Travel information

Conference venue

The conference will be held at the Lagoon Beach Hotel near Cape Town, South Africa, from Tuesday, 28th of February until Thursday, 2nd of March. On Monday 27th as well as on Friday 3rd, additional side events will take place, located either also at Lagoon Beach Hotel, or at the University of Cape Town, UCT. The Hotel is located 20 km from Cape Town International Airport and a 20-minute drive from Table Mountain. It also provides secure underground car parking. An airport shuttle can be arranged at a charge.

Public transport

Information on how to get to and from Cape Town can be found here, or here.

Accomodation

There is a promo code for the Lagoon Beach hotel for conference participants: 1915762.

Many accomodation possibilities exist near the conference hotel, as of course in and near Cape Town:

Milnerton

Century City

CBD

 

Currency

A currency converter from your currency in to South African Rand (ZAR) can be found here.

Weather

The average maximum temperature for February/March is about 27°C and minimum about 14°C with around 8 hours of sunshine. Please note that the inside conference venues are air-conditioned, therefore its best to bring along a jacket if you feel the cold easily.

Security

Cape Town is reasonably safe but crime does exist, therefore, precautions must be taken. Be street wise, and don’t carry all your cash with you – use your hotel safe that is available in all rooms. Use marked taxis or buses to move between areas. Try not to have cameras/electronic devices loose and try to make yourself look like a local. Do not allow strangers to assist you at ATM’s as there are several ATM scams in operation. Try to explore in groups and stick to well-lit streets especially at night; this also includes the walking routes up Table Mountain.
If driving, store parcels out of sight in the boot of the car and do not leave luggage unattended. Park in well lit areas at night and drive with your doors locked and your windows closed. Be alert at traffic lights.

Shopping

There are many malls and craft markets within easy reach in Cape Town. Some are listed here:
Cavendish Square – large mall in Claremont with over 200 shops, cinemas and restaurants;
Greenmarket Square – craft market, off Burg Street in the centre of town with carvings, masks and drums, beadwork, jewellery, clothing, leatherwork and ceramics;
Canal Walk – a large shopping mall just outside the Cape Town city centre, with hundreds of stores, cinemas, indoor karting track, skate park, gaming arcade, and restaurants, open until 21:00; located on the N1, ten minutes drive north of the city;
V &A Waterfront – lots of high quality shops, cinemas and restaurants at the city harbour.

Sight-seeing

Cape Town is a world renowned tourist destination and has many attractions for visitors. Some of the more popular destinations and activities are listed here.
Table mountain – the city’s largest landmark. A cable car runs from the bottom of Tafelberg road to the top of the mountain. There are many walks at the top and one can also hike to the top via the many paths up. However, please note that some of these paths are quite difficult and it’s advisable to go with an experienced person.
Kirstenbosch Gardens – botanical gardens situated near the University of Cape Town with a large variety of plants unique to South Africa. Beautiful garden to spend a sunny afternoon strolling in.
Cape Point – southern most point of the peninsula. The drive to Cape Point is also very beautiful but does take about 40 minutes.
Robben Island– located about 30minutes boat ride from the waterfront. Prison where NelsonMandela was incarcerated for 27 years. Visits to this venue need to be pre-booked and will depend on weather conditions on the day.
Wine tasting – Western Cape has several wine producing regions. Some of these include Constantia, Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschoek. There are hundreds of farms in the area and many are open for tastings.
NB – if you are interested in sightseeing and do not have your own transport, a good option is the open top double-decker bus ‘City sightseeing’. A 2-day ticket will cost ~14 Euro and will take you to all the major tourist destinations.

Important numbers

Police Milnerton                                        ———— 021 528 3800
Netcare 911 (for medical emergencies)  ———— 082911

Financial support for conference attendance – application closed 

The deadline for applying for travel funding has expired, and contributions are currently being reviewed. Decisions will be made in week 4 of January, and will be communicated to the applicants accordingly.

Funding will be available for some participants from LDC’s, in part for non-African countries only. The deadline for application is the 15th of January. Please apply through sending in an abstract, a CV and a short motivation letter of no more than 300 words, in which the following aspects are addressed:

  1. Why do you want to participate in the ICCS 5?
  2. How will you contribute to the conference?
  3. Why can your affiliation not afford your participation?
  4. If the conference committee would not be able to take over the full costs, would a part subsidy be sufficient for your participation? Which minimum would be needed?

Please apply via

support-iccs5@hzg.de.

Visa

To request an invitation letter for visa applications, please send an email to

info-iccs5@hzg.de.

as soon as possible including the following information:

  • First name
  • Last/family name
  • Your affiliation of work, name and address
  • Passport number
  • your planned arrival and departure dates

The invitation letter by local conference organisers from the UCT is not an official invitation letter to enter South Africa.

It is the sole responsibility of the attendee to take care of her / his visa requirements. Attendees who require an entry visa must allow sufficient time for the application procedure. Attendees should contact the nearest embassy or consulate to determine the appropriate timing of their visa applications.