiago-La Serena route, strongly limits our options for being flexible in the shuttling of our visitors. Hence, transport to and from La Silla is provided every day of the week at least once. The timetable below coincides with Lan Chile(*) departures and arrivals. An ESO vehicle picks up our passengers at the La Florida airport in La Serena, a hired taxi awaits them at the Santiago end.

(*) Please note that eventual changes/cancellations by Lan Chile of their flights Santiago-La Serena-Santiago, compel us to modify this schedule. For this reason, the table below may be subject to modifications.

RED information/remarks will be displayed each time there is new important information and/or changes are produced in the schedule (exceptional departure times are programed, etc.)

 

SCHEDULE
Last Update: October 4, 2005
DAY	ITINERARY	DEPARTURE TIME	TYPE OF VEHICLE	REMARKS
MONDAY	La Serena Bus Station - La Silla	11:00 AM	Bus	.
	La Serena Airport - La Silla	11:00 AM	Passenger carrier	.
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	4:15 PM	Bus	.
TUESDAY	La Serena - La Silla	11:00 AM	Bus	.
	La Serena Airpot - La Silla	11:00 AM	Passenger carrier	.
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	8:00 AM	Passenger carrier	.
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	4:15 PM	Bus	.
WEDNESDAY	La Serena Airport - La Silla	11:00 AM	Bus
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	4:15 PM	Passenger carrier	.
THURSDAY	La Serena Airport - La Silla	12:00 PM	Passenger carrier	.
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	4:15 PM	Passenger carrier	.
FRIDAY	La Serena Bus Station - La Silla	8:30 AM	Passenger carrier	.
	La Serena Airport - La Silla	11:00 AM	Passenger carrier	.
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	1:15 PM	Bus	.
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	4:15 PM	2 Passenger carrier	.
WEEKENDS
SATURDAY	La Serena Airport - La Silla	11:00 AM	Passenger carrier	.
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	4:15 PM	Passenger carrier	.
SUNDAY	La Serena Airport - La Silla	11:00 AM	Passenger carrier	.
	La Silla - La Serena Airport	4:15 PM	Passenger carrier	.
As a general practice, transportation will leave La Silla, at least, 3 hours before departure of flights from La Florida airport.

 

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GENERAL INFORMATION FOR VISITING ASTRONOMERS (VA)l

In case of different flight timetables passengers should consider that the transportation will leave La Silla, at least, 3 hours before their flight departure time. For this reason, passengers are recommended to take the time to double check their flight departure times. The front desk officer may also be consulted on the transportation timetable.

The ESO bus has a 40-seat capacity, while passenger carriers are designed to accommodate up to 14 adults. The bus leaves La Serena from the city's bus station, located in Amunategui 107 (closed to the ESO office); passengers carriers depart from La Serena ESO office.

A computerized system called TRAM (TRAvel Manager) has been implemented to register travelers to and from la Silla. For this reason, it is crucial that visiting astronomers fill in the Travel Form and submit it to the VA-Section in Garching, since they will inform La Silla about new visitor's arrivals, in order for registration in TRAM to be done.

 

TRIP TO LA SILLA .

Departure times to/from La Silla are sharp and can only be modified upon specific authorization by La Silla Management.

All passengers (staff, visiting astronomers) using the standard Lan Chile flights, i.e., the ones that matches the transportation to/from La Silla, will always be met at/transferred to the airport by an ESO vehicle. To get updated information on flight timetables, please contact our travel agency, Carlson Wagonlit Travels, via e-mail to cwstgo@eso.org, or through the phones (2) 463 3144 - 463 3145, since flight timetables tend to change with very short notice.

Whenever planes are delayed for more than one hour (usually because of bad weather conditions) an external surface commuter will be arranged to transfer all passengers to La Silla, since the ESO vehicles must come up on a predetermined time, so that, they can leave La Silla later, on the scheduled time.

Please note that NO ESO transport is offered for travelers using other flight times. In that case, an external surface commuter, currently charging around €75, will have to be hired at the traveler's expense.

Visiting astronomers who wish to make the trip by bus between Santiago and La Serena (and/or back), should state so when making travel arrangements with our Visiting Astronomers (VA) Section, in Garching. For detailed information, visit the pages: "Guidelines for Visiting Astronomers" and "Instruction for Visiting Astronomers on Mission to Chile" or contact the VA section at VATravel@eso.org.

Those VA who need or wish to depart from La Serena to La Silla on a Sunday, may meet the passenger carrier outside the front door of our office at 11:00 AM, since our office in La Serena is closed on Sundays (and during holidays). In this case, it is advisable to phone the office (51) 225387 or La Silla (2) 464 4215 stating your intentions, at least one day in advance.

 

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