The local organizing committee is making any effort to provide you with all the required information to facilitate your travel to Pisa, Italy, and your stay.

As you plan your travel, please check this page for latest updates.

This page contains information about:

1. Visa
2. Travel
3. Hotels

For a better organization of your stay, please check also the pages about the conference venue and proposed excursions.

Visa Information

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) does not issue formal invitation letters for visas to attend ACM sponsored conferences. However, ACM can issue a visa support letter. For visa support letters, please send all requests to the Office of SIG Services at supportletters@acm.org.

Please be sure to include all of the following information in your original email:

1. Your name as it appears on your passport
2. Your current postal mailing address
3. The name of the conference (ACM SAC 2016)
4. Your Registration Confirmation number
5. If you have any papers accepted for the conference, please provide the title and indicate whether you are the "sole author" or a "co- author"

All this information is necessary, and omitting any of it will delay the issuing of the support letter.

Visa support letters are answered in the order they are received. You will receive a PDF letter by email within the 4-5 business days. Please note that ACM does not fax visa support letters. The PDF serves as a signed electronic version of the original letter which will be mailed to your current mailing address. If you do not receive the letter by post mail on time for your visa appointment, please print out your PDF letter and take it with you.

Please plan accordingly.

Travel Information

The main airport of Tuscany is named "Galileo Galilei" (IATA code: PSA), located in Pisa: it is the first option to reach the conference place.
As a second option, airport "Amerigo Vespucci" (IATA code: FLR) in Florence provides convenient connections to Pisa.
If you arrive in one of the two main Italian hubs, Roma Fiumicino (FCO) and Milano Malpensa (MXP), frequent domestic flies let you get to Pisa airport. Going from FCO or MXP to Pisa by train is also possible, although more complicated: you have to reach the main Rome/Milan train station by transportation available at the airport, and then take the train to Pisa (possibly you have to change train in Florence).

Arriving at PISA Airport

Pisa airport, despite its small size, is an important hub for low-cost airlines operating in Europe, with lots of domestic and European connections. If you come from outside Europe, likely you have to pass through one main European hub (Rome, Milan, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, etc.); we suggest to carefully select your exact itinerary, as the ticket price may change remarkably.

Pisa airport is just out of town. As you land in Pisa, the most straightforward way to reach your destination is by bus: go straight ahead out of the arrival gate to the bus platform and get on bus "LAM ROSSA"; tickets, 1.20 EUR for a 70 mins ride, possibly also on multiple buses, are available there at the vending machine (or on board, for 2 EUR). Remember to stamp the ticket onboard at the stamping machine. In 5 mins you will reach the main stop in front of "Pisa Centrale", the central train station; from there you can reach any place in town, possibly changing your bus, with no need to stamp your ticket again.
Optionally, taxis at the airport are available as well.

Arriving at FLORENCE Airport

The airport in Florence, a little bit smaller than Pisa airport, is also well connected with lots of domestic and European destinations.

The airport is 7 km - 4.5 miles from the center of Florence. Pisa is about 80 Km - 50 miles away, and can be reached by train. A shuttle bus (ticket 6 EUR to be validated onboard) leaving from a platform on the right just out of the exit doors, in 20 mins can take you one block off the main train station (Firenze Santa Maria Novella).
On average, there are three trains per hour to Pisa, taking about 1 hour 10 mins to get to the destination: check train departures from Florence at the time you need (set "destinazione" to "pisa" on the form). Train tickets, 8.10 EUR each, can be purchased on place at the ticket office ("biglietteria") or at ticket machines in the station hall, or online on the Trenitalia portal (specify: from "Firenze S. M. Novella" to "Pisa Centrale" at the desired date/time).
Taxi can be used instead to reach Firenze Santa Maria Novella Station from the airport; going to Pisa by taxi is not recommended because of the cost.

Once at "Pisa Centrale" train station, the main bus stop and taxis are just outside the main hall.

Getting around in PISA

Pisa is a small town, and you can easily move in the central area by foot. Another pleasant option is to use bikes, and some hotels have bikes for their clients.

Likely, the most convenient way to move across the town is by bus. Three main lines, named "LAM", connect the principal areas:

• LAM rossa (i.e., "red"): from the airport to the central train station, to the Leaning Tower area, and back;
• LAM blu (i.e., "blue"): from the central train station to the Congress Hall area, through via Matteucci/via Cisanello to the Cisanello Hospital, and back;
• LAM verde (i.e., "green"): from the central train station to the CNR area, passing aside the Arno river and crossing the town, and back.

LAM buses are quite frequent, typically one in ten minutes. Other lines reach specific locations in town.
The web site of the bus company provides also an itinerary planner to choose the best solution to reach a place in town; it's in Italian, but quite easy to use anyway ("Partenza" is "From", "Arrivo" is "To", then insert the time and click "Calcola Percorso").
Information on buses is available also on Google Maps.
Every stop has the relative timetable.

Bus tickets are sold in bars, tobacco shops, kiosks; vending machines are placed at main bus stops. One regular ticket (1.20 EUR) is valid for 70 mins on any bus in town since the first stamping aboard: no further stamping is required for the same 70-mins ride.
A 4-ticket book costs 4 EUR, and a 10-ticket book 9 EUR.
A daily ticket costs 3.70 EUR, and it is valid until midnight.

Pedestrian areas include the most touristic locations, like Piazza dei Miracoli, upper part of via Santa Maria, piazza Cavalieri, Borgo Stretto, Corso Italia.

Hotel Information

Hotels in the inner part of Pisa are usually small ones, while in the surrounding areas larger and more modern hotels can be found. Hotels in the very centre of the city are typically hosted in old/historic buildings, where rooms and bathrooms might be quite small.
We recommend to make reservations as soon as possible, reasonably before March 2016, so to be able to find the most convenient accommodation for you.

Please note that a city tax of 2 EUR per person per day is always applied to every stay.

Hereafter we provide a short list of possible comfortable accommodations in Pisa with guaranteed prices; reservations can be obtained at the reported email addresses. In the text of the reservation email you have to mention: "SAC 2016 (COCES)" plus your SAC registration code.
Please check on the hotels' websites for included services.

HOTELS
****	AC Hotel Pisa via delle Torri, 20 Pisa [map]	LAST MINUTE OFFER: single room: 105 EUR 95 EUR	LAST MINUTE OFFER: double room: 115 EUR 105 EUR family room: 160 EUR 140 EUR	Business hotel on the east end of Pisa, just out of the city centre. Palazzo dei Congressi (SAC venue) can be easily reached by bus (LAM BLU, direction Pisa Centrale, 10 mins). For reservations: acpisa@ac-hotels.com
****	Hotel Repubblica Marinara Via Carlo Matteucci, 81 Pisa [map]	single room: 74 EUR	double room: 84 EUR	It is placed just out of the city centre, along the same street of Palazzo dei Congressi (SAC venue), which can be reached in 10/15 mins by foot or quickly by bus (LAM BLU, direction Pisa Centrale). For reservations, by 02/29/2016: info@hotelrm.it
****	Hotel Bologna via G. Mazzini, 57 Pisa [map]	single room: -10% on best current price	double room: -10% on best current price	This hotel is placed in the historical centre of Pisa. To the congress venue: by bus (bus to main train station, then LAM BLU up to Palazzo dei Congressi, about 20 mins) or by foot (20 mins). For reservations: info@hotelbologna.pisa.it
****	Grand Hotel Bonanno via Gabba, 71 Pisa [map]	single room: 87 EUR	double room: 95 EUR	This hotel is placed on the north-western side of Pisa, not far from the leaning tower. The congress venue can be reached by bus (LAM ROSSA to the train station, then LAM BLU up to Palazzo dei Congressi, about 20/25 mins). A shuttle bus can be provided by the hotel. For reservations: info@grandhotelbonanno.it
***	Hotel Verdi piazza della Repubblica, 4 Pisa [map]	single room: 45/55 EUR	double room: 85 EUR	A small hotel placed in restricted traffic zone, between the very centre of Pisa and the SAC venue, which can be reached by foot in 10/15 mins. For reservations: hotelverdi@sirius.pisa.it