The Pan American Congress on Plants and BioEnergy: June 22–25, 2008
Plant Biology 2008: June 26–July 1, 2008

www.aspb.org/meetings/merida.cfm

In 2008 ASPB will hold a new conference on plants and bioenergy immediately preceding its annual meeting in Mérida, Mexico. To help you prepare for these meetings, each issue of the ASPB News will provide important information. This first segment of “The Road to Mérida” provides travel information and passport and visa requirements.

Passport and Visa Requirements
1.	If you are a U.S. citizen, there are new requirements for travel to Mexico. Please visit the following website for details: http://travel.state.gov. Passports are required for U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico, and there is a backlog in issuing them. If you need to obtain or renew a passport, please apply at least four to six months in advance.
2.	If you are a citizen of a country other than the U.S., you need to contact a Mexican consulate in your country to ask about requirements and to take the necessary steps to obtain a visa. The requirements differ from country to country. If you are a citizen of Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, or Venezuela, you don’t need a visa to enter Mexico, although you must present a valid passport and fill out an immigration form for tourism and business travel, which can be obtained from travel agencies and airlines or at the point where you enter Mexico. The government agency in charge of immigration control and policy in Mexico is the National Immigration Institute (INM is its Spanish acronym). The INM is part of the Ministry of the Interior (called “Segob”). We recommend that you visit their website for further information: www.inm.gob.mx.
3.	If you are residing in the United States but hold a J-1 or H-1B visa, the following information provided by the National Postdoc Association will help you organize your documents for travel to the ASPB meeting. Individuals with a J-1 visa must make sure that their DS-2019 is current. They may travel with an expired visa stamp if all other documents are in order.
The following table answers three frequently asked questions on travel to Mexico for holders of J-1 and H-1B visas:

By Plane to Mérida Aero México Flies nonstop to and from Miami and Mexico City. 01-800/021-4000 in Mexico 999/927-9277 from abroad www.aeromexico.com Mexicana Has nonstop service to and from Mexico City. 01-800/502-2000 in Mexico 999/924-6633 from abroad www.mexicana.com.mx Continental Has nonstop service to and from Houston. 999/946-1888 or -1900 www.continental.com Click A Mexican budget airline, provides nonstop service to and from Mexico City and Veracruz. 01-800/122-5425 in Mexico Aviacsa Provides nonstop service to and from Villahermosa and Mexico City. 01-800/006-2000 in Mexico Continental and Mexicana Service to Mérida from European, Asian, and South American cities. For details, check with your local travel services.

From the Mérida Airport to the Hotels Mérida’s airport is 13 km (8 miles) from the city center on the southwestern outskirts of town, near the entrance to Highway 180. The airport has desks for renting a car and getting tourist information. Taxi tickets to town are sold outside the airport doors under the covered walkway. For the conference, ASPB will provide a link on the conference website for you to arrange shuttle service to and from the airport. By Plane to Cancún Another option is to take an international flight into Cancún, which is served by many U.S. and international airlines. From Cancún you can drive, fly, or catch a bus to Mérida. By Car from Cancún Highway 180 is the old carretera federal (federal highway) between Mérida and Cancún. The trip takes six hours, and the road is in good shape; you will pass through many Mayan villages. A four-lane divided cuota or autopista (toll road) parallels Highway 180 and begins at the town of Kantunil, 56 km (35 miles) east of Mérida. By avoiding the tiny villages and their not-so-tiny speed bumps, the autopista cuts two hours from the journey between Mérida and Cancún; one-way tolls cost $30. Coming from the direction of Cancún, Highway 180 enters Mérida by feeding into Calle 65, which passes one block south of the main square. By Bus from Cancún Once you have cleared customs and immigration and are ready to pick up your baggage, there is a ticket office for bus service to Mérida. Although buses run frequently, it takes about four hours to complete the journey. The bus company is ADO, and buses are first-class and often show movies during your trip. ADO provides a shuttle to the central bus station from the airport as part of your bus package. By Air from Cancún There is a new regional airline serving Mérida from Cancún; its website is at http://www.alma.com.mx/default.php. This airline offers low-cost service from Cancún and other cities in Mexico to Mérida. The website is in Spanish, and prices are quoted in Mexican pesos, so translate the cost into your local currency. For example, at this writing, tickets were $500 Mexican pesos each way, or US$50. Navigating the site is easy, even if you don’t know Spanish; the format is much like that of any airline or travel portal.

We hope this initial information will be helpful in getting you on your way to Mérida. If you have any questions, please e-mail info@aspb.org. Also, keep posted through updates to our website and upcoming articles in the ASPB News.

For more information on Mérida and the Yucatan, check out www.mayayucatan.com.