Venue & Accommodation

Getting to/from Biosphere2

It is the most convenient to fly to Tucson International Airport (TUS), which has connections to major airline hubs in the US, such as LAX, Dallas, SFO, Denver, Atlanta, and Chicago. Biosphere2 is about a one hour drive from Tucson airport.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) has more frequent connections, including direct flights to London and Frankfurt. It is about a two hour drive to the Biosphere.

You can rent a car from either airport, which could be economical if you are coming as a group.

From Tucson airport, you can take Uber, Lyft or taxi. Rideshares will cost $50-70 before tip. Cost from PHX will cost twice as much.

If you are already in Tucson on Sunday, and would like to visit Steward on campus, you probably can get a ride from one of the locals going there after lunch.

Most of us are checking out on Friday after lunch. There should be enough cars that drive back to Tucson that we can drop you off at your hotel or to campus. Going back to PHX with rideshare or taxi is not possible because of the remote location, so we suggest that you rent a car if flying to PHX.

Housing at the Biosphere

Check-in to your room is from 3pm on Monday.

At Biosphere2, you will stay in one of the casitas, which is a Santa Fe style house with 3-5 bedrooms. You will have your own bedroom and bathrooms; each house will have a shared common area with kitchen, dinner area, sofa etc. The rooms are similar to the rooms you might find at an observatory, so do not have everything you might expect in a hotel. They do have shampoo, conditioner, bedding, and towels. Each casita has an iron and ironing board. Extra shampoo and conditioner is available in the large conference room or near the beverage display in the cafe. There is a common washer/dryer area in Casita 400, but they do not supply laundry detergent. They do not have soap (!) or hair dryers. Please bring sunscreen, sunglasses, a water bottle, a hat for sun protection, and some clothing appropriate for the chilly nights.

On the registration form, you can provide the name(s) of the people that you prefer to be in the same casita with. Otherwise it will be assigned randomly.

Hotels in Tucson

For those of you arriving on Sunday or leaving on Saturday, you can stay in one of the following three areas:

  • Close to the University of Arizona campus
  • In Downtown Tucson
  • Close to the airport
Note that there is a free streetcar connecting the campus to downtown, with a stop next to Steward Observatory, stops close to most of the hotels and restaurant areas around the University, and stops along 4th Avenue and in downtown Tucson.

For a list of campus or downtown hotels: https://adass2023.lpl.arizona.edu/hotels

If you would like to arrive a day early, there will be a special JWST-themed seminar at Steward called EURECA - Early Universe/REionization Conversations at Arizona - at 10am on Monday 2 October. We look forward to seeing you there!