Venue & travel

The lovely city of Haifa resides on a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, and is home to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Haifa is also the world center of the Baha'i faith, and the wondrous Baha'i Gardens are a must-see attraction. The conference will be held in the modern building of IBM Research - Haifa, situated at the top of the Carmel mountains. More details about Haifa can be found here.

The IBM Haifa facility is located at the northwest corner of the University of Haifa campus. See map.

Transportation from Ben Gurion Airport

Train
From the Ben Gurion Airport train station, located near the arrivals hall in the airport, you can take a direct train to Haifa. Buy a ticket to the Hof HaCarmel station in Haifa and go down the escalator to the train. Make sure you board on the correct track. Take a taxi from the Hof HaCarmel station in Haifa to your destination.

For more information, see the Israel Railways site. Note that trains and buses do not generally run on Saturdays/holidays in Israel. If you arrive on Friday afternoon, Saturday, or a holiday, you will probably want to rent a car or take a taxi to Haifa.

Bus
You can take a direct Egged bus from the airport to Haifa. Take the 947 bus to the Hof HaCarmel station in Haifa and take a city bus or taxi from there to your destination.

To find out more about the buses that serve the University of Haifa campus, go to the main Egged Web site.

Sherut Taxi Service
Shared taxis, called Sheruts, are available from the airport to all destinations in Israel. Sheruts are about half the price of a private taxi, so they're a good deal, especially if you're going to a distant area such as Haifa or Jerusalem. Keep in mind that you may have to wait a while, since the taxi only leaves the airport when it is full. Generally, there are 10 seats in such a car. The rate for a one way trip from the airport to Haifa is about 70 NIS (~USD$20). You can also pay in dollars, but there is no credit card payment available--only cash.

Taxi
As you exit from the terminal building, look for the supervised taxi stand. Give your destination to the dispatcher and he will direct you to the correct taxi. The fares from the airport are fixed, so the driver should not use the meter.

Rental Car
Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, and other local firms have offices at the airport.