Travel and Accomodations
[
Where to stay] [
How to get here] [
Visa] [
Finding your way] [
What to do] [
Visit UMass]
Where to stay
If you are attending NELS36, you should book your hotel room as soon as possible! Many hotels book out early in the fall in general, and there are other concurrent events which will fill up most hotels on the weekend of NELS36.
If you are looking for someone to share a hotel room with, check our ride and room share board.
Here is a list of hotels and B & Bs in the area.
Special conference rates are currently available at the hotels below. Please book as soon as possible, and note the deadlines for the special rates. These rooms are only guaranteed to be saved for NELS participants for a limited time, and may not be available after the deadlines below.
- at the UMass campus hotel (a 5 minute walk from the conference rooms).
Book ASAP - Limited number of rooms!
- Thursday Oct 27: $79
- Friday Oct 28 - Sunday Oct 30: $81 per night
Reservations must be made before Oct 13. Call (413) 549-6000 and refer to "group #1355 for the NELS conference".
- at the Holiday Inn on 400 Russell St., Hadley (public transportation to campus and limited shuttle van service provided by NELS).
Rooms have 2 queen beds. The number of rooms is limited.
- Thursday Oct 27: $109.95
- Friday Oct 28 - Saturday Oct 29: $149.95
Reservations must be made before Oct 3. Call (413) 582-0002 and refer to "North East Linguistic Society" or "NELS".
- at the EconoLodge on 329 Russell St., Hadley (public transportation to campus and limited shuttle van service provided by NELS).
Rooms have 1 king bed. Number of rooms is limited.
- Thursday Oct 27: $72
- Friday Oct 28 - Saturday Oct 29: $139.95
Reservations must be made before Oct 3. Call (413) 582-7077 and refer to "North East Linguistic Society" or "NELS". - at the Best Western Hotel in Northampton (public transportation to campus and limited shuttle van service provided by NELS. NEW: Shuttle Schedule now available!).
Book ASAP - Limited number of rooms! To get this rate, reservations must be made before October 5. Call (413) 586-1500 and refer to "North East Linguistics Society".
How to get here
flying here
The closest airport for domestic flights is Bradley airport (Hartford, code BDL). Logan airport (Boston, code BOS) is the closest international airport.
Once you've landed safely in Bradley, continue via shuttle service or by car. If you've landed safely in Logan, you can continue by bus or by car.
public transportation and shuttle service
From Bradley, we will provide limited shuttle services on Thursday and Sunday afternoon / evening, and during other times, given sufficient demand (about $10 per trip). For us to organize this, please let us know your flight details as soon as possible. Otherwise there are two shuttle services available, the Valley transporter, and Seemo Shuttle. Rates are around $40 each way, depending on the time and shuttle service (Valley Transporter rates / Seemo Shuttle rates). You will need to reserve a seat ahead of time. Unfortunately, there is no bus service from Bradley to Amherst anymore.
From Logan, you will need to get to South Station if you want to take the bus to Amherst. You can take the T, but you'll have to change twice: take the blue line to State, from there take the orange line to Downtown Crossing, and from there the red line to South Station. You can also take a taxi from the airport to South Station (should be less than $25).
From South Station, take the Peter Pan bus to Amherst. The first bus leaves at 8am and the last one at 8pm. You will have to change buses in Springfield (unless you happen to take the direct bus which leaves from Boston on Fridays at 4:15pm).
From New York City, you can take the Peter Pan bus to Amherst. The bus leaves at the Port Authority bus terminal, and takes about 4.5 hours.
From Northampton, use the PVTA buses to get to Amherst and back. You will want to take the 43 bus, which works on this schedule. Bus fare is $1, the drivers cannot make change.
A cab ride from Northampton to campus is about $15, however there are only few cabs in Northampton, so an early reservation and a gentle reminder call are recommended.
driving
Coming from
Bradley airport, or other places south, you will need to find I-91 N, which starts in New Haven, CT. From Bradley
use these directions from Google Maps, or
- Find 91 N and get on it (there will be signs from where you are).
- After 35 miles (from Bradley Airport), get off 91 N at exit 19, and take a right to Route 9 E.
- Follow Route 9 for about 4.5 miles, and take a left to 116 N.
- Follow 116 N for about 1.3 miles, and take the first exit, on your right, to the University of Massachusetts. Take a right turn off the ramp, to Massachusetts Ave.
- Take the second left onto Commonwealth Ave, and then the third right to the Campus Parking Garage. [also see this map of campus]
Coming from the East (Boston/Logan), you will need to find I-90 W (the Mass Pike). More specifically, if you are driving from Logan
use these directions from Google Maps, or
- Find 90 W (also known as "the Mass Pike") and get on it (there will be signs from where you are).
- After 91 miles, get off 90 W at exit 4 and get on 91 N.
- After 13 miles, get off 91 N at exit 19, and take a right to Route 9 E.
- Follow Route 9 for about 4.5 miles, and take a left to 116 N.
- Follow 116 N for about 1.3 miles, and take the first exit, on your right, to the University of Massachusetts. Take a right turn off the ramp, to Massachusetts Ave.
- Take the second left onto Commonwealth Ave, and then the third right to the Campus Parking Garage. [also see this map of campus]
Coming from the West (e.g. Albany, NY) you will need to find I-90 E (the part that goes through MA is known as the Mass Pike). Once you are on it, follow these directions:
- Get off 90 W at exit 4 and get on 91 N.
- After 13 miles, get off 91 N at exit 19, and take a right to Route 9 E.
- Follow Route 9 for about 4.5 miles, and take a left to 116 N.
- Follow 116 N for about 1.3 miles, and take the first exit, on your right, to the University of Massachusetts. Take a right turn off the ramp, to Massachusetts Ave.
- Take the second left onto Commonwealth Ave, and then the third right to the Campus Parking Garage. [also see this map of campus]
If you are driving from Northampton
use these directions from Google Maps, or
- Find route 9 W (also known as Main St. in downtown Northampton), and get on it.
- After about 5 miles, take a left to 116 N.
- Follow 116 N for about 1.3 miles, and take the first exit, on your right, to the University of Massachusetts. Take a right turn off the ramp, to Massachusetts Ave.
- Take the second left onto Commonwealth Ave, and then the third right to the Campus Parking Garage. [also see this map of campus]
Parking
Parking passes are available for the campus parking garage (right next to the conference site) for is $5/day. You can park in the garage and buy a conference day ticket at the registration desk.
We strongly recommend the parking garage for Friday, since you can't use any other lot.
On Saturday and Sunday, you can use any non-metered parking lot, such as lot 40 and lot 64 (except for the part of lot 64 used by the campus police). Consult the signs at the entrances to each lot.
If you prefer to park in the parking garage on Saturday and Sunday as well, we'll have tickets available at the registration desk.
Use this map from the UMass parking services. The parking garage is the big orange blob in the middle. Thompson (which is where NELS will take place) is right next to it.
Visa
Please note that beginning October 26, 2005 (two days before the conference), nationals from 27 countries that participate in the visa waiver program (the green form that you fill out on the plane) will need a machine-readable passport to be eligible for a visa waiver for entry into the United States. More information is available on the US Department of State website at http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html.
Finding your way
Maps of the area and of the UMass campus (3.6 MB, you will find a copy in your registration package).
What to do here
Information about Amherst-area restaurants and other adventures also coming soon.
Visiting UMass
For more information on visiting campus, check the pages of the Robsham Memorial Center for Visitors, or the visit umass page.
