The 9th International Mars Society Conference will be held August 3-6, 2006 at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington DC. The hotel is located at 480 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC, 20024, directly atop the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station . Reservations should be made by calling 800-635-5065 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. EST. Mentioning that you are with the Mars Society Annual Conference will qualify you for a discounted rate, which is available through July 13, 2006.

Air Travel
The greater metropolitan Washington area is served by three major airports: Regan National (DCA) , Dulles International (IAD) , and Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) .

• National is the closest of the three; travellers may ride Metro 4 stops along the Yellow Line in the direction of Mount Vernon Square/7th Street conference Center for $1.40, or take a taxi for approximately $10-$15. Due to this airport's extreme proximity to the hotel, shuttle services such as Blue Van are discouraged, as they are likely to be more expensive and time-consuming than Metro or a cab.
• Dulles is the next closest, at approximately 45 minutes drive time by shuttle ( SuperShuttle , Go Airports Shuttle , etc.) or rental car. Travellers should alot a minimum of an hour and a half for drive time from Dulles if they are attempting to arrive just in time for a given event, due to traffic concerns. Travellers may also ride one of Metro's many bus services from the airport (rail does not yet serve Dulles), and are encouraged to visit Metro's excellent Trip Planner site. For attendees coming from outside the United States, Dulles typically offers the widest range of international flights at the lowest prices.
• BWI is the most distant of Washington's airports. It is located just south of Baltimore, approximately 1 hour from the hotel by shuttle or rental car. Travellers should alot a minimum of 2 hours for drive time from BWI to ensure on-time arrival at a given event. BWI is served by a bus which connects travellers to Metro's Greenbelt station , where travellers may ride the Green Line for 12 stops in the direction of Branch Avenue to reach the hotel (travellers are again encouraged to visit Metro's excellent Trip Planner site. ). Additionally, a free shuttle is available to the MARC Commuter Train system's BWI Rail Station , which travellers may ride 5 stops to Washington, DC's Union Station ; from there, travellers would be required to ride Metro's Red Line 2 stops in the direction of Shady Grove to the Gallery Place/Chinatown Station , where they could take either the Yellow Line in the direction of Huntington or the Green Line in the direction of Branch Avenue for 2 stops to reach the hotel. Travellers riding MARC are encouraged to carefully plan their trip, as trains typically run once per 45-60 minutes. BWI typically makes up for its distance from Washington by offering the cheapest domestic flights of the three airports.

Rail/Bus Travel

• The L'Enfant Plaza station is served by both Metro and the Virginia Railway Express . Travellers coming from the East Coast of the United States who wish to ride Amtrak should use Union Station and follow the directions given above for travellers riding MARC from BWI.
• Travellers on extremely tight budgets may wish to consider the Greyhound Bus service, which provides service to a station 2 blocks north of Union Station. Fares can be as low as $12 each way from New York City, with similar deals for other cities along the Eastern seaboard.