Local Information

The workshop will be held at the Hotel Casa Munras in Monterey, California, USA. The hotel is just steps away from Historic Monterey, and a short walk to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. There are also many excellent restaurants within walking distance of the workshop.

Information on Visas

If you are not a national of the United States, you may need a visa to enter. Please consult this list for exact information given your nationality.

We offer the assistance service to provide recommendation letters for your visa application.

Visa recommendation letters will only be issued to:

• a. Accepted Speakers/Presenters.
• b. Known Committee Members.
• c. Attendees who have paid their registration fee in full.

Visa letters will state only the following facts:

• a. Conference title, dates and location.
• b. That the requester has paid the required registration fee in full (credit card cleared before).

Please send an e-mail to: Kevin Squire

Hotel Information

Standard Guestrooms are available at the Hotel Casa Munras (the conference venue) at a special group rate of $155.00 ($171.61 after state and local taxes).

Reservations can be made online here at the 2008 IEEE Rapid System Prototyping Symposium Exclusive Rate, or by calling the hotel at +1-831-375-2411, and identifying yourself as an IEEE RSP Symposium participant. The cutoff for the group rate will be 17 April 2008. After the cut-off date, additional rooms, date changes and the group rate will be accepted on a space and/or available basis only.

For those not wishing to stay at the conference venue, there are a number of other hotels within walking distance, including (in alphabetical order):

• Best Western Monterey Inn
• Colton Inn
• Downtown Monterey Days Inn
• Monterey Hotel
• Sand Dollar Inn
• Travelodge

Monterey is served locally by the Monterey Penninsula Airport (MRY), with flights to and from a number of major US cities with connecting flights around the world. The airport is a 10 minute cab ride from downtown Monterey and the Hotel Casa Munras. Rental cars are also available.

Monterey is also easily accessible from San Jose (SJC) and San Francisco (SFO) airports. Car rental is available at either airport, and the drive is about 1.5 hours from San Jose Airport (directions) and 2 hours from San Francisco Airport (directions). Alternately, the Monterey Airbus offers a convenient shuttle service between both airports and downtown Monterey--the drop off in Monterey is just a couple of blocks from the Hotel Casa Munras. The cost is $30 one way for SJC, $40 one way for SFO. See their website for more information and to make reservations.

June in Monterey is cool and comfortable, ranging in temperature from the mid-60's Fahrenheit (high teens Celsius) during the day, to the low-50's (low teens Celsius) in the evening and early morning, with an average around 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius), and very little chance of rain. Plan to bring a sweater or light jacket for evenings, as it can cool down quickly after the sun goes down.

California has a state sales tax of 7.25% on most purchases. Other local taxes occasionally apply (e.g., to your hotel bill).

For our international visitors: at restaurants, it is customary to leave a 15%-20% tip (on the pre-tax amount), depending on the quality of service. Tipping is also customary in other situations (cab drivers, housekeeping, hotel bellman, etc.). See here or here for some tips on tipping.