General
This is the one-stop place for general information on travel to CTIO:
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/diroff/obser_trav.htm
Remember to fill out these forms, preferably about 1 month before you travel:
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/travel/itinerary.php
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/sys/dhcpform.php
When filling out the travel itinerary form, under Proposal Number, please use "DES PreCam/Curtis-Schmidt"; under Mode of Payment, credit card is generally correct (DES does not have an Institutional Account for PreCam observations).
Douglas Tucker's Travel Advice (US-centric)
[DLT, 27 August 2010: INFO: Pat Seitzer has reported that CTIO has updated their travel pages - travel forms are now required 4 weeks in advance, and there are additional limits on special transport, like none after 2pm.]
[DLT, 12 Aug 2010: WARNING! I just learned from Adam Sypniewski today that it appears that Special Transport to/from the mountain is typically not available on Saturdays. The only transport available on Saturdays is the normal transport (departing La Serena for the mountain at 8:30AM; departing the mountain for La Serena at 4:30PM). Please plan your travel accordingly.]
I usually schedule 2 days to travel from the US to the CTIO mountaintop. In principle, one could leave the US just the day before, but having a day of contingency helps.
Consider an observing run that starts the night of September 21 and ends the night of September 27. Here is one suggestion for an itinerary:
Depart US for Santiago (via a connection in Dallas, Miami, or Atlanta) on the afternoon of Sept 19.
Arrive in Santiago the next morning (Sept 20)
Travel from Santiago to La Serena that morning (Sept. 20)
Either:
Stay overnight in La Serena at the CTIO guest house and go up to the observatory the next day (I tend to do this), or
Get picked up at the La Serena airport and go directly to the observatory
(In either case, there is a daily "carry-all" shuttle from La Serena to CTIO, leaving La Serena at noon and arriving at the observatory about 1.5 hours later. On weekdays, the carry-all departs at Noon. On Saturdays, the carry-all departs at 8:30AM. On Sundays, there is no regularly scheduled service. One can also ask for special transport to the observatory if these times are not convenient.)
The morning (Sept 28) after the last night of observing: get some sleep (!) and be ready to grab the carry-all back down the mountain (it leaves at 2:30PM on weekdays, and 4:30PM on Saturdays). The drive takes about 1.5 hours to get back to La Serena, arriving around 4:00PM (weekdays).
There is usually a convenient Lan Chile flight from La Serena to Santiago sometime around 5:00PM or 6:00PM. Take that flight to Santiago (Sept 28).
Connect to a US-bound flight that evening (Sept 28)
Arrive back in the US the next morning (Sept. 29)
For for information, check out these webpages on the CTIO website:
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/travel/itinerary.php
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/diroff/obser_trav.htm