Helpful Information

Participation fee

The participation fee is 30 Euro. With this money every participant contributes with a small amount to the success of these meetings.

In return, oikos covers costs for accommodation, beverages, food and public transport during the days of the meeting.

oikos International does not cover the transport costs to get to the conference venue and back home.

 

Arrival

Arrival day is Friday October 19.

Tell us when you arrive and we will organise a welcoming team to pick you up.   

 

Accomodation

We will make provisions for your accommodation and notify you as soon as we have sorted everything out. Participants will be allocated to a host-student from the University St. Gallen; eventually some might be placed in the St. Gallen Youth Hostel (no extra costs for you!). 

 

Visa

Residents of most countries outside Western Europe need a visa to enter Switzerland. Although the visa application process could be a bit complicated in some cases, don't hesitate to come: We will help you to arrange a visa! Remember that the process of getting a visa needs time, eventually some weeks, so don't register too late if you need one.

Travelling via EU-countries: Most people who need a visa for Switzerland need an additional one for the European Union. In this case, it is better not to travel via the EU but flying directly to Switzerland. If you have to travel via EU, you normally have to apply for a visa in the first EU-country you will enter.

Have a look at more  detailed information about an EU-visa

This information is about german visa regulation, but it is also valid for other EU-countries (except Great Britain).

 

Travelling via Great Britain: Although Great Britain is a member of the EU, the visa situation is a bit different because Great Britain is no member of the 'Schengen co-operation'.

 

Getting there and away

 

By Air

The main destination airport is Zurich, being the nearest to St. Gallen where the first three days of the Model WTO will be held. From Zurich Airport take a direct train to St. Gallen. Trains are running about every 30 minutes and need less than one hour. One-way-fee is 24 CHF. All main airlines fly to Zürich.

There are also some low-cost-airlines flying to Switzerland: EasyJet flies to Geneva (only Europe); Buzz flies London-Geneva.

There are some other airports: You may also fly to Basel and take a train from Basel to St.Gallen. Calculate 3 hours to go from Basel to St.Gallen. Another airport is Friedrichshafen, located in Germany, about 20 km north of St. Gallen. Ryanair, a low-cost-airline, flies daily from London Stansted to Friedrichshafen. If you book early, you can fly nearly for free from London to Friedrichshafen. You have to book online, so check their website. From Friedrichshafen you can go to St. Gallen by train and ferry which is a nice trip of about 2.5 hours, one-way fare is about 20 CHF.

 

Another possibility could be Munich / Germany, located about 250 km east of St. Gallen, or Stuttgart / Germany, about 200 km north. One-way fare from there is about 75 CHF (Munich) or 70 CHF (Stuttgart) one way by train.

 

By train

There are good train connections from neighbouring countries to Switzerland. For fares, ask at a train station in your home country. Timetables are displayed in the SBB webiste. There you will find international connections to most european countries.

Check if you need a visa when travelling through different countries.

 

By Coach

There is an european-wide network of coaches. In many cases, travelling by these coaches is a lot cheaper than travelling by train, and sometimes it is faster, too. There are direct coaches from many eastern-europe countries to St. Gallen, and they stop at the St. Gallen train station. Check the relevant timetables on www.eurolines-schweiz.ch (for direct coaches to Switzerland) or www.eurolines.com (for all coaches within europe). A combination of coach and train may also be a good option.

 

By car

When travelling by car, don't forget to buy a 'vignette' when you drive on motorways in Switzerland. It costs 40 CHF.

Parking in St. Gallen is not a problem, but you have to pay for (about 6 CHF a day). Check with your host-student if you can park on his/her private parking area for free.

 

Hitchhiking

For some of you, this may be an option, but hitchhiking is not much common in Switzerland. There is a german agency for arranged lifts. Check if you find someone who can bring you to St. Gallen or one of the cities around (Zürich, Bregenz, Konstanz, Friedrichshafen, Lindau) from where you can take a train to St. Gallen.

Information on St. Gallen and its University

St. Gallen is the biggest city in the eastern part of Switzerland. It has about 70.000 inhabitants and is located in a hilly landscape, around 15 km south of the Lake of Constance one of the biggest lakes in western europe. Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein are located in a short distance. St. Gallen has a historic city center and is famous for a monestary with a medieval library. Find out more about St. Gallen!

Here you will find a portrait of our University.