Local Information and Logistics


Venue:

The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory is part of the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre of the National Research Council Canada and is located near Penticton, British Columbia.

!Attention!

We have been made aware that some of the registrants of our workshop on the future of Canadian radio astronomy have been approached by people claiming to be travel agents who will assist people with making their hotel bookings and flight reservations for this event. This seems to be a common theme for astronomy conferences lately. Those approaches have in some cases been made by email and in others by telephone. Please be advised that this is not a legitimate activity, but appears to be a scam designed to extract your credit card details. Please do not engage with such attempts. I can reassure you that we are not posting any contact details that would facilitate this type of abuse, however, we did have a participants list, which contained names and institutions. I took this page down for now.

Accommodation:

A group of rooms has been reserved at the Days Inn in Penticton. The rate is $99.00 (Canadian) + tax per night. Included in this rate is free Wi-Fi, parking, and a deluxe continental breakfast each morning. Breakfast includes Hot Pancakes and Syrup, Yogurt and Granola, Danish Pastries, English Muffins, Bagels and Cream Cheese, Hard boiled eggs, Toast and preserves, Cereals and milk, tinned fruit, coffee-tea-juice. The Days Inn is superbly located at 152 Riverside Dr, right next to Penticton River Channel Park, and just a block and a half from the beach, close to the downtown area, and easy Highway 97 access.

To book the rooms at this rate please call the front desk (24 hrs) at +1 250 493 6616 - menu option 1. To access this conference rate, please mention that you are with the NRC Conference Group. The cut-off date for the conference rate is April 15th 2019.

Travel to Penticton:

We would like to highly encourage everybody to fly to Penticton (YYF) and not to Kelowna (YLW), in particular if you do not plan to rent a car. Public transportation from Kelowna airport to Penticton is slow and expensive.

By Air to Penticton (airport code: YYF):

Air Canada offers daily 3 to 4 non-stop flights from Vancouver to Penticton and back. Westjet offers daily 1 to 2 non-stop flights from Calgary to Penticton and back. Taxis and shuttle services meet each arriving flight at Penticton airport. Car rental agencies are also available.

By Air to Kelowna (airport code: YLW):

The closest large international airport to Penticton is the airport near the city of Kelowna, about 80 km by road from Penticton. The airport is served by Air Canada and Westjet with direct flight to many major cities in Canada and the US. Alaska Airlines offers several flights daily between Seattle and Kelowna. All major car rental agencies offer their services at Kelowna airport. Shuttle services from Kelowna airport to Penticton are expensive and have to be booked in advance.

Getting to DRAO:

A bus will meet the participants every morning at 8:00 in front of the Days Inn Hotel in Penticton and take them to the observatory (~ 30 minutes). At 17:15 the bus will leave DRAO to take participants back to the Days Inn.

Driving directions to the Observatory can be found here.

A map of Penticton can be found here.

Local Organizing Committee:

  • Michael Rupen {Chair)
  • Roland Kothes
  • Kari Boult

For any inquiries, please, contact Roland Kothes at: Roland.Kothes@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca