GENERAL INFORMATION

THE VENUE
Hotel Ela
Registration, opening, plenary and sectional sessions: Hotel Ela (Fir-tree)***.
Address: Samokov, Borovets resort, Hotel Ela.

ACCOMMODATION
Hotel Ela (Fir-tree)*** at the Borovets winter resort.
The Borovets winter resort is located at 1350 m above the sea level on the northern slopes of the Rila mountain,  70 km southeasterly from Sofia and 10 km from the town of Samokov. The climate of the resort is temperate; the winter is mild with loads of snow. The average temperature in January – the coldest month is minus 4,8 C°. Usually the ski season starts in the beginning of December and closes in April.
Hotel Ela is located in the ideal centre of the Borovets winter resort. The hotel is situated close to the gondola lift station for Yastrebets and the Musala peak (2925 m) and 300 m from the drag lifts.
Visual information about the resort "Borovets" can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUMNYPQ5W1Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjRGTnSNEA0

Address: Samokov, Borovets resort, Hotel Ela
In case you travel by car, you can use the GPS coordinates of Hotel Ela:
GPS - 42.26757, 23.60381

CITY TRANSPORT TO HOTEL ELA
From Sofia Airport by underground to Joliot-Curie station. The South coach station is located 50 m in the south of the underground station, under the bridge of Dragan Tsankov boulevard. The buses for Samokov depart every 30 minutes.
The travel duration is 1 hour approximately.
Minibuses depart every 30 minutes to the Borovets resort at the Samokov coach station, sector No 2.  The travel duration is 10-12 minutes approximately. First bus departs for Borovets resort at 7.00 and the last one at 19.00.
Hotel Ela is located 20 m from the last station, in reverse direction of arrival.

Hotel Rila – City of Sofia
The lodging for the night in Hotel Rila, Sofia is reserved for conference participants, who would like to sightsee Sofia, or the transport connections do not allow an immediate departure to the Borovets resort. The Hotel Rila is located at the exact centre of Sofia, very close to the Serdika underground station.
From Sofia Airport by underground to Serdika station. At 150 meters southeast is located Hotel Rila.
Address: Sofia 6, Tsar Kaloyan St., Hotel Rila.

TIME TABLE
25.03.2026 (Wednesday) Registration of the participants.
26.03.2026 (Thursday) Opening ceremony 10:00. Plenary session. Conference sessions. Poster session. Welcome party.
27.03.2026 (Friday) 09:00 Conference sessions. Closing of the Conference.
28.03.2026 (Saturday) Departure оf the participants..

REGISTRATION
In front of the Conference hall in the Hotel ELA - Borovets
25.03.2026 from 16:00 to 20:00 and
26.03.2026 from 08:00 to 10:00.

ENTRY TO BULGARIA
Visitors from the European Union coming to Bulgaria need an identity document.
Visitors from other countries require an entry visa.
Visitors are recommended to contact the Bulgarian Embassy (you can find them on: http://www.mfa.bg/) or Consulate in their own country for information on visa requirements. If an official letter of invitation is requested, please contact the Congress Secretariat in due time (before the registration deadline).

TIME
Bulgaria is in the Eastern European Time Zone (GMT+2)

WEATHER
Air temperature: on 10.09.2023 - 28,0 oC and on 14.09.2023 – 28,0 oC.
Sea temperature: on 11 and 14.09.2023 - 26,3 oC
Check the weather in real time here: http://weather.bg/indexen.php

CURRENCY
From January 1, 2026, the official currency is the euro.
All major credit cards (e.g. VISA, MasterCard, Eurocard) are usually accepted in Bulgaria

EMERGENCY SERVICES
Uniform European telephone number for emergency situations: 112