Travel and Accommodation during the Fall Arrival Orientation

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If you are located outside the capital region, the Fulbright Finland Foundation will reimburse your travel expenses from and to your host city in Finland, and will book and cover a hotel room for you (August 17-20 at the Sokos Hotel Presidentti in Helsinki).

Travel for out-of-towners

If you travel to the orientation from outside the capital region (cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen), please read the following:

Arrival: Plan to arrive in Helsinki on Monday, August 17 by 11:00. The orientation program starts at 12:10 at the hotel lobby.
Travel arrangements should be made by the least expensive means available (train or bus). Please save your travel tickets and receipts, since those will be needed for reimbursement. More info on reimbursements below.
- If you are planning to travel to Helsinki by plane, please contact the Foundation in advance to discuss the ticket fares before booking your flights.
Your travel costs are reimbursed only if you attend the entire orientation program ending on Thursday afternoon.
Departure: please leave enough time between the end of the orientation and the departure of your bus/train, especially if you need to stop by the hotel to pick up any luggage. We would suggest that you will buy tickets for a connection departing at 16:00 at the earliest.

Please note the following regarding travel tickets:

Purchase your tickets only from official sites (such as VR for trains, Onnibus or Matkahuolto for buses). Do not use third party services, because they will charge you more and also add a service fee. The Foundation does not cover the additional service fees if you purchase your ticket from a third-party website.
local taxi/bus/tram/metro rides within your departure city or the city of the event are not reimbursed.
Students, please use your student ID cards for your travel discounts.
the Foundation does not reimburse grantees' family members travel expenses.
the Foundation does not reimburse any costs which may occur from changing your tickets, purchasing cancellation insurance, or buying extra services e.g. the seat next to you or a cabin.
It is important you purchase your tickets early. If you travel by train, please note that tickets become more expensive depending on how in demand the particular trip is, and how close to the journey you purchase your ticket. We will be able to reimburse a maximum of total 150 € for your travel to and from Helsinki.
Please note that if you decide to travel to Helsinki earlier or stay in Helsinki after the orientation, we'll still cover your return ticket (train/bus) to your host city.

After the orientation, keep the receipts and tickets for personal record-keeping and send us the digital copies together with your account number using this SurveyMonkey latest by Sunday, August 30.

Travel reimbursements for grantees with a Finnish or Wise bank account

Grantees with a Finnish or Wise account will be reimbursed for the Foundation events twice a year in a lump sum: in December and in May/June. You will receive your reimbursements for the events organized in the fall in December, and for events organized in the spring in May/June.

If this is a challenge for you, please reach out to the Fulbright Finland Foundation.

Travel reimbursements for grantees with a U.S. account

The reimbursements for all the Foundation events will be paid to your U.S. account at the same time in one lump sum after your grant term (payments are made in December and in May/June).

The reimbursement amounts in euros will be converted to U.S. dollars based on the bank’s exchange rate on the date of payment. While the Foundation will cover its own bank’s fees for the international transfer, your own bank’s fees will be covered by you (these fees will vary between banks). However, an extra USD 30 will be added to the total to help to mitigate the international transfer fees.

Please note that regardless of the date of the final payment you are required to send your travel tickets and receipts by the deadline after each event. This is because Fulbright Finland Foundation needs the receipts in order to close the accounting for each of the events.

Accommodation (Sokos Hotel Presidentti)

The Fulbright Finland Foundation will arrange and cover accommodation during the Orientation for three nights on August 17-20 (check-out on Thursday, August 20) for those grantees spending their grant period outside the capital city region i.e. grantees who do not have an apartment in the capital city region.

Remember to bring your passport for checking in at the hotel.
Fulbright Scholar Program grantees will be accommodated in one-person rooms. If you have family members accompanying you, please note that only one room per family will be covered (up to 4 people in one room). If additional rooms are needed, they will be at your own expense.
Fulbright Student Program grantees will be accommodated in two-person rooms, shared with another student Fulbrighter. If you want to have a single room or a room shared with your family member(s), extra costs will be at your own expenses. In these cases, you will pay the bill at the hotel, and the Fulbright Finland Foundation will reimburse half of two persons room's cost against the original hotel receipt with the travel reimbursements (see payment schedule above). Please let Heidi (heidi.tiainen(a)fulbright.fi) know if you have any questions or concerns about this.

You will be accommodated at Sokos Hotel Presidentti (Eteläinen Rautatiekatu 4). The hotel is located i the Kamppi area of Helsinki, directly across the Fulbright Finland Foundation office.

If you would like to reserve additional rooms or extend your stay, you can do so on the hotel website.

After booking your room, you can also message the hotel at presidentti.helsinki@sokoshotels.fi that you are part of the group reservation on August 17-20, and enquire if you could be accommodated in the same room (if you have booked the same room type as during the group reservation).

Please note that the sales department won't inform the rooming list to the reception until a day or two before the group reservation will take place, so it's safer to be in touch with the hotel closer to the event dates.

Please note that booking extra nights is your own responsibility and at your own cost. The Foundation team will not make additional reservations.