How to Get to Vitoria-Gasteiz

From Bilbao

Probably, the best (meaning cheapest) way to get to Vitoria-Gasteiz is to fly to the Bilbao International Airport, and to get to Vitoria-Gasteiz by bus (the airport in Bilbao has direct connections with many major cities in Europe and usually flights from overseas can be conducted in two steps (usually via London or Madrid)). Furthermore, there are some low-fare companies operating to and from Bilbao (Easyjet, Air Berlin, Vueling & Hapag-Lloid Express).
There are cheap buses (to pay directly at the bus) every 30 minutes from the airport to the Bus Station in Bilbao (Termibus). The shuttle takes around 35 minutes (there are some stops between the Airport and the Termibus). Check the schedules here. (click first in "información práctica" and then in "autobús")
The only other way to get from the airport to the Termibus would be to take a taxi (a bit faster, but much more expensive).
Then, from Termibus you would have to take a bus to Vitoria-Gasteiz. The company dealing with this route is called La Unión, and you can check its schedules here. Direct buses take around one hour and will cost around 6 € (you have to buy these tickets at the 'La Union' ticket booth at the Termibus).

From Madrid

Another option would be to fly to Madrid. In that case, there are three options:
(i) To arrive to Vitoria-Gasteiz by train. You should get from the airport to the train station of Chamartin by metro (take metro line 8 to 'Nuevos Ministerios' and from there the line 10 to 'Chamartin'), and from Chamartin to Vitoria-Gasteiz by train. There are around six trains every day connecting Madrid and Vitoria-Gasteiz, the prices range from 17 to 40 € approximately and the trip takes around 5 hours Check schedules and prices here (the schedules for October 2010 are not available).
(ii) To arrive to Vitoria-Gasteiz by bus. The company dealing with the buses from Madrid to Vitoria-gasteiz is Continental. Its station is by the metro station of Avenida de América. To get there from the Airport you should take the metro line 8 to 'Colombia' and then, the line 9 directly to the 'Avenida de América'. The trip from Madrid to Vitoria-Gasteiz takes around 4 hours and a half and costs around 20 €. There are quite a few buses every day and tickets can be bought at the station and online.
(iii)Vitoria-Gasteiz has its own airport as well, but there are not many connecting flights (just with Madrid and Barcelona), and most of the times flying to Vitoria-Gasteiz is much more expensive than flying to Bilbao. But sometimes it isn't so, and you can find a good deal flying directly to Vitoria-Gasteiz. In that case, there are taxis connecting the airport and the city.If you wish to look for a flight from Madrid or Barcelona to Vitoria, please visit the following link: iberia.

Once in Vitoria-Gasteiz

The American Literary West II International Conference will take place at the Faculty of Arts & Humanities of the University of the Basque Country. All the distances (Bus/Train Station to the conference venue, hotel, old town...) are walking distances (sometimes even in pedestrian ways). You can see a map in the previous entry with possible ways from the main hotels to the main venue and from the bus station to the main venue.

If you need further information, please feel free to make any comment in this entry and I will try to help you with different ways or directions.