Vagantes 2012 - Travel & Lodging

Driving: 75% of all Americans live within a day's drive of Bloomington. We're one hour south of Indianapolis and 4 hours south of Chicago, 2 hours north of Louisville, 4 hours west of Columbus, and 4.5 hours east of St. Louis.

Flying: The closest airport to Bloomington is Indianapolis International Airport. Two shuttle services provide transport between Bloomington and the airport, and both cost $15/trip if you book online in advance. If your flight is arriving at night and you are concerned about catching a shuttle to Bloomington, please contact our housing and transportation coordinator, Megan Barrett, and she will try to arrange a ride for you.

Parking on campus is permit-only during the week, and free in the parking garages on the weekends. Parking around campus is mostly reserved for residents. Visitors permits are available through the Medieval Studies Institute for $5/day. There are parking garages downtown. Several hotels are within walking distance of campus (the Courtyard Marriott, the Hilton Garden Inn, the Grant Street Inn) and one is actually in the center of campus (the Biddle Hotel--if you stay here, on-campus parking is included). If you need to park,don't want to pay, and don't mind a walk, please contact the Medieval Studies Institute for tips on local all-day street parking.

NB: We were able to arrange a block of rooms at a special rate at the Courtyard Marriott, reserved until February 28, 2012. Each room can accommodate up to five people, so if you would like to share a room with other attendees to defray costs further, please email our housing and transportation coordinator, Megan Barrett, to arrange a room-share. If you would like to couchsurf with an IU medievalist, we can arrange that, too.

Courtyard Marriott Bloomington
310 S. College Avenue
Bloomington, Indiana 47403
(812) 335-8000
$90/night if you say you are with Vagantes when you reserve your room; this is also one of the drop-off/pick-up points for the Bloomington Shuttle.

Hilton Garden Inn
245 North College Avenue,
Bloomington, Indiana 47403
(812) 331-1335
$120-160/night

Biddle Hotel
900 E. Seventh St.,
Bloomington, Indiana 47405
(800) 209-8145
$100-150/night